The composition of Amazonian forests: patterns at local and regional scales

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Terborgh ◽  
Ellen Andresen
Keyword(s):  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Tree Communities ◽  
Floristic Patterns ◽  
Edaphic Properties ◽  
Number Of Stems ◽  
Amazonian Forests ◽  
Amazonian Region ◽  
The Guianas

An analysis was conducted of floristic patterns contained in 48 1-ha tree plots distributed at 29 sites in seven neotropical countries, with a primary emphasis on the Amazonian region. Analyses were made with family level data, using detrended correspondence analysis and multidimensional scaling to generate two-dimensional ordinations. Dissimilarity values for all pairs of plots were then used to compare forest composition at both local (flooded vs unflooded forests) and regional scales (e.g., western vs central vs eastern Amazonia). The predominate family of trees in a large majority of Amazonian and Guianan forests (by number of stems) is either Palmae or Leguminosae (sensu latu), followed by Moraceae and Euphorbiaceae. The forests of western Amazonia are particularly rich in palms, Moraceae, and Myristicaceae, whereas those of eastern Amazonia and the Guianas are rich in Lecythidaceae and Chrysobalanaceae. Dissimilarity between sites increases with distance for both flooded and unflooded forests. The tree communities of flooded and unflooded forests within a region tended to resemble one another more closely than forests of either type resembled the homologous forests of the adjoining regions. Within Amazonia the edaphic properties of each region and its geological history are tightly interrelated. It is therefore difficult to distinguish between evolutionary and ecological interpretations of the results.

scholarly journals Ancient human disturbances may be skewing our understanding of Amazonian forests

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 522-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystal N. H. McMichael ◽  
Frazer Matthews-Bird ◽  
William Farfan-Rios ◽  
Kenneth J. Feeley
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Amazonian Forest ◽  
Global Carbon Budget ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many ◽  
Amazonian Forests ◽  
Global Carbon

Although the Amazon rainforest houses much of Earth’s biodiversity and plays a major role in the global carbon budget, estimates of tree biodiversity originate from fewer than 1,000 forest inventory plots, and estimates of carbon dynamics are derived from fewer than 200 recensus plots. It is well documented that the pre-European inhabitants of Amazonia actively transformed and modified the forest in many regions before their population collapse around 1491 AD; however, the impacts of these ancient disturbances remain entirely unaccounted for in the many highly influential studies using Amazonian forest plots. Here we examine whether Amazonian forest inventory plot locations are spatially biased toward areas with high probability of ancient human impacts. Our analyses reveal that forest inventory plots, and especially forest recensus plots, in all regions of Amazonia are located disproportionately near archaeological evidence and in areas likely to have ancient human impacts. Furthermore, regions of the Amazon that are relatively oversampled with inventory plots also contain the highest values of predicted ancient human impacts. Given the long lifespan of Amazonian trees, many forest inventory and recensus sites may still be recovering from past disturbances, potentially skewing our interpretations of forest dynamics and our understanding of how these forests are responding to global change. Empirical data on the human history of forest inventory sites are crucial for determining how past disturbances affect modern patterns of forest composition and carbon flux in Amazonian forests.

Time Series and Postglacial Forest Ecology

1981 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Green
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Forest Ecology ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Mixed Composition ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Tree Communities ◽  
Pollen Records

AbstractForest ecology suffers from a lack of long-term community records. Preserved pollen data are richer in such information than is generally realized. By applying suitable statistical techniques to pollen records, one can learn much about competition, succession, and population dynamics in past tree communities. In this study, preserved pollen records from Everitt Lake, Nova Scotia, are analyzed as time series. Time domain studies reveal the post-fire responses of individual tree taxa. Correlograms yield models of past forest succession patterns. The models explain some effects of changing fire frequency, thus suggesting mechanisms by which fire, competition, and climate combine to produce long-term forest composition changes. Frequency domain studies suggest relationships between disturbance cycles, stand composition, and forest mosaics. Fire frequencies are seen to be highest where fire-dependent species abound and most regular where tree stands have uniform, not mixed, composition.

scholarly journals Quantitative and qualitative effects of a severe ice storm on an old-growth beech–maple forest

