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Fortunel, C., Stahl, C., Heuret, P., Nicolini, E., & Baraloto, C. (2020). Disentangling the effects of environment and ontogeny on tree functional dimensions for congeneric species in tropical forests. New Phytol., 226(2), 385–395.
Abstract: Soil water and nutrient availability are key drivers of tree species distribution and forest ecosystem functioning, with strong species differences in water and nutrient use. Despite growing evidence for intraspecific trait differences, it remains unclear under which circumstances the effects of environmental gradients trump those of ontogeny and taxonomy on important functional dimensions related to resource use, particularly in tropical forests. Here, we explore how physiological, chemical, and morphological traits related to resource use vary between life stages in four species within the genus Micropholis that is widespread in lowland Amazonia. Specifically, we evaluate how environment, developmental stage, and taxonomy contribute to single-trait variation and multidimensional functional strategies. We find that environment, developmental stage, and taxonomy differentially contribute to functional dimensions. Habitats and seasons shape physiological and chemical traits related to water and nutrient use, whereas developmental stage and taxonomic identity impact morphological traits –especially those related to the leaf economics spectrum. Our findings suggest that combining environment, ontogeny, and taxonomy allows for a better understanding of important functional dimensions in tropical trees and highlights the need for integrating tree physiological and chemical traits with classically used morphological traits to improve predictions of tropical forests’ responses to environmental change. © 2019 The Authors New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust
Keywords: chemistry; developmental stage; habitats; Micropholis; morphology; physiology; plant traits; seasons; developmental stage; ecosystem function; forest ecosystem; habitat selection; habitat structure; nutrient availability; ontogeny; physiological response; soil water; taxonomy; tropical forest; Amazonia
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Levionnois, S., Jansen, S., Wandji, R. T., Beauchêne, J., Ziegler, C., Coste, S., et al. (2021). Linking drought-induced xylem embolism resistance to wood anatomical traits in Neotropical trees. New Phytol., 229(3), 1453–1466.
Abstract: Drought-induced xylem embolism is considered to be one of the main factors driving mortality in woody plants worldwide. Although several structure–functional mechanisms have been tested to understand the anatomical determinants of embolism resistance, there is a need to study this topic by integrating anatomical data for many species. We combined optical, laser, and transmission electron microscopy to investigate vessel diameter, vessel grouping, and pit membrane ultrastructure for 26 tropical rainforest tree species across three major clades (magnoliids, rosiids, and asteriids). We then related these anatomical observations to previously published data on drought-induced embolism resistance, with phylogenetic analyses. Vessel diameter, vessel grouping, and pit membrane ultrastructure were all predictive of xylem embolism resistance, but with weak predictive power. While pit membrane thickness was a predictive trait when vestured pits were taken into account, the pit membrane diameter-to-thickness ratio suggests a strong importance of the deflection resistance of the pit membrane. However, phylogenetic analyses weakly support adaptive coevolution. Our results emphasize the functional significance of pit membranes for air-seeding in tropical rainforest trees, highlighting also the need to study their mechanical properties due to the link between embolism resistance and pit membrane diameter-to-thickness ratio. Finding support for adaptive coevolution also remains challenging. © 2020 The Authors New Phytologist © 2020 New Phytologist Foundation
Keywords: bordered pits; drought-induced embolism; pit membrane; transmission electron microscopy; tropical trees; vessel grouping; xylem anatomy
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Leroy, C., Maes, A. Q. M., Louisanna, E., Schimann, H., & Séjalon-Delmas, N. (2021). Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of rootassociated fungi in bromeliads: effects of host identity, life forms and nutritional modes. New Phytologist, 231(3), 1195–1209.
Abstract: Bromeliads represent a major component of neotropical forests and encompass a considerable diversity of life forms and nutritional modes. Bromeliads explore highly stressful habitats and root-associated fungi may play a crucial role in this, but the driving factors and variations in root-associated fungi remain largely unknown.
