@article{97d6aafae33948a495f9ea1ec77e974b,
title = "Seeing the woods through the saplings: Using wood density to assess the recovery of human-modified Amazonian forests",
abstract = "Most of the world's remaining tropical forests have been affected by either selective logging, understorey fires, fragmentation or are regrowing in areas that were previously deforested. Despite the ubiquity of these human-modified forests, we have a limited knowledge of their potential to recover key traits linked to ecosystem processes and consequent services. Here we present data from 31,095 trees and saplings distributed across 121 plots of undisturbed and disturbed primary forests as well as secondary forests in the eastern Amazon. We examined the post-disturbance recovery trajectory of an important plant functional trait, wood density. We tested whether human-modified Amazonian forests are experiencing a rapid or a slow, or even impeded, recovery of this trait, which is associated with the provision of a fundamental ecosystem service—carbon storage. As expected, we found that the plot-level wood density of trees and saplings in disturbed primary and secondary forests was significantly lower than in undisturbed forests. However, there was no significant difference in the average wood density of saplings between disturbed primary and secondary forests, possibly indicating a process of secondarization. We also found evidence that the recovery of wood density in human-modified forests is being severely disrupted due to edge effects (in the case of disturbed primary forests) and high liana densities (in the case of both disturbed primary and secondary forests). Surprisingly, these two factors were more important predictors of wood density recovery than the time elapsed since the disturbance event. Synthesis. Plant communities in human-modified Amazonian forests appear to not be recovering a key functional property—wood density, which in turn may affect their ability to store carbon in the future. If the aim of conservation programs in tropical forests is to maintain existing rates of ecosystem functions, processes and services, then they must concentrate efforts on avoiding anthropogenic disturbance in areas of currently undisturbed forests. It is also vital to prevent further disturbance in human-modified forests to avoid disrupting even more their recovery.",
keywords = "Amazon, degradation, edge effects, lianas, recovery, succession, wood density",
author = "Erika Berenguer and Gardner, {Toby Allan} and Joice Ferreira and Luiz Aragao and {Mac Nally}, Ralph and Thomson, {James R.} and Vieira, {Ima C{\'e}lia Guimar{\~a}es} and Jos Barlow",
note = "Funding Information: We are grateful to the following for financial support: Instituto Nacional de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia—Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz{\^o}nia (CNPq 574008/2008‐0), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu{\'a}ria—Embrapa (SEG:02.08.06.005.00), the UK government ?arwin Initiative (17‐023), The Nature Conservancy, and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; NE/ F01614X/1 and NE/G000816/1). E.B. was supported by a university scholarship from Lancaster University and a research grant from Santander. E.B. and J.B. also acknowledge the support of a NERC grant (NE/K016431/1). T.A.G. was funded by the by Swedish Research Council Formas (2013‐1571). L.E.O.C.A. was supported by the CNPq and CAPES science without Borders Program{\textquoteright}s Fellowship and by two NERC grants (NE/F015356/2 and NE/l018123/1). R.M. and J.R.T. were partially supported by an Australian Research Council ?iscovery Grant (?P120100797). We are deeply grateful to our numerous field and laboratory assistants, particularly to our parabotanists Nelson Rosa and Manoel Cordeiro. We also thank the farmers and workers unions of Paragominas and all collaborating private landowners for their support. This paper is number #50 in the Rede Amaz{\^o}nia Sustent{\'a}vel publication series. Funding Information: We are grateful to the following for financial support: Instituto Nacional de Ci?ncia e Tecnologia?Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz?nia (CNPq 574008/2008-0), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria?Embrapa (SEG:02.08.06.005.00), the UK government Darwin Initiative (17-023), The Nature Conservancy, and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; NE/F01614X/1 and NE/G000816/1). E.B. was supported by a university scholarship from Lancaster University and a research grant from Santander. E.B. and J.B. also acknowledge the support of a NERC grant (NE/K016431/1). T.A.G. was funded by the by Swedish Research Council Formas (2013-1571). L.E.O.C.A. was supported by the CNPq and CAPES science without Borders Program's Fellowship and by two NERC grants (NE/F015356/2 and NE/l018123/1). R.M. and J.R.T. were partially supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP120100797). We are deeply grateful to our numerous field and laboratory assistants, particularly to our parabotanists Nelson Rosa and Manoel Cordeiro. We also thank the farmers and workers unions of Paragominas and all collaborating private landowners for their support. This paper is number #50 in the Rede Amaz?nia Sustent?vel publication series. Funding Information: Natural Environment Research Council, Grant/Award Number: NE/F015356/2, NE/F01614X/1, NE/G000816/1, NE/ K016431/1 and NE/l018123/1; Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu{\'a}ria, Grant/ Award Number: SEG:02.08.06.005.00; Svenska Forskningsr{\aa}det Formas, Grant/ Award Number: 2013‐1571; The Nature Conservancy; Banco Santander; ?arwin Initiative, Grant/Award Number: 17‐023; Australian Research Council, Grant/ Award Number: ?P120100797; Lancaster University; Instituto Nacional de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia – Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz{\^o}nia, Grant/Award Number: CNPq 574008/2008‐0; CNPq; CAPES Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Authors. Journal of Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society Funding Information: We are grateful to the following for financial support: Instituto Nacional de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia—Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz{\^o}nia (CNPq 574008/2008‐0), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu{\'a}ria—Embrapa (SEG:02.08.06.005.00), the UK government ?arwin Initiative (17‐023), The Nature Conservancy, and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; NE/ F01614X/1 and NE/G000816/1). E.B. was supported by a university scholarship from Lancaster University and a research grant from Santander. E.B. and J.B. also acknowledge the support of a NERC grant (NE/K016431/1). T.A.G. was funded by the by Swedish Research Council Formas (2013‐1571). L.E.O.C.A. was supported by the CNPq and CAPES science without Borders Program{\textquoteright}s Fellowship and by two NERC grants (NE/F015356/2 and NE/l018123/1). R.M. and J.R.T. were partially supported by an Australian Research Council ?iscovery Grant (?P120100797). We are deeply grateful to our numerous field and laboratory assistants, particularly to our parabotanists Nelson Rosa and Manoel Cordeiro. We also thank the farmers and workers unions of Paragominas and all collaborating private landowners for their support. This paper is number #50 in the Rede Amaz{\^o}nia Sustent{\'a}vel publication series. Funding Information: We are grateful to the following for financial support: Instituto Nacional de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia—Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz{\^o}nia (CNPq 574008/2008-0), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu{\'a}ria—Embrapa (SEG:02.08.06.005.00), the UK government Darwin Initiative (17-023), The Nature Conservancy, and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; NE/F01614X/1 and NE/G000816/1). E.B. was supported by a university scholarship from Lancaster University and a research grant from Santander. E.B. and J.B. also acknowledge the support of a NERC grant (NE/K016431/1). T.A.G. was funded by the by Swedish Research Council Formas (2013-1571). L.E.O.C.A. was supported by the CNPq and CAPES science without Borders Program's Fellowship and by two NERC grants (NE/F015356/2 and NE/l018123/1). R.M. and J.R.T. were partially supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP120100797). We are deeply grateful to our numerous field and laboratory assistants, particularly to our parabotanists Nelson Rosa and Manoel Cordeiro. We also thank the farmers and workers unions of Paragominas and all collaborating private landowners for their support. This paper is number #50 in the Rede Amaz{\^o}nia Sustent{\'a}vel publication series. Funding Information: Natural Environment Research Council, Grant/Award Number: NE/F015356/2, NE/F01614X/1, NE/G000816/1, NE/ K016431/1 and NE/l018123/1; Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu{\'a}ria, Grant/ Award Number: SEG:02.08.06.005.00; Svenska Forskningsr{\aa}det Formas, Grant/ Award Number: 2013‐1571; The Nature Conservancy; Banco Santander; ?arwin Initiative, Grant/Award Number: 17‐023; Australian Research Council, Grant/ Award Number: ?P120100797; Lancaster University; Instituto Nacional de Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia – Biodiversidade e Uso da Terra na Amaz{\^o}nia, Grant/Award Number: CNPq 574008/2008‐0; CNPq; CAPES Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Authors. Journal of Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society",
year = "2018",
doi = "10.1111/1365-2745.12991",
language = "English",
volume = "106",
pages = "2190--2203",
journal = "Journal of Ecology",
issn = "0022-0477",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "6",
}