Edge effects on tree architecture exacerbate biomass loss of fragmented Amazonian forests
Nunes, Matheus Henrique, Vaz, Marcel Caritá, Camargo, José Luís Campana, Laurance, William F., de Andrade, Ana, Vicentini, Alberto, Laurance, Susan, Raumonen, Pasi, Jackson, Toby, Zuquim, Gabriela, Wu, Jin, Peñuelas, Josep, Chave, Jérôme, and Maeda, Eduardo Eiji (2023) Edge effects on tree architecture exacerbate biomass loss of fragmented Amazonian forests. Nature Communications, 14 (1). 8129.
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Abstract
Habitat fragmentation could potentially affect tree architecture and allometry. Here, we use ground surveys of terrestrial LiDAR in Central Amazonia to explore the influence of forest edge effects on tree architecture and allometry, as well as forest biomass, 40 years after fragmentation. We find that young trees colonising the forest fragments have thicker branches and architectural traits that optimise for light capture, which result in 50% more woody volume than their counterparts of similar stem size and height in the forest interior. However, we observe a disproportionately lower height in some large trees, leading to a 30% decline in their woody volume. Despite the substantial wood production of colonising trees, the lower height of some large trees has resulted in a net loss of 6.0 Mg ha−1 of aboveground biomass – representing 2.3% of the aboveground biomass of edge forests. Our findings indicate a strong influence of edge effects on tree architecture and allometry, and uncover an overlooked factor that likely exacerbates carbon losses in fragmented forests.
| Item ID: | 81503 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Copyright Information: | © 2024 Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Jan 2024 01:49 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310308 Terrestrial ecology @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180606 Terrestrial biodiversity @ 100% |
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