Search

Your search keyword '"Hermann Taedoumg"' showing total 31 results
Start Over Author "Hermann Taedoumg"
31 results on '"Hermann Taedoumg"'

1. Impatiens smetsiana, another example of convergent evolution of flower morphology in Impatiens

Author

Steven B. Janssens, Hermann Taedoumg, and Steven Dessein

Subjects
Plant ecology, QK900-989
Abstract

Background and aims – The genus Impatiens is known for its enormous convergent phenotypic adaptation, with similar floral traits having independently evolved in distantly related lineages. The large functional convergence of Impatiens flowers causes a high degree of homoplasy for several phenotypic characters resulting in increased difficulties to distinguish between species with a similar morphology that are only distantly related, however. As a result, some species remain under the radar, as they are confused with other well-known species. This was the case for a new Impatiens species from the Tchabal Mbabo Mountains in Cameroon – Impatiens smetsiana – that was initially mistaken for the morphologically similar species I. erecticornis, an endemic from Central East Africa. Material and methods – A combined molecular-morphological approach was applied in which phylogenetics (ITS, ImpDEF1, and ImpDEF2), biogeography, and age estimation analyses were combined with morphological data on floral and vegetative structures. Key results – In this study, we demonstrate the close affinity of the newly collected material with a group of Equatorial West African species, including I. filicornu, I. nzabiana, I. oumina, and I. kamerunensis. The present finding represents a clear case of convergent evolution in which two distantly related taxa independently converged on practically the same flower morphology. Conclusion – Within Impatiens, several examples of floral homoplasy have been observed yet not in such a clear way. The convergent evolution of the flowers of I. smetsiana and I. erecticornis is undoubtedly closely correlated with an adaptation to a similar pollination syndrome.

Published
2022
Full Text
View/download PDF

2. Mine versus Wild: a plant conservation checklist of the rich Iron-Ore Ngovayang Massif Area (South Cameroon)

Author

Vincent Droissart, Olivier Lachenaud, Gilles Dauby, Steven Dessein, Gyslène Kamdem, Charlemagne Nguembou K., Murielle Simo-Droissart, Tariq Stévart, Hermann Taedoumg, and Bonaventure Sonké

Subjects
biodiversity, endangered species, Important Plant, Plant ecology, QK900-989
Abstract

Background and aims – The rapid expansion of human activities in South Cameroon, particularly mining in mountainous areas, threatens this region’s exceptional biodiversity. To comprehend the effects of land-use change on plant diversity and identify conservation priorities, we aim at providing a first comprehensive plant checklist of the Ngovayang Massif, focusing on the two richest plant families, Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae.Location – The Ngovayang Massif Area (NMA) is located in the South Region of Cameroon. It is covered by lowland and submontane rainforest (100 to 1110 m elevation).Methods – We compiled a dataset of 6116 georeferenced herbarium specimens, of which 2787 belong to Rubiaceae and Orchidaceae. We used rarefaction methods to explore sampling and diversity patterns, and investigated the altitudinal distribution of rare and/or threatened taxa.Key results – The NMA, which houses about 1500 vascular plant taxa, is the richest documented area for Rubiaceae in Atlantic Central Africa (ACA) and the fifth for Orchidaceae, with respectively 281 and 111 taxa. Among these taxa, 178 (45%) are endemic to ACA and 67 (17%) are considered globally threatened according to IUCN categories and criteria. We show that higher elevation areas (> 750 m), which are also the main areas targeted for mining, are the richest in endangered and/or rare species. Three new records for Cameroon are reported here.Conclusion – The NMA represents an Important Plant Area of Cameroon as confirmed by its exceptional plant diversity (> 20% of the total Flora of Cameroon), by the concentration of many threatened and/or restricted range species (10 taxa are strict endemics of the massif) as well as by the threat on rare habitats (i.e. the submontane vegetation above ~750 m elevation). A management plan involving in situ and ex situ conservation actions is urgently needed to reduce the potential threats of future mining activities.

Published
2019
Full Text
View/download PDF

3. Craterispermum capitatum and C. gabonicum (Rubiaceae): two new species from the Lower Guinean and Congolian Domains

Author

Hermann Taedoumg, Bonaventure Sonké, Perla Hamon, and Petra De Block

Subjects
Botany, QK1-989
Abstract

Craterispermum capitatum and C. gabonicum, two new species of Rubiaceae, are described from the Lower Guinea and Congolian Domains. Detailed descriptions and distribution maps are provided for each species, their conservation status is assessed and their taxonomic affinities are discussed. Craterispermum gabonicum is unique within the genus because of the strong dimorphism in brevistylous and longistylous flowers and inflorescences. We hypothesize that this species shows some form of dioecy. The distribution of C. capitatum shows a wide disjunction: the species is present in the Lower Guinean and Congolian Domains but absent from Gabon and South Cameroon. An identification key for the Craterispermum species present in the Lower Guinean and Congolian Domains is given.

Published
2017
Full Text
View/download PDF

4. Safeguarding villagers’ access to foods from timber trees: Insights for policy from an inhabited logging concession in Gabon

Author

Hermann Taedoumg, Paulus Maukonen, Christian Mikolo Yobo, Donald Midoko Iponga, Ronald Noutcheu, Julius Chupezi Tieguhong, and Laura Snook

Subjects
Ecology, QH540-549.5
Abstract

This study assessed the abundance of and access to tree species (Ozigo, Dacryodes buettneri; and Abam, Gambeya lacourtiana) that yield edible fruits to villagers and timber to the logging industry in and around a logging concession in Gabon. Participatory mapping combining GPS coordinates and interviews was carried out with 5 female and 5 male collectors in each of two villages within or adjacent to the logging concession. Precommercial and harvestable (>70 cm dbh) Ozigo and Abam trees, as well as their stumps, were also quantified on 20 five ha plots in the 2012 cutting area of the concession and on 21 five ha plots on 10 km transects from each village. Distances to 59 Abam and 75 Ozigo from which fruits were collected ranged from 0.7 to 4.46 Km from the village centres. Most collections were by mixed groups made up of men, women and children (54%) at an average of 1.21 ± 0.09 km; or by men and women (18%) at 2.21 ± 0.15 km; or women and children (14%) at 4.03 ± 0.22 km from the village. Almost 28% of all of the collection trees were inside the logging concession boundaries but outside the village agricultural zone, 43% were inside the village agricultural zone, and 29% were outside the logging concession. Only 33% of Ozigo collection trees had reached commercial size while 75% of Abam trees had. No stumps were found on any sample plots, probably reflecting the ban on felling Ozigo which was in effect at the time; and the relatively low commercial value of Abam. Densities of precommercial Ozigo trees in the cutting area were more than double their densities around the villages (236.0 ± 20.3100 ha−1and 96.6 ± 17.2100 ha−1, respectively), while densities of harvestable Ozigo trees were 7 times higher in the cutting area than around villages (120 ± 20.2100 ha−1and 17.1 ± 3.4100 ha−1respectively). This probably reflects past and current anthropogenic pressures around the villages, including logging and land clearance for agricultural fields. Densities of precommercial Abam were almost four times higher around the village (22.3 ± 5.6 and 6.0 ± 2.9) than on the cutting area. Villagers did not record a decline in availability of or access to these fruits over the past 5 years, suggesting little or no immediate conflict between timber production and access to fruits from these trees. Keywords: Congo Basin, Dacryodes buettneri, Forest fruits, Gambeya lacourtiana, NTFP, Timber concessions

Published
2018
Full Text
View/download PDF

5. Mixed-forest species establishment in a monodominant forest in central Africa: implications for tropical forest invasibility.

Author

Kelvin S-H Peh, Bonaventure Sonké, Olivier Séné, Marie-Noël K Djuikouo, Charlemagne K Nguembou, Hermann Taedoumg, Serge K Begne, and Simon L Lewis

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Traits of non-dominant mixed-forest tree species and their synergies for successful co-occurrence in monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest have not yet been investigated. Here we compared the tree species diversity of the monodominant forest with its adjacent mixed forest and then determined which fitness proxies and life history traits of the mixed-forest tree species were most associated with successful co-existence in the monodominant forest. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sampled all trees (diameter in breast height [dbh]≥10 cm) within 6×1 ha topographically homogenous areas of intact central African forest in SE Cameroon, three independent patches of G. dewevrei-dominated forest and three adjacent areas (450-800 m apart). Monodominant G. dewevrei forest had lower sample-controlled species richness, species density and population density than its adjacent mixed forest in terms of stems with dbh≥10 cm. Analysis of a suite of population-level characteristics, such as relative abundance and geographical distribution, and traits such as wood density, height, diameter at breast height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism and light requirement-revealed after controlling for phylogeny, species that co-occur with G. dewevrei tend to have higher abundance in adjacent mixed forest, higher wood density and a lower light requirement. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that certain traits (wood density and light requirement) and population-level characteristics (relative abundance) may increase the invasibility of a tree species into a tropical closed-canopy system. Such knowledge may assist in the pre-emptive identification of invasive tree species.

Published
2014
Full Text
View/download PDF

6. Assessing plant diversity change in logged and unlogged dense semi-deciduous production forest of eastern Cameroon

Author

Hubert, Mounmemi Kpouie, primary, Ekué, Marius, additional, Funwi, Forbi Preasious, additional, Roger Kabelong Banoho, Louis Paul, additional, Tiokeng, Bertine, additional, Nicole Liliane, Maffo Maffo, additional, Lagarde, Betti Jean, additional, Carole Mireil, Tchoupou Votio, additional, Amandine Flore, Ntonmen Yonkeu, additional, Hermann, Taedoumg Evariste, additional, and Louis, Zapfack, additional

Published
2023
Full Text
View/download PDF

7. Vulnerability mapping of 100 priority tree species in Central Africa to guide conservation and restoration efforts

Author

Viviana Ceccarelli, Marius Ekué, Tobias Fremout, Hannes Gaisberger, Chris Kettle, Hermann Taedoumg, Hendrik Wouters, Eline Vanuytrecht, Koen De Ridder, and Evert Thomas

Subjects
Habitat conversion, DECLINE, Science & Technology, CLIMATE-CHANGE, Ecology, Biodiversity & Conservation, SAHEL, African humid forests and savannas, Climate change, Ensemble distribution modelling, Fire, Overexploitation, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Environmental Sciences, Nature and Landscape Conservation
Abstract

Climate change and other anthropogenic threats are increasingly imperilling the diverse biomes of Central Africa, which are globally important for biodiversity, carbon storage and people's livelihoods. The objectives of this paper were to: (i) map the vulnerability of 100 socio-ecologically important priority tree species in Central Africa to climate change, fire, habitat conversion, overexploitation, overgrazing and (ii) propose a spatially explicit strategy to guide restoration and conservation actions. We performed ensemble distribution modelling to predict the present and future distributions of the 100 species, assembled other anthropogenic threat exposure layers, assessed species' sensitivities to the five threats based on their trait profiles, and constructed species-specific vulnerability maps by combining the species' exposure and sensitivity. The results show that these 100 species are vulnerable to the five threats, with an average of 34% of their distribution ranges under high to very high vulnerability and 60% under medium to high vulnerability to at least one threat. Many species identified as most vulnerable in this study are not considered as threatened by the IUCN Red List, suggesting a need to update their conservation status, potentially through integration of the vulnerability mapping methodology we used here. We generated both species-specific maps and summary maps including all 100 species identifying priority areas for a) in-situ conservation, b) ex-situ conservation, and c) active planting or assisted natural regeneration. We present an online platform to enable easy access to the vulnerability and the conservation and restoration priority maps for decision makers and support conservation and restoration planning across Central Africa., Biological Conservation, 270, ISSN:0006-3207, ISSN:1873-2917

