toggle visibility Search & Display Options

Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print
  Records Links
Author Dejean, A.; Azémar, F.; Céréghino, R.; Leponce, M.; Corbara, B.; Orivel, J.; Compin, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Insect Science Abbreviated Journal Insect Science  
  Volume 23 Issue 4 Pages 630-637  
  Keywords ant plant relationships; dynamics of associations; myrmecophytes; tropical rainforests  
  Abstract Ants, the most abundant taxa among canopy-dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially dominant arboreal ants (TDAs) whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern (arboreal ant mosaics). Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on 3 Cameroonian tree species (Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteria fistulosa, Passifloraceae), we used the Self-Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp., which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, nondominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences  
  Address Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, LMGE, BP 10448, Clermont-Ferrand, France  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 1 September 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 689  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Feldpausch, T.R.; Phillips, O.L.; Brienen, R.J.W.; Gloor, E.; Lloyd, J.; Lopez-Gonzalez, G.; Monteagudo-Mendoza, A.; Malhi, Y.; Alarcón, A.; Álvarez Dávila, E.; Alvarez-Loayza, P.; Andrade, A.; Aragao, L.E.O.C.; Arroyo, L.; Aymard C., G.A.; Baker, T.R.; Baraloto, C.; Barroso, J.; Bonal, D.; Castro, W.; Chama, V.; Chave, J.; Domingues, T.F.; Fauset, S.; Groot, N.; Honorio Coronado, E.; Laurance, S.; Laurance, W.F.; Lewis, S.L.; Licona, J.C.; Marimon, B.S.; Marimon-Junior, B.H.; Mendoza Bautista, C.; Neill, D.A.; Oliveira, E.A.; Oliveira dos Santos, C.; Pallqui Camacho, N.C.; Pardo-Molina, G.; Prieto, A.; Quesada, C.A.; Ramírez, F.; Ramírez-Angulo, H.; Réjou-Méchain, M.; Rudas, A.; Saiz, G.; Salomão, R.P.; Silva-Espejo, J.E.; Silveira, M.; ter Steege, H.; Stropp, J.; Terborgh, J.; Thomas-Caesar, R.; van der Heijden, G.M.F.; Vásquez Martinez, R.; Vilanova, E.; Vos, V.A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Amazon forest response to repeated droughts Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Global Biogeochemical Cycles Abbreviated Journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles  
  Volume 30 Issue 7 Pages 964-982  
  Keywords carbon; forest productivity; precipitation; tree mortality; vegetation dynamics; water deficit  
  Abstract The Amazon Basin has experienced more variable climate over the last decade, with a severe and widespread drought in 2005 causing large basin-wide losses of biomass. A drought of similar climatological magnitude occurred again in 2010; however, there has been no basin-wide ground-based evaluation of effects on vegetation. We examine to what extent the 2010 drought affected forest dynamics using ground-based observations of mortality and growth from an extensive forest plot network. We find that during the 2010 drought interval, forests did not gain biomass (net change: −0.43 Mg ha−1, confidence interval (CI): −1.11, 0.19, n = 97), regardless of whether forests experienced precipitation deficit anomalies. This contrasted with a long-term biomass sink during the baseline pre-2010 drought period (1998 to pre-2010) of 1.33 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (CI: 0.90, 1.74, p < 0.01). The resulting net impact of the 2010 drought (i.e., reversal of the baseline net sink) was −1.95 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (CI:−2.77, −1.18; p < 0.001). This net biomass impact was driven by an increase in biomass mortality (1.45 Mg ha−1 yr−1 CI: 0.66, 2.25, p < 0.001) and a decline in biomass productivity (−0.50 Mg ha−1 yr−1, CI:−0.78, −0.31; p < 0.001). Surprisingly, the magnitude of the losses through tree mortality was unrelated to estimated local precipitation anomalies and was independent of estimated local pre-2010 drought history. Thus, there was no evidence that pre-2010 droughts compounded the effects of the 2010 drought. We detected a systematic basin-wide impact of the 2010 drought on tree growth rates across Amazonia, which was related to the strength of the moisture deficit. This impact differed from the drought event in 2005 which did not affect productivity. Based on these ground data, live biomass in trees and corresponding estimates of live biomass in lianas and roots, we estimate that intact forests in Amazonia were carbon neutral in 2010 (−0.07 Pg C yr−1 CI:−0.42, 0.23), consistent with results from an independent analysis of airborne estimates of land-atmospheric fluxes during 2010. Relative to the long-term mean, the 2010 drought resulted in a reduction in biomass carbon uptake of 1.1 Pg C, compared to 1.6 Pg C for the 2005 event. ©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.  
