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464 results for “montane forest”
Resilience of a tropical montane pine forest to fire and severe droughts
<p><span>1. Higher temperatures, declining precipitation, changing cloud cover, and increased wildfires threaten tropical montane pine forests by overriding the environmental heterogeneity that typically buffers these systems from catastrophic fires. Severe fires threaten to overwhelm forest resilience and tip this biome into alternate vegetation states.</span></p> <p><span>2. This study focused on long-term dynamics of montane <em>Pinus</em> <em>occidentalis</em> forests in the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic, after a ~1000 km<sup>2</sup> fire in 2005, the largest since 1965</span>. <span>We used long-term records to investigate climate before and after the fire and a 19-year dataset of pre- and post-fire vegetation change from a network of 55 permanent plots (20 small </span>0.05 ha<span> plots and 35 large 0.1 ha plots) established in 1999 to model overstorey and understorey vegetation dynamics. </span></p> <p><span>3. The 2005 fire was synchronized with the most extreme drought in the region in over 60 years. The fire burned from < 1600 to > 3000 m a.s.l. in elevation across windward and leeward slopes, creating a mosaic of low-, moderate-, and high-severity patches. L</span><span>ower elevations</span><span>, </span><span>leeward slopes, and stands </span><span>with a higher proportion of smaller pine trees</span><span> all burned at higher severities. </span></p> <p><span>4. Growth rates of trees that survived the fire remained lower than pre-fire rates 13 years after the fire. The </span><span>highest mortality rates were soon after the fire and in the census immediately after the post-fire droughts</span><span>. Post-fire pine seedling abundance was significantly greater in stands with higher basal area of live canopy trees and significantly reduced by increased shrub abundance in the understorey. Understorey composition recovered rapidly to pre-fire states in sites affected by low- and moderate-severity fires, but sites affected by high-severity fires remained dissimilar to pre-fire composition</span> 13 years after the fire<span>. Even though high-severity patches had persistently low pine regeneration, 100% of </span>small <span>plots and 96% of large plots had at least one pine sapling or canopy tree recruit by 2018. Shrub taxa survived the fire in higher numbers and recovered to pre-fire densities much faster than the pine, especially in high-severity burns.</span></p> <p><span>5. Synthesis</span><span>. Climate change has increased the likelihood of wildfires in tropical montane pine forests, with long-lasting effects on vegetation dynamics. However, this</span> biome may prove resilient to increasingly severe fires in the near future<span>, given the ongoing recovery of <em>Pinus occidentalis</em> forests</span> in Hispaniola <span>despite repeated severe droughts. Nevertheless, highly drought- and fire-resistant taxa (e.g. shrubs) may form alternate stable states in drier portions of tropical montane landscapes in the future as droughts and high-severity fires become more common.</span></p>
Fig. 1 in A new species of Andean lizard Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from montane forest of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru
Fig. 1. Holotype of Proctoporus machupicchu (MHNC 13362; SVL 41.2 mm).
Data from: Environmental conditions differently shape leaf, seed and seedling trait composition between and within elevations of tropical montane forests
<p>The composition of plant functional traits varies in response to environmental conditions due to processes of community assembly and species sorting. However, there is a lack of understanding of how plant trait composition responds to environmental conditions at different spatial scales and across the plant life cycle. We investigated the trait composition of leaves (specific leaf area), seeds (seed mass) and seedlings (initial seedling height) across elevations and within elevations in relation to soil and light conditions in a tropical montane forest in southern Ecuador. We surveyed traits and communities of adult trees, seeds and seedlings on nine plots at three elevations (1000-3000 m a.s.l.) and calculated community-weighted mean trait values to analyse trait variation across and within elevations. In addition, we measured two environmental factors (soil C/N ratio and canopy openness) to quantify local-scale variation in environmental conditions within elevations. We found that community-weighted means of specific leaf area, seed mass and initial seedling height decreased consistently with increasing elevation. Within elevations, mean trait values of trees, seeds and seedlings responded differently to local-scale environmental conditions. Specific leaf area decreased with increasing soil C/N ratio, and initial seedling height decreased with increasing canopy openness. Seed mass was associated neither with soil nor with light conditions. Our findings show that broad-scale and local-scale processes differently shape the composition of leaf, seed and seedling traits in tropical forests, indicating a scale-dependence in trait-environment associations. Furthermore, plant traits corresponding to different life stages were related differently to environmental conditions within elevations. Community assembly processes may therefore lead to differences in species sorting at early and late plant life stages.</p>
Figs 23–24 in Oribatid Mites (Acari: Oribatida) From Venezuela, Ii. New Or Rare Species From Montane Forests
Figs 23–24. Arcozetes rotundatus sp. n. 23 = body in ventral view, 24 = body in lateral view
Data to support 'Deforestation amplifies climate change effects on warming and cloud level rise in African montane forest'
<p>This respository contains output data to support the manuscript titled 'Deforestation amplifies climate change effects on warming and cloud level rise in African montane forest' by Temesgen Alemayehu Abera, Janne Heiskanen Eduardo Eiji Maeda, Mohammed Ahmed Muhammed, Netra Bhandari, Ville Vakkari, Binyam Tesfaw Hailu, Petri K.E. Pellikka, Andreas Hemp, Pieter G. van Zyl, and Dirk Zeuss </p>
Fig. 3 in Value of forest remnants for montane amphibians on the livestock grazed Mount Mbam, Cameroon
Fig. 3. Species accumulation curves of Mount Mbam by land use based on contemporary records.