Published
2022

9. The number of tree species on Earth

Author

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Peter B. Reich, Javier G. P. Gamarra, Tom Crowther, Cang Hui, Albert Morera, Jean-Francois Bastin, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Jens-Christian Svenning, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Cory Merow, Brian Enquist, Maria Kamenetsky, Junho Lee, Jun Zhu, Jinyun Fang, Douglass F. Jacobs, Bryan Pijanowski, Arindam Banerjee, Robert A. Giaquinto, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Valerio Avitabile, Gerardo A. Aymard, Radomir Balazy, Chris Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Meredith L. Bastian, Philippe Birnbaum, Robert Bitariho, Jan Bogaert, Frans Bongers, Olivier Bouriaud, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Eben North Broadbent, Filippo Bussotti, Wendeson Castro da Silva, Ricardo Gomes César, Goran Češljar, Víctor Chama Moscoso, Han Y. H. Chen, Emil Cienciala, Connie J. Clark, David A. Coomes, Selvadurai Dayanandan, Mathieu Decuyper, Laura E. Dee, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel, Géraldine Derroire, Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo, Tran Van Do, Jiri Dolezal, Ilija Đ. Đorđević, Julien Engel, Tom M. Fayle, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jonas K. Fridman, David J. Harris, Andreas Hemp, Geerten Hengeveld, Bruno Herault, Martin Herold, Thomas Ibanez, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vivian Kvist Johannsen, Tommaso Jucker, Ahto Kangur, Victor N. Karminov, Kuswata Kartawinata, Deborah K. Kennard, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Gunnar Keppel, Mohammed Latif Khan, Pramod Kumar Khare, Timothy J. Kileen, Hyun Seok Kim, Henn Korjus, Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Diana Laarmann, Nicolas Labrière, Mait Lang, Simon L. Lewis, Natalia Lukina, Brian S. Maitner, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew R. Marshall, Olga V. Martynenko, Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza, Petr V. Ontikov, Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alain Paquette, Minjee Park, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Pablo Luis Peri, Pascal Petronelli, Sebastian Pfautsch, Oliver L. Phillips, Nicolas Picard, Daniel Piotto, Lourens Poorter, John R. Poulsen, Hans Pretzsch, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Mirco Rodeghiero, Rocío Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, Samir G. Rolim, Francesco Rovero, Ervan Rutishauser, Purabi Saikia, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Vladimír Šebeň, Marcos Silveira, Ferry Slik, Bonaventure Sonké, Alexandre F. Souza, Krzysztof Jan Stereńczak, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, Nadja Tchebakova, John Terborgh, Elena Tikhonova, Armando Torres-Lezama, Fons van der Plas, Rodolfo Vásquez, Helder Viana, Alexander C. Vibrans, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent A. Vos, Hua-Feng Wang, Bertil Westerlund, Lee J. T. White, Susan K. Wiser, Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki, Lise Zemagho, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Irié C. Zo-Bi, Jingjing Liang, Cazzolla Gatti, Roberto, Reich, Peter B, Gamarra, Javier GP, Crowther, Tom, Keppel, Gunnar, Liang, Jingjing, Cazzolla Gatti R., Reich P.B., Gamarra J.G.P., Crowther T., Hui C., Morera A., Bastin J.-F., de-Miguel S., Nabuurs G.-J., Svenning J.-C., Serra-Diaz J.M., Merow C., Enquist B., Kamenetsky M., Lee J., Zhu J., Fang J., Jacobs D.F., Pijanowski B., Banerjee A., Giaquinto R.A., Alberti G., Almeyda Zambrano A.M., Alvarez-Davila E., Araujo-Murakami A., Avitabile V., Aymard G.A., Balazy R., Baraloto C., Barroso J.G., Bastian M.L., Birnbaum P., Bitariho R., Bogaert J., Bongers F., Bouriaud O., Brancalion P.H.S., Brearley F.Q., Broadbent E.N., Bussotti F., Castro da Silva W., Cesar R.G., Cesljar G., Chama Moscoso V., Chen H.Y.H., Cienciala E., Clark C.J., Coomes D.A., Dayanandan S., Decuyper M., Dee L.E., Del Aguila Pasquel J., Derroire G., Djuikouo M.N.K., Van Do T., Dolezal J., Dordevic I.D., Engel J., Fayle T.M., Feldpausch T.R., Fridman J.K., Harris D.J., Hemp A., Hengeveld G., Herault B., Herold M., Ibanez T., Jagodzinski A.M., Jaroszewicz B., Jeffery K.J., Johannsen V.K., Jucker T., Kangur A., Karminov V.N., Kartawinata K., Kennard D.K., Kepfer-Rojas S., Keppel G., Khan M.L., Khare P.K., Kileen T.J., Kim H.S., Korjus H., Kumar A., Laarmann D., Labriere N., Lang M., Lewis S.L., Lukina N., Maitner B.S., Malhi Y., Marshall A.R., Martynenko O.V., Monteagudo Mendoza A.L., Ontikov P.V., Ortiz-Malavasi E., Pallqui Camacho N.C., Paquette A., Park M., Parthasarathy N., Peri P.L., Petronelli P., Pfautsch S., Phillips O.L., Picard N., Piotto D., Poorter L., Poulsen J.R., Pretzsch H., Ramirez-Angulo H., Restrepo Correa Z., Rodeghiero M., Rojas Gonzales R.D.P., Rolim S.G., Rovero F., Rutishauser E., Saikia P., Salas-Eljatib C., Schepaschenko D., Scherer-Lorenzen M., Seben V., Silveira M., Slik F., Sonke B., Souza A.F., Sterenczak K.J., Svoboda M., Taedoumg H., Tchebakova N., Terborgh J., Tikhonova E., Torres-Lezama A., van der Plas F., Vasquez R., Viana H., Vibrans A.C., Vilanova E., Vos V.A., Wang H.-F., Westerlund B., White L.J.T., Wiser S.K., Zawila-Niedzwiecki T., Zemagho L., Zhu Z.-X., Zo-Bi I.C., Liang J., Purdue University [West Lafayette], University of Wisconsin-Madison, FAO Forestry, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie] (FAO), SILVA (SILVA), AgroParisTech-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Département Systèmes Biologiques (Cirad-BIOS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Nouvelle-Calédonie]), Cazzolla Gatti, Roberto [0000-0001-5130-8492], Reich, Peter B [0000-0003-4424-662X], Hui, Cang [0000-0002-3660-8160], Morera, Albert [0000-0002-6777-169X], de-Miguel, Sergio [0000-0002-9738-0657], Svenning, Jens-Christian [0000-0002-3415-0862], Serra-Diaz, Josep M [0000-0003-1988-1154], Alberti, Giorgio [0000-0003-2422-3009], Bongers, Frans [0000-0002-8431-6189], Bouriaud, Olivier [0000-0002-8046-466X], Brancalion, Pedro HS [0000-0001-8245-4062], César, Ricardo Gomes [0000-0002-3392-8089], Chen, Han YH [0000-0001-9477-5541], Cienciala, Emil [0000-0002-1254-4254], Coomes, David [0000-0002-8261-2582], Djuikouo, Marie Noel Kamdem [0000-0003-0064-5151], Van Do, Tran [0000-0001-9059-5842], Feldpausch, Ted R [0000-0002-6631-7962], Jaroszewicz, Bogdan [0000-0002-2042-8245], Jeffery, Kathryn J [0000-0002-2632-0008], Kennard, Deborah K [0000-0003-4842-8260], Kim, Hyun Seok [0000-0002-3440-6071], Labrière, Nicolas [0000-0002-8037-2001], Maitner, Brian S [0000-0002-2118-9880], Malhi, Yadvinder [0000-0002-3503-4783], Peri, Pablo Luis [0000-0002-5398-4408], Phillips, Oliver L [0000-0002-8993-6168], Poorter, Lourens [0000-0003-1391-4875], Poulsen, John R [0000-0002-1532-9808], Salas-Eljatib, Christian [0000-0002-8468-0829], Schepaschenko, Dmitry [0000-0002-7814-4990], Silveira, Marcos [0000-0003-0485-7872], Slik, Ferry [0000-0003-3988-7019], Sonké, Bonaventure [0000-0002-4310-3603], Terborgh, John [0000-0003-1853-8311], Wiser, Susan K [0000-0002-8938-8181], Liang, Jingjing [0000-0001-9439-9320], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, and Coomes, David A [0000-0002-8261-2582]

Subjects
Cambios Antropogénicos, Richness, SAMPLE, Earth, Planet, Rarity, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, DIVERSITY, Forests, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, Trees, forest, Bioma, Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Biome, espèce (taxon), HETEROGENEITY, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Forest Biodiversity, hyperdominance, Riqueza de Especies, Ecosystem Services, biodiversity, forests, hyperdominance, rarity, richness, biodiversity, Multidisciplinary, Hyperdominance, Overall Scale, F70 - Taxonomie végétale et phytogéographie, Biodiversity, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Écologie des populations, PE&RC, COVERAGE, Boscos i silvicultura, Biometris, Forest Ecosystems, ABUNDANCE, Anthropogenic Changes, Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, Biodiversité, леса, Conservation of Natural Resources, F40 - Écologie végétale, Servicios de los Ecosistemas, Vulnerability, ECOLOGIA DE POPULAÇÕES, Arbre, ECOLOGY, Biodiversidad, forests, rarity, richness, Ecosistemas Forestales, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, COMPLETENESS, Árboles, Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA, Richness Species, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Laboratorium voor Geo-informatiekunde en Remote Sensing, K70 - Dégâts causés aux forêts et leur protection, Biodiversidad Forestal, Escala Global, Vegetatie, деревья, Vegetation, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, biodiversité forestière, биоразнообразие, PATTERNS, Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Vulnerabilidad
Abstract

One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119 (6), ISSN:0027-8424, ISSN:1091-6490

Published
2022

10. Resistance of African tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

Author

Hans Verbeeck, Jacques Mukinzi, Hermann Taedoumg, Connie J. Clark, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Peter M. Umunay, John R. Poulsen, John T. Woods, Pascal Boeckx, Armandu K. Daniels, Vianet Mihindu, David Harris, Yannick Enock Bocko, Serge K. Begne, Thalès de Haulleville, Greta C. Dargie, C. Amani, Terry Sunderland, Miguel E. Leal, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Elizabeth Kearsley, Terry Brncic, Suspense Averti Ifo, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Jean-Louis Doucet, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Yadvinder Malhi, Jefferson S. Hall, Vincent P. Medjibe, Olivier J. Hardy, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jean-Remy Makana, Darlington Tuagben, Jan Reitsma, Natacha Nssi Begone, Bonaventure Sonké, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Sam Moore, Jan Bogaert, Joey Talbot, Lise Zemagho, Marie-Noël Djuikouo Kamdem, Eric Chezeaux, Declan L. M. Cooper, Christelle Gonmadje, Oliver L. Phillips, Georgia Pickavance, Faustin Mbayu Lukasu, Amy C. Bennett, Hannsjoerg Woell, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Lee J. T. White, Lindsay F. Banin, Hans Beeckman, Fidèle Evouna Ondo, Simon L. Lewis, Wannes Hubau, Jason Vleminckx, Aurora Levesley, Corneille E. N. Ewango, and Ernest G. Foli

Subjects
Agriculture and Food Sciences, Hot Temperature, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Environmental change, DIVERSITY, drought, 01 natural sciences, Trees, BIOMASS, Soil respiration, CARBON STORAGE, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, 0303 health sciences, Biomass (ecology), Multidisciplinary, Ecology, PRODUCTIVITY, Biological Sciences, Droughts, GROWTH, TREES, CO2, Seasons, ENSO, Biologie, SOIL RESPIRATION, El Nino, Rainforest, Climate Change, MODELS, Climate change, Ecology and Environment, Carbon Cycle, Carbon cycle, 03 medical and health sciences, parasitic diseases, carbon cycle, Humans, El Niño, Precipitation, 030304 developmental biology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Tropical Climate, temperature, Tropics, 15. Life on land, 13. Climate action, cavelab, Environmental science, Tropical rainforest
Abstract

The responses of tropical forests to environmental change are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The positive phase of the 2015–2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation in the tropics with substantial impacts on the global carbon cycle. The role of African tropical forests is uncertain as their responses to short-term drought and temperature anomalies have yet to be determined using on-the-ground measurements. African tropical forests may be particularly sensitive because they exist in relatively dry conditions compared with Amazonian or Asian forests, or they may be more resistant because of an abundance of drought-adapted species. Here, we report responses of structurally intact old-growth lowland tropical forests inventoried within the African Tropical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON). We use 100 long-term inventory plots from six countries each measured at least twice prior to and once following the 2015–2016 El Niño event. These plots experienced the highest temperatures and driest conditions on record. The record temperature did not significantly reduce carbon gains from tree growth or significantly increase carbon losses from tree mortality, but the record drought did significantly decrease net carbon uptake. Overall, the long-term biomass increase of these forests was reduced due to the El Niño event, but these plots remained a live biomass carbon sink (0.51 ± 0.40 Mg C ha −1 y −1 ) despite extreme environmental conditions. Our analyses, while limited to African tropical forests, suggest they may be more resistant to climatic extremes than Amazonian and Asian forests., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Published
2021

