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Forests
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Mechanisms of Maintenance of Tree Species Diversity in Tropical Forests
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Mechanisms of Maintenance of Tree Species Diversity in Tropical Forests

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 December 2021) | Viewed by 6945

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Akira Itoh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka 5588585, Japan
Interests: plant ecology; tropical forest; plant adaptation; plant reproduction; plant evolution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tropical forests are one of the most diverse terrestrial ecosystems. Currently, tropical forests are in a critical situation due to development and global climate change. Understanding the mechanisms that maintain the species diversity of tropical trees is an important theme in community ecology and is essential for the conservation of tropical forests. Much research has been done on the mechanisms of species coexistence, especially in tropical rainforests, suggesting that niche partitioning, negative density dependence (Janzen–Connell hypothesis), growth-survival tradeoff, and neutral processes are the major mechanisms. However, the detailed mechanisms are still unclear in many cases, and most studies have been conducted in neotropical rainforests. Therefore, there is a need to accumulate more empirical studies in various forest types and regions. Evolutionary, phylogenetic, and biogeographical studies of tropical trees are limited, but they are important to determine the species pools that influence the species diversity of local forests. Theoretical studies are also important to discover new mechanisms. In this Special Issue, we invite a variety of studies on mechanisms that maintain the species diversity of tropical trees.

Prof. Dr. Akira Itoh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tropical forest
  • species diversity
  • negative density dependence
  • Janzen–Connell hypothesis
  • niche partitioning
  • growth-survival tradeoff
  • neutral processes
  • biogeography

