Topography and edge effects are more important than elevation as drivers of vegetation patterns in a neotropical montane forest

Journal of Vegetation Science

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2014, Pages 724-733

  Lippok, Denis ^a   Beck, Stephan G ^b   Renison, Daniel ^c   Hensen, Isabell ^a,d   Apaza, Amira E ^a,b   Schleuning, Matthias ^a,e  

^a MARTIN LUTHER UNIVERSITY HALLE WITTENBERG   (Germany)

^b UNIVERSIDAD MAYOR DE SAN ANDRÉS   (Bolivia)

^c UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CÓRDOBA   (Argentina)

^d GERMAN CENTRE FOR INTEGRATIVE BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH IDIV HALLE JENA LEIPZIG   (Germany)

^e BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTRE BIK F   (Germany)

Author keywords

Andes; Bolivia; Edge effects; Elevation; Forest structure; Microclimate; Soils; Species composition; Species richness; Topography; Tropical montane forests

Indexed keywords

EID: 84898480358     PISSN: 11009233     EISSN: 16541103     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12132     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Ashcroft, M.B. 2010. Identifying refugia from climate change. Journal of Biogeography 37: 1407-1413.
2. Baraloto, C., Hérault, B., Paine, C.E.T., Massot, H., Blanc, L., Bonal, D., Molino, J.-F., Nicolini, E.A. & Sabatier, D. 2012. Contrasting taxonomic and functional responses of a tropical tree community to selective logging. Journal of Applied Ecology 49: 861-870.
3. Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. 2008. Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador. Springer, Berlin, DE.
4. Bendix, J., Rollenbeck, R., Richter, M., Fabian, P. & Emck, P. 2008. Climate. In: Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. (eds.) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador, pp. 63-74. Ecological Studies. Springer, Berlin, DE.
5. Brown, S. & Lugo, A.E. 1990. Tropical secondary forests. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6: 1-32.
6. Chen, Z.-S., Hsieh, C.-F., Jiang, F.-Y., Hsieh, T.-H. & Sun, I.-F. 1997. Relations of soil properties to topography and vegetation in a subtropical rain forest in southern Taiwan. Plant Ecology 132: 229-241.
7. Chen, I.-C., Hill, J.K., Ohlemuller, R., Roy, D.B. & Thomas, C.D. 2011. Rapid range shifts of species associated with high levels of climate warming. Science 333: 1024-1026.
8. Daws, M.I., Mullins, C.E., Burslem, D.F.R.P., Paton, S.R. & Dalling, J.W. 2002. Topographic position affects the water regime in a semideciduous tropical forest in Panama. Plant and Soil 238: 79-89.
9. Didham, R.K. & Lawton, J.H. 1999. Edge structure determines the magnitude of changes in microclimate and vegetation structure in tropical forest fragments. Biotropica 31: 17-30.
10. Dufrene, M. & Legendre, P. 1997. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecological Monographs 67: 345-366.
11. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) 2011. State of the World's forests 2011. FAO, Rome, IT.
12. Feeley, K.J., Silman, M.R., Bush, M.B., Farfan, W., Cabrera, K.G., Malhi, Y., Meir, P., Revilla, N.S., Quisiyupanqui, M.N.R. & Saatchi, S. 2011. Upslope migration of Andean trees. Journal of Biogeography 38: 783-791.
13. Forero-Medina, G., Joppa, L. & Pimm, S.L. 2011. Constraints to species' elevational range shifts as climate changes. Conservation Biology 25: 163-171.
14. Gentry, A.H. 1988. Changes in plant community diversity and floristic composition on environmental and geographical gradients. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 75: 1-34.
15. Gentry, A.H. 1995. Patterns of diversity and floristic composition in neotropical montane forests. In: Churchill, S.P., Balslev, H., Forero, E. & Luteyn, J.L. (eds.) Biodiversity and conservation of Neotropical montane forests, pp. 103-126. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY, US.
16. Gerold, G., Schawe, M. & Bach, K. 2008. Hydrometeorologic, pedologic and vegetation patterns along an elevational transect in the montane forest of the Bolivian Yungas. Die Erde 139: 141-168.
17. Ghalambor, C.K., Huey, R.B., Martin, P.R., Tewksbury, J.J. & Wang, G. 2006. Are mountain passes higher in the tropics? Janzen's hypothesis revisited. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: 5-17.
18. Guariguata, M.R. & Ostertag, R. 2001. Neotropical secondary forest succession: changes in structural and functional characteristics. Forest Ecology and Management 148: 185-206.
19. Henderson, A., Churchill, S.P. & Luteyn, J.L. 1991. Neotropical plant diversity. Nature 351: 21-22.