  Address Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado Norte Amazónico, Riberalta, Bolivia  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 1 September 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 690  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Salas-Lopez, A.; Talaga, S.; Lalague, H. doi  openurl
  Title The discovery of devil's gardens: An ant-plant mutualism in the cloud forests of the Eastern Amazon Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of Tropical Ecology Abbreviated Journal Journal of Tropical Ecology  
  Volume 32 Issue 3 Pages 264-268  
  Keywords ant-plant interactions; biogeography; cloud forest; Cordia nodosa; mutualism, Myrmelachista; refuge hypothesis  
  Abstract Devil's gardens are one of the most remarkable mutualistic associations between ants and plants. Myrmelachista ants eliminate all vegetation from around their host plants, resulting in wide forest clearings which have intrigued scientists from the start. Despite their noticeability, here we report the discovery of devil's gardens in remote highland cloud forests of the Eastern Amazon, more than 2000 km away from their nearest known analogues in Western Amazonia. We describe the ecological characteristics of these gardens and consider what factors could have produced the geographic isolation of Eastern Amazonian devil's gardens. Three hypotheses are investigated: (1) the host plant distribution restricts the distribution of the mutualism, (2) the ecological tolerances of Myrmelachista explain the isolation, and (3) the devil's gardens of the Eastern Amazon constitute relicts from ancient forest refugia. The distribution of the possible associated myrmecophytes and previously described ecological ranges of devil's gardens cannot explain their ecological restriction to cloud forests in Eastern Amazonia, but our discovery is consistent with the biogeographic refuge hypothesis (i.e. highlands along the Amazon Basin constitute refugia for humid forests that spread during the Cenozoic). Our finding opens exciting perspectives for comparative studies of the origin, ecology and evolutionary history of this ant-plant mutualism. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016.  
  Address INRA, UMR, EcoFoG, Campus Agronomique, BP 316, Kourou Cedex, France  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 1 September 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 691  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Remy, C.C.; Fleury, M.; Beauchene, J.; Rivier, M.; Goli, T. doi  openurl
  Title Analysis of PAH Residues and Amounts of Phenols in Fish Smoked with Woods Traditionally Used in French Guiana Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of Ethnobiology Abbreviated Journal Journal of Ethnobiology  
  Volume 36 Issue 2 Pages 312-325  
  Keywords French Guiana; phenols; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; smoked fish; traditional knowledge  
  Abstract Fish smoking with local wood species is a traditional practice in French Guiana. We evaluated the carcinogenic risk and the smoky taste in acoupa weakfish (Cynoscion acoupa) smoked by a small Guianese company specializing in fish smoking using local wood species. The goal of this study is to promote regional economic development by encouraging the establishment of small companies offering fish smoked with local wood species in agreement with the European health norms in terms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content in smoked fish. The fish smoked with three species of wood traditionally used in French Guiana, Parinari campestris, Caesaria grandiflora, and Laetia procera, conformed to European standards for PAH content. Their phenol contents (correlated with the smoky taste) were close to smoked salmon, the reference in Europe. Given the low rate of extractable compounds in these woods, other flavors had little chance of predominating on the smoky taste. These three tropical wood species might be used for the production of cold smoked fish in compliance with European standards for PAH residues. The flavor and consumer's acceptance of the smoked fish should now be investigated to characterize the added typicity of local woods in comparison to the commonly used European woods. © 2016 Society of Ethnobiology.  
