Spatial patterns of light‐demanding tree species in the Yangambi rainforest (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Luambua, Nestor K.; Hubau, Wannes; Salako, Kolawolé Valère; Amani, Christian; Bonyoma, Bernard; Musepena, Donatien; Rousseau, Mélissa; Bourland, Nils; Nshimba, H.; Ewango, Corneille E. N.; Beeckman, Hans; Hardy, Olivier J.

doi:10.1002/ece3.8443

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The regular distribution of individuals across the park was not found for any single tree species. It is important to note that regular distribution occurs when there is a strong antagonistic relationship between spatial objects, or in the case of artificial placement (Luambua et al, 2021). Considering that a large part of the park plantation arose artificially, regular placement of woody plants would be quite expected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban park layers: Spatial variation in plant community structure

et al. 2022

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Horizontal structure of natural plant communities attracted the attention of researchers for a long time, while the problem of horizontal structure of urban park plantations was not studied sufficiently. Species richness of different tiers of park plantation in the large industrial city of Dnipro (Ukraine) was revealed in this study. Also features of variation in the structure of plant communities at different spatial levels were revealed, the influence of park plantation canopy on the understory and herbaceous layer of the park. There were 30 plant species in the tree layer of the park plantation. The most common species were Robinia pseudoacacia L., Acer platanoides L., A. negundo L., Gleditsia triacanthos L., Aesculus hippocastanum L., Populus carolinensis Moench. The variance-to-mean ratio revealed that 13 tree species were randomly distributed throughout the park, and 14 species were aggregated. The number of occurrences of a given tree species per site and variance-to-mean ratio were positively correlated. The numerous tree species showed a tendency of aggregated distribution within the park. Sixteen plant species were found in the understory. Among them, the most abundant species were Acer platanoides L., A. negundo L., A. pseudoplatanus L., Sambucus nigra L., Robinia pseudoacacia L. Eight species were found to be randomly distributed over the park area, and eight species showed an aggregate distribution. The number of species encountered in the understory and variance-to-mean ratio were positively correlated. In the herbaceous stand, 99 plant species were found, of which Chelidonium majus L., Viola odorata L., Impatiens parviflora DC., Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch., Geum urbanum L. predominated. The variance-to-mean ratio of all species was significantly less than unity, indicating regular spatial distribution. The values of alpha- and gamma-diversity of the plant community in separate layers are very different. The highest gamma diversity was found for the herbaceous stand, while the diversity of the tree stand and understory was significantly lower. Alpha biodiversity of the tree stand and the understory did not practically differ. Beta diversity values between the layers are very close, and beta diversity is practically equal for tree stand and herbaceous layer. Thus, we can assume that the mechanisms of species turnover for the plant communities of different layers are determined by the common causes. The spatial broad-scale component was able to explain 8.2% of community variation, the medium-scale component was able to explain 4.2% of community variation, and the fine-scale component was able to explain 0.7% of community variation. The understory is the most sensitive to the environmental factors, the herbaceous stand is somewhat less sensitive, and the tree stand is the least sensitive to the environmental factors. The environmental factors in this study are represented by a set of variables. The spatial variation of the stand is predominantly influenced by the factors of trophicity and moisture of the edaphotope. These same factors also act on the herbaceous stand and understory, but along with them are included the environmental variables, which are determined by the architectonics of the crown space and thus the light regime, which is regulated by the tree stand. It is important to note that the variation of the communities of the different layers of the park plantation is subject to spatial patterns. The herbaceous and understory variation is more spatially structured than the tree stand variation. The spatial patterns can arise as a result of the influence of spatially structured environmental factors and as a result of factors of a neutral nature. The latter aspect of variation is best described by the pure spatial component of community variation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban park layers: Spatial variation in plant community structure

et al. 2022

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“…Aggregation is common in tropical trees (e.g. Picard et al, 2009;Plotkin et al, 2002;Réjou-Méchain et al, 2011;Traissac & Pascal, 2014) and different factors can promote species aggregation (Luambua et al, 2021) such as: i) variation in local site characteristics and site history (spatial heterogeneity); ii) competition for light leading to regeneration of clustered offspring in tree gaps (mostly for light demanding-species); iii) spatially limited seed dispersal; iv) biotic factors (intra-or intercompetition and facilitation). Clustered distribution of this anemochorous species in evergreen (site C) and semideciduous forests (site A) suggested that aggregation was strongly driven by spatially limited seed dispersal (as discussed below) and light-requirements for the growth of seedlings.…”

Section: Fine-scale Spatial Distribution and Genetic Structure Also V...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regeneration success of light-demanding species also depends on intrinsic factors such as the mating system and the extent of seed and pollen dispersal (Hardy et al, 2019), processes affecting in turn the demographic, spatial and genetic structures of tree populations (Luambua et al, 2021;Sola et al, 2022). Most tropical tree species are allogamous but self-compatible and occur at low population density (Duminil et al, 2016a;Duminil et al, 2016b;Hardy et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasted spatial, demographic and genetic structures of a light-demanding African timber species, Cylicodiscus gabunensis Harms – Implications for a sustainable management of its populations

Bhasin,

Doucet,

Ndonda Makemba

et al. 2024

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…It is characterized by exceptional biodiversity and vegetation dominated by dense and humid forest (Toirambe, 2011). This landscape has a tropical climate, Af type according to Köppen's classification (Luambua et al, 2021). This landscape extends over 225,000 ha of BRY, and includes enclaves in buffer zone and others villages located within 30 km of the PA border (Kipute et al, 2021).…”

Section: Study Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors inciting agroforestry adoption based on trees outside forest in Biosphere Reserve of Yangambi landscape (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

et al. 2023

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The Biosphere Reserve of Yangambi (BRY) landscape is facing the challenge of conserving biodiversity while supporting the food security of local communities. Farmers, in search of fertile soil, travel long distances to establish their fields, sometimes in the core area of the reserve. Faced with this reality, agroforestry is an alternative that could contribute to improving local livelihoods while protecting forests and biodiversity in this protected area (PA). This study was conducted in order to identify factors which motivate and/or inhibit farmers for adopting agroforestry practices.To this end, household surveys were conducted in three villages bordering the BRY, namely Bengamisa, Lilanda and Yaselia villages. The results revealed that only age of farmers influence significantly agroforestry adoption and 56.2% of the respondents deliberately leave naturally occurring agroforestry species in their farmlands. In order to benefit from the collection of edible caterpillars and fruits, improvement of soil fertility, extraction of medicinal products, production of charcoal and exploitation of timber. However, 43.8% of respondents who were not in favor of agroforestry feared accidents due to windfall, as well as for the collapse of agricultural production.The ethnobotanical analysis revealed that Petersianthus macrocarpus sp. and Erythrophleum suaveolens sp. had the highest use value due to their multi-functionality in the BRY landscape.Thus, the extension work to promote these species could increase the rate of agroforestry adoption and contribute to sedentarization of farmers which in turn reduce the rate of deforestation and promote biodiversity conservation in BRY landscape.

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Spatial patterns of light‐demanding tree species in the Yangambi rainforest (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 7 publications

References 103 publications

Urban park layers: Spatial variation in plant community structure

Urban park layers: Spatial variation in plant community structure

Contrasted spatial, demographic and genetic structures of a light-demanding African timber species, Cylicodiscus gabunensis Harms – Implications for a sustainable management of its populations

Factors inciting agroforestry adoption based on trees outside forest in Biosphere Reserve of Yangambi landscape (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

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