Landslide age, elevation and residual vegetation determine tropical montane forest canopy recovery and biomass accumulation after landslide disturbances in the Peruvian Andes
<p>Landslides are common natural disturbances in tropical montane forests. While the geomorphic drivers of landslides in the Andes have been studied, factors controlling post-landslide forest recovery across the steep climatic and topographic gradients characteristic of tropical mountains are poorly understood.</p> <p>Here we use a LiDAR-derived canopy height map coupled with a 25-year landslide time series map to examine how landslide, topographic, and biophysical factors, along with residual vegetation, affect canopy height and heterogeneity in regenerating landslides. We also calculate aboveground biomass accumulation rates and estimate the time for landslides to recover to mature forest biomass levels.</p> <p>We find that age and elevation are the biggest determinants of forest recovery, and that the jump-start in regeneration that residual vegetation provides lasts for at least 18 years. Our estimates of time to biomass recovery (31.6-37.1 years) are surprisingly rapid, and as a result we recommend that future research pair LiDAR with hyperspectral imagery to estimate forest aboveground biomass in frequently disturbed landscapes.</p> <p>Synthesis: Using a high-resolution LiDAR dataset and a time-series inventory of 608 landslides distributed across a wide elevational gradient in Andean montane forest, we show that age and elevation are the most influential predictors of forest canopy height and canopy variability. Other features of landslides, in particular the presence of residual vegetation, shape post-landslide regeneration trajectories. LiDAR allows for a detailed analysis of forest structural recovery across large landscapes and numbers of disturbances, and provides a reasonable upper bound on aboveground biomass accumulation rates. However, because this method does not capture the effect of compositional change through succession on aboveground biomass, wherein high-wood density species gradually replace light-wooded pioneer species, it overestimates aboveground biomass. Given previously estimated stem turnover rates along this elevational gradient, we posit that aboveground biomass recovery takes at least three times as long as our recovery time estimates based on LiDAR-derived structure alone.</p>
Figure 4 in Phenology of Zagryphus zulaya Gauld (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Tryphoninae) in a montane forest in Guatemala and a new country record for Z. vegai Gauld
Figure 4. Phenology of Z. zulaya from July 2012 to July 2014.
Global distribution and climate sensitivity of the tropical montane forest nitrogen cycle
<p>Tropical forests are pivotal to global climate and biogeochemical cycles, yet the geographic distribution of nutrient limitation to plants and microbes across the biome is unresolved. One long-standing generalization is that tropical montane forests are nitrogen (N)-limited whereas lowland forests tend to be N-rich. However, empirical tests of this hypothesis have yielded equivocal results. Here we evaluate the topographic signature of the ecosystem-level tropical N cycle by examining climatic and geophysical controls of surface soil N content and stable isotopes (δ15N) from elevational gradients distributed across tropical mountains globally. We document steep increases in soil N concentration and declining δ15N with increasing elevation, consistent with decreased microbial N processing and lower gaseous N losses. Temperature explained much of the change in N, with an apparent temperature sensitivity (Q10) of ~1.9. Although montane forests make up 11% of forested tropical land area, we estimate they account for > 17% of the global tropical forest soil N pool. Our findings support the existence of widespread microbial N limitation across tropical montane forest ecosystems and high sensitivity to climate warming.</p>
Climate and microhabitat shape the prevalence of endozoochory in the seed rain of tropical montane forests
<p>Endozoochory, the dispersal of seeds by animal ingestion, is the most dominant mode of seed dispersal in tropical forests and is a key process shaping current and future forest dynamics. However, it remains largely unknown how endozoochory is associated with environmental conditions at regional and local scales. Here, we investigated the effects of elevation, climate and microhabitat conditions on the proportion of endozoochorous plant species in the seed rain of the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador. Over one year, we measured seed rain in 162 seed traps on nine 1-ha forest plots located at 1000 m, 2000 m, and 3000 m a.s.l. We recorded climatic conditions (mean annual temperature and rainfall) in each plot and microhabitat conditions (leaf area index and soil moisture) adjacent to each seed trap. In total, we recorded 331,838 seeds belonging to 323 morphospecies. Overall, the proportion of endozoochorous species in the seed rain decreased with elevation. Relative biomass of endozoochorous species decreased with increasing rainfall, whereas the relative seed richness of endozoochorous species increased with increasing temperature and leaf area index. These findings suggest an interplay between climate factors and microhabitat conditions in shaping the importance of endozoochorous plant species in the seed rain of tropical montane forests. We conclude that changing climatic and microhabitat conditions are likely to cause changes in the dominant dispersal modes of plant communities which may trigger changes in current and future dynamics of tropical forests.</p>
