Abstract: Forest successional processes following disturbance take decades to play out, even in tropical forests. Nonetheless, records of vegetation change in this ecosystem are scarce, increasing the importance of the chronosequence approach to study forest recovery. However, this approach requires accurate dating of secondary forests, which until now was a difficult and/or expensive task. Cecropia is a widespread and abundant pioneer tree genus of the Neotropics. Here we propose and validate a rapid and straightforward method to estimate the age of secondary forest patches based on morphological observations of Cecropia trees. We found that Cecropia-inferred ages were highly correlated with known ages of the forest. We also demonstrate that Cecropia can be used to accurately date disturbances and propose twenty-one species distributed all over the geographical range of the genus as potential secondary forest chronometer species. Our method is limited in applicability by the maximal longevity of Cecropia individuals. Although the oldest chronosequence used in this study was 20 years old, we argue that at least for the first four decades after disturbance, the method described in this study provides very accurate estimations of secondary forest ages. The age of pioneer trees provides not only information needed to calculate the recovery of carbon stocks that would help to improve forest management, but also provides information needed to characterize the initial floristic composition and the rates of species remigration into secondary forest. Our contribution shows how successional studies can be reliably and inexpensively extended without the need to obtain forest ages based on expensive or potentially inaccurate data across the Neotropics. © 2012 Zalamea et al.

Abstract: 1.A recent article published by Toledo (2011b) investigates the effects of spatial variations in climate and soil, and of logging disturbance, on tree and forest growth in Bolivia. It concludes that climate is the strongest driver of tree and forest growth and that climate change may therefore have large consequences for forest productivity and carbon sequestration. However, serious methodological and conceptual discrepancies have been found that challenge these conclusions. 2.Because of an errant coding of 'time after logging' in the regression analysis, and because floristic changes induced by logging could not be incorporated into the analysis, the effect of logging on the average diameter growth is likely to have been strongly underestimated. 3.Basal area growth was improperly calculated as basal area change, and it displayed surprisingly high values, even among unlogged plots. We hypothesize that either these plots may be actually located in secondary forests recovering from past logging, or measurement biases may have hampered the data set. 4.Regardless of climate-growth relationships established across these plots, any inference concerning the potential effects of climate change on forest growth would require a specific quantitative assessment. 5.Synthesis. It is critical to re-assess the relative weight of climate and logging disturbance as driving factors of tree and forest growth, and to find an explanation for the very high basal area increment reported among the unlogged plots. We provide specific recommendations for further analyses of this and similar data sets. © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Abstract: Niche differentiation is a key issue in the current debate on community assembly mechanisms. In highly diverse moist tropical forests, tree species sensitivity to canopy openness is thought to be a major axis in niche differentiation. In the past, the syndrome of traits driving the demographic trade-off involved in the niche-based theory of coexistence has always been established among species situated at the two extremities of the shade-tolerance gradient, even though most tropical tree species have intermediate light requirements. In addition, trait plasticity has seldom been linked to tropical tree species distribution along environmental gradients. This article examines covariations between leaf traits, whole-plant traits and niche parameters among 14 tree species with intermediate light requirements in French Guiana and across a range of canopy openness. Each functional trait measured under field conditions was characterized by a median value and a degree of plasticity expressed under contrasting light regimes. Niche differentiation was characterized in terms of spatial light gradient. We first examined covariations between functional traits then explored to what degree the median value and plasticity in functional traits could predict light niche characteristics at the sapling stage and the ontogenetic change in light availability estimated by adult stature. Leaf mass per area (LMA) was positively correlated with leaf life span (LLS); species with higher LMA and higher LLS displayed lower diameter growth rates (GRs) and lower responsiveness to canopy gap at both whole-plant and population levels. This proved that the relationships previously established over a broader range of species held true within the narrow range of the light requirements covered. Height GR plasticity accounted for 49% of the variation in light niche optimum. LMA plasticity, unlike LLS plasticity, was significantly correlated with light niche breadth and adult stature. Synthesis. This study demonstrates the relevance of considering the phenotypic plasticity in functional traits in community ecology, particularly for quantifying breadth of species distribution over environmental gradients. Our findings did not support Hubbell's hypothesis of functional equivalence and suggest that even a rather subtle variation in forest canopy disturbance promotes the coexistence of tropical tree species. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Abstract: 1. Trade-offs among functional traits reveal major plant strategies that can give insight into species distributions and ecosystem processes. However, current identification of plant strategies lacks the integration of root structural traits together with leaf and stem traits. 2. We examined correlations among 14 traits representing leaf, stem and woody root tissues. Traits were measured on 1084 individuals representing 758 Neotropical tree species, across 13 sites representative of the environmental variation encompassed by three widespread habitats (seasonally flooded, clay terra firme and white-sand forests) at opposite ends of Amazonia (French Guiana and Peru). 3. Woody root traits were closely aligned with stem traits, but not with leaf traits. Altogether leaf, stem and woody root traits delineated two orthogonal axes of functional trade-offs: a first axis defined by leaf traits, corresponding to a 'leaf economics spectrum', and a second axis defined by covarying stem and woody root traits, corresponding to a 'wood economics spectrum'. These axes remained consistent when accounting for species evolutionary history with phylogenetically independent contrasts. 4. Despite the strong species turnover across sites, the covariation among root and stem structural traits as well as their orthogonality to leaf traits were strongly consistent across habitats and regions. 5. We conclude that root structural traits mirrored stem traits rather than leaf traits in Neotropical trees. Leaf and wood traits define an integrated whole-plant strategy in lowland South American forests that may contribute to a more complete understanding of plant responses to global changes in both correlative and modelling approaches. We suggest further meta-analyses in expanded environmental and geographic zones to determine the generality of this pattern. © 2012 The Authors. Functional Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Abstract: • Context In tropical areas, studies based on the retrospective analysis of tree development have focused principally on growth ring research. The interpretation of primary growth markers is overlooked although it opens perspectives to provide long time-series on tree-crown development. • Aims This study focused on Parkia velutina, an emergent tree of neotropical rain forests. Our objectives were (1) to characterize the phenological cycle of this species, and (2) to identify temporally interpretable morphological and anatomical markers. • Methods We collected dominant branches in 14 adult trees and identified growth markers that limit longitudinal and radial increments. We coupled this approach with a 2-year phenological survey of 20 trees. • Results Leaf shedding, growth unit elongation and growth ring formation define the phenological cycle. At tree scale, this cycle is synchronous and affects all axes. At population scale, trees can be desynchronized. This cycle is annual despite some slight variability. Successive growth units and growth rings are easily identifiable. • Conclusion Dating a branch by counting the number of growth units or growth rings is possible in many years with a reasonable error. Nevertheless, estimating their precise month of formation in order to study climatic influences remains difficult. © INRA/Springer-Verlag France 2012.