We explored root-associated fungal communities in 17 bromeliad species and their variations linked to host identity, life forms and nutritional modes by using ITS1 gene-based high-throughput sequencing and by characterizing fungal functional guilds. We found a dual association of mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal fungi. The different species, life forms and nutritional modes among bromeliad hosts had fungal communities that differ in their taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically, roots of epiphytic bromeliads had more endophytic fungi and dark septate endophytes and fewer mycorrhizal fungi than terrestrial bromeliads and lithophytes. Our results contribute to a fundamental knowledge base on different fungal groups in previously undescribed Bromeliaceae. The diverse root-associated fungal communities in bromeliads may enhance plant fitness in both stressful and nutrient-poor environments and may give more flexibility to the plants to adapt to changing environmental conditions. |
Herault, B., Beauchene, J., Muller, F., Wagner, F., Baraloto, C., Blanc, L., et al. (2010). Modeling decay rates of dead wood in a neotropical forest. Oecologia, 164(1), 243–251.
Abstract: Variation of dead wood decay rates among tropical trees remains one source of uncertainty in global models of the carbon cycle. Taking advantage of a broad forest plot network surveyed for tree mortality over a 23-year period, we measured the remaining fraction of boles from 367 dead trees from 26 neotropical species widely varying in wood density (0.23-1.24 g cm(-3)) and tree circumference at death time (31.5-272.0 cm). We modeled decay rates within a Bayesian framework assuming a first order differential equation to model the decomposition process and tested for the effects of forest management (selective logging vs. unexploited), of mode of death (standing vs. downed) and of topographical levels (bottomlands vs. hillsides vs. hilltops) on wood decay rates. The general decay model predicts the observed remaining fraction of dead wood (R (2) = 60%) with only two biological predictors: tree circumference at death time and wood specific density. Neither selective logging nor local topography had a differential effect on wood decay rates. Including the mode of death into the model revealed that standing dead trees decomposed faster than downed dead trees, but the gain of model accuracy remains rather marginal. Overall, these results suggest that the release of carbon from tropical dead trees to the atmosphere can be simply estimated using tree circumference at death time and wood density.
Keywords: Amazonia; Carbon cycle; Decomposition; Selective logging; Rainforest; Coarse woody debris
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Paine, C. E. T., & Harms, K. E. (2009). Quantifying the effects of seed arrival and environmental conditions on tropical seedling community structure. Oecologia, 160(1), 139–150.
Abstract: Though it is recognized that both stochastic and deterministic processes structure all communities, empirical assessments of their relative importance are rare, particularly within any single community. In this paper, we quantify the dynamic effects of dispersal assembly and niche assembly on the seedling layer in a diverse neotropical rain forest. The two theories make divergent predictions regarding the roles of seed arrival and environmental heterogeneity in generating community structure. Put simply, dispersal assembly posits that the stochasticity inherent to seed arrival structures communities, whereas niche assembly suggests that heterogeneity in post-dispersal environmental conditions is more important. We experimentally sowed 15,132 seeds of eight tree species at varying levels of density and diversity. Every six months we censused the seedlings that germinated and assessed the abiotic and biotic conditions of each plot. We assessed the density, diversity, and species composition of three nested subsets of the seedling layer: seedlings germinated from sown seeds, all seedlings germinated between July 2003 and 2004, and all woody seedlings. We partitioned the variance in density and diversity of each subset of the seedling layer into components representing seed-addition treatments and environmental conditions at 6- to 12-month intervals. Seed additions initially explained more variance in the density and diversity than did environmental heterogeneity for seven of eight sown species, but explained little variance in the density or diversity of the entire seedling layer. Species composition was better explained by seed-addition treatments than by environmental heterogeneity for all three subsets and in all time periods. Nevertheless, the variance in community structure explained by seed-addition treatments declined over the two years following germination, presaging shifts in the relative importance of dispersal assembly and niche assembly. Our study quantifies how dispersal assembly and niche assembly may vary among the components of an ecological community and shift dynamically through time.
Keywords: Community assembly; Dispersal; Niche differentiation; Seed addition; Variance partitioning
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Baraloto, C., & Goldberg, D. E. (2004). Microhabitat associations and seedling bank dynamics in a neotropical forest. Oecologia, 141(4), 701–712.
Abstract: We conducted a rigorous test of tropical tree seedling microhabitat differentiation by examining microhabitat associations, survival and growth of established seedlings of ten tropical tree species representing a four-factor gradient in seed size. Eight microhabitat variables describing soil and light conditions were measured directly adjacent to each of 588 seedlings within twelve 10 x 100 m belt transects at Paracou, French Guiana, and at 264 reference points along the transects. From these measurements, we defined three principal components describing soil richness, soil softness and canopy openness. Six of ten species ( in 9 of 30 total cases) were distributed non-randomly with respect to microhabitat along at least one principal component. However, few species demonstrated clear microhabitat specialization. All shifts in distribution relative to reference points were in the same direction ( richer, softer soil). Furthermore, of 135 pairwise comparisons among the species, only 7 were significantly different. More than three-fourths of all seedlings (75.3%) survived over the 2-year monitoring period, but survival rates varied widely among species. In no case was the probability of survival influenced by any microhabitat parameter. Relative height growth rates for the seedlings over 2 years varied from – 0.031 cm cm(-1) year(-1) (Dicorynia guianensis, Caesalpiniaceae) to 0.088 cm cm(-1) year(-1) (Virola michelii, Myristicaceae). In only 4 of 30 cases was height growth significantly associated with one of the three principal components. Because the conditions in this study were designed to maximize the chance of finding microhabitat differentiation among a group of species differing greatly in life history traits, the lack of microhabitat specialization it uncovered suggests that microhabitat partitioning among tropical tree species at the established seedling stage is unlikely to contribute greatly to coexistence among these species.
Keywords: French Guiana; life history traits; light availability; regeneration niche; soil nutrients
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Orivel, J., Lambs, L., Male, P. J. G., Leroy, C., Grangier, J., Otto, T., et al. (2011). Dynamics of the association between a long-lived understory myrmecophyte and its specific associated ants. Oecologia, 165(2), 369–376.
Abstract: Myrmecophytic symbioses are widespread in tropical ecosystems and their diversity makes them useful tools for understanding the origin and evolution of mutualisms. Obligate ant-plants, or myrmecophytes, provide a nesting place, and, often, food to a limited number of plant-ant species. In exchange, plant-ants protect their host plants from herbivores, competitors and pathogens, and can provide them with nutrients. Although most studies to date have highlighted a similar global pattern of interactions in these systems, little is known about the temporal structuring and dynamics of most of these associations. In this study we focused on the association between the understory myrmecophyte Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae) and its obligate ant partner Allomerus decemarticulatus (Myrmicinae). An examination of the life histories and growth rates of both partners demonstrated that this plant species has a much longer lifespan (up to about 350 years) than its associated ant colonies (up to about 21 years). The size of the ant colonies and their reproductive success were strongly limited by the available nesting space provided by the host plants. Moreover, the resident ants positively affected the vegetative growth of their host plant, but had a negative effect on its reproduction by reducing the number of flowers and fruits by more than 50%. Altogether our results are important to understanding the evolutionary dynamics of ant-plant symbioses. The highly specialized interaction between long-lived plants and ants with a shorter lifespan produces an asymmetry in the evolutionary rates of the interaction which, in return, can affect the degree to which the interests of the two partners converge.
Keywords: Allomerus decemarticulatus; Hirtella physophora; Lifespan; Mutualism; Myrmecophyte
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Barantal, S., Roy, J., Fromin, N., Schimann, H., & Hattenschwiler, S. (2011). Long-term presence of tree species but not chemical diversity affect litter mixture effects on decomposition in a neotropical rainforest. Oecologia, 167(1), 241–252.