Data for: Ecological and evolutionary origin of Costus flammulus (Costaceae): A new species from the montane cloud forests of the volcanic cordilleras in northern Costa Rica
<p><span><em>Costus</em> <em>flammulus</em> is a new herbaceous species endemic to montane cloud forests of </span><span>the volcanic cordilleras in northern Costa Rica. <em>Costus</em> <em>flammulus</em> has been mistaken </span><span>for <em>C</em>. <em>wilsonii</em>, but phylogenetic evidence demonstrates that it is closely related to the </span><span>widespread lowland species <em>C</em>. <em>pulverulentus</em>. Here, we used an integrated </span><span>framework of species concepts to evaluate whether <em>C</em>. <em>flammulus</em> and <em>C</em>. </span><span><em>pulverulentus</em> are distinct species. First, we re-evaluate prior phylogenetic analyses to </span><span>assess whether <em>C</em>. <em>flammulus</em> bifurcated from or budded off from within <em>C</em>. </span><span><em>pulverulentus</em> and whether <em>C</em>. <em>flammulus</em> is monophyletic. We then compare </span><span>phenotypic traits to determine which diagnostic vegetative and inflorescence traits can </span><span>be used to identify species in herbarium specimens and examine whether floral traits </span><span>may confer floral isolation. We compare pollinator assemblages to examine whether </span><span>pollinator specificity may contribute to reproductive isolation. Finally, we model species </span><span>distributions and climatic niche overlap to assess ecogeographic isolation. We found </span><span>that <em>C</em>. <em>flammulus</em> is a monophyletic species phenotypically, ecologically, and </span><span>geographically distinct from <em>C</em>. <em>pulverulentus</em> and may have speciated as a peripheral </span><span>isolate at the high elevation range edge of <em>C</em>. <em>pulverulentus</em>. Several lines of </span><span>evidence, such as <em>C</em>. <em>pulverulentus</em> paraphyly, range size asymmetry, and C. </span><span>flammulus' nested distribution and vegetative traits, suggest that <em>C</em>. <em>flammulus</em> </span><span>budded off from a <em>C</em>. <em>pulverulentus</em>‐like progenitor species, evolving to tolerate a </span><span>colder and more seasonal montane environment.</span></p>
Data from: Biotic pressures and environmental heterogeneity shape beta-diversity of seedling communities in tropical montane forests
<p>Many theories have been proposed to explain the high diversity of plants in the tropics. However, we lack an understanding of the processes that drive plant diversity and community assembly at different spatial scales. Here, we applied beta-diversity partitioning to test how biotic and abiotic factors are associated with seedling beta-diversity in a tropical montane forest in Southern Ecuador. We recorded seedling communities on 81 subplots at nine plots located at three elevations along a 2000-m elevational gradient. We measured biotic pressures (i.e. herbivory and fungal pathogen attacks) and environmental conditions (i.e. soil moisture and canopy closure) at all subplots and related them to species turnover and richness differences in seedling communities within and between elevations. We found that species turnover increased with differences in biotic dissimilarity within elevations, while differences in species richness within elevations increased with increasing environmental dissimilarity. Between elevations, species turnover increased with increasing environmental dissimilarity. Our findings show that species turnover and changes in species richness are related differently to abiotic and biotic factors, and that the importance of these factors for shaping seedling diversity is scale-dependent. Our study contributes to better understand the processes driving seedling beta-diversity and the assembly of plant communities in highly diverse tropical montane forests.</p>
Data for "Trait-based response of deadwood and tree-related microhabitats to decline in temperate lowland and montane forests"
