Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes

Jucker, Tommaso; Bongalov, Boris; Burslem, David F. R. P.; Nilus, Reuben; Dalponte, Michele; Lewis, Simon L.; Phillips, Oliver L.; Qie, Lan; Coomes, David A.

doi:10.1111/ele.12964

Cited by 285 publications

(298 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

249

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…). For example, plots in the landscape‐scale UMBS‐LE data set showed separation into four different CSTs (Fig b), reflecting the strong influence that fine‐grain variation in physiographic factors can have on canopy structural development and that CSTs are integrators of these environmental factors (Aber et al ; Dial et al ; Kane et al ; Nave et al ; Jucker et al ). In addition, the successional chronosequences at UMBS spanned five CSTs and included variation, largely driven by stand age, equivalent to that present in the entire sub‐continental LQ‐NEON data set.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the arrangement of ecosystems among and within these broad categories of CSTs is also likely to be related to fine-scale environmental variation (e.g. soil water holding capacity, topography; Aber et al 1982;Jucker et al 2018), species, crown type, PFT, and trait composition of the local community (Ishii & Asano 2010;Verbeeck et al, 2019), stand to landscape-level community characteristics (e.g. alpha and beta diversity; Dial et al 2004;Jucker et al 2015) and historical factors such as successional processes and disturbance legacies (Scheuermann et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Defining a spectrum of integrative trait‐based vegetation canopy structural types

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vegetation canopy structure is a fundamental characteristic of terrestrial ecosystems that defines vegetation types and drives ecosystem functioning. We use the multivariate structural trait composition of vegetation canopies to classify ecosystems within a global canopy structure spectrum. Across the temperate forest sub‐set of this spectrum, we assess gradients in canopy structural traits, characterise canopy structural types (CST) and evaluate drivers and functional consequences of canopy structural variation. We derive CSTs from multivariate canopy structure data, illustrating variation along three primary structural axes and resolution into six largely distinct and functionally relevant CSTs. Our results illustrate that within‐ecosystem successional processes and disturbance legacies can produce variation in canopy structure similar to that associated with sub‐continental variation in forest types and eco‐climatic zones. The potential to classify ecosystems into CSTs based on suites of structural traits represents an important advance in understanding and modelling structure–function relationships in vegetated ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining a spectrum of integrative trait‐based vegetation canopy structural types

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to these interactive effects between aspect and canopy height, we also found clear evidence that topography can influence understorey microclimate indirectly by driving fine-scale variation in forest structure within tropical landscapes. Previous work has highlighted the importance of topography in shaping the composition and structure of forest canopies (Jucker, Bongalov, et al, 2018;Swetnam, Brooks, Barnard, Harpold, & Gallo, 2017;Werner & Homeier, 2015), but to our knowledge, the implications of this for understorey microclimate have been largely overlooked. We found that across the SAFE landscape canopy height varied substantially in relation to terrain elevation, slope aspect and curvature (see Appendix S4).…”

Section: Canopy Structure and Topography As Drivers Of Understoreymentioning

confidence: 99%

Canopy structure and topography jointly constrain the microclimate of human‐modified tropical landscapes

Jucker

Hardwick

Both

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

192

203

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Local‐scale microclimatic conditions in forest understoreys play a key role in shaping the composition, diversity and function of these ecosystems. Consequently, understanding what drives variation in forest microclimate is critical to forecasting ecosystem responses to global change, particularly in the tropics where many species already operate close to their thermal limits and rapid land‐use transformation is profoundly altering local environments. Yet our ability to characterize forest microclimate at ecologically meaningful scales remains limited, as understorey conditions cannot be directly measured from outside the canopy. To address this challenge, we established a network of microclimate sensors across a land‐use intensity gradient spanning from old‐growth forests to oil‐palm plantations in Borneo. We then combined these observations with high‐resolution airborne laser scanning data to characterize how topography and canopy structure shape variation in microclimate both locally and across the landscape. In the processes, we generated high‐resolution microclimate surfaces spanning over 350 km2, which we used to explore the potential impacts of habitat degradation on forest regeneration under both current and future climate scenarios. We found that topography and vegetation structure were strong predictors of local microclimate, with elevation and terrain curvature primarily constraining daily mean temperatures and vapour pressure deficit (VPD), whereas canopy height had a clear dampening effect on microclimate extremes. This buffering effect was particularly pronounced on wind‐exposed slopes but tended to saturate once canopy height exceeded 20 m—suggesting that despite intensive logging, secondary forests remain largely thermally buffered. Nonetheless, at a landscape‐scale microclimate was highly heterogeneous, with maximum daily temperatures ranging between 24.2 and 37.2°C and VPD spanning two orders of magnitude. Based on this, we estimate that by the end of the century forest regeneration could be hampered in degraded secondary forests that characterize much of Borneo's lowlands if temperatures continue to rise following projected trends.

show abstract

“…This influence can be synthesized in the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI; Gessler, Moore, McKenzie, & Ruan, ; Sørensen, Zinko, & Seibert, ). The topographic variation then influences the structure, composition and functioning of tropical forests (Cheesman, Preece, van Oosterzee, Erskine, & Cernusak, ; Fortunel et al., ; Jucker et al., ; Svenning, ; Valencia et al., ). On upslopes or steep slopes, tree communities generally show more conservative strategies (Cheesman et al., ; Kraft et al., ; Liu, Yunhong, & Slik, ; McFadden et al., ) and/or denser wood (Jucker et al., ; Liu et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Blanchard

Munoz

Ibanez

et al. 2019

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim To understand how variations in precipitation and topographic wetness influence tree community assembly at both regional and landscape scales in tropical forests. Location New Caledonia (SW Pacific). Methods We sampled 40 tree communities in 0.04‐ha plots laid along topographic gradients within two landscapes with contrasting precipitation. Within a dry (<1,400 mm/year) and a wet (>2,500 mm/year) landscape we used the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) to sample communities in topographic position with low (e.g., ridges) and high (e.g., valleys) water accumulation. For each sampled species, we measured five functional traits involved in drought resistance and resource acquisition (wood density, leaf area, leaf specific area, leaf dry matter content, and leaf thickness). We first examined trait covariation across species. We then analysed how the functional composition of communities varied between landscapes (according to precipitation) and within landscapes (according to TWI), using trait‐based statistics and null models. Results We identified two ecological trade‐offs driving trait variation across species: (i) one opposing high hydraulic efficiency to drought resistance, related to a wood economic spectrum; and (ii) the other opposing resource acquisition to resource conservation, related to a leaf economic spectrum. Across landscapes, species with drought resistance strategies were favoured at lower precipitation. Within landscapes, drought resistant species were selected under low TWI in the dry landscape, while low TWI increased the abundance of species with conservative strategies in the wet landscape. Conclusions Precipitation and topography jointly shape the functional composition of tree communities. At low precipitation, hydric constraints prevailed on ridges and upslopes by filtering drought resistant strategies along the wood economic spectrum. Contrastingly, higher precipitation relaxed the hydric constraints and resource availability became a primary driver of changing strategies along the leaf economic spectrum. Thus, the landscape scale influence of topography on processes driving community assembly and functional composition critically depends on the regional climatic context.

show abstract

Topography shapes the structure, composition and function of tropical forest landscapes

Cited by 285 publications

References 70 publications

Defining a spectrum of integrative trait‐based vegetation canopy structural types

Defining a spectrum of integrative trait‐based vegetation canopy structural types

Canopy structure and topography jointly constrain the microclimate of human‐modified tropical landscapes

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About