Widespread variation in functional trait–vital rate relationships in tropical tree seedlings across a precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient

Browne, Luke; Markesteijn, Lars; Manzané‐Pinzón, Eric; Wright, S. Joseph; Bagchi, Robert; Engelbrecht, Bettina M. J.; Jones, F. Andrew; Comita, Liza S.

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.14213

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 108 publications

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“…Previous studies have demonstrated that soil nutrients are among the vital factors that impact seedling recruitment (Bentos et al, 2013;Martini et al, 2020). Additionally, a study of seasonally moist tropical forests in Panama showed that variations in the relationships of functional traits and vital rates could be explained by soil phosphorus (Browne et al, 2023). In the post-JOW period, factors impacting the functional traits of current year seedlings shifted from soil nutrients to the amount of litterfall.…”

Section: Effects Of Environmental Conditions On Seedling Functional T...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Factors affecting seedling establishment in a warm-temperate secondary forest affected by oak wilt disease

Watanabe,

Otani

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Diseases are major natural disturbances to forest ecosystems that cause changes to overstory tree structure and influence seedling dynamics by altering environmental conditions via functional traits. Thus, identifying the factors affecting seedling dynamics would improve the broader understanding of the seedling regeneration process after disease disturbance. We investigated 13,010 current year seedlings from 59 woody species, 44 genera, and 21 families following Japanese oak wilt disease (JOW) in 2009–2013 and 2018–2020 in a Japanese warm-temperate secondary forest. We also quantified temporal changes in canopy openness and soil moisture. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to explore the effects of environmental conditions and seedling functional traits on current year seedling density in autumn. Canopy openness gradually increased, whereas soil water content decreased throughout the study site. After 3‒5 years of disruption by JOW, the recruitment of current year seedlings increased through improvements in light conditions. The recruitment of non-current year seedlings increased after the improvement of current year seedling emergence. The functional traits of current year seedlings were likely to be affected by soil nutrients in the late JOW period, whereas litterfall production influenced the functional traits of current year seedlings in the post-JOW period. Factors affecting seedling density varied as environmental conditions changed across the JOW periods. Seedling establishment was enhanced by increased canopy openness in the late JOW period and by low litterfall, high soil nutrient content, and high soil moisture in the post-JOW period. The lack of any direct effect of seedling functional traits on seedling density might be associated with extensive changes in abiotic conditions caused by JOW disturbance. Our study provides evidence that the temporal changes in environmental conditions and seedling densities occurring after disruption by JOW differed from the changes in forests impacted by other natural disturbances.

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Section: Effects Of Environmental Conditions On Seedling Functional T...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Factors affecting seedling establishment in a warm-temperate secondary forest affected by oak wilt disease

Watanabe,

Otani

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Liana versus tree seedling responses to spatial and temporal variation in dry season severity

Estrada‐Villegas,

Browne,

Manzané‐Pinzón

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Lianas are key components of tropical forests, particularly at sites with more severe dry seasons. In contrast, trees are more abundant and speciose in wetter areas. The seasonal growth advantage (SGA) hypothesis postulates that such contrasting distributions are produced by higher liana growth relative to trees during seasonal droughts. The SGA has been investigated for larger size classes (e.g., ≥5 cm diameter at 1.3 m, dbh), but rarely for seedlings. Using eight annual censuses of >12,000 seedlings of 483 tree and liana species conducted at eight 1‐ha plots spanning a strong rainfall gradient in central Panama, we evaluated whether liana seedlings had higher growth and/or survival rates than tree seedlings at sites with stronger droughts. We also tested whether an extreme El Niño drought during the study period had a more negative effect on tree compared to liana seedlings. The absolute density of liana seedlings was similar across the rainfall gradient, ranging from 0.32 individuals/m2 (0.20–0.49, 95% credible interval [CI]) at the driest end of the gradient and 0.27 individuals/m2 (0.13–0.51 95% CI) at the wettest end of the gradient. The relative density of liana seedlings compared to tree seedlings was higher at sites with stronger dry seasons (0.27, 0.21–0.33, 95% CI), compared to wetter sites (0.12, 0.04–0.20 95% CI), due to lower tree seedling densities at drier sites. However, liana seedlings did not grow or survive better than tree seedlings in drier sites compared to wetter sites. Tree seedlings were more negatively impacted in terms of mortality by the extreme El Niño drought than liana seedlings, with an increase in annual mortality rate of 0.013 (0.003–0.025 95% CI) compared to lianas of −0.009 (−0.028 to 0.008 95% CI), but not growth. Our results indicate that lianas do not have a SGA over trees at the seedling stage. Instead, higher survival of liana versus tree seedlings during severe droughts or differences in liana versus tree fecundity or germination across the rainfall gradient likely explain why liana seedlings have higher relative densities at drier sites.

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Interactions between leaf traits and environmental factors help explain the growth of evergreen and deciduous species in a subtropical forest

Qin,

Wang,

Zhou

et al. 2024

Forest Ecology and Management

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Widespread variation in functional trait–vital rate relationships in tropical tree seedlings across a precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient

Cited by 4 publications

References 108 publications

Factors affecting seedling establishment in a warm-temperate secondary forest affected by oak wilt disease

Factors affecting seedling establishment in a warm-temperate secondary forest affected by oak wilt disease

Liana versus tree seedling responses to spatial and temporal variation in dry season severity

Interactions between leaf traits and environmental factors help explain the growth of evergreen and deciduous species in a subtropical forest

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