11. The Forest Observation System, building a global reference dataset for remote sensing of forest biomass

Author

Cintia Rodrigues de Souza, Ivan Lakyda, Ulrik Ilstedt, Luzmila Arroyo, Jean Claude Konan Koffi, Dennis Del Castillo Torres, Klaus Scipal, Bruno Hérault, Olga V. Trefilova, Krzysztof Stereńczak, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, Pulchérie Bissiengou, John T. Woods, Petro Lakyda, Andrii Bilous, Olga V. Moroziuk, Sergey Vasiliev, Casimiro Mendoza, C. Dresel, Jason Vleminckx, José Antonio Manzanera, Thales A.P. West, Ted R. Feldpausch, Hervé Memiaghe, Estella F. Vedrova, Maria Shchepashchenko, Linda See, Hans ter Steege, Samsudin Musa, Nicolas Labrière, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Christoph Perger, Terry L. Erwin, Alexei Aleinikov, Ervan Rutishauser, Hannsjorg Woell, Irie Casimir Zo-Bi, Simon L. Lewis, Marcus Vinicio Neves d'Oliveira, Mikhail A. Kuznetsov, N. V. Lukina, Nataly Ascarrunz, Justyna Szatniewska, Lucas Mazzei, Dilshad M. Danilina, Wannes Hubau, V.N. Karminov, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Toshinori Okuda, Steffen Fritz, Vladimir G. Radchenko, Edson Vidal, Raisa K. Matyashuk, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Bonaventure Sonké, Toshihiro Yamada, Maksym Matsala, Viktor V. Ivanov, Timothy J. Killeen, Mikhail D. Evdokimenko, John R. Poulsen, Hermann Taedoumg, David F. R. P. Burslem, Zamah Shari Nur Hajar, K. S. Bobkova, Nicholas J. Berry, C. Amani, Eleneide Doff Sotta, Sergey V. Verhovets, Caroline Bedeau, Celso Paulo de Azevedo, Yadvinder Malhi, Ernest Gothard-Bassébé, Verginia Wortel, Kenneth Rodney, N. E. Shevchenko, Antonio García-Abril, Milton Kanashiro, Marcelino Carneiro Guedes, Timothy R. Baker, Maureen Playfair, Leonid Krivobokov, Laurent Descroix, Elena B. Tikhonova, Ernest G. Foli, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Keith C. Hamer, Anatoly Shvidenko, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Alfonso Alonso, Olga Martynenko, M. E. Konovalova, Svitlana Bilous, Jan Krejza, Florian Hofhansl, Jan Falck, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Stuart J. Davies, John Armston, Vincent A. Vos, Roel J. W. Brienen, Oliver L. Phillips, Andrey Osipov, Wolfgang Wanek, Farida Herry Susanty, Jérôme Chave, Robin B. Foster, Richard Condit, Anders Karlsson, Lilian Blanc, Juan Carlos Licona, Niro Higuchi, Ademir Roberto Ruschel, Stephen P. Hubbell, Stephan A. Pietsch, Radomir Bałazy, Marisol Toledo, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Ruben Valbuena, Richard Lucas, Luís Cláudio de Oliveira, P. V. Ontikov, Nadezhda A. Vladimirova, Daniel Lussetti, Florian Kraxner, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Andes Hamuraby Rozak, Foma K. Vozmitel, Maria Gornova, Marcos Silveira, Plinio Sist, A. V. Gornov, Tatyana Braslavskaya, Haruni Krisnawati, Leonid Stonozhenko, D. I. Nazimova, James Singh, Géraldine Derroire, Liudmila Mukhortova, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Forêts et Sociétés (Cirad-Es-UPR 105 Forêts et Sociétés), Département Environnements et Sociétés (Cirad-ES), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Commissariat général du Plan (CGP), Premier ministre, AgroParisTech, Mensurat Unit, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Universidad Autonoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM), University of Maryland [College Park], University of Maryland System, Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal (IBIF), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), ONF - Direction régionale de la Guyane [Cayenne], Office National des Forêts (ONF), Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique (CENAREST), CENAREST, School of Geography [Leeds], University of Leeds, Dept Geog, University College of London [London] (UCL), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [Laxenburg] (IIASA), Embrapa Amapa, Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Instituto Nacional de Pequisas da Amazônia, Instituto National de Pequisas da Amazonia Brazil, Royal Museum for Central Africa [Tervuren] (RMCA), Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Laboratoire de Mathématiques de Neuchâtel, Fond National Suisse, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology [Moscow] (MIPT), Department of Geography and Earth Sciences (DGES), Aberystwyth University, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford [Oxford], Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), Instituto de Manejo Forestal, Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), Institute for Evolutionary Ecology (IEE), National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), CarboForExpert, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Université Libre de Bruxelles [Bruxelles] (ULB), University of Yaoundé [Cameroun], Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden], Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, University of São Paulo, Department of Integrative Biology [Berkeley] (IB), University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, Biodiversity Department, Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname (CELOS), Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, DMITRY SCHEPASCHENKO, SAMSUDIN MUSA, DINA I. NAZIMOVA, TOSHINORI OKUDA, PETR V. ONTIKOV, ANDREY F. OSIPOV, STEPHAN PIETSCH, MAUREEN PLAYFAIR, JOHN POULSEN, VLADIMIR G. RADCHENKO, KENNETH RODNEY, ANDES H. ROZAK, ERVAN RUTISHAUSER, LINDA SEE, MARIA SHCHEPASHCHENKO, RAISA K. MATYASHUK, MAKSYM MATSALA, OLGA V. MARTYNENKO, RODOLFO VASQUEZ MARTINEZ, BEN HUR MARIMON JUNIOR, BEATRIZ MARIMON, JOSÉ ANTONIO MANZANERA, FLORIAN HOFHANSL, MARCELINO CARNEIRO GUEDES, CPAF-AP, LUCAS JOSE MAZZEI DE FREITAS, CPATU, PETRO I. LAKYDA, JUAN CARLOS LICONA, JÉRÔME CHAVE, OLIVER L. PHILLIPS, SIMON L. LEWIS, STUART J. DAVIES, MAXIME RÉJOU-MÉCHAIN, PLINIO SIST, KLAUS SCIPAL, CHRISTOPH PERGER, BRUNO HERAULT, NICOLAS LABRIÈRE, KOFI AFFUM-BAFFOE, ALEXEI ALEINIKOV, ALFONSO ALONSO, CHRISTIAN AMANI, ALEJANDRO ARAUJO-MURAKAMI, JOHN ARMSTON, LUZMILA ARROYO, NATALY ASCARRUNZ, CELSO PAULO DE AZEVEDO, CPAA, TIMOTHY BAKER, RADOMIR BALAZY, CAROLINE BEDEAU, NICHOLAS BERRY, ANDRII M. BILOUS, SVITLANA YU. BILOUS, PULCHÉRIE BISSIENGOU, LILIAN BLANC, KAPITOLINA S. BOBKOVA, TATYANA BRASLAVSKAYA, ROEL BRIENEN, DAVID F. R. P. BURSLEM, RICHARD CONDIT, AIDA CUNI-SANCHEZ, DILSHAD DANILINA, DENNIS DEL CASTILLO TORRES, GÉRALDINE DERROIRE, LAURENT DESCROIX, ELENEIDE DOFF SOTTA, MARCUS VINICIO NEVES D OLIVEIRA, CPAF-AC, CHRISTOPHER DRESEL, TERRY ERWIN, MIKHAIL D. EVDOKIMENKO, JAN FALCK, TED R. FELDPAUSCH, ERNEST G. FOLI, ROBIN FOSTER, STEFFEN FRITZ, ANTONIO DAMIAN GARCIA-ABRIL, ALEKSEY GORNOV, MARIA GORNOVA, ERNEST GOTHARD-BASSÉBÉ, SYLVIE GOURLET-FLEURY, KEITH C. HAMER, FARIDA HERRY SUSANTY, NIRO HIGUCHI, EURÍDICE N. HONORIO CORONADO, WANNES HUBAU, STEPHEN HUBBELL, ULRIK ILSTEDT, VIKTOR V. IVANOV, MILTON KANASHIRO, CPATU, ANDERS KARLSSON, VIKTOR N. KARMINOV, TIMOTHY KILLEEN, JEAN-CLAUDE KONAN KOFFI, MARIA KONOVALOVA, FLORIAN KRAXNER, JAN KREJZA, HARUNI KRISNAWATI, LEONID V. KRIVOBOKOV, MIKHAIL A. KUZNETSOV, IVAN LAKYDA, RICHARD M. LUCAS, NATALIA LUKINA, DANIEL LUSSETTI, YADVINDER MALHI, NIKOLAY SHEVCHENKO, ANATOLY SHVIDENKO, MARCOS SILVEIRA, JAMES SINGH, BONAVENTURE SONKÉ, CINTIA RODRIGUES DE SOUZA, CPAA, KRZYSZTOF STERENCZAK, LEONID STONOZHENKO, MARTIN J. P. SULLIVAN, JUSTYNA SZATNIEWSKA, HERMANN TAEDOUMG, HANS TER STEEGE, ELENA TIKHONOVA, MARISOL TOLEDO, OLGA V. TREFILOVA, RUBEN VALBUENA, LUIS VALENZUELA GAMARRA, SERGEY VASILIEV, ESTELLA F. VEDROVA, SERGEY V. VERHOVETS, EDSON VIDAL, NADEZHDA A. VLADIMIROVA, JASON VLEMINCKX, VINCENT A. VOS, FOMA K. VOZMITEL, WOLFGANG WANEK, THALES A. P. WEST, HANNSJORG WOELL, JOHN T. WOODS, VERGINIA WORTEL, TOSHIHIRO YAMADA, ZAMAH SHARI NUR HAJAR, IRIÉ CASIMIR ZO-BI., LUIS CLAUDIO DE OLIVEIRA, CPAF-AC, HERVÉ MEMIAGHE, ADEMIR ROBERTO RUSCHEL, CPATU, CASIMIRO MENDOZA, ABEL MONTEAGUDO MENDOZA, OLGA V. MOROZIUK, LIUDMILA MUKHORTOVA, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Forêts et Sociétés (UPR Forêts et Sociétés), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Missouri Botanical Garden, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo (UFES), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Systems Ecology, Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Office national des forêts (ONF), University of Oxford, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien = University of Natural Resources and Life [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo (USP), University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), and University of California (UC)-University of California (UC)

Subjects
DYNAMICS, 0106 biological sciences, Canopy, Monitoreo de bosques, Data Descriptor, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, DIVERSITY, Biomasa, Biomassa, Forests, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, biomasse aérienne des arbres, Forest Observation System (FOS), CARBON STORAGE, K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, Teledetección, Biomass, NETWORK, Greenhouse gas accounting, lcsh:Science, SDG 15 - Life on Land, Biomass (ecology), Evaluación de los recursos forestales, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Renewable energy, Computer Science Applications, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Biogeography, Manejo Florestal, Forêt, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, SENSITIVITY, Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty, Banque de données, Environmental Monitoring, Sensoriamento Remoto, ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS, Information Systems, Statistics and Probability, Conservation of Natural Resources, Forest biomass, P40 - Météorologie et climatologie, Télédétection, Ecologia Florestal, Library and Information Sciences, 010603 evolutionary biology, Education, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Forest ecology, Ecosystem, RATES, atténuation des effets du changement climatique, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, business.industry, bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb, 15. Life on land, cartographie des fonctions de la forêt, Climate change mitigation, Bosque tropical, 13. Climate action, Earth and Environmental Sciences, DENSITY, Remote Sensing Technology, PATTERNS, Environmental science, lcsh:Q, Physical geography, U30 - Méthodes de recherche, Réchauffement global, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Scale (map), business, ccccccccccccccccccccc
Abstract

Forest biomass is an essential indicator for monitoring the Earth’s ecosystems and climate. It is a critical input to greenhouse gas accounting, estimation of carbon losses and forest degradation, assessment of renewable energy potential, and for developing climate change mitigation policies such as REDD+, among others. Wall-to-wall mapping of aboveground biomass (AGB) is now possible with satellite remote sensing (RS). However, RS methods require extant, up-to-date, reliable, representative and comparable in situ data for calibration and validation. Here, we present the Forest Observation System (FOS) initiative, an international cooperation to establish and maintain a global in situ forest biomass database. AGB and canopy height estimates with their associated uncertainties are derived at a 0.25 ha scale from field measurements made in permanent research plots across the world’s forests. All plot estimates are geolocated and have a size that allows for direct comparison with many RS measurements. The FOS offers the potential to improve the accuracy of RS-based biomass products while developing new synergies between the RS and ground-based ecosystem research communities., Measurement(s)above-ground biomass • organic materialTechnology Type(s)tree species census • measurement methodFactor Type(s)geographic location • tree speciesSample Characteristic - Environmentforest biomeSample Characteristic - LocationEarth (planet) Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.9850571

Published
2019

12. Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa

Author

Emilio Vilanova, Percy Núñez Vargas, John Terborgh, Jan Reitsma, Ricardo Keichi Umetsu, Bonaventure Sonké, Danaë M. A. Rozendaal, Olaf Bánki, Timothy R. Baker, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Susan G. Laurance, Marcos Silveira, Mark C. Vanderwel, William F. Laurance, Andrew R. Marshall, Oliver L. Phillips, Sophie Fauset, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Yadvinder Malhi, José Luís Camargo, Terry Sunderland, Ted R. Feldpausch, Lourens Poorter, Marie Noel Djuikouo Kamdem, Hermann Taedoumg, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, David A. Neill, Timothy J. Killeen, James A. Comiskey, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Vincent A. Vos, Roel J. W. Brienen, Simon L. Lewis, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Lise Zemagho, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Lee J. T. White, Ana Andrade, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Hans ter Steege, Simon Willcock, and Systems Ecology

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, forest dynamics, tropical forest, media_common.quotation_subject, Biome, tree growth, Biology, Forests, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Competition (biology), Article, Basal area, Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Laboratorium voor Geo-informatiekunde en Remote Sensing, Growth rate, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecosystem, media_common, Tropical Climate, Forest dynamics, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, soil fertility, Community structure, Articles, trait-based models, wood density, PE&RC, Wood, mortality, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, trait‐based models, climatic water deficit, Africa, neighborhood effects, Soil fertility, Crop and Weed Ecology, competition, Brazil
Abstract

Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree’s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale geographic and environmental variation in these competitive effects has yet to be evaluated across the tropical forest biome. We quantified effects of competition on tree-level basal area growth and mortality for trees ≥10-cm diameter across 151 ~1-ha plots in mature tropical forests in Amazonia and tropical Africa by developing nonlinear models that accounted for wood density, tree size, and neighborhood crowding. Using these models, we assessed how water availability (i.e., climatic water deficit) and soil fertility influenced the predicted plot-level strength of competition (i.e., the extent to which growth is reduced, or mortality is increased, by competition across all individual trees). On both continents, tree basal area growth decreased with wood density and increased with tree size. Growth decreased with neighborhood crowding, which suggests that competition is important. Tree mortality decreased with wood density and generally increased with tree size, but was apparently unaffected by neighborhood crowding. Across plots, variation in the plot-level strength of competition was most strongly related to plot basal area (i.e., the sum of the basal area of all trees in a plot), with greater reductions in growth occurring in forests with high basal area, but in Amazonia, the strength of competition also varied with plot-level wood density. In Amazonia, the strength of competition increased with water availability because of the greater basal area of wetter forests, but was only weakly related to soil fertility. In Africa, competition was weakly related to soil fertility and invariant across the shorter water availability gradient. Overall, our results suggest that competition influences the structure and dynamics of tropical forests primarily through effects on individual tree growth rather than mortality and that the strength of competition largely depends on environment-mediated variation in basal area. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Ecological Society of America

