Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Light and Canopy Structure in a Lowland Tropical Moist Forest

Smith, Alan P.; Hogan, Kevin P.; Idol, Jacqueline R.

doi:10.2307/2389012

Cited by 105 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Canopy gaps caused by branch or tree falls result in ephemeral and localised, but intense, increases in local irradiance in the understory (Chazdon and Pearcy 1991;Smith et al 1992;Engelbrecht and Herz 2001). As a result, light availability at ground level is heterogeneous in both time and space (Canham et al 1994;Nicotra et al 1999;Montgomery and Chazdon 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying micro-environmental variation in tropical rainforest understory at landscape scale by combining airborne LiDAR scanning and a sensor network

Tymen

Vincent

Courtois

et al. 2017

Annals of Forest Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying micro-environmental variation in tropical rainforest understory at landscape scale by combining airborne LiDAR scanning and a sensor network

Tymen

Vincent

Courtois

et al. 2017

Annals of Forest Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In this study we explicitly focus on light conditions within the understorey. Average light conditions in the understorey of tropical forests are extremely low, often below 1% of the light reaching the canopy (Chazdon & Fetcher 1984, Smith et al 1992. Because of the low light levels in tropical forests, measurements to assess the light environment must be precise to allow discrimination between sites within the understorey.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of different methods to estimate understorey light conditions in tropical forests

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. The suitability of several methods for estimating light conditions in the understorey of tropical forests, and of different sampling schedules was evaluated. Light conditions at 16 understorey sites in a Panamanian lowland forest were continuously measured for 9 mo with quantum sensors and photodiodes. Light conditions at the sites were also assessed indirectly with hemispherical fisheye photographs, plant canopy analysis, 38-mm photographs, 24-mm photographs and a spherical densiometer. Estimates from all indirect methods, except the spherical densiometer, were highly correlated with the direct measurements. Short-term direct light measurements for a day or a week also correlated with long-term light conditions. The indirect measures differed by up to c. 70% from the direct measures relative to single site measurements. Hence, the indirect methods are inadequate where single site light conditions have to be assessed accurately. However, because light conditions encountered in the understorey varied up to 13-fold, the indirect methods were found to be well suited to rank understorey light conditions among a large number of sites. The results from frequent and infrequent sampling schedules differed only slightly, suggesting that taking indirect measures at the beginning and the end of a study offers a reasonable compromise between accuracy and sampling effort.KEY WORDS: fisheye photography, hemispherical photography, light measurement, plant canopy analysis, PPFD, spherical densiometer I NT R OD U C TI O N Light is a crucial factor determining physiological and ecological processes in plants, as well as in animals , Endler 1993. Among different tropical forest formations, and along climatic gradients light conditions in

show abstract

“…O crescimento de galhos no dossel, de lianas e ervas, além dos próprios colonizadores, gradualmente diminui a insolação diária na clareira (Smith et al 1992, Denslow & Hartshorn 1994, Denslow et al 1998. Variações climáticas entre estações secas e chuvosas são comuns (Smith et al 1992, Brown 1993, mas ver Chazdon & Fetcher 1984. Brown (1993) encontrou, além de variações sazonais, variações diárias no clima.…”

Section: Estrutura De Clareirasunclassified

Estrutura e regeneração de clareiras em florestas pluviais tropicais

Lima¹

2005

Rev. bras. Bot.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-(Canopy gap structure and regeneration in Tropical Rain Forests). This paper presents a critic review of the available knowledge on canopy gap structure and regeneration in Tropical Rain Forests. Separated on different issues such as gap size, type of treefall, physical environment, regeneration sources and ecological groups, each issue is explored in detail through the main studies published. Hence, old issues are discussed and gaps of knowledge are pointed out to enhance and ground future researches. As a result, it was observed that despite of more then three decades of research and several studies involving gap structure and regeneration, the research regarding the theme still has many questions to be answered. It also has limitations linked to the existing plurality of methods and to the difficulty of comparing different forests worldwide. It was concluded that the research involving gap structure and regeneration is on a theoretical refinement phase and, therefore, it is hard to evaluate the real contribution of canopy openings to the understanding of the different forests formations dynamics.Key words -ecological groups, gap colonization, gap regeneration, tropical rain forest RESUMO -(Estrutura e regeneração de clareiras em Florestas Pluviais Tropicais). Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão crítica do conhecimento disponível sobre a estrutura e regeneração de clareiras naturais em Florestas Pluviais Tropicais. Separada em diferentes temas como tamanho de clareiras, tipos de queda, ambiente físico, fontes de regeneração e grupos ecológicos, cada tema é explorado em detalhe através dos trabalhos publicados mais relevantes. Assim, conceitos antigos são expostos e discutidos, e as lacunas de conhecimento são destacadas para enriquecer e embasar novos trabalhos. Como resultado, observou-se que apesar de mais de três décadas de estudo e do grande número de trabalhos envolvendo estrutura e regeneração de clareiras, a pesquisa científica no tema ainda possui muitas perguntas a serem respondidas. Ela também possui limitações relacionadas à diversidade de métodos existentes e à dificuldade de comparação entre diferentes florestas do mundo. Concluise, portanto, que a pesquisa sobre a estrutura e regeneração de clareiras encontra-se em fase de refinamento teórico e que, por isso, é difícil avaliar a real contribuição da abertura de clareiras no entendimento da dinâmica das diferentes formações florestais.Palavras-chave -colonização de clareiras, floresta pluvial tropical, grupos ecológicos, regeneração de clareiras

show abstract

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Light and Canopy Structure in a Lowland Tropical Moist Forest

Cited by 105 publications

References 30 publications

Quantifying micro-environmental variation in tropical rainforest understory at landscape scale by combining airborne LiDAR scanning and a sensor network

Quantifying micro-environmental variation in tropical rainforest understory at landscape scale by combining airborne LiDAR scanning and a sensor network

Evaluation of different methods to estimate understorey light conditions in tropical forests

Estrutura e regeneração de clareiras em florestas pluviais tropicais

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About