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R. Babbitt - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Fire in the Brazilian Amazon: 1. Biomass, nutrient pools, and losses in slashed Primary Forests
Oecologia, 1995Co-Authors: J. Boone Kauffman, D. L. Cummings, D. E. Ward, R. BabbittAbstract:Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has resulted in the conversion of >230,000 km^2 of tropical forest, yet little is known on the quantities of biomass consumed or the losses of nutrients from the ecosystem. We quantified the above-ground biomass, nutrient pools and the effects of biomass burning in four slashed Primary tropical moist Forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Total above-ground biomass (TAGB) ranged from 292 Mg ha^-1 to 436 Mg ha^-1. Coarse wood debris (>20.5 cm diameter) was the dominant fuel component. However, structure of the four sites were variable. Coarse wood debris comprised from 44% to 69% of the TAGB, while the forest floor (litter and rootmat) comprised from 3.7 to 8.0% of the TAGB. Total biomass consumption ranged from 42% to 57%. Fires resulted in the consumption of >99% of the litter and rootmat, yet
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fire in the brazilian amazon 1 biomass nutrient pools and losses in slashed Primary Forests
Oecologia, 1995Co-Authors: Boone J Kauffman, D. L. Cummings, D. E. Ward, R. BabbittAbstract:Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has resulted in the conversion of >230,000 km2 of tropical forest, yet little is known on the quantities of biomass consumed or the losses of nutrients from the ecosystem. We quantified the above-ground biomass, nutrient pools and the effects of biomass burning in four slashed Primary tropical moist Forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Total above-ground biomass (TAGB) ranged from 292 Mg ha-1 to 436 Mg ha-1. Coarse wood debris (>20.5 cm diameter) was the dominant fuel component. However, structure of the four sites were variable. Coarse wood debris comprised from 44% to 69% of the TAGB, while the forest floor (litter and rootmat) comprised from 3.7 to 8.0% of the TAGB. Total biomass consumption ranged from 42% to 57%. Fires resulted in the consumption of >99% of the litter and rootmat, yet <50% of the coarse wood debirs. Dramatic losses in C, N, and S were quantified. Lesser quantities of P, K, and Ca were lost by combustion processes. Carbon losses from the ecosystem were 58–112 Mg ha-1. Nitrogen losses ranged from 817 to 1605 kg ha-1 and S losses ranged from 92 to 122 kg ha-1. This represents losses that are as high as 56%, 68%, and 49% of the total above-ground pools of these nutrients, respectively. Losses of P were as high as 20 kg ha-1 or 32% of the above-ground pool. Losses to the atmosphere arising from Primary slash fires were variable among sites due to site differences in concentration, fuel biomass, and fuel structure, climatic fluctuations, and anthropogenic influences. Compared to fires in other forest ecosystems, fires in slashed Primary tropical evergreen Forests result in among the highest total losses of nutrients ever measured. In addition, the proportion of the total nutrient pool lost from slash fires is higher in this ecosystem compared to other ecosystems due to a higher percentage of nutrients stored in above-ground biomass.
Jos Barlow - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Idiosyncratic responses of Amazonian birds to Primary forest disturbance.
Oecologia, 2015Co-Authors: Nárgila G. Moura, Jos Barlow, Alexander C. Lees, Alexandre Aleixo, Erika Berenguer, Joice Ferreira, Ralph Charles Mac Nally, James Robertson Thomson, Toby A GardnerAbstract:As humans continue to alter tropical landscapes across the world, it is important to understand what environmental factors help determine the persistence of biodiversity in modified ecosystems. Studies on well-known taxonomic groups can offer critical insights as to the fate of biodiversity in these modified systems. Here we investigated species-specific responses of 44 forest-associated bird species with different behavioural traits to forest disturbance in 171 transects distributed across 31 landscapes in two regions of the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We investigated patterns of species occurrence in Primary Forests varyingly disturbed by selective-logging and fire and examined the relative importance of local, landscape and historical environmental variables in determining species occurrences. Within undisturbed and disturbed Primary forest transects, we found that distance to forest edge and the biomass of large trees were the most important predictors driving the occurrence of individual species. However, we also found considerable variation in species responses to different environmental variables as well as inter-regional variation in the responses of the same species to the same environmental variables. We advocate the utility of using species-level analyses to complement community-wide responses in order to uncover highly variable and species-specific responses to environmental change that remain so poorly understood.
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correction corrigendum Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2014Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Nature 478, 378–381 (2011); doi:10.1038/nature10425 We identified a conversion error in some of the biodiversity values used in our meta-analysis. The meta-analysis requires both mean and standard deviation values for each record, and several studies reported 95% confidence intervals instead of standard deviation.
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Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2011Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten biodiversity, particularly in tropical Forests where both species diversity and human pressures on natural environments are high. The rapid conversion of tropical Forests for agriculture, timber production and other uses has generated vast, human-dominated landscapes with potentially dire consequences for tropical biodiversity. Today, few truly undisturbed tropical Forests exist, whereas those degraded by repeated logging and fires, as well as secondary and plantation Forests, are rapidly expanding. Here we provide a global assessment of the impact of disturbance and land conversion on biodiversity in tropical Forests using a meta-analysis of 138 studies. We analysed 2,220 pairwise comparisons of biodiversity values in Primary Forests (with little or no human disturbance) and disturbed Forests. We found that biodiversity values were substantially lower in degraded Forests, but that this varied considerably by geographic region, taxonomic group, ecological metric and disturbance type. Even after partly accounting for confounding colonization and succession effects due to the composition of surrounding habitats, isolation and time since disturbance, we find that most forms of forest degradation have an overwhelmingly detrimental effect on tropical biodiversity. Our results clearly indicate that when it comes to maintaining tropical biodiversity, there is no substitute for Primary Forests.