  Address 4UMR Qualisud, CIRAD Persyst Bât, France  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 1 September 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 692  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Fortunel, C.; Paine, C.E.T.; Fine, P.V.A.; Mesones, I.; Goret, J.; Burban, B.; Cazal, J.; Baraloto, C.; Comita, L. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title There's no place like home: seedling mortality contributes to the habitat specialisation of tree species across Amazonia Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Ecology Letters Abbreviated Journal Ecology Letters  
  Volume 19 Issue 10 Pages 1256-1266  
  Keywords Amazon basin; forests habitats; habitat association; herbivory; light availability; plant lineages; rainfall temporal variation; seedling performance; soil fertility; tropical trees  
  Abstract Understanding the mechanisms generating species distributions remains a challenge, especially in hyperdiverse tropical forests. We evaluated the role of rainfall variation, soil gradients and herbivory on seedling mortality, and how variation in seedling performance along these gradients contributes to habitat specialisation. In a 4-year experiment, replicated at the two extremes of the Amazon basin, we reciprocally transplanted 4638 tree seedlings of 41 habitat-specialist species from seven phylogenetic lineages among the three most important forest habitats of lowland Amazonia. Rainfall variation, flooding and soil gradients strongly influenced seedling mortality, whereas herbivory had negligible impact. Seedling mortality varied strongly among habitats, consistent with predictions for habitat specialists in most lineages. This suggests that seedling performance is a primary determinant of the habitat associations of adult trees across Amazonia. It further suggests that tree diversity, currently mostly harboured in terra firme forests, may be strongly impacted by the predicted climate changes in Amazonia. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS  
  Address Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 27 October 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 698  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Fayad, I.; Baghdadi, N.; Guitet, S.; Bailly, J.-S.; Herault, B.; Gond, V.; El Hajj, M.; Tong Minh, D.H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Aboveground biomass mapping in French Guiana by combining remote sensing, forest inventories and environmental data Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation Abbreviated Journal International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation  
  Volume 52 Issue Pages 502-514  
  Keywords Aboveground biomass mapping; Forests; French Guiana; ICESat GLAS; LiDAR  
  Abstract Mapping forest aboveground biomass (AGB) has become an important task, particularly for the reporting of carbon stocks and changes. AGB can be mapped using synthetic aperture radar data (SAR) or passive optical data. However, these data are insensitive to high AGB levels (>150 Mg/ha, and >300 Mg/ha for P-band), which are commonly found in tropical forests. Studies have mapped the rough variations in AGB by combining optical and environmental data at regional and global scales. Nevertheless, these maps cannot represent local variations in AGB in tropical forests. In this paper, we hypothesize that the problem of misrepresenting local variations in AGB and AGB estimation with good precision occurs because of both methodological limits (signal saturation or dilution bias) and a lack of adequate calibration data in this range of AGB values. We test this hypothesis by developing a calibrated regression model to predict variations in high AGB values (mean >300 Mg/ha) in French Guiana by a methodological approach for spatial extrapolation with data from the optical geoscience laser altimeter system (GLAS), forest inventories, radar, optics, and environmental variables for spatial inter- and extrapolation. Given their higher point count, GLAS data allow a wider coverage of AGB values. We find that the metrics from GLAS footprints are correlated with field AGB estimations (R2 = 0.54, RMSE = 48.3 Mg/ha) with no bias for high values. First, predictive models, including remote-sensing, environmental variables and spatial correlation functions, allow us to obtain “wall-to-wall” AGB maps over French Guiana with an RMSE for the in situ AGB estimates of ∼50 Mg/ha and R2 = 0.66 at a 1-km grid size. We conclude that a calibrated regression model based on GLAS with dependent environmental data can produce good AGB predictions even for high AGB values if the calibration data fit the AGB range. We also demonstrate that small temporal and spatial mismatches between field data and GLAS footprints are not a problem for regional and global calibrated regression models because field data aim to predict large and deep tendencies in AGB variations from environmental gradients and do not aim to represent high but stochastic and temporally limited variations from forest dynamics. Thus, we advocate including a greater variety of data, even if less precise and shifted, to better represent high AGB values in global models and to improve the fitting of these models for high values. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.  
  Address NOVELTIS, 153 rue du Lac, Labège, France  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 9 December 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 699  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lenoir, A.; Boulay, R.; Dejean, A.; Touchard, A.; Cuvillier-Hot, V. doi  openurl
