seasonal forests
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2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Zanne ◽  
Habacuc Flores-Moreno ◽  
Jeff Powell ◽  
William Cornwell ◽  
James Dalling ◽  
...  

Abstract Animals, such as termites, have largely been overlooked as global-scale drivers of biogeochemical cycles1,2, despite site-specific findings3,4. Deadwood turnover, an important component of the carbon cycle, is driven by multiple decay agents. Studies have focused on temperate systems5,6, where microbes dominate decay7. Microbial decay is sensitive to temperature, typically doubling per 10°C increase (decay effective Q10 = ~2)8–10. Termites are important decayers in tropical systems3,11–13 and differ from microbes in their population dynamics, dispersal, and substrate discovery14–16, meaning their climate sensitivities also differ. Using a network of 133 sites spanning 6 continents, we report the first global field-based quantification of temperature and precipitation sensitivities for termites and microbes, providing novel understandings of their response to changing climates. Temperature sensitivity of microbial decay was within previous estimates. Termite discovery and consumption were both much more sensitive to temperature (decay effective Q10 = 6.53), leading to striking differences in deadwood turnover in areas with and without termites. Termite impacts were greatest in tropical seasonal forests and savannas and subtropical deserts. With tropicalization17 (i.e., warming shifts to a tropical climate), the termite contribution to global wood decay will increase as more of the earth’s surface becomes accessible to termites.


2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Paganeli ◽  
M. A. Batalha

Abstract In the tropical region, savannas and seasonal forests, both highly diverse biomes, occur side by side, under the same climate. If so, that mosaic cannot be explained solely by climatic variables, but also by fire, water availability and soil status. Nutrient availability in the soil, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, has been postulated to explain the abrupt transitions between savannas and seasonal forests in tropical regions. Plants from these two biomes may present different nutritional strategies to cope with nitrogen and phosphorus limitation. We used two congeneric pairs of trees — each pair with a species from the savanna and another from the neighboring seasonal forest — to test whether savanna and forest species presented different nutritional strategies during their early development. We cultivated 56 individuals from each of these species in a hydroponics system with four treatments: (1) complete Hoagland solution, (2) Hoagland solution without nitrogen, (3) Hoagland solution without phosphorus, and (4) Hoagland solution without nitrogen and phosphorus. After 45 days, we harvested the plants and measured total biomass, root to shoot ratio, height, leaf area, and specific leaf area. Overall, savanna species were lighter, shorter, with smaller leaves, higher specific leaf areas, and higher root to shoot ratios when compared to the forest species. Nitrogen increased the performance of species from both biomes. Phosphorus improved the performance of the forest species and caused toxicity symptoms in the savanna species. Hence, savanna and forest species presented different demands and were partially distinct already as seedlings concerning their nutritional strategies.


Author(s):  
Leopoldo D. Vázquez-Reyes ◽  
Horacio Paz-Hernández ◽  
Héctor O. Godínez-Álvarez ◽  
María del Coro Arizmendi ◽  
Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza

Author(s):  
Maria da Conceição Abreu Bandeira ◽  
Allane Barros Cerqueira ◽  
Jorge Luiz Pinto Moraes ◽  
Reginaldo Peçanha Brazil ◽  
José Manuel Macário Rebêlo

Abstract Biting midges are widespread in Brazilian natural ecosystems. However, deforestation and other activities that impact the environment are reducing natural habitats where biting midges proliferate. The objective of this study was to verify whether there is variation in the composition, richness, abundance, and seasonality of biting midges between wild and rural environments, in a forest area with intense deforestation. Biting midges were captured using 6 traps installed at an average height of 1.5 m in the peridomicile, intradomicile, and deciduous seasonal forests, once a month from May 2012 to April 2013. In total, 2,182 specimens of 13 species of the genus Culicoides were captured. Species richness was similar in the intradomicile (13 species), forest (12), and peridomicile (11), but species diversity was greater in the peridomicile (H’ = 0.803) compared with the intradomicile (H’ = 0.717) and forest (H’ = 0.687). The order of species dominance varied between the forest (Culicoides paucienfuscatus Barbosa > Culicoides leopodoi Ortiz > Culicoides foxi Ortiz > Culicoides ignacioi Forattini) and peridomicile + intradomicile habitats (C. paucienfuscatus > C. foxi > C. filariferus Hoffman > C. ignacioi). The activity of these dipterans was strongly influenced by meteorological variables, as biting midges are predominant in the rainy season (80.7% of specimens), when higher rainfall, relative humidity, and lower temperatures prevail. The abundance of biting midges was higher in the peridomicile + intradomicile (83.7% of specimens) compared with the degraded forest (16.3%), a result that reflects the loss of forest habitat due to intense and progressive deforestation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludmila Aglai Silva ◽  
Fernando Valladares ◽  
Raquel Benavides ◽  
Omar Flores ◽  
Anne Priscila Dias Gonzaga