<p><strong>Sampling design and case studies</strong></p> <p>The study was conducted in two French regions, the Loire valley and the French Pyrenees, and one German region, the Bavarian mountains. In the Loire valley, we studied two lowland sites in oak-dominated (both <em>Quercus petraea</em> (Matt.) Liebl. and <em>Quercus robur</em> L.) forests, one in the Orleans State Forest (107-174 m a.s.l.) and one in the Vierzon State Forest (120-190 m a.s.l.). The main secondary species in these forests were hornbeam (<em>Carpinus betulus</em> L.) and Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em> L.). In 2020, we selected nine plots to represent a decline gradient in each of these forests. While the Orleans Forest was healthy overall, the Vierzon Forest had undergone several decline events due to successive droughts aggravated by edaphic factors. In the Pyrenees, we studied two sites in montane forests dominated by silver fir (<em>Abies alba</em> Mill.), whose decline is mainly the result of successive droughts occurring since the 1980’s, and with Norway spruce (<em>Picea abies</em> (L.) H. Karst) and European beech (<em>Fagus sylvatica</em> L.) as secondary species. In 2017, we selected 43 plots: (i) 21 plots in the Aure Valley (854-1570 m a.s.l.) and (ii) 22 plots on the Sault Plateau (705-1557 m a.s.l.). The severe summer drought of 2003 had significant effects on tree mortality in oak and fir forests (Cours and others, 2022). Finally, we studied 19 plots of montane forest in the Bavarian Forest National Park, dominated by Norway spruce (<em>Picea abies</em> (L.) H. Karst) with European beech and silver fir as the main secondary species (Bässler and others, 2009). The dieback results from several cycles of windstorms followed by bark beetle (<em>Ips typographus</em> (L.)) outbreaks (Müller and others, 2010), the dominant drivers of forest dynamics in Norway spruce forests in temperate Europe (Zemlerová and others, 2023). This dieback phenomenon was more severe than either of the aforementioned drought-induced declines, and resulted in greater tree mortality (Cours and others, 2021). In the fir and oak forests in France, our plots were set up in managed forests, and the surrounding forest was also predominantly managed. On the other hand, in the German spruce forest, our plots were set up both within the core area of the Bavarian Forest National Park, and in the surrounding zone (BIOKLIM project), with little or no human intervention (Müller and others, 2010).</p> <p><strong>Field measurements</strong></p> <p>Plots were set up with a Bitterlich relascope with an opening angle corresponding to counting factor n° 1 (ratio 1/50), and mean plot area was about 0.3 ha. For each tree within the plot, we recorded its status (i.e. dead, living, snag, log), tree-species and diameter at breast height (DBH; minimum DBH recorded = 17.5 cm for living trees and logs, 7.5 cm for snags, 67.5 cm for very large trees). We took the proportion of dead trees in basal area (i.e. the ratio of the cumulative basal area of standing and lying dead trees to the basal area of all the trees in the plot), hereinafter referred to as “mortality rate”, as a proxy for the level of local stand decline. Note that this “mortality rate” does not reflect true overall mortality rate in managed oak forests, as foresters removed most valuable declining trees. We visually inventoried TreMs on living trees, logs and snags, and included the 47 types described by Larrieu et al. (2018).</p> <p>For each deadwood item (length > 1 m) in the plot, we measured its decay stage (from 1 = hard dead wood fully covered with bark to 4 = soft wood without bark), length, diameter at mid-length for logs and snags < 4 m long, and DBH for dead trees and snags > 4 m. Deadwood was classified in the following categories: ground-lying (logs and uprooted dead trees) vs standing (snags and standing dead trees); small and mid-size (less than 40 cm in diameter) vs large and very large (more than 40 cm in diameter); and fresh (decay class 1 and 2) vs decayed (decay stage 3 and 4). We calculated the total number of items per hectare by allocating a coefficient N<sub>d</sub> related to diameter (d) to each item observed in the relascope sampling: (N<sub>d</sub> = π 10<sup>8</sup> [ArcTan(1/50)/(π d)]<sup>2</sup>). We estimated TreM diversity and the number of deadwood types per plot.</p> <p>We compiled a list of eco-morphological traits for woody elements (i.e., life status (living, dead) and vertical position (downed, standing), decay stage and diameter) and for TreMs detected in the field (TreM nature, association with deadwood (saproxylic, epixylic, mould), type of bearing substrate (i.e., living tree, dead tree or snag, and log), position in the tree (i.e. base, trunk, crown), degree of wetness, life span or ontogenesis).</p>
Data from: Nasty neighbours in the Neotropics: seasonal variation in physical and vocal aggressions in a montane forest songbird, the Grey-browed Brushfinch