Abstract: Plant litter diversity effects on decomposition rates are frequently reported, but with a strong bias towards temperate ecosystems. Altered decomposition and nutrient recycling with changing litter diversity may be particularly important in tree species-rich tropical rainforests on nutrient-poor soils. Using 28 different mixtures of leaf litter from 16 Amazonian rainforest tree species, we tested the hypothesis that litter mixture effects on decomposition increase with increasing functional litter diversity. Litter mixtures and all single litter species were exposed in the field for 9 months using custom-made microcosms with soil fauna access. In order to test the hypothesis that the long-term presence of tree species contributing to the litter mixtures increases mixture effects on decomposition, microcosms were installed in a plantation at sites including the respective tree species composition and in a nearby natural forest where these tree species are absent. We found that mixture decomposition deviated from predictions based on single species, with predominantly synergistic effects. Functional litter diversity, defined as either richness, evenness, or divergence based on a wide range of chemical traits, did not explain the observed litter mixture effects. However, synergistic effects in litter mixtures increased with the long-term presence of tree species contributing to these mixtures as the home field advantage hypothesis assumes. Our data suggest that complementarity effects on mixed litter decomposition may emerge through long-term interactions between aboveground and belowground biota.
Keywords: Amazonian rainforest; Chemical diversity; Decomposition; Functional diversity indices; Litter traits
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Stahl, C., Herault, B., Rossi, V., Burban, B., Bréchet, C., & Bonal, D. (2013). Depth of soil water uptake by tropical rainforest trees during dry periods: Does tree dimension matter? Oecologia, 173(4), 1191–1201.
Abstract: Though the root biomass of tropical rainforest trees is concentrated in the upper soil layers, soil water uptake by deep roots has been shown to contribute to tree transpiration. A precise evaluation of the relationship between tree dimensions and depth of water uptake would be useful in tree-based modelling approaches designed to anticipate the response of tropical rainforest ecosystems to future changes in environmental conditions. We used an innovative dual-isotope labelling approach (deuterium in surface soil and oxygen at 120-cm depth) coupled with a modelling approach to investigate the role of tree dimensions in soil water uptake in a tropical rainforest exposed to seasonal drought. We studied 65 trees of varying diameter and height and with a wide range of predawn leaf water potential (Ψpd) values. We confirmed that about half of the studied trees relied on soil water below 100-cm depth during dry periods. Ψpd was negatively correlated with depth of water extraction and can be taken as a rough proxy of this depth. Some trees showed considerable plasticity in their depth of water uptake, exhibiting an efficient adaptive strategy for water and nutrient resource acquisition. We did not find a strong relationship between tree dimensions and depth of water uptake. While tall trees preferentially extract water from layers below 100-cm depth, shorter trees show broad variations in mean depth of water uptake. This precludes the use of tree dimensions to parameterize functional models. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Keywords: Deuterium; Oxygen; Root; Soil water; Tropical rainforest
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Salas-Lopez, A., Mickal, H., Menzel, F., & Orivel, J. (2017). Ant-mediated ecosystem processes are driven by trophic community structure but mainly by the environment. Oecologia, 183(1), 249–261.
Abstract: The diversity and functional identity of organisms are known to be relevant to the maintenance of ecosystem processes but can be variable in different environments. Particularly, it is uncertain whether ecosystem processes are driven by complementary effects or by dominant groups of species. We investigated how community structure (i.e., the diversity and relative abundance of biological entities) explains the community-level contribution of Neotropical ant communities to different ecosystem processes in different environments. Ants were attracted with food resources representing six ant-mediated ecosystem processes in four environments: ground and vegetation strata in cropland and forest habitats. The exploitation frequencies of the baits were used to calculate the taxonomic and trophic structures of ant communities and their contribution to ecosystem processes considered individually or in combination (i.e., multifunctionality). We then investigated whether community structure variables could predict ecosystem processes and whether such relationships were affected by the environment. We found that forests presented a greater biodiversity and trophic complementarity and lower dominance than croplands, but this did not affect ecosystem processes. In contrast, trophic complementarity was greater on the ground than on vegetation and was followed by greater resource exploitation levels. Although ant participation in ecosystem processes can be predicted by means of trophic-based indices, we found that variations in community structure and performance in ecosystem processes were best explained by environment. We conclude that determining the extent to which the dominance and complementarity of communities affect ecosystem processes in different environments requires a better understanding of resource availability to different species.
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