20. Herwitz, S.R. & Young, S.S. 1994. Mortality, recruitment, and growth rates of montane tropical rain forest canopy trees on Mount Bellenden-Ker, Northeast Queensland, Australia. Biotropica 26: 350-361.
21. Homeier, J. 2008. The influence of topography on forest structure and regeneration in an Ecuadorian mountain forest. In: Gradstein, S.R., Homeier, J. & Gansert, D. (eds.) The tropical mountain forest - Patterns and processes in a biodiversity hotspot, pp. 97-107. Biodiversity and Ecology Series. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, Göttingen, DE.
22. Homeier, J., Breckle, S.-W., Günter, S., Rollenbeck, R.T. & Leuschner, C. 2010. Tree diversity, forest structure and productivity along altitudinal and topographical gradients in a species-rich Ecuadorian montane rain forest. Biotropica 42: 140-148.
23. Hopkins, J.J., Allison, H.M., Walmsley, C.A., Gaywood, M. & Thurgate, G. 2007. Conserving biodiversity in a changing climate: guidance on building capacity to adapt. Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK.
24. Hurlbert, S.H. 1971. The nonconcept of species diversity: a critique and alternative parameters. Ecology 52: 577-586.
25. Jongman, R.H., Ter Braak, C.J. & Van Tongeren, O.F. 1995. Data analysis in community and landscape ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
26. Kapos, V. 1989. Effects of isolation on the water status of forest patches in the Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 5: 173-185.
27. Kessler, M. & Beck, S.G. 2001. Bosques nublados del Neotropico. In: Kappelle, M. & Brown, A.D. (eds.) Bosques Nublados del Neotropico, pp. 581-622. Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad INBio, Santo Domingo de Heredia, CR.
28. Kier, G., Mutke, J., Dinerstein, E., Ricketts, T.H., Küper, W., Kreft, H. & Barthlott, W. 2005. Global patterns of plant diversity and floristic knowledge. Journal of Biogeography 32: 1107-1116.
29. Killeen, T., Siles, T., Soria, L. & Correa, L. 2005. Estratificación de vegetación y cambio de uso de suelo en los Yungas y Alto Beni de La Paz. Ecología en Bolivia 40: 32-69.
30. Kitayama, K. & Aiba, S.-I. 2002. Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of Ecology 90: 37-51.
31. Körner, C. 2007. The use of "altitude" in ecological research. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 22: 569-574.
32. Kubota, Y., Murata, H. & Kikuzawa, K. 2004. Effects of topographic heterogeneity on tree species richness and stand dynamics in a subtropical forest in Okinawa Island, Southern Japan. Journal of Ecology 92: 230-240.
33. Laurance, W.F. 2004. Forest-climate interactions in fragmented tropical landscapes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 359: 345-352.
34. Laurance, W.F. & Williamson, G.B. 2001. Positive feedbacks among forest fragmentation, drought, and climate change in the Amazon. Conservation Biology 15: 1529-1535.
35. Lawton, R.O. 1982. Wind stress and elfin stature in a montane rain forest tree: an adaptive explanation. American Journal of Botany 69: 1224.
36. Leithead, M., Anand, M., Duarte, L. & D. Pillar, V. 2012. Causal effects of latitude, disturbance and dispersal limitation on richness in a recovering temperate, subtropical and tropical forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 23: 339-351.
37. Lieberman, D., Lieberman, M., Peralta, R. & Hartshorn, G.S. 1996. Tropical forest structure and composition on a large-scale altitudinal gradient in Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 84: 137-152.
38. Lippok, D., Beck, S.G., Renison, D., Gallegos, S.C., Saavedra, F.V., Hensen, I. & Schleuning, M. 2013. Forest recovery of areas deforested by fire increases with elevation in the tropical Andes. Forest Ecology and Management 295: 69-76.
39. Lovett, J.C., Marshall, A.R. & Carr, J. 2006. Changes in tropical forest vegetation along an altitudinal gradient in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 44: 478-490.
40. Markesteijn, L., Iraipi, J., Bongers, F. & Poorter, L. 2010. Seasonal variation in soil and plant water potentials in a Bolivian tropical moist and dry forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 26: 497-508.
41. Midgley, J.J. & Niklas, K.J. 2004. Does disturbance prevent total basal area and biomass in indigenous forests from being at equilibrium with the local environment? Journal of Tropical Ecology 20: 595-597.
42. Molina-Carpio, J. 2005. Régimen de precipitación en la cuenca de Huarinilla-Cotapata, La Paz-Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 40: 43-55.
