Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Anthropogenic landscape modification may lead to the proliferation of a few species and the loss of many. Here we investigate mechanisms and functional consequences of this winner-loser replacement in six human-modified Amazonian and Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil using a causal inference framework. Combining floristic and functional trait data for 1,207 tree species across 271 forest plots, we find that forest loss consistently caused an increased dominance of low-density woods and small seeds dispersed by endozoochory (winner traits) and the loss of distinctive traits, such as extremely dense woods and large seeds dispersed by synzoochory (loser traits). Effects on leaf traits and maximum tree height were rare or inconsistent. The independent causal effects of landscape configuration were rare, but local degradation remained important in multivariate trait-disturbance relationships and exceeded the effects of forest loss in one Amazonian region. Our findings highlight that tropical forest loss and local degradation drive predictable functional changes to remaining tree assemblages and that certain traits are consistently associated with winners and losers across different regional contexts.
Source: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Authors: Bruno X. Pinho, Felipe P. L. Melo, Cajo J. F. ter Braak, David Bauman, Isabelle Maréchaux, Marcelo Tabarelli, Maíra Benchimol, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Bráulio A. Santos, Joseph E. Hawes, Erika Berenguer, Joice Ferreira, Juliana M. Silveira, Carlos A. Peres, Larissa Rocha‐Santos, Fernanda C. Souza, Thiago Gonçalves-Souza, Eduardo Mariano-Neto, Deborah Faria, Jos Barlow
Institutions: University of Bern, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Nottingham Trent University, Wageningen University & Research, Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Oxford, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, University of Cumbria, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Lancaster University, University of East Anglia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, University of Michigan, Universidade Federal da Bahia
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,290
Funders: Conservation, Food and Health Foundation, Idea Wild, Rufford Foundation, Government of the United Kingdom, Nature Conservancy, Sight Research UK, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Natural Environment Research Council
Awards: G1023891116, G1096468794, MUSE, G1450633891, G1990024497, G2025616801, G2062933531, G2905330727, G294214751, ARBOLES: A trait-based Understanding of LATAM Forest Biodiversity and Resilience, G311888100, G3813924747, CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia, G434337789, G4944241465, Trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and economic development in tropical forests, G5984899291, G6123750298, G6601322227, G7240651115, G7310291116, G7671349560, G7859366130, G799538191, G8099256583, Tree growth and mortality in the face of climate change: A pantropical journey at the crossroad of trait-based and demographic approaches, G8856677118
OpenAlex ID: W4405248700