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measuring the conservation value of tropical Primary Forests the effect of occasional species on estimates of biodiversity uniqueness
PLOS ONE, 2010Co-Authors: Jos Barlow, Toby A Gardner, Julio Louzada, Carlos A PeresAbstract:Background Developing effective conservation plans for multi-functional landscapes requires an accurate knowledge of the relative conservation value of different land-uses. A growing number of tropical ecologists have evaluated conservation value using the number (or proportion) of species that are unique to Primary or old-growth Forests. However, estimates of the conservation value of modified land-uses may be inflated by the presence of occasional species (e.g. singletons and doubletons) that may be unable to exist as viable populations in isolation. Methodology/Principal Findings We use a unique 15-taxa dataset from a mixed-use forest landscape in the Brazilian Amazon to test the hypothesis that the removal of occasional species from sample data can increase estimates of the value of Primary forest for biodiversity conservation. Conclusions/Significance Estimates of conservation value that are based on the proportion of species that are unique to tropical Primary or old-growth Forests are highly sensitive to decisions researchers make regarding the inclusion or exclusion of occasional species. By removing singletons from modified forest samples, and considering only those species known to occur in Primary forest, we almost double estimates of the conservation value of tropical Primary Forests.
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quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical Primary secondary and plantation Forests
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007Co-Authors: Jos Barlow, Toby A Gardner, Leandro V Ferreira, Maria Cristina Esposito, Izonete De Jesus Da Silva Araujo, Alexandre B Bonaldo, Jose Endreo Baracho Da Costa, Joseph E Hawes, Malva Isabel Medina Hernandez, Marinus S HoogmoedAbstract:Biodiversity loss from deforestation may be partly offset by the expansion of secondary Forests and plantation forestry in the tropics. However, our current knowledge of the value of these habitats for biodiversity conservation is limited to very few taxa, and many studies are severely confounded by methodological shortcomings. We examined the conservation value of tropical Primary, secondary, and plantation Forests for 15 taxonomic groups using a robust and replicated sample design that minimized edge effects. Different taxa varied markedly in their response to patterns of land use in terms of species richness and the percentage of species restricted to Primary forest (varying from 5% to 57%), yet almost all between-forest comparisons showed marked differences in community structure and composition. Cross-taxon congruence in response patterns was very weak when evaluated using abundance or species richness data, but much stronger when using metrics based upon community similarity. Our results show that, whereas the biodiversity indicator group concept may hold some validity for several taxa that are frequently sampled (such as birds and fruit-feeding butterflies), it fails for those exhibiting highly idiosyncratic responses to tropical land-use change (including highly vagile species groups such as bats and orchid bees), highlighting the problems associated with quantifying the biodiversity value of anthropogenic habitats. Finally, although we show that areas of native regeneration and exotic tree plantations can provide complementary conservation services, we also provide clear empirical evidence demonstrating the irreplaceable value of Primary Forests.
Carlos A Peres - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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correction corrigendum Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2014Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Nature 478, 378–381 (2011); doi:10.1038/nature10425 We identified a conversion error in some of the biodiversity values used in our meta-analysis. The meta-analysis requires both mean and standard deviation values for each record, and several studies reported 95% confidence intervals instead of standard deviation.
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Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2011Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten biodiversity, particularly in tropical Forests where both species diversity and human pressures on natural environments are high. The rapid conversion of tropical Forests for agriculture, timber production and other uses has generated vast, human-dominated landscapes with potentially dire consequences for tropical biodiversity. Today, few truly undisturbed tropical Forests exist, whereas those degraded by repeated logging and fires, as well as secondary and plantation Forests, are rapidly expanding. Here we provide a global assessment of the impact of disturbance and land conversion on biodiversity in tropical Forests using a meta-analysis of 138 studies. We analysed 2,220 pairwise comparisons of biodiversity values in Primary Forests (with little or no human disturbance) and disturbed Forests. We found that biodiversity values were substantially lower in degraded Forests, but that this varied considerably by geographic region, taxonomic group, ecological metric and disturbance type. Even after partly accounting for confounding colonization and succession effects due to the composition of surrounding habitats, isolation and time since disturbance, we find that most forms of forest degradation have an overwhelmingly detrimental effect on tropical biodiversity. Our results clearly indicate that when it comes to maintaining tropical biodiversity, there is no substitute for Primary Forests.
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measuring the conservation value of tropical Primary Forests the effect of occasional species on estimates of biodiversity uniqueness
PLOS ONE, 2010Co-Authors: Jos Barlow, Toby A Gardner, Julio Louzada, Carlos A PeresAbstract:Background Developing effective conservation plans for multi-functional landscapes requires an accurate knowledge of the relative conservation value of different land-uses. A growing number of tropical ecologists have evaluated conservation value using the number (or proportion) of species that are unique to Primary or old-growth Forests. However, estimates of the conservation value of modified land-uses may be inflated by the presence of occasional species (e.g. singletons and doubletons) that may be unable to exist as viable populations in isolation. Methodology/Principal Findings We use a unique 15-taxa dataset from a mixed-use forest landscape in the Brazilian Amazon to test the hypothesis that the removal of occasional species from sample data can increase estimates of the value of Primary forest for biodiversity conservation. Conclusions/Significance Estimates of conservation value that are based on the proportion of species that are unique to tropical Primary or old-growth Forests are highly sensitive to decisions researchers make regarding the inclusion or exclusion of occasional species. By removing singletons from modified forest samples, and considering only those species known to occur in Primary forest, we almost double estimates of the conservation value of tropical Primary Forests.
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large vertebrate assemblages of Primary and secondary Forests in the brazilian amazon
Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2007Co-Authors: Luke Parry, Jos Barlow, