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Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time

2019; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 3; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/s41559-019-0882-6

2397-334X

Lourens Poorter, Danaë M. A. Rozendaal, Frans Bongers, Jarcilene Silva de Almeida‐Cortez, Angélica M. Almeyda Zambrano, Francisco S. Álvarez, José Luís Andrade, Luis Felipe Arreola Villa, Patricia Balvanera, Justin M. Becknell, Tony Vizcarra Bentos, Radika Bhaskar, Vanessa Boukili, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Eben N. Broadbent, Ricardo G. César, Jérôme Chave, Robin L. Chazdon, Gabriel Dalla Colletta, Dylan Craven, Ben H. J. de Jong, Julie S. Denslow, Daisy H. Dent, Saara J. DeWalt, Elisa Díaz García, Juan Manuel Dupuy, Sandra M. Durán, Mário M. Espírito‐Santo, María Fandiño, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes, Bryan Finegan, Vanessa Granda Moser, Jefferson S. Hall, José Luis Hernández‐Stefanoni, Catarina C. Jakovac, André Braga Junqueira, Deborah Kennard, Edwin Lebrija‐Trejos, Susan G. Letcher, Madelon Lohbeck, Omar R. López, E. Marín-Spiotta, Miguel Martínez‐Ramos, Sebastião Venâcio Martins, Paulo Eduardo dos Santos Massoca, Jorge A. Meave, Rita C. G. Mesquita, Francisco Mora, Vanessa de Souza Moreno, Sandra Cristina Müller, Rodrigo Muñoz, Robert Muscarella, Sílvio Nolasco de Oliveira Neto, Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes, Susana Ochoa‐Gaona, Horacio Paz, Marielos Peña‐Claros, Daniel Piotto, Jorge Ruíz, Lucía Sanaphre‐Villanueva, Arturo Sánchez‐Azofeifa, Naomi B. Schwartz, Marc K. Steininger, William Wayt Thomas, Marisol Toledo, María Uriarte, Luis P. Utrera, Michiel van Breugel, Masha T. van der Sande, Hans van der Wal, Maria das Dores Magalhães Veloso, Hans F. M. Vester, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Pedro Manuel Villa, G. Bruce Williamson, S. Joseph Wright‬, Kátia Janaína Zanini, Jess K. Zimmerman, Mark Westoby,

Forest ecology and management

Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking. Here, we analyse forest recovery using 1,403 plots that differ in age since agricultural abandonment from 50 sites across the Neotropics. We analyse changes in community composition using species-specific stem wood density (WD), which is a key trait for plant growth, survival and forest carbon storage. In wet forest, succession proceeds from low towards high community WD (acquisitive towards conservative trait values), in line with standard successional theory. However, in dry forest, succession proceeds from high towards low community WD (conservative towards acquisitive trait values), probably because high WD reflects drought tolerance in harsh early successional environments. Dry season intensity drives WD recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of the community WD over time as vegetation cover builds up. These ecological insights can be used to improve species selection for reforestation. Reforestation species selected to establish a first protective canopy layer should, among other criteria, ideally have a similar WD to the early successional communities that dominate under the prevailing macroclimatic conditions. Neotropical tree community composition shows opposing successional pathways for wet and dry forests, but as vegetation cover increases over time, trends converge. Selecting species that have similar wood density to early successional communities could improve reforestation prospects.