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2207 KiB  
Article
Secondary Succession after Slash-and-Burn Cultivation in Papuan Lowland Forest, Indonesia
by Agustinus Murdjoko, Francis Q. Brearley, Antoni Ungirwalu, Dony A. Djitmau and Nithanel M. H. Benu
Forests 2022, 13(3), 434; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13030434 - 10 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
Papuan forests have been subjected to shifting cultivation for centuries by indigenous people affecting the ecological processes therein; during secondary succession, fallow forests recover naturally. However, the information on ecological succession after swidden practices remains poorly understood in Papuan lowland forests. This study [...] Read more.
Papuan forests have been subjected to shifting cultivation for centuries by indigenous people affecting the ecological processes therein; during secondary succession, fallow forests recover naturally. However, the information on ecological succession after swidden practices remains poorly understood in Papuan lowland forests. This study aimed to examine the plant species richness and density of different plant lifeforms in fallows of increasing time after slash-and-burn cultivation along with basic edaphic factors. We performed data collection in the northern part of the lowland evergreen tropical forest near Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia. The sampling consisted of 26 plots distributed in the primary forest (n = 6) and in secondary/fallow forests 2-, 4-, 7-, and 9-years after cultivation (n = 5 for each age class). The plant community in primary forest clearly differed from the secondary forests. The plant species richness was about twice as high in primary compared to secondary forests. The density of trees and shrubs increased during succession whereas that of lianas declined. The soil fertility declined in secondary forests, although soil organic matter was greatest two years after swidden and then decreased gradually over time. This research underlined that indigenous swidden practices alter ecological conditions and that secondary forests will take a long time to fully recover to resemble primary forest. Hence, the monitoring of vegetation during the process is necessary to inform conservation programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms of Maintenance of Tree Species Diversity in Tropical Forests)
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9 pages, 1452 KiB  
Article
Effects of Above- and Below-Ground Interactions of Plants on Growth of Tree Seedlings in Low-Elevation Tropical Rainforests on Hainan Island, China
by Xinghui Lu, Runguo Zang, Yue Xu, Shouchao Yu and Hongxia Zhao
Forests 2021, 12(7), 905; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f12070905 - 12 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1531
Abstract
Understanding the effects of above- and below-ground interactions on seedling growth is pivotal for identifying the key drivers of secondary forest succession. However, it is still unclear whether the effects of above- and below-ground interactions of plants are consistent for seedling growth of [...] Read more.
Understanding the effects of above- and below-ground interactions on seedling growth is pivotal for identifying the key drivers of secondary forest succession. However, it is still unclear whether the effects of above- and below-ground interactions of plants are consistent for seedling growth of deciduous and evergreen species. There are two types of broadleaved forests (i.e., tropical lowland rainforest and tropical deciduous monsoon rainforest) in the low-elevation (<800 m) areas of Hainan Island in China. Here, 32 seedling transplanting plots (1 × 1 m2) were established in the tropical lowland rainforest and the tropical deciduous monsoon rainforest, respectively. Four treatments (each with 16 replicates) were carried out to reduce above- and below-ground interactions of plants in the low-elevation forests: removal of vegetation (R), root trenching (T), removal of vegetation and root trenching (R + T), and no vegetation removal or trenching (as the control) (C). Seedlings of four deciduous species and four evergreen species were planted to observe their performance in the experiments. The relative growth rates (RGR) of the seedlings were measured to distinguish the relative effects of above- and below-ground interactions. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was measured as a proxy for above-ground interaction and the root biomass was used as a proxy for below-ground interaction. The relationships between seedling RGR and PAR/root biomass were examined. Results showed that: (1) R and R+T treatments significantly increased the seedlings RGR, but T treatment had no effect on the RGR; (2) the growth rates of deciduous species were greater than those of the evergreen species; and (3) seedling growth rates were increased with more PAR. Our study suggests that above-ground vegetation removal had a stronger effect than trenching on the growth and assembly of tree seedlings in the low-elevation tropical rainforests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms of Maintenance of Tree Species Diversity in Tropical Forests)
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15 pages, 2785 KiB  
Article
Recovery of Logged Tropical Montane Rainforests as Potential Habitats for Hainan Gibbon
by Kexin Fan, Yue Xu, Pengcheng Liu and Runguo Zang
Forests 2021, 12(6), 711; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f12060711 - 30 May 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2376
Abstract
As the world’s rarest ape, the main threat facing Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is habitat degradation and loss caused by human disturbances. The insufficient area and continuous human disturbance in most of the existing habitats can hardly maintain the future recovery [...] Read more.
As the world’s rarest ape, the main threat facing Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is habitat degradation and loss caused by human disturbances. The insufficient area and continuous human disturbance in most of the existing habitats can hardly maintain the future recovery and development of the gibbon population. A large area of secondary tropical montane rainforest in recovery was retained in Bawangling National Nature Reserve after disturbance. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the recovery of these secondary forests for the protection and restoration of Hainan gibbon habitat. To explore the recovery of secondary tropical rainforests after different disturbances, and whether they have the potential to serve as the future habitats for Hainan gibbon, we calculated four dynamic indexes (including recruitment rate, mortality/loss rate, relative growth rate and turnover rate) of abundance and basal area for the total community and for food plants of Hainan gibbon based on data from two censuses of secondary forests recovered nearly 45 years after different disturbances (clear-cutting and selective-logging) and old-growth forest of tropical montane rainforest. The results are as follows: (1) There were no significant differences in recruitment rates, mortality rates and turnover rates of abundance and basal area between recovered clear-cutting forests, selectively logged forests and old-growth forests. (2) Abundance, basal area and species of small (1 < DBH ≤ 10 cm) and medium (10 ≤ DBH < 30 cm) food plants in the two disturbed forests were higher, while those of large food plants (DBH ≥ 30 cm) in the two forests were lower than in old-growth forests. (3) For the common food species occurring in all three kinds of communities, the relative growth rate of most small trees in clear-cutting forest was higher than that of old-growth forest. Our research demonstrates that the lack of large food plants is the key limiting factor for the development of the secondary mountain rainforest as habitats for Hainan gibbon at present. However, it has great potential to transform into suitable habitats through targeted restoration and management due to the high recruitment rate and relative growth rate of the small- and medium-sized food plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms of Maintenance of Tree Species Diversity in Tropical Forests)
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