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 598-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Takahashi ◽  
Ken Arii ◽  
Martin J. Lechowicz
Keyword(s):  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Comparing permanent plots censused in 1997 and again in 2005, we quantified the impact of a severe ice storm on forest composition and dynamics in an old-growth beech–maple forest in eastern Canada. Acer saccharum Marsh. and Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. accounted for 78% of stand basal area immediately before the January 1998 ice storm. By 2005, eight growing seasons after the ice storm, stand basal area had dropped from 49.1 m2/ha to 31.5 m2/ha, and total tree density (>1 cm diameter at breast height (DBH)) decreased from 6350 stems/ha to 3875 stems/ha. However, A. saccharum and F. grandifolia remained dominant, accounting for 74% of stand basal area. Detrended correspondence analysis of relative dominance ratios at each plot in 1997 and 2005 showed that community composition did not change much during this period for either understory (1 cm ≤ DBH < 10 cm) or canopy trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm). The ice storm did not lead to significant recruitment of saplings (DBH ≥ 1 cm), but appears to have only contributed more to the growth of already-established saplings. We conclude that the ice storm of 1998 substantially decreased stand basal area and stem density but did not act to change the overall species composition or tree diversity in this old-growth beech–maple forest.

scholarly journals Short-term effects of passive restoration in springs habitats in Southern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruna Balestrin Piaia ◽  
Ana Paula Moreira Rovedder ◽  
Idiane Fátima Giacomini ◽  
Roselene Marostega Felker ◽  
Maureen de Moraes Stefanello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Successional Stage ◽  
Passive Restoration ◽  
Floristic Patterns ◽  
Composition Pattern

ABSTRACT: This study analyzed natural regeneration floristic patterns in spring habitats submitted to different ecological restoration actions in the seasonal forest in Atlantic Forest biome, Rio Grande do Sul. We assessed floristic composition in six springs before restoration actions and 12 months later. We identified and counted all regenerating individuals with height greater than or equal to 30 cm and diameter at breast height less than or equal to 5 cm in eight plots in each spring. The richness and abundance of each spring and assessment were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis test (P<0.05). Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was performed to verify floristic patterns and association between species. Results showed an increase in richness and abundance after ecological restoration implementation. The DCA showed a distinct floristic composition between springs. The springs remaining natural vegetation and the successional stage of these vegetation influenced the natural regeneration floristic composition pattern. Passive restoration, which was effective by enclosure, favored natural regeneration recruitment.

A comparison of pre-European settlement (1857) and current (1981-1995) forest composition in central Ontario

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 605-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M Jackson ◽  
Fred Pinto ◽  
Jay R Malcolm ◽  
Edward R Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
White Birch ◽  
White Cedar ◽  
Eastern White Cedar ◽  
Western Half

Presettlement forest composition along a 278 km long transect through central Ontario was recreated from Ontario land survey notes (1857) and compared with existing forest composition as derived from Forest Resource Inventories (1981-1995). Trends through time were analyzed by means of detrended correspondence analysis and univariate statistics (paired t tests and Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-ranks tests). Ordinations based on the first tree taxon listed in a stand and on all tree taxa provided similar results. The eastern half of the transect was initially dominated by boreal conifers, whereas the western half supported stands typical of Ontario's Great Lakes - St. Lawrence (GLSL) region. Significant reductions of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), and eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) and significant increases of poplar (Populus spp.) and white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) were observed within the boreal half. A significant reduction in eastern white cedar and an increase poplar were observed in the western half. Changes in the boreal region strongly support previous studies conducted over shorter time periods and may be attributed to clear-cut harvesting. The persistence of shade-tolerant hardwoods within the GLSL region can be attributed to the prevalence of small-scale disturbances associated with partial-cut harvesting systems.

scholarly journals Pervasive alteration of tree communities in undisturbed Amazonian forests

Nature ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 428 (6979) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Laurance ◽  
Alexandre A. Oliveira ◽  
Susan G. Laurance ◽  
Richard Condit ◽  
Henrique E. M. Nascimento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Communities ◽  
Amazonian Forests

Native American influences on the forest composition of the Allegheny Plateau, northwest Pennsylvania

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1266-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A Black ◽  
Charles M Ruffner ◽  
Marc D Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Tree Distribution ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Tree Data ◽  
Allegheny Plateau ◽  
American Agriculture