Published
2020

13. Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth's tropical forests

Author

Bruno Herault, Peter J. Van Der Meer, Jean-François Bastin, Aurora Levesley, Michael D. Swaine, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, Martin Dančák, Matt Bradford, Frans Bongers, Stuart J. Davies, Reuben Nilus, Adriano José Nogueira Lima, Lip Khoon Kho, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Joey Talbot, Richard F. Preziosi, Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte, James A. Comiskey, Thalès de Haulleville, José Luís Camargo, Terese B. Hart, Juliana Schietti, Peter S. Ashton, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Ophelia Wang, Kanehiro Kitayama, Francis Q. Brearley, Peter van der Hout, Amy C. Bennett, Janvier Lisingo, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Jérôme Chave, Connie J. Clark, Christopher Baraloto, Gerardo Aymard, Serge K. Begne, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Fernanda Coelho de Souza, Timothy R. Baker, Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri, Julie Peacock, Hermann Taedoumg, Simon L. Lewis, Yahn Carlos Soto Shareva, Greta C. Dargie, Murielle Simo-Droissart, David Harris, Faizah Metali, Hans ter Steege, Richard Lowe, Géraldine Derroire, Benoit Burban, Camila Silva Valeria, Martin Svátek, Wannes Hubau, Sarah A. Batterman, Vincent A. Vos, Elizabeth Kearsley, Peter M. Umunay, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Flávia R. C. Costa, Hans Verbeeck, Maria Cristina Peñuela Mora, John R. Poulsen, Simon Willcock, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Jean-Louis Doucet, Foster Brown, Yadvinder Malhi, Luisa Fernanda Duque, Ronald Vernimmen, Miguel E. Leal, Alan Hamilton, Martin Gilpin, Colin R. Maycock, Carlos Cerón, Radim Hédl, Oliver L. Phillips, Walter Huaraca Huasco, Jon C. Lovett, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Roderick Zagt, Ted R. Feldpausch, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Pascal Boeckx, Roel J. W. Brienen, Marcelo F. Simon, Keith C. Hamer, Alberto Vicentini, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Clément Stahl, Javier Silva Espejo, Ana Andrade, Anand Roopsind, Erika Berenguer, Pieter A. Zuidema, Vianet Mihindou, Murray Collins, Simone Matias Reis, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Marie Noël Kamdem Djuikouo, Terry Brncic, Percy Núñez Vargas, John Terborgh, Paulo S. Morandi, Bonaventure Sonké, Jan Bogaert, William E. Magnusson, Lilian Blanc, Terry L. Erwin, Ervan Rutishauser, Anthony Di Fiore, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Massiel Corrales Medina, Nicholas J. Berry, Juliana Stropp, Maureen Playfair, Luzmila Arroyo, Douglas Sheil, Armando Torres-Lezama, David A. Neill, Sean C. Thomas, Eric Arets, Ernest G. Foli, Lola da Costa, Ricardo Keichi Umetsu, Lan Qie, James Singh, Lise Zemagho, Agustín Rudas, Richard B. Primack, Jan Reitsma, Annette Hladik, Alexander K. Koch, Colin A. Pendry, Walter A. Palacios, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Nicolas Labrière, Fernando Elias, Eric Chezeaux, William Milliken, Manuel Gloor, Romeo Ekoungoulou, Jefferson S. Hall, Henrique E. M. Nascimento, Susan G. Laurance, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Marcos Silveira, Carolina V. Castilho, Plínio Barbosa de Camargo, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Kamariah Abu Salim, Joeri A. Zwerts, Marcelo Brilhante de Medeiros, Jos Barlow, Georgia Pickavance, Joice Ferreira, Mark van Nieuwstadt, Jorcely Barroso, Andrew R. Marshall, Miguel Alexiades, Lindsay F. Banin, Terry Sunderland, Lourens Poorter, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Varun Swamy, Rafael Herrera, Hans Beeckman, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Shin-ichiro Aiba, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Michelle Kalamandeen, Adriana Prieto, Ben Hur Marimon, Casimiro Mendoza, Victor Chama Moscoso, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Vincent Droissart, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Hannah L. Mossman, Everton Cristo de Almeida, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Ângelo Gilberto Manzatto, Aurélie Dourdain, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Raquel Thomas, David W. Galbraith, Kenneth R. Young, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Timothy J. Killeen, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Bente B. Klitgaard, James Taplin, Damien Bonal, Karina Melgaço, William F. Laurance, Jason Vleminckx, Esteban Alvarez Dávila, Verginia Wortel, Richarlly da Costa Silva, Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa, Sophie Fauset, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Wendeson Castro, Toby R. Marthews, Fabricio Beggiato Baccaro, John T. Woods, David Taylor, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Andrew Ford, Niro Higuchi, Aida Cuni Sanchez, Aline Pontes Lopes, Laszlo Nagy, John Pipoly, Lee J. T. White, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, European Research Council, European Commission, Royal Society (UK), Leverhulme Trust, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brasil), Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), Missouri Botanical Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic Society, Centre for International Forestry Research, Agence Nationale Des Parcs Nationaux (Gabon), University of Leeds, Mensurat Unit, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal de Roraima, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Sch Geog, University of Nottingham, Department of Biology, Higher Teachers Training College (HTTC), Université deYaoundé I, School of Geography [Leeds], University of Edinburgh, School of Geography and the Environment, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford [Oxford], Grad Sch Sci & Engn, Kagoshima University, University of Kent [Canterbury], Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Duke University [Durham], Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), University of Campinas [Campinas] (UNICAMP), National Institute for Space Research [Sao José dos Campos] (INPE), Universidad Autonoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Dept Organism & Evolutionary Biol, Harvard University [Cambridge], Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Research Unit of Landscape Ecology and Plant Production Systems, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University [Bremen], Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Sch Geosci, Laboratory of Applied Physical Chemistry, Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium] (UGENT), Biodiversité et Paysage, Université de Liège - Gembloux, Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Forest Ecol & Forest Management Grp, CSIRO Land and Water, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), Woods Hole Research Center, Partenaires INRAE, Herbario Alfredo Paredes, Universidad Agraria del Ecuador, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Rougier Gabon, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program, Federal University of Para - Universidade Federal do Para [Belem - Brésil], Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana [Loreto, Perou] (UNAP), AgroParisTech, University of Texas at Austin [Austin], Université de Liège, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire des Milieux Désordonnés et Hétérogènes (LMDH), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Commissariat général du Plan (CGP), Premier ministre, Instituto Nacional de Pequisas da Amazônia, Instituto National de Pequisas da Amazonia Brazil, Éco-Anthropologie (EAE), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, BP 30 379 Libreville, Gabon, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kyoto University, Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität = Friedrich Schiller University Jena [Jena, Germany], James Cook University (JCU), Laboratoire d'Etude de l'Apprentissage et du Développement [Dijon] (LEAD), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Bourgogne (UB), Coordenac Bao de Pesquisas em Ecologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), University of Mary Washington, Chercheur indépendant, Royal Botanic Garden , Kew, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical and Health Science Center, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (IST), Universidad Estatal Amazonica, Forest Research Centre (FRC), Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Natural History Museum [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO), Bur Waarderburg, Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, CarboForExpert, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi [Belém, Brésil] (MPEG), Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), University of Yaoundé [Cameroun], JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra] (JRC), Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Plant Systemat & Ecol Lab, Université de Yaoundé I, Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children [London] (GOSH), Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden], Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal, Universidad de los Andes [Bogota] (UNIANDES), University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Van der Hout Forestry Consulting, University Medical Center Groningen [Groningen] (UMCG), Computational & Applied Vegetation Ecology (CAVElab), Department of Integrative Biology [Berkeley] (IB), University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, Sch Earth Sci & Environm Sustainabil, Northern Arizona University [Flagstaff], University of Stirling, Biol Sci, Liverpool John Moore University (ljmu), Biodiversity Department, Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname (CELOS), Sub Ecology and Biodiversity, Sub Animal Ecology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Animal Ecology, and Systems Ecology

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Tropical trees, Hot Temperature, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Earth, Planet, Climate, Acclimatization, Tropical forest carbon stocks, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, Growth, Forests, Atmospheric sciences, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 01 natural sciences, Trees, Tropical climate, SDG 13 - Climate Action, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Biomass, Photosynthesis, Hectare, Productivity, Biomass (ecology), Multidisciplinary, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, PE&RC, Wood, Productivity (ecology), Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, C180 Ecology, Tree, Leaf Respiration, Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks, Climate Change, Climate change and forestry, Climate change, 010603 evolutionary biology, Carbon cycle, Carbon Cycle, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Life Science, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Vegetatie, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Tropical Climate, Vegetation, Global warming, Tropics, 15. Life on land, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Carbon, CO₂ Fertilization, 13. Climate action, Environmental science, Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Acclimation
Abstract

The sensitivity of tropical forest carbon to climate is a key uncertainty in predicting global climate change. Although short-term drying and warming are known to affect forests, it is unknown if such effects translate into long-term responses. Here, we analyze 590 permanent plots measured across the tropics to derive the equilibrium climate controls on forest carbon. Maximum temperature is the most important predictor of aboveground biomass (-9.1 megagrams of carbon per hectare per degree Celsius), primarily by reducing woody productivity, and has a greater impact per °C in the hottest forests (>32.2°C). Our results nevertheless reveal greater thermal resilience than observations of short-term variation imply. To realize the long-term climate adaptation potential of tropical forests requires both protecting them and stabilizing Earth's climate., Our plot monitoring networks havebeen supported by multiple grants from a large number of funding bodies: European Research Council; Natural Environment Research Council; European Union’s Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Framework Programme; Royal Society, Leverhulme Trust; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); National Council for Science and Technology Development of Brazil (CNPq); Agence Nationale de la Recherche; Conservation International; Missouri Botanical Garden; Smithsonian Institution; Wildlife Conservation Society; National Geographic Society; Centre for International Forestry; and Gabon’s National Park Agency.

Published
2020

14. Asynchronous carbon sink saturation in African and Amazonian tropical forests

Author

Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, David A. Coomes, Connie J. Clark, Hannsjörg Wöll, Douglas Sheil, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Katharine Abernethy, Hans Verbeeck, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Ted R. Feldpausch, Terese B. Hart, Sam Moore, Robert Bitariho, Francesco Rovero, Joey Talbot, Lise Zemagho, C. Amani, Jefferson S. Hall, Sean C. Thomas, Amy C. Bennett, Pascal Boeckx, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Armandu K. Daniels, Fabrice Bénédet, Yadvinder Malhi, Alusine Fofanah, John R. Poulsen, David Kenfack, Lindsay F. Banin, Janvier Lisingo, Hans Beeckman, Jean-Louis Doucet, Eric Chezeaux, Emanuel Gloor, Mireille Breuer-Ndoundou Hockemba, Timothy R. Baker, Jan Reitsma, Vincent P. Medjibe, Christelle Gonmadje, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Marie Noel Djuikouo Kamdem, Fidèle Baya, Serge K. Begne, Patrick Boundja, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Lucas Ojo, Roel J. W. Brienen, Hermann Taedoumg, Natacha Nssi Bengone, Benjamin Toirambe, Lan Qie, Jon C. Lovett, Greta C. Dargie, Elizabeth Kearsley, Darlington Tuagben, George B. Chuyong, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury, Fidèle Evouna Ondo, Terry Brncic, Pantaleo K. T. Munishi, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Tommaso Jucker, Simon Willcock, Yannick Enock Bocko, Emanuel H. Martin, Vianet Mihindou, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Simon L. Lewis, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, Jean-Remy Makana, Andrew R. Marshall, Martin Gilpin, Bonaventure Sonké, Jeremy A. Lindsell, Faustin M. Mbayu, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Wannes Hubau, Suspense Averti Ifo, Peter M. Umunay, Duncan W. Thomas, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Ernest G. Foli, Lee J. T. White, Jaccques M. Mukinzi, Georgia Pickavance, James Taplin, Terry Sunderland, Annette Hladik, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Jason Vleminckx, Oliver L. Phillips, Sophie Fauset, Alexander K. Koch, David Harris, Miguel E. Leal, Alan Hamilton, Aurora Levesley, Michael D. Swaine, James A. Comiskey, Thalès de Haulleville, John T. Woods, David Taylor, Jim Martin, and Murray Collins

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Carbon Sequestration, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Rainforest, Carbon sequestration, Forests, Atmospheric sciences, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, History, 21st Century, Sink (geography), Trees, chemistry.chemical_compound, Forest ecology, Tropical climate, Life Science, Biomass, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, geography, Tropical Climate, Multidisciplinary, geography.geographical_feature_category, Atmosphere, Temperature, Carbon sink, Carbon Dioxide, History, 20th Century, Models, Theoretical, Droughts, chemistry, Carbon dioxide, Africa, Environmental science, C180 Ecology, Brazil
Abstract

Structurally intact tropical forests sequestered about half of the global terrestrial carbon uptake over the 1990s and early 2000s, removing about 15 per cent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions1,2,3. Climate-driven vegetation models typically predict that this tropical forest ‘carbon sink’ will continue for decades4,5. Here we assess trends in the carbon sink using 244 structurally intact African tropical forests spanning 11 countries, compare them with 321 published plots from Amazonia and investigate the underlying drivers of the trends. The carbon sink in live aboveground biomass in intact African tropical forests has been stable for the three decades to 2015, at 0.66 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year (95 per cent confidence interval 0.53–0.79), in contrast to the long-term decline in Amazonian forests6. Therefore the carbon sink responses of Earth’s two largest expanses of tropical forest have diverged. The difference is largely driven by carbon losses from tree mortality, with no detectable multi-decadal trend in Africa and a long-term increase in Amazonia. Both continents show increasing tree growth, consistent with the expected net effect of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and air temperature7,8,9. Despite the past stability of the African carbon sink, our most intensively monitored plots suggest a post-2010 increase in carbon losses, delayed compared to Amazonia, indicating asynchronous carbon sink saturation on the two continents. A statistical model including carbon dioxide, temperature, drought and forest dynamics accounts for the observed trends and indicates a long-term future decline in the African sink, whereas the Amazonian sink continues to weaken rapidly. Overall, the uptake of carbon into Earth’s intact tropical forests peaked in the 1990s. Given that the global terrestrial carbon sink is increasing in size, independent observations indicating greater recent carbon uptake into the Northern Hemisphere landmass10 reinforce our conclusion that the intact tropical forest carbon sink has already peaked. This saturation and ongoing decline of the tropical forest carbon sink has consequences for policies intended to stabilize Earth’s climate.