43. Moser, G., Röderstein, M., Soethe, N., Hertel, D. & Leuschner, C. 2008. Altitudinal changes in stand structure and biomass allocation of tropical mountain forests in relation to microclimate and soil chemistry. In: Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. (eds.) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador, pp. 229-242. Ecological Studies. Springer, Berlin, DE.
44. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A. & Kent, J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853-858.
45. Oesker, M., Dalitz, H., Günter, S., Homeier, J. & Matezki, S. 2008. Spatial heterogeneity patterns - a comparison between gorges and ridges in the upper part of an evergreen lower montane forest. In: Beck, E., Bendix, J., Kottke, I., Makeschin, F. & Mosandl, R. (eds.) Gradients in a tropical mountain ecosystem of Ecuador, pp. 267-274. Ecological Studies. Springer, Berlin, DE.
46. Oosterhoorn, M. & Kappelle, M. 2000. Vegetation structure and composition along an interior-edge-exterior gradient in a Costa Rican montane cloud forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 26: 291-307.
47. Pielou, E.C. 1975. Ecological diversity. Wiley, New York, NY, US.
48. Punchi-Manage, R., Getzin, S., Wiegand, T., Kanagaraj, R., Savitri Gunatilleke, C.V., Nimal Gunatilleke, I.A.U., Wiegand, K. & Huth, A. 2013. Effects of topography on structuring local species assemblages in a Sri Lankan mixed dipterocarp forest. Journal of Ecology 101: 149-160.
49. Santos, B.A., Peres, C.A., Oliveira, M.A., Grillo, A., Alves-Costa, C.P. & Tabarelli, M. 2008. Drastic erosion in functional attributes of tree assemblages in Atlantic forest fragments of northeastern Brazil. Biological Conservation 141: 249-260.
50. Saunders, D.A., Hobbs, R.J. & Margules, C.R. 1991. Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conservation Biology 5: 18-32.
51. Soethe, N., Lehmann, J. & Engels, C. 2008. Nutrient availability at different altitudes in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24: 397-406.
52. Suggitt, A.J., Gillingham, P.K., Hill, J.K., Huntley, B., Kunin, W.E., Roy, D.B. & Thomas, C.D. 2011. Habitat microclimates drive fine-scale variation in extreme temperatures. Oikos 120: 1-8.
53. Takyu, M., Aiba, S.-I. & Kitayama, K. 2003. Changes in biomass, productivity and decomposition along topographical gradients under different geological conditions in tropical lower montane forests on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Oecologia 134: 397-404.
54. Tanner, E.V.J. 1977. Four montane rain forests of Jamaica: a quantitative characterization of the floristics, the soils and the foliar mineral levels, and a discussion of the interrelations. Journal of Ecology 65: 883-918.
55. Tanner, E.V.J., Vitousek, P.M. & Cuevas, E. 1998. Experimental investigation of nutrient limitation of forest growth on wet tropical mountains. Ecology 79: 10-22.
56. Taylor, B.R., Parkinson, D. & Parsons, W.F. 1989. Nitrogen and lignin content as predictors of litter decay rates: a microcosm test. Ecology 70: 97-104.
57. Unger, M., Leuschner, C. & Homeier, J. 2010. Variability of indices of macronutrient availability in soils at different spatial scales along an elevation transect in tropical moist forests (NE Ecuador). Plant and Soil 336: 443-458.
58. Weaver, P. 2010. Forest structure and composition in the lower montane rain forest of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico. Interciencia 35: 640-646.
59. Webb, E.L., Stanfield, B.J. & Jensen, M.L. 1999. Effects of topography on rainforest tree community structure and diversity in American Samoa, and implications for frugivore and nectarivore populations. Journal of Biogeography 26: 887-897.
60. Wilcke, W., Boy, J., Goller, R., Fleischbein, K., Valarezo, C. & Zech, W. 2011. Effect of topography on soil fertility and water flow in an Ecuadorian lower montane forest. In: Bruijnzeel, L.A., Scatena, F.N. & Hamilton, L.S. (eds.) Tropical montane cloud forests: science for conservation and management, pp. 402-409. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
61. Williams-Linera, G., Domínguez-Gastelú, V. & García-Zurita, M.E. 1998. Microenvironment and floristics of different edges in a fragmented tropical rainforest. Conservation Biology 12: 1091-1102.
62. Wolf, K., Veldkamp, E., Homeier, J. & Martinson, G.O. 2011. Nitrogen availability links forest productivity, soil nitrous oxide and nitric oxide fluxes of a tropical montane forest in southern Ecuador. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 25: GB4009
63. Zhang, Q. & Zak, J.C. 1995. Effects of gap size on litter decomposition and microbial activity in a subtropical forest. Ecology 76: 2196.