Abstract: Various processes contribute to shaping the local assemblage of species in hyperdiverse tropical forest. The relative contribution of environmental factors and dispersal limitation in determining the spatial distribution of saplings at local scale is unclear. We examined two types of environmental factors: (a) soil type reflecting drainage regime and (b) past logging damages reflecting light regime in a neotropical moist forest site. We used a logistic model to predict presence or absence of a given species in a network of elementary small plots. The effect of mapped environmental factors and a spatial correlation term were jointly estimated providing a direct measure of the relative role of habitat specialisation and dispersal limitation. At community level, dispersal limitation was the most important determinant of species absence at local scale. The two environmental factors examined played a balanced role. Different species however showed different degrees of dispersal limitation and habitat specialisation. The distribution of a large proportion of species-the majority of the most abundant species-was significantly affected by at least one environmental factor. We provide a ranking of 49 species sensitive to canopy disturbance (from shade specialist to pioneer) and 41 species affected by seasonal flooding (either positively or negatively).

Abstract: Introduction Stem CO(2) efflux (E (s)) is a significant component of total ecosystem respiration, but there is only scant information on seasonal variations in E (s) in tropical rainforests and on the main factors explaining these variations. Methods We conducted a comprehensive 18-month study in French Guiana to try to better understand which environmental factors contribute to seasonal variations in E (s) in two habitats differing in soil water conditions. Results In both habitats, large seasonal variations in E (s) were observed for most trees. The main variations occurred during climatic transition periods and were consistent with seasonal variations in soil and total ecosystem respiration. Discussion Seasonal variations in atmospheric conditions, including air temperature, did not explain seasonal variations in E (s). In contrast, seasonal variations in surface soil water content clearly induced seasonal variations in E (s) in each habitat. Both soil drought and flooded conditions induced a decrease in E (s). Conclusion Our results emphasize the need to integrate the influence of soil water content on E (s) into global models that simulate the response of forest ecosystem fluxes to climate changes.

Abstract: · Context Increased knowledge on diversity in wood properties would have implications both for fundamental research and for promoting a diversification of uses as material. · Aims The objective is to contribute to overcoming the critical lack of data on the diversity of wood dynamic mechanical/viscoelastic vibrational properties by testing lesser known species and categorising sources of variability. · Methods Air-dry axial specific dynamic modulus of elasticity (E′/γ) and damping coefficient (tand) were measured on a wide sampling (1,792 specimens) of 98 wood types from 79 species. An experimental device and protocol was designed for conducting systematic (i.e. rapid and reproducible) characterisations. · Results Diversity at the specimens' level corroborates the “standard” relationship between tanδ and E'/γ, which is discussed in terms of orientation of wood elements and of chemical composition. Diversity at the species level is expressed on the basis of results for normal heartwood, with specific gravity (γ) ranging from 0.2 to 1.3. Axial E'/γ ranges from 9 to 32 GPa and tand from 4×10 -3 to 19×10 -3. Properties distribution follows a continuum, but with group characteristics. The lowest values of tanδ are only found in certain tropical hardwoods. Results can also suggest alternative species for musical instruments making. · Conclusion The variations in specific gravity, in stiffness or in “viscosity” appear to be predominantly linked to different levels of diversity: between species or between wood types (reaction wood or taxonomy-related differences in heartwood extractives). © INRA/Springer-Verlag France 2011.

Abstract: Context Functional-structural models (FSM) of tree growth have great potential in forestry, but their development, calibration and validation are hampered by the difficulty of collecting experimental data at organ scale for adult trees. Due to their simple architecture and morphological properties, “model plants” such as Cecropia sciadophylla are of great interest to validate new models and methodologies, since exhaustive descriptions of their plant structure and mass partitioning can be gathered. Aims Our objective was to develop a model-based approach to analysing the influence of environmental conditions on the dynamics of trophic competition within C. sciadophylla trees. Methods We defined an integrated environmental factor that includes meteorological medium-frequency variations and a relative index representing the local site conditions for each plant. This index is estimated based on model inversion of the GreenLab FSM using data from 11 trees for model calibration and 7 trees for model evaluation. Results The resulting model explained the dynamics of biomass allocation to different organs during the plant growth, according to the environmental pressure they experienced. Perspectives By linking the integrated environmental factor to a competition index, an extension of the model to the population level could be considered. © INRA and Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011.

Abstract: Context: No efficient method is available to compare multi-locus estimates of diversity while taking into account inter-locus and inter-population stochastic variance. The advent of genome scan approaches makes the development of such tests absolutely necessary. Aims: We developed a method to compare genome-wide diversity estimates while taking into account – and factoring out – variation in census size and making use of inter-locus variance to assess significance of differences in diversity levels. Methods: An approach based on rarefaction with bootstrap re-sampling (RaBoT) was implemented into a test of multi-locus comparison of diversity coded in R. The properties of the test were studied by applying it to simulated populations with varying diversity levels and varying differences in diversity levels. The test was then applied to empirical data from disturbed and undisturbed populations of Virola michelii (Myristicaceae) genotyped at 693 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Results: RaBoT was found to be rather conservative, with large numbers of false negatives when the diversity in the compared populations was similar, and false positives mostly associated to comparisons of populations with extremely high levels of diversity. When applied to empirical data, RaBoT detected higher genetic diversity in a post-disturbance than in an undisturbed population and lower genetic diversity in a seedling than in the corresponding adult population, but it also revealed differences in diversity between subgroups within the disturbed and undisturbed plots. Conclusion: RaBoT is a sensitive method to compare multi-locus levels of diversity that can be applied both at the genotype level for dominant markers (e.g. AFLP) and at the allele level for biallelic codominant markers (e.g. single-nucleotide polymorphisms). © 2013 INRA and Springer-Verlag France.