Abstract Deciduous seasonal forests (DSFs) have a peculiar floristic composition, with species capable of surviving periods of high water deficit in a year. Our goal was to demonstrate that abiotic filters lead to the assembly of two DSF communities that have high floristic dissimilarity. For this, we characterized the environment of the areas and used the community-weighted mean (CWM), functional richness (FRic) and functional dispersion (FDis) indices for regional recognition of functional patterns. The local assessment of assembly rules was carried out using null models. We found differences in the FRic and FDis between the areas, which was attributed to the different floristic influences exercised on the communities. However, in both, the typical attributes of dry formations were dominant (CWM), indicating that, on the regional scale of study, the dry season acts as a filter in the composition of species in the communities. On a local scale, stochastic dispersion was identified as the most influential mechanism in the assembly of communities. We conclude that deterministic and stochastic processes act in the assembly of the studied communities, and the proportion of each of these depends on the scale, with abiotic filtration predominating on a regional scale and stochastic dispersion events on a local scale. Study Implications With the expansion of agriculture and climate change, tropical dry biomes, such as deciduous seasonal forests, are rapidly changing. In this study, we contribute to the recognition of functional standards and community assembly of this vegetation type to assist in management planning, restoration, and conservation. Understanding the different processes involved in building a community is crucial for anticipating how communities will behave under future environmental scenarios.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 014-019
Author(s):  
Carlos Henrique Marchiori

The Amazon is formed by different ecosystems such as dense upland forests, seasonal forests, igapó forests, flooded fields, floodplains, savannas, mountain refuges and pioneer formations. Even though our biome is more preserved, about 16% of its area has already been devastated, which is equivalent to two and a half times the area of the state of São Paulo. For the elaboration of this mini review, which consists of the construction of a bibliographic summary of the main groups of parasitoids of the Order Hymenoptera, with an emphasis on the hymenopterans parasitoids collected in the Amazon Biome (The Brazilian Amazon). A bibliographic search was carried out that contained papers published from 1995 to 2015 on the quantitative aspects of Families, Subfamilies, Genera and Species. The mini review was carried out from December 2019 to January 2020.


AoB Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Xiao ◽  
Yu Song ◽  
Fu-Chuan Wu ◽  
Shu-Bin Zhang ◽  
Jiao-Lin Zhang

Abstract Liana abundance and biomass are increasing in neotropical and Asian tropical seasonal forests over the past decades. Stem mechanical properties and hydraulic traits influence the growth and survival of plants, yet the differences in stem mechanical and hydraulic performance between congeneric lianas and trees remain poorly understood. Here, we measured 11 stem mechanical and hydraulic traits for 10 liana species and 10 tree species from Bauhinia grown in a tropical common garden. Our results showed that Bauhinia lianas possessed lower stem mechanical strength as indicated by both modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, and higher stem potential hydraulic conductivity than congeneric trees. Such divergence was mainly attributed to the differentiation in liana and tree life forms. Whether the phylogenetic effect was considered or not, mechanical strength was positively correlated with wood density, vessel conduit wall reinforcement and sapwood content across species. Results of principle component analysis showed that traits related to mechanical safety and hydraulic efficiency were loaded in the opposite direction, suggesting a trade-off between biomechanics and hydraulics. Our results provide evidence for obvious differentiation in mechanical demand and hydraulic efficiency between congeneric lianas and trees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzo Oita ◽  
Alicia Ibáñez ◽  
François Lutzoni ◽  
Jolanta Miadlikowska ◽  
József Geml ◽  
...  

AbstractUnderstanding how species-rich communities persist is a foundational question in ecology. In tropical forests, tree diversity is structured by edaphic factors, climate, and biotic interactions, with seasonality playing an essential role at landscape scales: wetter and less seasonal forests typically harbor higher tree diversity than more seasonal forests. We posited that the abiotic factors shaping tree diversity extend to hyperdiverse symbionts in leaves—fungal endophytes—that influence plant health, function, and resilience to stress. Through surveys in forests across Panama that considered climate, seasonality, and covarying biotic factors, we demonstrate that endophyte richness varies negatively with temperature seasonality. Endophyte community structure and taxonomic composition reflect both temperature seasonality and climate (mean annual temperature and precipitation). Overall our findings highlight the vital role of climate-related factors in shaping the hyperdiversity of these important and little-known symbionts of the trees that, in turn, form the foundations of tropical forest biodiversity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-936
Author(s):  
Joao Renato Stehmann ◽  
Daniela Melo Garcia de Oliveira ◽  
Francisco Romário Tabosa

Abstract—Solanum confertiflorum (Solanaceae), a new species for the Cyphomandra clade, is described and illustrated. The species is endemic to Bahia state, in Brazil, restricted to few localities, inhabiting seasonal forests and outcrops in the Caatinga biome. It is morphologically related to S. luridifuscescens, sharing the papillose anthers without swollen connectives, but distinguished by the forked cymes with flowers congested at the apex, swollen calyx with shorter lobes, as well as shorter, sessile stamens. The morphology, geographic distribution, ecology, and conservation status are discussed and a key for the Brazilian species without swollen connectives belonging to the Cyphomandra clade is presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (51) ◽  
pp. eabd4548
Author(s):  
Vinícius Andrade Maia ◽  
Alisson Borges Miranda Santos ◽  
Natália de Aguiar-Campos ◽  
Cléber Rodrigo de Souza ◽  
Matheus Coutinho Freitas de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Tropical forests have played an important role as a carbon sink over time. However, the carbon dynamics of Brazilian non-Amazon tropical forests are still not well understood. Here, we used data from 32 tropical seasonal forest sites, monitored from 1987 to 2020 (mean site monitoring length, ~15 years) to investigate their long-term trends in carbon stocks and sinks. Our results highlight a long-term decline in the net carbon sink (0.13 Mg C ha−1 year−1) caused by decreasing carbon gains (2.6% by year) and increasing carbon losses (3.4% by year). The driest and warmest sites are experiencing the most severe carbon sink decline and have already moved from carbon sinks to carbon sources. Because of the importance of the terrestrial carbon sink for the global climate, policies are needed to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and to restore and protect tropical seasonal forests.


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