Published
2019

15. Mine versus Wild : a plant conservation checklist of the rich Iron-Ore Ngovayang Massif Area (South Cameroon)

Author

Bonaventure Sonké, Olivier Lachenaud, Hermann Taedoumg, Tariq Stévart, Gyslène Kamdem, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Vincent Droissart, Steven Dessein, Gilles Dauby, K Charlemagne Nguembou, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Université Libre de Bruxelles [Bruxelles] (ULB), Botanic Garden Meise, University of Yaoundé [Cameroun], Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Meise Botanic Garden [Belgium] (Plantentuin), Missouri Botanical Garden, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, IUCN protected area categories, Rare species, Biodiversity, Endangered species, Rubiaceae, Plant Science, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Iron and gold exploitation, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, orchids, Endemism, Submontane forest, iron and gold exploitation, 2. Zero hunger, New records, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, new records, Forestry, endangered species, 15. Life on land, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Ex situ conservation, Orchids, submontane forest, Geography, Herbarium, Important Plant Area, Threatened species, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

International audience; Background and aims – The rapid expansion of human activities in South Cameroon, particularly mining in mountainous areas, threatens this region’s exceptional biodiversity. To comprehend the effects of land-use change on plant diversity and identify conservation priorities, we aim at providing a first comprehensive plant checklist of the Ngovayang Massif, focusing on the two richest plant families, Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae.Location – The Ngovayang Massif Area (NMA) is located in the South Region of Cameroon. It is covered by lowland and submontane rainforest (100 to 1110 m elevation).Methods – We compiled a dataset of 6116 georeferenced herbarium specimens, of which 2787 belong to Rubiaceae and Orchidaceae. We used rarefaction methods to explore sampling and diversity patterns, and investigated the altitudinal distribution of rare and/or threatened taxa.Key results – The NMA, which houses about 1500 vascular plant taxa, is the richest documented area for Rubiaceae in Atlantic Central Africa (ACA) and the fifth for Orchidaceae, with respectively 281 and 111 taxa. Among these taxa, 178 (45%) are endemic to ACA and 67 (17%) are considered globally threatened according to IUCN categories and criteria. We show that higher elevation areas (> 750 m), which are also the main areas targeted for mining, are the richest in endangered and/or rare species. Three new records for Cameroon are reported here.Conclusion – The NMA represents an Important Plant Area of Cameroon as confirmed by its exceptional plant diversity (> 20% of the total Flora of Cameroon), by the concentration of many threatened and/or restricted range species (10 taxa are strict endemics of the massif) as well as by the threat on rare habitats (i.e. the submontane vegetation above ~750 m elevation). A management plan involving in situ and ex situ conservation actions is urgently needed to reduce the potential threats of future mining activities.

Published
2019

16. Safeguarding villagers’ access to foods from timber trees: Insights for policy from an inhabited logging concession in Gabon

Author

Christian Mikolo Yobo, Julius Chupezi Tieguhong, P. Maukonen, Ronald Noutcheu, Donald Midoko Iponga, Hermann Taedoumg, and Laura K. Snook

Subjects
040101 forestry, 0106 biological sciences, Ecology, business.industry, Logging, Forestry, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Felling, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Land clearance, Participatory mapping, Geography, Agriculture, Dacryodes buettneri, lcsh:QH540-549.5, 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, lcsh:Ecology, Transect, business, Tree species, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation
Abstract

This study assessed the abundance of and access to tree species (Ozigo, Dacryodes buettneri; and Abam, Gambeya lacourtiana) that yield edible fruits to villagers and timber to the logging industry in and around a logging concession in Gabon. Participatory mapping combining GPS coordinates and interviews was carried out with 5 female and 5 male collectors in each of two villages within or adjacent to the logging concession. Precommercial and harvestable (>70 cm dbh) Ozigo and Abam trees, as well as their stumps, were also quantified on 20 five ha plots in the 2012 cutting area of the concession and on 21 five ha plots on 10 km transects from each village. Distances to 59 Abam and 75 Ozigo from which fruits were collected ranged from 0.7 to 4.46 Km from the village centres. Most collections were by mixed groups made up of men, women and children (54%) at an average of 1.21 ± 0.09 km; or by men and women (18%) at 2.21 ± 0.15 km; or women and children (14%) at 4.03 ± 0.22 km from the village. Almost 28% of all of the collection trees were inside the logging concession boundaries but outside the village agricultural zone, 43% were inside the village agricultural zone, and 29% were outside the logging concession. Only 33% of Ozigo collection trees had reached commercial size while 75% of Abam trees had. No stumps were found on any sample plots, probably reflecting the ban on felling Ozigo which was in effect at the time; and the relatively low commercial value of Abam. Densities of precommercial Ozigo trees in the cutting area were more than double their densities around the villages (236.0 ± 20.3100 ha−1and 96.6 ± 17.2100 ha−1, respectively), while densities of harvestable Ozigo trees were 7 times higher in the cutting area than around villages (120 ± 20.2100 ha−1and 17.1 ± 3.4100 ha−1respectively). This probably reflects past and current anthropogenic pressures around the villages, including logging and land clearance for agricultural fields. Densities of precommercial Abam were almost four times higher around the village (22.3 ± 5.6 and 6.0 ± 2.9) than on the cutting area. Villagers did not record a decline in availability of or access to these fruits over the past 5 years, suggesting little or no immediate conflict between timber production and access to fruits from these trees. Keywords: Congo Basin, Dacryodes buettneri, Forest fruits, Gambeya lacourtiana, NTFP, Timber concessions

Published
2018

17. The persistence of carbon in the African forest understory

Author

Benjamin Toirambe, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Timothy R. Baker, Jan Van den Bulcke, Jean-Louis Doucet, Georgia Pickavance, Sofie Dierickx, Camille Couralet, Tom De Mil, Bhely Angoboy Ilondea, Peter M. Umunay, Joris Van Acker, David Harris, Jefferson S. Hall, James A. Comiskey, Jason Vleminckx, Sam Moore, Jan Reitsma, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Joey Talbot, Lise Zemagho, Lindsay F. Banin, Lee J. T. White, John R. Poulsen, Murray Collins, Hans Beeckman, Victor Deklerck, Simon L. Lewis, Christelle Gonmadje, Yadvinder Malhi, Jean-Remy Makana, Wannes Hubau, Terry Sunderland, Nils Bourland, Marie-Noël Djuikouo Kamdem, Jacques Mukinzi, Oliver L. Phillips, Martin Gilpin, Bonaventure Sonké, Connie J. Clark, Faustin M. Mbayu, Olivier J. Hardy, Ted R. Feldpausch, Serge K. Begne, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Mélissa Rousseau, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Eric Chezeaux, Hermann Taedoumg, Corneille E. N. Ewango, and Laurent Nsenga

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Carbon Sequestration, Time Factors, chemistry.chemical_element, Plant Science, Carbon sequestration, Forests, 01 natural sciences, Ecology and Environment, Carbon cycle, Carbon Cycle, Trees, 03 medical and health sciences, Tropical climate, Forest ecology, Tropical Climate, Ecology, Carbon sink, Understory, Carbon, 030104 developmental biology, chemistry, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Environmental science, Biologie, 010606 plant biology & botany, Tropical rainforest
Abstract

Quantifying carbon dynamics in forests is critical for understanding their role in long-term climate regulation 1–4 .Yet little is known about tree longevity in tropical forests 3,5–8 ,a factor that is vital for estimating carbon persistence 3,4 .Here we calculate mean carbon age (the period that carbon is fixed in trees 7 ) in different strata of African tropical forests using (1) growth-ring records with a unique timestamp accurately demarcating 66 years of growth in one site and (2) measurements of diameter increments from the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network (23 sites). We find that in spite of their much smaller size, in understory trees mean carbon age (74 years) is greater than in sub-canopy (54 years) and canopy (57 years) trees and similar to carbon age in emergent trees (66 years). The remarkable carbon longevity in the understory results from slow and aperiodic growth as an adaptation to limited resource availability 9–11 .Our analysis also reveals that while the understory represents a small share (11%) of the carbon stock 12,13 ,it contributes disproportionally to the forest carbon sink (20%). We conclude that accounting for the diversity of carbon age and carbon sequestration among different forest strata is critical for effective conservation management 14–16 and for accurate modelling of carbon cycling 4 .© 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited., SCOPUS: le.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Published
2018

18. Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome

Author

Connie J. Clark, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Lan Qie, Timothy R. Baker, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Lise Zemagho, Yadvinder Malhi, Javier Silva Espejo, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Lindsay F. Banin, Jefferson S. Hall, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, H. Priyadi, Jérôme Chave, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Peter M. Umunay, J. W. Ferry Slik, Martin Gilpin, Ana Andrade, Andrew R. Marshall, Alvaro Cogollo Pacheco, Bonaventure Sonké, Rodrigo Sierra, Jan Bogaert, Emanuel Gloor, Christopher Baraloto, Guido Pardo, Nicholas J. Berry, Simon L. Lewis, Georgia Pickavance, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Ismayadi Samsoedin, Vincent A. Vos, Carlos Cerón, Jean-Louis Doucet, Peter S. Ashton, William F. Laurance, Wannes Hubau, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Eric Chezeaux, Zorayda Restrepo, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Kanehiro Kitayama, Everton Cristo de Almeida, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Sophie Fauset, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Jan Reitsma, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Percy Núñez Vargas, Hans ter Steege, John Terborgh, Roel J. W. Brienen, Jean-François Bastin, Kamariah Abu Salim, Jon C. Lovett, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Simon Willcock, Marisol Toledo, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Serge K. Begne, Greta C. Dargie, Carlos A. Quesada, Terese B. Hart, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Terry Sunderland, Ted R. Feldpausch, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Stuart J. Davies, Lera Miles, Sean C. Thomas, Lip Khoon Kho, Lisa Steel, Jaques Mukinzi, Marie Noel Djuikouo K., Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Terry L. Erwin, Ervan Rutishauser, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Rafael Herrera, Shin-ichiro Aiba, Faustin Mpanya Lukasu, Damien Bonal, Sylvester Tan, Esteban Alvarez Dávila, Marielos Peña-Claros, José Luís Camargo, Lee J. T. White, James A. Comiskey, Hermann Taedoumg, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Pascal Petronelli, Jean-Remy Makana, Ophelia Wang, Richard B. Primack, Gerardo A. Aymard C, Charles De Cannière, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Leandro Maracahipes, Kuswata Kartawinata, Michael Balinga, Victor Chama Moscoso, Susan G. Laurance, Marcos Silveira, David Harris, Miguel E. Leal, Paulo S. Morandi, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Frans Bongers, Joey Talbot, Douglas Sheil, Reuben Nilus, John R. Poulsen, Oliver L. Phillips, Sch Geog, University of Nottingham, Dept Geog, University College of London [London] (UCL), Plant Systemat & Ecol Lab, Université de Yaoundé, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Coll Marine & Environm Sci, James Cook University, Leiden University, Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon, Ecole de Terrain en Ecologie Tropicale (ECOTROP), Mensurat Unit, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Grad Sch Sci & Engn, Kagoshima University, Inst Biodiversidade & Floresta, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso (UFMT), Ctr Trop Conservat, Duke University [Durham], Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Coll Life & Environm Sci, University of Exeter, Dept Organism & Evolutionary Biol, Harvard University [Cambridge], Programa Ciencias Agro & Mar, Herbario Universitario PORT, Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, Dept Biol Sci, Int Ctr Trop Bot, Florida International University (FIU), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Biens et services des écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux : l'enjeu du changement global (Cirad-Es-UPR 105 BSEF), Département Environnements et Sociétés (Cirad-ES), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Sch Geosci, University of Edinburgh, Biodivers & Landscape Unit, Université de Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech [Gembloux], Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Forest Ecol & Forest Management Grp, Wageningen University and Research Centre [Wageningen] (WUR), Projeto Dinam Biol Fragmentos Florestais, Herbario Alfredo Paredes, Universidad Agraria del Ecuador, Rougier Gabon, Nicholas Sch Environm, Duke University, Jardín Botánico de Medellín, Inventory & Monitoring Program, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program, Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Landscape Ecol & Vegetal Prod Syst Unit, Université Libre de Bruxelles [Bruxelles] (ULB), Dept Bot & Plant Physiol, Fac Sci, University of Buea, Wildlife Conservation Society, Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Conservation Forestière (CEFRECOF), Department of Biology [Copenhagen], Faculty of Science [Copenhagen], University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Ctr Ecol, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (IVIC), Inst Geog & Reg Forsch, University of Vienna, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Lukuru Wildlife Res Fdn, Div Vertebrate Zool, National Museum of Natural History, Herbarium Bogoriense, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Integrat Res Ctr, Field Museum of Natural History [Chicago, USA], Trop Peat Res Inst, Biol Res Div, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kyoto University, Ctr Trop Environm & Sustainabil Sci, Coll Sci & Engn, Dept Environm Sci & Policy, George Mason University, Fac Sci Agron, University of Kisangani, Sch Geog & Environm, University of Oxford, Universidade Federal de Goiás [Goiânia] (UFG), Flamingo Land LTD, Dept Environm, CIRCLE, University of York, Salonga Natl Pk, sabah Parks, Universidad Autonoma del Beni, Inst Boliviano Invest Forestal, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Natural History Museum [Oslo], University of Oslo (UiO), Southern Swedish Forest Res Ctr, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Bur Waarderburg, Fundación Con-Vida, CarboForExpert, Fac Sci, Environm & Life Sci, University of Brunei Darussalam (Biology Department), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Geoinformática y Sistemas , Cia. Ltda (GeoIS), Museu Univ, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), World Wide Fund for Nature, CTFS AA Asia Program, Fac Forestry, University Stefan cel Mare of Suceava (USU), Sch Forestry & Environm Studies, Yale University [New Haven], Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado Norte Amazónico, Sch Earth Sci & Environm Sustainabil, Northern Arizona University [Flagstaff], Biol Sci, Liverpool John Moore University (ljmu), Sch Environm Nat Resources & Geog, Bangor University, European Research Council (ERC), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, European Union's Seventh Framework Programme 283080, 282664, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Urgency Grants, NERC Consortium Grant 'AMAZONICA' NE/F005806/1, NERC Consortium Grant 'TROBIT' NE/D005590/1, NERC Consortium Grant 'BIO-RED' NE/N012542/1, NERC New Investigators Grant, Royal Society, Centre for International Forestry (CIFOR), Gabon's National Parks Agency (ANPN), NERC PhD Studentship, UNEP-WCMC, NERC research fellowship NE/I021160/1, Royal Society University Research Fellowship ERC Advanced Grant (T-FORCES), Phillip Leverhulme Prize, Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, NERC studentship, RGS-IBG Henrietta Hutton Grant, National Council for Science and Technology Development of Brazil (CNPq) PELD/403725/2012-7, CNPq/PPBio/457602/2012-0, National Council for Science and Technology Development of Brazil (CNPq) Productivity Grant, Leverhulme Trust under the Valuing the Arc project, Missouri Botanical Garden, Sullivan, Martin J. P., Université de Yaoundé I, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Florida International University [Miami] (FIU), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Biens et services des écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux : l'enjeu du changement global (UPR BSEF), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), University of Vienna [Vienna], Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), University of Oxford [Oxford], Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi [Belém, Brésil] (MPEG), Université de Toulouse (UT), James Cook University (JCU), Universiteit Leiden, Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon (ANPN), Harvard University, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), and Royal Botanic Garden [Edinburgh]

