Tropical dry forest dynamics in the context of climate change: syntheses of drivers, gaps, and management perspectives

Abstract

This review attempts to synthesize the available literature on tropical dry forests and their dynamics in the context of climate change and thereby identifies possible gaps and priority areas for further research and management endeavors. Tropical dry forests (TDFs) occur in dryland environments, which are characterized by prolonged periods of dry months. They experience distinct seasonality and high inter-annual variability in climatic variables, particularly rainfall. Despite the enormous ecological and livelihood importance of TDFs, these forests are highly threatened by global changes. So far, they have received far less attention from research and development interventions as compared to the humid tropical forests. Their significance is still overlooked in many countries' national policies. Current modeling frameworks show that drought, precipitation, and temperature are highlighted as strong drivers of tree growth and/or mortality in these forests. Well-valued and sustainably managed TDFs have the potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, buffer against erosion and desertification, and contribute to economic development, food security, and poverty alleviation. TDFs suffer notable disregard from research and development strategies. Thus, greater awareness and appropriate policies and investments are needed at various levels to counteract the increasing vulnerability of people, forest ecosystems, and species living in these fragile ecosystems. Further research is also needed to generate knowledge on the status and significances of TDFs and their responses in the face of the changing climate so as to bring their sustainable management to the attention of policymakers and managers.

Framework for Accounting Reference Levels for REDD+ in Tropical Forests: Case Study from Xishuangbanna, China

“…Indirect drivers are complex interactions of social, economic, political, cultural, and technological processes to cause deforestation or forest degradation. They act at multiple scales: international (markets, commodity prices), national (population growth, domestic markets, national policies, governance), and local circumstances (subsistence, poverty) [64][65][66][67]. Since RLs refer to the business-as-usual scenario, which means without any change in REDD+ drivers (situation, government, socio-economic forces, etc.…”

Global tropical dry forest extent and cover: A comparative study of bioclimatic definitions using two climatic data sets

“…Tropical dry forest has been estimated to comprise 42% of all tropical forests and is believed to be one of the world's most endangered biomes [1][2][3]. Tropical dry forests provide the ecosystem services needed to support millions of subsistence farmers in some of the world's poorest areas, and higher population densities are driving the demand for energy and land leading to higher tropical deforestation rates in dry forest than humid forest [4,5]. Additionally, tropical dry forests harbor unique and diverse ecological communities and their deforestation contributes to the steady erosion of Earth's biodiversity [6][7][8].…”

“…However, there are several bioclimatic definitions of tropical dry forest that can be used to assess the global extent of this biome independently from WWF ecoregion data [ 1 , 8 , 17 , 30 , 34 ]. Widespread consensus on the bioclimatic parameters defining the tropical dry forest biome extent is yet to be established [ 35 ] and no studies compare the predicted global or regional extent of the forest biome based on different definitions of bioclimatic suitability [ 5 ].…”

Is Faurea rochetiana a potential candidate for Dendroclimate studies? Wood samples from semi-arid woodlands of southern Ethiopia

“…Despite, these forest resources are being highly destroyed due to agricultural expansion, human-made fire and illegal harvest of woods, over grazing and climate change related threats (Atmadja et al, 2019, Lemenih andKassa, 2011). For instance climate change has a considerable effects on includes growth rates and dynamics of many plant community, composition, and distribution of plant populations (Siyum, 2020). Moreover, human induced activities such as free grazing and fire can also cause recruitment failure and emerged seedlings suppression (Tolera, 2013;Tsegaye et al, 2009).…”