We integrate witness tree distribution, Native American archaeological sites, and geological and topographic variables to investigate the relationships between Native American populations and pre-European settlement forest types on the Allegheny Plateau, northwest Pennsylvania. Detrended correspondence analysis of witness tree data separated the presettlement forests into oak–hickory–chestnut and beech–hemlock–maple communities. Oak, hickory, and chestnut forests were centered on Native American village sites. Using archaeological data, an index of Native American influence (NAI) was derived to reflect the intensity of Native American land use across the landscape. In a comparison among species, mean NAI value of oak, hickory, and chestnut trees was significantly higher than that of beech, maple, and hemlock. Logistic regression demonstrated that among geology type, landform, elevation, aspect, slope, and NAI, NAI was by far the most significant predictor of oak, hickory, and chestnut distribution. Although cause and effect of this relationship cannot be tested, we suggest that long-term Native American activity selected for the disturbance-adapted oak, hickory, and chestnut. We contend that Native American agriculture, burning, and resource extraction could have converted maple–beech–hemlock to oak–hickory–chestnut, or at least reinforced the dominance of this forest type.

Land-use history (1720–1992), composition, and dynamics of oak–pine forests within the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of northern Virginia

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1216-1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Orwig ◽  
Marc D. Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Land Use History ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Forest Protection

Woody vegetation was surveyed in 58 forest stands in northern Virginia to examine the effects of previous land-use history on past and present-day forest composition and dynamics. Stands were separated using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and overstory importance values into three forest groups: (i) white oak (Quercusalba L.)–tulip-poplar (Liriodendrontulipifera L.) (ii) white oak–scarlet oak (Quercuscoccinea Muenchh.) and (iii) Virginia pine (Pinusvirginiana Mill.) The first DCA axis represents a successional continuum from more recently disturbed areas containing young pine forests to less disturbed mature oak stands, and is negatively correlated with stand age and species diversity. White oak and red oak (Quercusrubra L.) dominated presettlement forests in the area. Following European settlement, forests experienced intense logging associated with the charcoal iron industry, large-scale clearing for agriculture, and subsequent land abandonment. By coupling radial growth analysis with age–diameter figures, we evaluated the responses of stands to disturbances associated with various land-use practices. This analysis indicated that many Virginia pine stands resulted from agricultural abandonment during the early 1900s, while a majority of oak stands experienced peak recruitment and radial growth following periodic logging disturbances in the 1800s. Canopy closure, forest protection, and reduced fire and logging disturbance this century led to increases in dogwood (Cornusflorida L.) and blackgum (Nyssasylvatica Marsh.) in area forests. The oldest stands exhibited a lack of tall oak regeneration; however, they also contained a scarcity of potential oak replacement species. Therefore, oak will seemingly share future dominance with several mixed-mesophytic species, although the exact successional status of these stands is unresolved.

scholarly journals Floristic Variation of Tree Communities In Island Forests of Pulau Tuba and Gunung Raya Forest Reserve, Langkawi

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.14) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
F Pardi ◽  
M N Mohd Said ◽  
A Ismail ◽  
N J Sidik ◽  
K A Radzun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Species Accumulation Curves ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Tree Communities ◽  
Floristic Variation

Island forests are among forest habitats that are vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, whereby the disturbances would influence the survival of biological species of the ecosystems. Langkawi Archipelago contains many small island forests and rapid development of tourism industry within this archipelago might contribute impacts to the tree flora of the forest communities on the small islands. Hence, in this study the species richness and floristic variation pattern of tree communities of two selected island forests in the Langkawi Archipelago were explored, and data gathered are anticipated to be used for management of island forests in Langkawi. Tree survey was carried out in 10 study plots of 20m x 25m each, at island forests of Pulau Tuba Forest Reserve (PTB) and Gunung Raya Forest Reserve (GRFR), making the total of 20 study plots. All trees with diameter at breast height (dbh) of 5.0 cm and above were enumerated and tree species were identified. Species data were analyzed for diversity and richness using the Shannon and Margalef indices; whilst Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was used to determine floristic pattern. A total of 1062 trees were recorded from all study plots which comprised of 49 families, 134 genera and 213 tree species. The GRFR exhibited the highest species number of 135 tree species, followed by the PTB (106 tree species). Species accumulation curves showed that the curves were far from reaching the asymptote even when the whole dataset were combined. The DCA ordination diagram clearly grouped the study plots by their geological formation that indicated a gradient of species change in GRFR and PTB sites.  

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