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, INCREASES, ALPHA-DIVERSITY, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Biome, Biodiversity, COMPLEMENTARITY, forêt tropicale, Forests, 01 natural sciences, AMAZONIAN FORESTS, Tropic Climate, biodiversité, biomasse aérienne des arbres, conservation des forêts, Tropical climate, stockage du carbone, Biomass (ecology), Multidisciplinary, PRODUCTIVITY, Agroforestry, Ecology, Plants, PE&RC, Classification, Tropical ecology, Chemistry, séquestration du carbone, biome, diversité variétale, protection de la forêt, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS, tropical forest, Asia, F60 - Physiologie et biochimie végétale, TREE ALPHA-DIVERSITY, forêt amazonienne, CONSERVATION, 010603 evolutionary biology, Article, Ecology and Environment, Phénomènes atmosphériques, Forest ecology, Life Science, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Forest, AFRICAN RAIN-FORESTS, WOOD PRODUCTION, BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE, K70 - Dégâts causés aux forêts et leur protection, atténuation des effets du changement climatique, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Tropical Climate, Western Hemisphere, TREE SPECIES RICHNESS, Tropics, Plant, 15. Life on land, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Carbon, biodiversité forestière, DOMINANCE, 13. Climate action, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Africa, Alpha diversity, Americas, structure de la canopée
Abstract

Tropical forests are global centres of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many tropical countries aspire to protect forest to fulfil biodiversity and climate mitigation policy targets, but the conservation strategies needed to achieve these two functions depend critically on the tropical forest tree diversity-carbon storage relationship. Assessing this relationship is challenging due to the scarcity of inventories where carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and species identifications have been simultaneously and robustly quantified. Here, we compile a unique pan-Tropical dataset of 360 plots located in structurally intact old-growth closed-canopy forest, surveyed using standardised methods, allowing a multi-scale evaluation of diversity-carbon relationships in tropical forests. Diversity-carbon relationships among all plots at 1 ha scale across the tropics are absent, and within continents are either weak (Asia) or absent (Amazonia, Africa). A weak positive relationship is detectable within 1 ha plots, indicating that diversity effects in tropical forests may be scale dependent. The absence of clear diversity-carbon relationships at scales relevant to conservation planning means that carbon-centred conservation strategies will inevitably miss many high diversity ecosystems. As tropical forests can have any combination of tree diversity and carbon stocks both require explicit consideration when optimising policies to manage tropical carbon and biodiversity., 0, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Published
2017

19. On the delineation of tropical vegetation types with an emphasis on forest/savanna transitions

Author

Pierre Hiernaux, Gloria Djagbletey, Martin Gilpin, Bonaventure Sonké, Daniel J. Metcalfe, John Grace, Elmar Veenendaal, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, J. A. Ratter, Eric Mougin, Michelle L. Johnson, Fidele Hien, Mireia Torello-Raventos, Michael I. Bird, Jon Lloyd, Eddie Lenza, Leandro Maracahipes, L. Arroyo, Daniel Villarroel, Gustavo Saiz, Michael P. Schwarz, Kalu Davies, David M. J. S. Bowman, Heloisa Sinatora Miranda, Carlos A. Quesada, F. Yoko Ishida, Karle Sykora, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, Simon L. Lewis, Mark Steininger, Hermann Taedoumg, Oliver L. Phillips, Tomas F. Domingues, John Thomson, Adama Diallo, Denise Sasaki, Ted R. Feldpausch, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, J.E. Kemp, Louis Zapfack, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Timothy J. Killeen, Franziska Schrodt, Andrew Ford, Gabriela Bielefeld Nardoto, and Halidou Compaore

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, rain-forest, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, african vegetation, Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Plant Science, Rainforest, Land cover, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Tropical vegetation, medicine, brazilian cerrado, land-cover, cerrado vegetation, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Ecology, MUDANÇA CLIMÁTICA, Tropics, savanna vegetation, Plant community, Ecotone, Understory, 15. Life on land, PE&RC, Geography, ecological classification, climate-change, plant-communities, Plantenecologie en Natuurbeheer, medicine.symptom, Vegetation (pathology), physiognomic classification
Abstract

Background: There is no generally agreed classification scheme for the many different vegetation formation types occurring in the tropics. This hinders cross-continental comparisons and causes confusion as words, such as ‘forest’ and ‘savanna’ have different meanings to different people. Tropical vegetation formations are therefore usually imprecisely and/or ambiguously defined in modelling, remote sensing and ecological studies. Aims: To integrate observed variations in tropical vegetation structure and floristic composition into a single classification scheme. Methods: Using structural and floristic measurements made on three continents, discrete tropical vegetation groupings were defined on the basis of overstorey and understorey structure and species compositions by using clustering techniques. Results: Twelve structural groupings were identified based on height and canopy cover of the dominant upper-stratum and the extent of lower-strata woody shrub cover and grass cover. Structural classifications did not, however, always agree with those based on floristic composition; especially for plots located in the forest-savanna transition zone. This duality is incorporated into a new tropical vegetation classification scheme. Conclusions: Both floristics and stand structure are important criteria for the meaningful delineation of tropical vegetation formations, especially in the forest/savanna transition zone. A new tropical vegetation classification scheme incorporating this information has been developed.

Published
2013
Full Text
View/download PDF

20. What controls tropical forest architecture? Testing environmental, structural and floristic drivers

Author

Bonaventure Sonké, Nicholas J. Berry, Ted R. Feldpausch, Reuben Nilus, Matt Bradford, Jan Reitsma, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Yoshiko Iida, Eric Arets, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Abdul Rahman Kassim, Roel J. W. Brienen, Stuart J. Davies, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Simon L. Lewis, Michael Drescher, Timothy R. Baker, D. A. King, Sylvester Tan, Jon Lloyd, K. Abu Salim, Hermann Taedoumg, Hannsjörg Wöll, David W. Hilbert, Annette Hladik, Oliver L. Phillips, Lindsay F. Banin, Niro Higuchi, Lee J. T. White, and Kofi Affum-Baffoe

Subjects
Global and Planetary Change, Dipterocarpaceae, Ecology, biology, Biogeography, Tree allometry, Rainforest, Seasonality, biology.organism_classification, medicine.disease, Basal area, Geography, medicine, Dominance (ecology), Allometry, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Aim: To test the extent to which the vertical structure of tropical forests is determined by environment, forest structure or biogeographical history. Location: Pan-tropical. Methods: Using height and diameter data from 20,497 trees in 112 non-contiguous plots, asymptotic maximum height (H AM) and height-diameter relationships were computed with nonlinear mixed effects (NLME) models to: (1) test for environmental and structural causes of differences among plots, and (2) test if there were continental differences once environment and structure were accounted for; persistence of differences may imply the importance of biogeography for vertical forest structure. NLME analyses for floristic subsets of data (only/excluding Fabaceae and only/excluding Dipterocarpaceae individuals) were used to examine whether family-level patterns revealed biogeographical explanations of cross-continental differences. Results: H(AM) and allometry were significantly different amongst continents. H AM was greatest in Asian forests (58.3 ± 7.5 m, 95% CI), followed by forests in Africa (45.1 ± 2.6 m), America (35.8 ± 6.0 m) and Australia (35.0 ± 7.4 m), and height-diameter relationships varied similarly; for a given diameter, stems were tallest in Asia, followed by Africa, America and Australia. Precipitation seasonality, basal area, stem density, solar radiation and wood density each explained some variation in allometry and H AM yet continental differences persisted even after these were accounted for. Analyses using floristic subsets showed that significant continental differences in H AM and allometry persisted in all cases. Main conclusions: Tree allometry and maximum height are altered by environmental conditions, forest structure and wood density. Yet, even after accounting for these, tropical forest architecture varies significantly from continent to continent. The greater stature of tropical forests in Asia is not directly determined by the dominance of the family Dipterocarpaceae, as on average non-dipterocarps are equally tall. We hypothesise that dominant large-statured families create conditions in which only tall species can compete, thus perpetuating a forest dominated by tall individuals from diverse families.

Published
2012

21. A reconsideration of the Lower Guinean species of Sericanthe (Rubiaceae, Coffeeae), with four new species from Cameroon and Gabon

Author

Elmar Robbrecht, Hermann Taedoumg, and Bonaventure Sonké

Subjects
Rubiaceae, Ecology, Chorology, Zoology, Context (language use), Plant Science, Biology, biology.organism_classification, Herbarium, Sericanthe, Genus, Conservation status, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, First revision
Abstract

The genus Sericanthe was established and its species were revised 30 years ago by one of the authors. Intensive recent botanical collecting in Lower Guinea (mainly southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) has made a reconsideration of species in this area necessary. Revision of the newly collected Lower Guinean herbarium specimens of Sericanthe (twice as many as were available at the time of the first revision) has brought four new species to light, namely S. gabonensis and S. mpassa from Gabon, S. lowryana from Cameroon and S. rabia from Cameroon and Gabon. Distributional data are much augmented, and distributional maps of all species from the area are provided. Four species were reported to be newly recorded for at least one country. The occurrence of the novelties in the main diversity centre of the genus is discussed in the context of the chorology of the entire genus Sericanthe. A first estimation of the conservation status for the new species is given. A synopsis of the genus Sericanthe in Lower Guinea with a taxonomic key is provided. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 169, 530–554.

Published
2012

22. Craterispermum parvifolium and C. robbrechtianum spp. nov. (Rubiaceae) from west central Africa

Author

Hermann Taedoumg, Bonaventure Sonké, Perla Hamon, and P. De Block

Subjects
Rubiaceae, biology, Ecology, Botany, Central africa, Identification key, Conservation status, Plant Science, Craterispermum, biology.organism_classification, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Craterispermum parvifolium and C. robbrechtianum spp. nov. are described from the Lower Guinea Domain. Detailed descriptions and distribution maps are provided for each species, their conservation status is assessed and their taxonomic affinities are discussed. An identification key for the Craterispermum species of the Lower Guinea Domain is given. © 2011 The Authors. Nordic Journal of Botany © 2011 Nordic Society Oikos.

Published
2011

23. Do plant families with contrasting functional traits show similar patterns of endemism? A case study with Central African Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae

Author

Hermann Taedoumg, Tariq Stévart, Vincent Droissart, Murielle Simo, Bonaventure Sonké, Olivier J. Hardy, Charlemagne K. Nguembou, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Laboratoire de Botanique et Ecologie, Université de Yaoundé I [Yaoundé], Service Evolution Biologique et Ecologie -Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles [Bruxelles] (ULB), ECOFAC Program, DIVEAC (CUD ULB), Sud expert Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Université de Yaoundé I, and Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Seed dispersal, BiodivR, Forest refuge, Biodiversity, Atlantic Central Africa, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Ecoregion, Epiphyte, Cameroon, Endemism, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology, Nature and Landscape Conservation, 0303 health sciences, Orchidaceae, Ecology, biology, Sanaga River, Species diversity, Subsampling procedure, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Shrub, Life form, Biological dispersal, Species richness, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

ACL-11-37; International audience; The influence of functional traits on floristic patterns remains poorly understood in tropical rain forests. This contribution explores whether patterns of endemism of plant species are influenced by their life form and mode of dispersal. We used a comprehensive dataset of 3650 georeferenced plant specimens collected in Cameroon belonging to 115 taxa of Orchidaceae and 207 Rubiaceae endemic to Atlantic Central Africa. Species diversity of each family was compared using raw species richness (SR) and an index of species diversity (S k ) using subsampling procedure to correct for sampling bias. Measures were compared at three scales (square grids of one half-degree and one-degree per side and ecoregions) and according to elevation and continentality gradients. Species similarity between grid cells was measured using the sample-size corrected NNESS index. For both families, SR and S k decreased along the continentality gradient. In forest habitats below 1500 m altitude, both Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae show similar endemism patterns, but they differ in intensity. At higher altitudes, S k is higher for orchids due to the presence of endemic terrestrial taxa in grasslands, where the endemic Rubiaceae flora is rather poor. Substantial endemism observed at the ecoregion level and turnover analysis supported the role of the Sanaga River as a phytogeographical boundary. Similar endemism patterns were observed in lowland forests for Orchidaceae and Rubiaceae, even though Orchidaceae are assumed to have better long distance dispersal capabilities. The dispersal ability of Orchidaceae could be limited by the need of specific mycorhizal fungi for seed germination or host specificity for epiphytic orchids

Published
2011

24. A new species of Colletoecema (Rubiaceae) from southern Cameroon with a discussion of relationships among basal Rubioideae

Author

Steven Dessein, B Sonke, Hermann Taedoumg, Inge Groeninckx, E Robbrecht, and Naturalis journals & series

Subjects
Subfamily, food.ingredient, Rubiaceae, Colletoecema, Ngovayang massif, Plant Science, Biology, biology.organism_classification, Fruit anatomy, food, chloroplast DNA, Inflorescence, Genus, Phylogenetics, Botany, Rubioideae, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Colletoecema magna, a new species from the Ngovayang Massif (southern Cameroon) is described and illustrated. A comparative morphological study illustrates the similar placentation and fruit anatomy of the novelty and Colletoecema dewevrei, the only other species of the genus. Colletoecema magna essentially differs from C. dewevrei by its sessile flowers and fruits, the corolla tube that is densely hairy above the insertion point of the stamens and the anthers that are included. Further characters that separate the novelty are its larger leaves, more condensed inflorescences, and larger fruits. Its position within Colletoecema is corroborated by atpB-rbcL and rbcL chloroplast sequences. The relationships among the basal lineages of the subfamily Rubioideae, to which Colletoecema belongs, are briefly addressed. Based on our present knowledge, a paleotropical or tropical African origin of the Rubioideae is hypothesized.

