The Biological Dynamics of Tropical Rainforest Fragments

Bierregaard, Richard O.; Lovejoy, Thomas Ε.; Kapos, Valerie; Santos, Angelo A. dos; Hutchings, Roger William

doi:10.2307/1312085

Cited by 662 publications

(439 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Gascon et al (2000) suggested that Amazonian fragments of less than 5000 ha will be susceptible to such effects, but our results imply that much larger fragments (up to several hundred thousand ha) could also be vulnerable to edge-related fires. An important factor in this regard is that prevailing land-uses in the Amazon, such as forestcolonization projects, produce forest remnants that are highly irregular in shape and thus vulnerable to edge-related fires and other external disturbances (Bierregaard et al 1992, Laurance et al, in press, Lovejoy et al 1986). Because forest margins will tend to erode over time, the predictions of our static corearea model may be conservative, and a dynamic modelling approach would be useful for predicting longer-term interactions of fragmentation and fire.…”

Section: Implications For Forest Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire as a large-scale edge effect in Amazonian forests

2002

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ABSTRACT. Amazonian forests are being rapidly cleared, and the remaining forest fragments appear unusually vulnerable to fire. This occurs because forest remnants have dry, fire-prone edges, are juxtaposed with frequently burned pastures, and are often degraded by selective logging, which increases forest desiccation and fuel loading. Here we demonstrate that in eastern Amazonia, fires are operating as a large-scale edge effect in the sense that most fires originate outside fragments and penetrate considerable distances into forest interiors. Multitemporal analyses of satellite imagery from two frontier areas reveal that fire frequency over 12-14-y periods was substantially elevated within at least 2400 m of forest margins. Application of these data with a mathematical core-area model suggests that even large forest remnants (up to several hundred thousand ha in area) could be vulnerable to edge-related fires. The synergistic interactions of forest fragmentation, logging and human-ignited fires pose critical threats to Amazonian forests, particularly in more seasonal areas of the basin.

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Section: Implications For Forest Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire as a large-scale edge effect in Amazonian forests

2002

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“…(Bierregaard et al 1992). Isto pode ser ainda mais agravado na bacia do rio Paranã, que é considerada como a última região disponível para expansão da fronteira agrícola no Estado de Goiás, portanto, passível ainda de sofrer impactos da ocupação com base na atividade de pecuária intensiva (Luíz 1998).…”

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Composição florística e estrutura da comunidade arbórea em uma floresta estacional decidual em afloramento calcário (Fazenda São José, São Domingos, GO, bacia do rio Paranã)

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2003

Acta Bot. Bras.

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RESUMO - Palavras-chave -florística, fitossociologia, diversidadeABSTRACT -(Floristic composition and structure of the tree community in a deciduous forest on a limestone outcrop in São Domingos, Goiás, Paranã river basin, Brazil). The Paranã river basin (States of Goiás and Tocantins, Brazil), with 5,940,382 ha, has many different plant physiognomies, including the deciduous forest on limestone outcrops which has not yet been studied in this region. In this paper we present the structure of the tree community of a deciduous forest on a limestone outcrop (13º 49'34'' S; 46º 41'55'' W) in São Domingos municipality, Goiás State, Brazil. Twenty-five plots of 20m × 20m (400m 2 ) were randomly placed on lines 100 m apart. Trees with dbh > 5cm were tagged, measured, and identified to species. In the phytosociological study, 588

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“…In the early 1980s, a series of forest fragments were isolated by clearing and burning the surrounding forest to create cattle pastures within three large (> 5000 ha) ranches (Bierregaard et al 1992, Lovejoy et al 1986). The fragments were isolated by distances of 70-650 m from continuous forest and fenced to prevent encroachment by cattle.…”

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Effects of a strong drought on Amazonian forest fragments and edges

et al. 2001

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ABSTRACT. Little is known about how climatic variability affects fragmented forests and their abrupt edges. We contrasted effects of the 1997 El Niño drought between fragmented and continuous forests in central Amazonia, using long-term data on tree mortality. For 23 permanent 1-ha plots, annualized mortality rates of trees Ȅ 10 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) were compared among a 'baseline' interval of 5-17 y before the drought, a 12-16-month interval during the drought, and a 12-13-month interval after the drought, using repeated-measures ANOVA. We also examined the size distributions of dead trees for each interval. During the drought, average annual tree mortality rose significantly in both forest edges (from 2.44% to 2.93%) and interiors (from 1.13% to 1.91%), and the magnitude of this increase did not differ significantly between edges and interiors. After the drought, tree mortality declined in all plots, but most dramatically on edges. Mortality rates were more variable over time on edges than interiors, and there was no evidence of time lags in mortality. In forest interiors, the size distributions of trees that died did not differ significantly among the three intervals. On edges, however, relatively fewer small (10-15 cm dbh) and more medium-sized (20-30 cm dbh) trees died in the post-drought interval, compared to other intervals. Moreover, forest edges lost a significantly higher proportion of large (Ȅ 60 cm dbh) trees than did forest interiors. These results suggest that droughts have relatively complex effects on fragmented Amazonian forests. Drought effects in our forest fragments probably were reduced by prior floristic and structural changes near edges and by adjoining regrowth forest that partially buffered edge vegetation from desiccating conditions.

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The Biological Dynamics of Tropical Rainforest Fragments

Cited by 662 publications

References 27 publications

Fire as a large-scale edge effect in Amazonian forests

Fire as a large-scale edge effect in Amazonian forests

Composição florística e estrutura da comunidade arbórea em uma floresta estacional decidual em afloramento calcário (Fazenda São José, São Domingos, GO, bacia do rio Paranã)

Effects of a strong drought on Amazonian forest fragments and edges

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