<p>Many territorial animals exhibit differences in their responses against intruders based on the level of threat that they pose. The dear-enemy and the nasty-neighbour effects refer to situations in which territorial aggressions are stronger against stranger and neighbour individuals, respectively. Using playback experiments during pre-breeding and post-breeding seasons in a songbird from Neotropical montane forests (Grey-browed Brushfinch, <em>Arremon</em> <em>assimilis</em>), we found that males exhibit the nasty-neighbour effect because they responded more aggressively towards neighbours than to strangers. However, territorial behaviour varied seasonally: (1) aggressions to all intrusions by neighbours were equally strong regardless of the location from which they were perceived prior to reproduction and (2) individuals were more aggressive towards neighbour males when perceived at a different border of their territory to the one they share during the post-breeding season. We conclude that territorial males respond to neighbours by assessing their threat to paternity and territoriality and thus modulate their aggressive response based on the season. In contrast, limited responses to strangers suggest that these individuals do not represent a serious threat to males of <em>A. assimilis</em> during the seasons we studied them. Thus, territorial aggressions against neighbours appear to be a mate-guarding mechanism in this species. Our results differ from those found in temperate zones, where strangers often elicit responses indicating they may represent a stronger threat than neighbours. Additional studies on the behavioral ecology of tropical birds are required to understand the generality of nasty-neighbour effects and the drivers of territorial behaviors.</p>
A new cryptic species of terrestrial breeding frog of the Pristimantis danae Group (Anura: Strabomantidae) from montane forests in Ayacucho, Peru.
<p>File 1: Genetic distances rRNA 16S (p-uncorrected genetic distances) in Mega11. Excel file. For a description of a new species (<em>Pristimantis similaris</em>) in the publication Herrera-Alva et al. 2023.</p> <p>File 2: Alignment of four concatenated genes 16S rRNA, COI, RAG1, and TYR. Fasta file. For a description of a new species (<em>Pristimantis similaris</em>) in the publication Herrera-Alva et al. 2023.</p>
Data from: Contrasting sap flow characteristics between pioneer and late-successional tree species in secondary tropical montane forests of Eastern Himalaya, India
Abstract The interactive role of life-history traits and environmental forcing on plant-water relations is crucial for understanding species response to climate change but remains poorly understood in secondary tropical montane forests (TMFs). Comparing contrasting life-history traits (pioneer vs late-successional species) in a biodiverse Eastern Himalayan secondary TMF, we investigated sap flow responses in co-occurring pioneer species, Symplocos racemosa (n=5) and Eurya acuminata (n=5), and late-successional species, Castanopsis hystrix (n=3), using modified Granier's Thermal Dissipation probes. The fast-growing pioneers S. racemosa and E. acuminata) had 2.1- and 1.6-times higher sap flux density than the late-successional C. hystrix, respectively, and exhibited characteristics of long-lived pioneer species. Significant radial and azimuthal variability in sap flow (V) between species was observed and attributed to life history traits and the canopy's access to sunlight. Nocturnal V (1800-0500 hr) was 13.8 % of daily V and is attributed to stem recharge for evening V (1800-2300 hr) and to endogenous stomatal controls for pre-dawn V (0000-0500 hr). Both the shallow-rooted pioneer species exhibited midday depression in V attributed to photosensitivity and diel moisture stress response. In contrast, deep-rooted C. hystrix transpired unaffected across the dry season likely accessing groundwater. Thus, the secondary broadleaved TMFs, with the dominance of shallow-rooted pioneers, are more prone to the negative impacts of drier and warmer winters than primary forests, which are dominated by deep-rooted species. The study provides an empirical understanding of life-history traits and microclimate modulating plant-water use in widely distributed secondary TMFs in Eastern Himalaya and highlights their vulnerability against warmer winters and reduced snowfall due to climate change.
Data for: Ecological and evolutionary origin of Costus flammulus (Costaceae): A new species from the montane cloud forests of the volcanic cordilleras in northern Costa Rica
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Data from: Community-level trait variation of epiphytic bryophytes supports trade-off aligned with leaf-economic spectrum in vertically stratified tropical montane cloud forest canopies
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Data from: Nasty neighbours in the Neotropics: seasonal variation in physical and vocal aggressions in a montane forest songbird, the Grey-browed Brushfinch
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Data from: Biotic pressures and environmental heterogeneity shape beta-diversity of seedling communities in tropical montane forests
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