Published
2008

25. Mixed-forest species establishment in a monodominant forest in Central Africa: implications for tropical forest invasibility

Author

Olivier Sene, Charlemagne K. Nguembou, Simon L. Lewis, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Bonaventure Sonké, Serge K. Begne, Marie-Noël K. Djuikouo, and Hermann Taedoumg

Subjects
Ecological Metrics, Seed dispersal, lcsh:Medicine, Rainforest, Plant Science, Biology, Forests, Trees, Abundance (ecology), Forest ecology, Cameroon, lcsh:Science, Community Structure, geography, Multidisciplinary, geography.geographical_feature_category, Ecology, Plant Ecology, lcsh:R, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Diameter at breast height, Organisms, Species diversity, Biology and Life Sciences, Fabaceae, Agriculture, Forestry, Biodiversity, 15. Life on land, Plants, Old-growth forest, Community Ecology, Biogeography, lcsh:Q, Species richness, Introduced Species, Research Article
Abstract

BackgroundTraits of non-dominant mixed-forest tree species and their synergies for successful co-occurrence in monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest have not yet been investigated. Here we compared the tree species diversity of the monodominant forest with its adjacent mixed forest and then determined which fitness proxies and life history traits of the mixed-forest tree species were most associated with successful co-existence in the monodominant forest.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe sampled all trees (diameter in breast height [dbh]?10 cm) within 6×1 ha topographically homogenous areas of intact central African forest in SE Cameroon, three independent patches of G. dewevrei-dominated forest and three adjacent areas (450–800 m apart). Monodominant G. dewevrei forest had lower sample-controlled species richness, species density and population density than its adjacent mixed forest in terms of stems with dbh?10 cm. Analysis of a suite of population-level characteristics, such as relative abundance and geographical distribution, and traits such as wood density, height, diameter at breast height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism and light requirement–revealed after controlling for phylogeny, species that co-occur with G. dewevrei tend to have higher abundance in adjacent mixed forest, higher wood density and a lower light requirement.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that certain traits (wood density and light requirement) and population-level characteristics (relative abundance) may increase the invasibility of a tree species into a tropical closed-canopy system. Such knowledge may assist in the pre-emptive identification of invasive tree species.

Published
2014

26. Above-ground biomass and structure of 260 African tropical forests

Author

Lindsay F. Banin, Georgia Pickavance, Gloria Djagbletey, Hans Beeckman, Timothy R. Baker, David Harris, Lise Zemagho, Benjamin Toirambe, James Taplin, Jon Lloyd, Hannsjorg Woell, Miguel E. Leal, Alan Hamilton, Murielle Simo, Jason Vleminckx, Douglas Sheil, Jean-François Bastin, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Sophie Fauset, Marie Noël Kamdem Djuikouo, Connie J. Clark, Yadvinder Malhi, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Serge K. Begne, Cornielle E N Ewango, Philippe Jeanmart, Jean-Remy Makana, Dries Huygens, Elizabeth Kearsley, Terese B. Hart, Simon Willcock, Jan Reitsma, Ted R. Feldpausch, Pascal Boeckx, Murray Collins, Bonaventure Sonké, Jan Bogaert, Andrew R. Marshall, Jon C. Lovett, David Taylor, Jean-Louis Doucet, Kathryn J. Jeffery, John R. Poulsen, Jean François Gillet, Terry Sunderland, Joey Talbot, Ernest G. Foli, Lucas Ojo, Sean C. Thomas, Oliver L. Phillips, Hermann Taedoumg, Eric Chezeaux, Annette Hladik, Kathy Steppe, Charles De Cannière, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Lee J. T. White, Vincent Droissart, Simon L. Lewis, and Thalès de Haulleville

Subjects
Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics, 0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Amazonian, Climate, AMAZONIAN FORESTS, 01 natural sciences, Trees, Basal area, Soil, SD Forestry, Tropical climate, Biomass, Biomass (ecology), CLIMATE-CHANGE, Ecology, 11 Medical And Health Sciences, RAIN-FOREST, Articles, Sciences bio-médicales et agricoles, GROWTH, SENSITIVITY, CARBON STOCKS, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Biologie, Wood density, Research Article, GE Environmental Sciences, Conservation of Natural Resources, Climate Change, Tree allometry, Rainforest, Biology, SPATIAL-PATTERNS, Models, Biological, 010603 evolutionary biology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Environment, Carbon Cycle, Congo basin, West Africa, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Precipitation, TREE ALLOMETRY, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Evolutionary Biology, Tropical Climate, Science & Technology, Biology and Life Sciences, Forestry, 06 Biological Sciences, 15. Life on land, East Africa, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, SOILS, Africa, Soil fertility
Abstract

We report above-ground biomass (AGB), basal area, stemdensity and wood mass density estimates from 260 sample plots (mean size: 1.2 ha) in intact closed-canopy tropical forests across 12 African countries. Mean AGB is 395.7 Mg dry mass ha-1 (95% CI: 14.3), substantially higher than Amazonian values, with the Congo Basin and contiguous forest region attaining AGB values (429 Mg ha-1) similar to those of Bornean forests, and significantly greater than East or West African forests. AGB therefore appears generally higher in palaeo- comparedwithneotropical forests.However, mean stem density is low(426±11 stems ha-1 greater than or equal to 100 mm diameter) compared with both Amazonian and Bornean forests (cf. approx. 600) and is the signature structural feature of African tropical forests. While spatial autocorrelation complicates analyses, AGB shows a positive relationship with rainfall in the driest nine months of the year, and an opposite association with the wettest three months of the year; a negative relationship with temperature; positive relationship with clay-rich soils; and negative relationshipswith C:Nratio (suggesting a positive soil phosphorus- AGB relationship), and soil fertility computed as the sum of base cations. The results indicate that AGB is mediated by both climate and soils, and suggest that the AGB of African closed-canopy tropical forests may be particularly sensitive to future precipitation and temperature changes. © 2013 The Authors., 0, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Published
2013

27. New records for the flora of Cameroon, including a new species of Psychotria (Rubiaceae) and range extensions for some rare species

Author

Olivier Lachenaud, Hermann Taedoumg, Tariq Stévart, Vincent Droissart, Bonaventure Sonké, Murielle Simo, Benny Lemaire, Steven Dessein, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), and University of Yaoundé [Cameroun]

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, TCHABAL MBABO, Tchabal Mbabo, Rare species, Rubiaceae, Plant Science, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Vangueriopsis gossweileri, Yaounde, 03 medical and health sciences, flora, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, IUCN, RUBIACEAE, IUCN Red List, Psychotria, Cameroon, Orchidaceae, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, Central Africa, CENTRAL AFRICA, biology, FLORA, Ecology, RUMPI HILLS, ORCHIDACEAE, 15. Life on land, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, biology.organism_classification, Rumpi Hills, Taxon, Herbarium, YAOUNDÉ, PSYCHOTRIA, CAMEROON, Taxonomy (biology), [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

Background - The inventory of Cameroon's flora is far from complete and additional work is needed to document the country's extremely rich flora, and thus enhance its conservation. In this framework, botanical exploration was conducted between 2007 and 2011 in various regions of Cameroon and resulted in the discovery of several new national records and new species. Methods - Normal practices of herbarium taxonomy have been applied. For the endemic or subendemic species, a preliminary IUCN conservation has been proposed using the IUCN criteria. Results - A total of twelve taxa are recorded as new for the flora of Cameroon. Significant range extensions are reported for eight restricted-range species. A new species, Psychotria yaoundensis O.Lachenaud, endemic to Cameroon and only know from two rocky hills in the surroundings of Yaounde, is described and illustrated. Additions to the flora of Equatorial Guinea (five species), Nigeria, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo (one species each) are also reported. Psychotria moliwensis and Vangueriopsis gossweileri are synonymised under P. fernandopoensis and V. rubiginosa, respectively. Conclusion-Many areas within Cameroon remain botanically poorly explored. Our exploration highlights the importance of the Rumpi Hills, Tchabal Mbabo, and the rocky hills around Yaounde for plant conservation. Our data will help conservationists in determining areas highly valuable for conservation. © 2013 National Botanic Garden of Belgium and Royal Botanical Society of Belgium.

Published
2013

28. Height-diameter allometry of tropical forest trees

Author

Reuben Nilus, Simon L. Lewis, P.B. De Camargo, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, Abdul Rahman Kassim, Kamariah Abu Salim, Niro Higuchi, Michael W. Palace, Michael I. Bird, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Jon Lloyd, Jérôme Chave, Eric Arets, Annette Hladik, Lindsay F. Banin, M.T. Raventos, M.B. França, Timothy R. Baker, Carlos A. Quesada, Hannsjörg Wöll, Hermann Taedoumg, D.A. King, Gustavo Saiz, Ted R. Feldpausch, J.E. Kemp, Michael Keller, Gloria Djagbletey, Sylvester Tan, Euler Melo Nogueira, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Oliver L. Phillips, Jon C. Lovett, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Franziska Schrodt, Bonaventure Sonké, Tomas F. Domingues, Michael Drescher, Eduardo S. Brondizio, Jan Reitsma, Bruce Walker Nelson, Nicholas J. Berry, Yoshiko Iida, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, M. O. Hunter, Emilio F. Moran, Lee J. T. White, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Andrew R. Marshall, Sandra Patiño, Eddie Lenza, Philip M. Fearnside, University of St Andrews. School of Geography and Geosciences, and University of St Andrews. School of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Subjects
Vegetation Structure, lcsh:Life, CE - Forest Ecosystems, Basal area, Hydraulic architecture, Geographical Region, Dry season, montane forest, Guyana Shield, Wageningen Environmental Research, spatial-patterns, Leaf gas-exchange, Altitudinal transect, Environmental-change, Biomass (ecology), Spatial-patterns, GE, lcsh:QE1-996.5, Aboveground biomass, Vegetation, altitudinal transect, Montane forest, Amazon rain-forest, leaf gas-exchange, hydraulic architecture, aboveground biomass, GE Environmental Sciences, Asia, Tree allometry, Elfin cloud forest, Pantropical, environmental-change, amazon rain-forest, Database, Diameter, lcsh:QH540-549.5, Akaike Information Criterion, Tropical Forest, Neotropical forest, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Amazon Basin, Earth-Surface Processes, Hydrology, Allometry, neotropical forest, Australia, Tropics, elfin cloud forest, METIS-281451, lcsh:Geology, lcsh:QH501-531, Air Temperature, Africa, lcsh:Ecology, Physical geography
Abstract

Research was supported by NERC through the Tropical Biomes in Transition (TROBIT) Consortium; AMAZONICA; AfriTRON and the RAINFOR network with additional support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. LB was supported by a NERC PhD Studentship and Henrietta Hutton Grant (RGS-IBG); SLL was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship; some African data was collected under a NERC New Investigator Award (AfriTRON); Additional support was provided by EScFund grant of the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI); Tropenbos International and the European Commission (project B7-6201/98-13/FOR); Large-scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) (ND-11, CD-37, CD-41, and TG-07) under the leadership of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT); PELD-CNPq and PROCAD-CAPES; and, the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Tropical tree height-diameter (H:D) relationships may vary by forest type and region making large-scale estimates of above-ground biomass subject to bias if they ignore these differences in stem allometry. We have therefore developed a new global tropical forest database consisting of 39 955 concurrent H and D measurements encompassing 283 sites in 22 tropical countries. Utilising this database, our objectives were: 1. to determine if H:D relationships differ by geographic region and forest type (wet to dry forests, including zones of tension where forest and savanna overlap). 2. to ascertain if the H:D relationship is modulated by climate and/or forest structural characteristics (e.g. stand-level basal area, A). 3. to develop H:D allometric equations and evaluate biases to reduce error in future local-to-global estimates of tropical forest biomass. Annual precipitation coefficient of variation (P-V), dry season length (S-D), and mean annual air temperature (T-A) emerged as key drivers of variation in H:D relationships at the pantropical and region scales. Vegetation structure also played a role with trees in forests of a high A being, on average, taller at any given D. After the effects of environment and forest structure are taken into account, two main regional groups can be identified. Forests in Asia, Africa and the Guyana Shield all have, on average, similar H:D relationships, but with trees in the forests of much of the Amazon Basin and tropical Australia typically being shorter at any given D than their counterparts elsewhere. The region-environment-structure model with the lowest Akaike's information criterion and lowest deviation estimated stand-level H across all plots to within a median -2.7 to 0.9% of the true value. Some of the plot-to-plot variability in H:D relationships not accounted for by this model could be attributed to variations in soil physical conditions. Other things being equal, trees tend to be more slender in the absence of soil physical constraints, especially at smaller D. Pantropical and continental-level models provided less robust estimates of H, especially when the roles of climate and stand structure in modulating H:D allometry were not simultaneously taken into account. Publisher PDF