  Title Phthalate pollution in an Amazonian rainforest Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Environmental Science and Pollution Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 23 Issue 16 Pages 16865-16872  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Phthalates are ubiquitous contaminants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can become trapped in the cuticles of insects, including ants which were recognized as good bioindicators for such pollution. Because phthalates have been noted in developed countries and because they also have been found in the Arctic, a region isolated from direct anthropogenic influence, we hypothesized that they are widespread. So, we looked for their presence on the cuticle of ants gathered from isolated areas of the Amazonian rainforest and along an anthropogenic gradient of pollution (rainforest vs. road sides vs. cities in French Guiana). Phthalate pollution (mainly di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) was higher on ants gathered in cities and along road sides than on those collected in the pristine rainforest, indicating that it follows a human-mediated gradient of disturbance related to the use of plastics and many other products that contain phthalates in urban zones. Their presence varied with the ant species; the cuticle of Solenopsis saevissima traps higher amount of phthalates than that of compared species. However, the presence of phthalates in isolated areas of pristine rainforests suggests that they are associated both with atmospheric particles and in gaseous form and are transported over long distances by wind, resulting in a worldwide diffusion. These findings suggest that there is no such thing as a “pristine” zone.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1614-7499 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Lenoir2016 Serial 700  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Alméras, T.; Gronvold, A.; van der Lee, A.; Clair, B.; Montero, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Contribution of cellulose to the moisture-dependent elastic behaviour of wood Type Journal Article
  Year 2017 Publication Composites Science and Technology Abbreviated Journal Composites Science and Technology  
  Volume 138 Issue Pages 151-160  
  Keywords Cellulose; Crystal strain; Micromechanics; Wood; X-ray diffraction  
  Abstract Wood has a hierarchical structure involving several levels of organisation. The stiffness of wood relies on its capacity to transfer mechanical stress to its stiffest element at the lowest scale, namely crystalline cellulose. This study aims at quantifying to what extend crystalline cellulose contributes to wood stiffness depending on its moisture content. The crystal strains of cellulose were measured using X-ray diffraction on wet and dry specimens of spruce, based on a previously published methodology. The comparison between crystal strain and macroscopic strain shows that, during elastic loading, cellulose strain is lower than macroscopic strain. The means ratio of crystal/macroscopic strain amounts 0.85 for dry specimens and 0.64 for wet specimens. This strain ratio cannot be explained just by the projection effect due to the difference in orientation between cellulose microfibrils and cell wall, but results from deformation mechanisms in series with cellulose. Analysis shows that this series contribution represents a non-negligible contribution to wood compliance and is strongly moisture-dependent. This contribution amounts 9% for dry specimens and 33% for wet specimens, corresponding to a 4-fold increase in compliance for the series contribution. The origin of these strains is ascribed to mechanisms involving bending or shear strain at different scales, due to the fact that reinforcing element are neither perfectly straight nor infinitely long. © 2016  
  Address CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Export Date: 26 December 2016 Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 701  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Piponiot, C.; Sist, P.; Mazzei, L.; Peña-Claros, M.; Putz, F.E.; Rutishauser, E.; Shenkin, A.; Ascarrunz, N.; de Azevedo, C.P.; Baraloto, C.; França, M.; Guedes, M.; Honorio Coronado, E.N.; d'Oliveira, M.V.N.; Ruschel, A.R.; da Silva, K.E.; Doff Sotta, E.; de Souza, C.R.; Vidal, E.; West, T.A.P.; Herault, B. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Carbon recovery dynamics following disturbance by selective logging in Amazonian forests Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication eLife Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 5 Issue Pages e21394  
  Keywords  
  Abstract When 2 Mha of Amazonian forests are disturbed by selective logging each year, more than 90 Tg of carbon (C) is emitted to the atmosphere. Emissions are then counterbalanced by forest regrowth. With an original modelling approach, calibrated on a network of 133 permanent forest plots (175 ha total) across Amazonia, we link regional differences in climate, soil and initial biomass with survivors' and recruits' C fluxes to provide Amazon-wide predictions of post-logging C recovery. We show that net aboveground C recovery over 10 years is higher in the Guiana Shield and in the west (21{plus minus}3 MgC ha-1) than in the south (12{plus minus}3 MgC ha-1) where environmental stress is high (low rainfall, high seasonality). We highlight the key role of survivors in the forest regrowth and elaborate a comprehensive map of post-disturbance C recovery potential in Amazonia.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd Place of Publication Editor Trumbore, S.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2050-084x ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 702  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Liang, J.; Crowther, T.W.; Picard, N.; Wiser, S.; Zhou, M.; Alberti, G.; Schulze, E.-D.; McGuire, A.D.; Bozzato, F.; Pretzsch, H.; de-Miguel, S.; Paquette, A.; Herault, B.; Scherer-Lorenzen, M.; Barrett, C.B.; Glick, H.B.; Hengeveld, G.M.; Nabuurs, G.-J.; Pfautsch, S.; Viana, H.; Vibrans, A.C.; Ammer, C.; Schall, P.; Verbyla, D.; Tchebakova, N.; Fischer, M.; Watson, J.V.; Chen, H.Y.H.; Lei, X.; Schelhaas, M.-J.; Lu, H.; Gianelle, D.; Parfenova, E.I.; Salas, C.; Lee, E.; Lee, B.; Kim, H.S.; Bruelheide, H.; Coomes, D.A.; Piotto, D.; Sunderland, T.; Schmid, B.; Gourlet-Fleury, S.; Sonké, B.; Tavani, R.; Zhu, J.; Brandl, S.; Vayreda, J.; Kitahara, F.; Searle, E.B.; Neldner, V.J.; Ngugi, M.R.; Baraloto, C.; Frizzera, L.; Bałazy, R.; Oleksyn, J.; Zawiła-Niedźwiecki, T.; Bouriaud, O.; Bussotti, F.; Finér, L.; Jaroszewicz, B.; Jucker, T.; Valladares, F.; Jagodzinski, A.M.; Peri, P.L.; Gonmadje, C.; Marthy, W.; O’Brien, T.; Martin, E.H.; Marshall, A.R.; Rovero, F.; Bitariho, R.; Niklaus, P.A.; Alvarez-Loayza, P.; Chamuya, N.; Valencia, R.; Mortier, F.; Wortel, V.; Engone-Obiang, N.L.; Ferreira, L.V.; Odeke, D.E.; Vasquez, R.M.; Lewis, S.L.; Reich, P.B. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 354 Issue 6309 Pages  