Published
2011

29. Do logging concessions decrease the availability to villagers of foods from timber trees? A quantitative analysis for Moabi (Baillonella toxisperma), Sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum) and Tali (Erythrophleum suaveolens) in Cameroon

Author

Julius Chupezi Tieguhong, M. Tchatat, Ronald Noutcheu, O. Tchingsabe, Hermann Taedoumg, and Laura K. Snook

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Forest foods, Multiple use, Tropical forest, Entandrophragma, Concessions, Transect, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Caterpillars, biology, Agroforestry, Logging, Forestry, biology.organism_classification, Baillonella, Geography, Congo Basin, Random systems, Erythrophleum suaveolens, Tree species
Abstract

Many species of timber trees in Cameroon are exploited by logging companies for timber and by forest-dependent communities for non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Quantitative analyses were conducted within and near forest concessions in Cameroon to determine the density of multiple use tree species that provide both timber for industry and foods consumed by local populations (fruit and oil or edible caterpillars), and how this has been affected by logging. Individuals of the three species (Moabi, Baillonella toxisperma ; Sapelli, Entandrophragma cylindricum ; and Tali, Erythrophleum suaveolens ), including their stumps, were identified and measured on 5 ha (100 m × 500 m) sample plots around 4 villages and in 2 concessions. Around each village 21 sample plots, stratified by distance, were laid out along three transects extending 10 km towards the concession, each oriented 45° from the other. In concessions, 20 plots were established within the 2012 cutting unit after timber harvesting, using a stratified random system. Moabi trees occurred at the lowest densities: around villages, 22.8 ± 3.3/100 ha of precommercial individuals and 5.0 ± 1.4/100 ha of individuals of harvestable size (⩾80 cm dbh); on concessions, 7.5 ± 2.4 precommercial trees/100 ha, and 0–2.0 ± 1.4/100 ha harvestable individuals. Densities of Sapelli trees were not significantly different between villages and concessions, averaging 32.6 ± 3.8/100 ha and 37.5 ± 5.5/100 ha, respectively, for precommercial sizes and 9.5 ± 2.2/100 ha and 6 ± 1.6/100 ha, respectively, for harvestable trees (⩾100 cm dbh). Pre-commercial Tali trees occurred at lower densities (3.8 ± 0.9/100 ha) around villages, as compared to 11.5 ± 3.1/100 ha on concessions. Harvestable Tali trees (⩾60 cm dbh) occurred at the same densities around villages and on concessions (56.0 ± 7.2/100 ha). Half, or more, of commercial-sized trees of caterpillar-hosting species were left standing after harvest on concessions (89–94% of Tali; 50–79% of Sapelli), reflecting constraints due to timber quality, market demand and inaccessibility. No harvestable Moabi trees were logged from the 2012 cutting areas, reflecting agreements between communities and concessionaires to leave them for fruit and oil, but densities were so low it will be important that villagers conserve those around their villages. Stumps of all three species were found around villages, revealing that mechanisms for negotiation are also needed among villagers with interests in either timber or non-timber resources obtained from the same tree species.

Full Text
View/download PDF

30. Tree height integrated into pantropical forest biomass estimates

Author

Iêda Leão do Amaral, Sylvester Tan, Marcos Silveira, R. Vásquez, A. Monteagudo Mendoza, Yadvinder Malhi, Jon C. Lovett, Gloria Djagbletey, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Jan Reitsma, Yoshiko Iida, Natalino Silva, Vincent A. Vos, Roel J. W. Brienen, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Casimiro Mendoza, Maria Aparecida Freitas, David A. Neill, Eric Arets, Philip M. Fearnside, E. M. Jimenez, Hermann Taedoumg, Bonaventure Sonké, Simon L. Lewis, Samuel Almeida, Esteban Álvarez, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Fredy Ramírez, Olaf Bánki, Nicholas J. Berry, M. C. Peñuela, Agustín Rudas, Ana Andrade, William F. Laurance, Bruce Walker Nelson, Lee J. T. White, Tomas F. Domingues, Gustavo Saiz, Emilio Vilanova, Andrew R. Marshall, A. A. R. de Oliveira, Adriana Prieto, John Terborgh, A. Araujo Murakami, Timothy R. Baker, Javier E. Silva-Espejo, Lindsay F. Banin, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Carlos A. Quesada, Alexander Parada, Nallarett Davila Cardozo, Mabiane Batista França, Abdul Rahman Kassim, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, A. Peña Cruz, G. Lopez-Gonzalez, Luzmila Arroyo, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, K. Abu Salim, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Oliver L. Phillips, H. ter Steege, James A. Comiskey, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Miguel Alexiades, Ted R. Feldpausch, Juliana Stropp, Terry L. Erwin, Simon Willcock, Manuel Gloor, Reuben Nilus, Hannsjorg Woell, Eddie Lenza, Mireia Torello-Raventos, G. M. F. van der Heijden, Niro Higuchi, Euler Melo Nogueira, Timothy J. Killeen, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, A. Di Fiore, Jon Lloyd, Jérôme Chave, Michael P. Schwarz, and Kelvin S.-H. Peh

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, WOOD DENSITY, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, lcsh:Life, AMAZONIAN FORESTS, 01 natural sciences, Aboveground Biomass, land-use change, amazonian forests, allometric equations, Guyana Shield, secondary forests, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Silvicultura, Deforestation, SECONDARY FORESTS, Hectare, Biomass (ecology), Ecology, Ecological Modeling, lcsh:QE1-996.5, LAND-USE CHANGE, wood density, tropical rain-forest, carbon stocks, Estimation Method, NEOTROPICAL FOREST, Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, Error Analysis, CARBON STOCKS, Uncertainty Analysis, Tree, Carbon Sequestration, TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST, Tree allometry, Pantropical, ALLOMETRIC EQUATIONS, 010603 evolutionary biology, lcsh:QH540-549.5, NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION, ABOVEGROUND LIVE BIOMASS, Tropical Forest, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Vegetatie, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth-Surface Processes, Sin determinar, Allometry, aboveground live biomass, Forest Ecosystem, Vegetation, Height, neotropical forest, Brasil, Tropics, Primary production, net primary production, Forestry, 15. Life on land, lcsh:Geology, lcsh:QH501-531, Medio Ambiente, Brazilian Shield, 13. Climate action, Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology, lcsh:Ecology
Abstract

Aboveground tropical tree biomass and carbon storage estimates commonly ignore tree height (H). We estimate the effect of incorporating H on tropics-wide forest biomass estimates in 327 plots across four continents using 42 656 H and diameter measurements and harvested trees from 20 sites to answer the following questions: 1. What is the best H-model form and geographic unit to include in biomass models to minimise site-level uncertainty in estimates of destructive biomass? 2. To what extent does including H estimates derived in (1) reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates across all 327 plots? 3. What effect does accounting for H have on plot- and continental-scale forest biomass estimates? The mean relative error in biomass estimates of destructively harvested trees when including H (mean 0.06), was half that when excluding H (mean 0.13). Power- and Weibull-H models provided the greatest reduction in uncertainty, with regional Weibull-H models preferred because they reduce uncertainty in smaller-diameter classes (≤40 cm D) that store about one-third of biomass per hectare in most forests. Propagating the relationships from destructively harvested tree biomass to each of the 327 plots from across the tropics shows that including H reduces errors from 41.8 Mg ha−1 (range 6.6 to 112.4) to 8.0 Mg ha−1 (−2.5 to 23.0). For all plots, aboveground live biomass was −52.2 Mg ha−1 (−82.0 to −20.3 bootstrapped 95% CI), or 13%, lower when including H estimates, with the greatest relative reductions in estimated biomass in forests of the Brazilian Shield, east Africa, and Australia, and relatively little change in the Guiana Shield, central Africa and southeast Asia. Appreciably different stand structure was observed among regions across the tropical continents, with some storing significantly more biomass in small diameter stems, which affects selection of the best height models to reduce uncertainty and biomass reductions due to H. After accounting for variation in H, total biomass per hectare is greatest in Australia, the Guiana Shield, Asia, central and east Africa, and lowest in east-central Amazonia, W. Africa, W. Amazonia, and the Brazilian Shield (descending order). Thus, if tropical forests span 1668 million km2 and store 285 Pg C (estimate including H), then applying our regional relationships implies that carbon storage is overestimated by 35 Pg C (31–39 bootstrapped 95% CI) if H is ignored, assuming that the sampled plots are an unbiased statistical representation of all tropical forest in terms of biomass and height factors. Our results show that tree H is an important allometric factor that needs to be included in future forest biomass estimates to reduce error in estimates of tropical carbon stocks and emissions due to deforestation.

31. High aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests

Author

Janvier Lisingo, Tibebu Y. Simegn, Miroslav Svoboda, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Dismas Hakizimana, Charles Kayijamahe, Emanuel H. Martin, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Jan Altman, Petri Pellikka, Hans Verbeeck, Rob Marchant, Andreas Hemp, Jefferson S. Hall, Jiri Dolezal, Janne Heiskanen, Valerio Avitabile, Pascal Boeckx, Olivier J. Hardy, Vincent Droissart, Roy E. Gereau, Mark Lung, Felix Nchu, Hermann Taedoumg, Philip J. Platts, Charlotte E. Wheeler, Jonathan Timberlake, Colin A. Chapman, Brigitte Nyirambangutse, Andrew J. Plumptre, Demisse Sheleme, Abreham Berta Aneseyee, Joseph Okello, Terese B. Hart, Peter M. Umunay, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Lan Qie, Simon L. Lewis, Mathieu Decuyper, Senbeta Feyera, Teshome Soromessa, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Simon Willcock, Wannes Hubau, Aster Gebrekirstos, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Ben DeVries, Gerard Imani, Martin Herold, David Horák, Andrew R. Marshall, Serge K. Begne, Achim Bräuning, Kim Calders, C. Amani, A. C. Hamilton, Marie Noel Djuikouo Kamdem, Jean-Remy Makana, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Mwangi James Kinyanjui, Yadvinder Malhi, Tomáš Albrecht, Tom Muller, Hazel M. Chapman, Robert Bitariho, Julia A. Klein, Alain Senghor K. Ngute, Marijn Bauters, Eustrate Uzabaho, Göran Wallin, Christine B. Schmitt, Hari Adhikari, Iveren Abiem, Franklin Bulonvu, Ulrike Hiltner, Moses Nsanyi Sainge, James Taplin, Amy C. Bennett, John T. Woods, Sean C. Thomas, Jason Vleminckx, David Taylor, Oliver L. Phillips, Alexandra C. Morel, James A. Comiskey, Douglas Sheil, Thalès de Haulleville, Francesco Rovero, Darlington Tuagben, Neil D. Burgess, Jon C. Lovett, Terry Sunderland, Rodrigue Batumike, Martin Gilpin, Bonaventure Sonké, Jan Bogaert, Ondrej Sedlacek, Etienne Zibera, David Kenfack, Lindsay F. Banin, Hans Beeckman, University of York [York, UK], Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), University of Leeds, Université officielle de Bukavu, Royal Museum for Central Africa [Tervuren] (RMCA), University of Jos [Nigeria], Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, Charles University [Prague] (CU), Addis Ababa University (AAU), European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra] (JRC), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Universiteit Gent = Ghent University (UGENT), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Rwanda, European Project: 328075,EC:FP7:PEOPLE,FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF,ASEC-DRYLAND-FORESTS(2014), University of Helsinki, Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium] (UGENT), Earth Change Observation Laboratory (ECHOLAB), and Department of Geosciences and Geography

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, DIVERSITY, Endangered species, Datasets as Topic, Geographic Mapping, life_on_land, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 01 natural sciences, Trees, Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Biomass, 0303 health sciences, Biomass (ecology), GLOBAL PATTERNS, Multidisciplinary, Ecology, Reforestation, EASTERN ARC MOUNTAINS, Carbon cycle, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Biogeochemistry, PE&RC, Geography, MAP, C180 Ecology, climate_action, STORAGE, Carbon Sequestration, Conservation of Natural Resources, Rainforest, Climate Change, Climate change, 010603 evolutionary biology, Ecology and Environment, Earth and environmental sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Forest ecology, Life Science, Ecosystem services, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Laboratorium voor Geo-informatiekunde en Remote Sensing, Ecosystem, 1172 Environmental sciences, 030304 developmental biology, Tropical Climate, SINK, Forestry, 15. Life on land, Carbon, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Attitude, 13. Climate action, Africa, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Tropical rainforest
Abstract

Tropical forests store 40–50 per cent of terrestrial vegetation carbon 1. However, spatial variations in aboveground live tree biomass carbon (AGC) stocks remain poorly understood, in particular in tropical montane forests 2. Owing to climatic and soil changes with increasing elevation 3, AGC stocks are lower in tropical montane forests compared with lowland forests 2. Here we assemble and analyse a dataset of structurally intact old-growth forests (AfriMont) spanning 44 montane sites in 12 African countries. We find that montane sites in the AfriMont plot network have a mean AGC stock of 149.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare (95% confidence interval 137.1–164.2), which is comparable to lowland forests in the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network 4 and about 70 per cent and 32 per cent higher than averages from plot networks in montane 2,5,6 and lowland 7 forests in the Neotropics, respectively. Notably, our results are two-thirds higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default values for these forests in Africa 8. We find that the low stem density and high abundance of large trees of African lowland forests 4 is mirrored in the montane forests sampled. This carbon store is endangered: we estimate that 0.8 million hectares of old-growth African montane forest have been lost since 2000. We provide country-specific montane forest AGC stock estimates modelled from our plot network to help to guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. Our findings highlight the need for conserving these biodiverse 9,10 and carbon-rich ecosystems.

Catalog

Books, media, physical & digital resources
See catalog results