  Keywords  
  Abstract The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity has been explored in detail in herbaceous vegetation, but patterns in forests are far less well understood. Liang et al. have amassed a global forest data set from >770,000 sample plots in 44 countries. A positive and consistent relationship can be discerned between tree diversity and ecosystem productivity at landscape, country, and ecoregion scales. On average, a 10% loss in biodiversity leads to a 3% loss in productivity. This means that the economic value of maintaining biodiversity for the sake of global forest productivity is more than fivefold greater than global conservation costs.Science, this issue p. 196INTRODUCTIONThe biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR; the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem productivity) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on the functioning of natural ecosystems. The BPR has been a prominent research topic within ecology in recent decades, but it is only recently that we have begun to develop a global perspective.RATIONALEForests are the most important global repositories of terrestrial biodiversity, but deforestation, forest degradation, climate change, and other factors are threatening approximately one half of tree species worldwide. Although there have been substantial efforts to strengthen the preservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity throughout the globe, the consequences of this diversity loss pose a major uncertainty for ongoing international forest management and conservation efforts. The forest BPR represents a critical missing link for accurate valuation of global biodiversity and successful integration of biological conservation and socioeconomic development. Until now, there have been limited tree-based diversity experiments, and the forest BPR has only been explored within regional-scale observational studies. Thus, the strength and spatial variability of this relationship remains unexplored at a global scale.RESULTSWe explored the effect of tree species richness on tree volume productivity at the global scale using repeated forest inventories from 777,126 permanent sample plots in 44 countries containing more than 30 million trees from 8737 species spanning most of the global terrestrial biomes. Our findings reveal a consistent positive concave-down effect of biodiversity on forest productivity across the world, showing that a continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide.The BPR shows considerable geospatial variation across the world. The same percentage of biodiversity loss would lead to a greater relative (that is, percentage) productivity decline in the boreal forests of North America, Northeastern Europe, Central Siberia, East Asia, and scattered regions of South-central Africa and South-central Asia. In the Amazon, West and Southeastern Africa, Southern China, Myanmar, Nepal, and the Malay Archipelago, however, the same percentage of biodiversity loss would lead to greater absolute productivity decline.CONCLUSIONOur findings highlight the negative effect of biodiversity loss on forest productivity and the potential benefits from the transition of monocultures to mixed-species stands in forestry practices. The BPR we discover across forest ecosystems worldwide corresponds well with recent theoretical advances, as well as with experimental and observational studies on forest and nonforest ecosystems. On the basis of this relationship, the ongoing species loss in forest ecosystems worldwide could substantially reduce forest productivity and thereby forest carbon absorption rate to compromise the global forest carbon sink. We further estimate that the economic value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone is $166 billion to $490 billion per year. Although representing only a small percentage of the total value of biodiversity, this value is two to six times as much as it would cost to effectively implement conservation globally. These results highlight the necessity to reassess biodiversity valuation and the potential benefits of integrating and promoting biological conservation in forest resource management and forestry practices worldwide.Global effect of tree species diversity on forest productivity.Ground-sourced data from 777,126 global forest biodiversity permanent sample plots (dark blue dots, left), which cover a substantial portion of the global forest extent (white), reveal a consistent positive and concave-down biodiversity-productivity relationship across forests worldwide (red line with pink bands representing 95% confidence interval, right).The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR is critical for the accurate valuation and effective conservation of biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries and most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide. The value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone—US$166 billion to 490 billion per year according to our estimation—is more than twice what it would cost to implement effective global conservation. This highlights the need for a worldwide reassessment of biodiversity values, forest management strategies, and conservation priorities.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 703  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print

Save Citations:
Export Records: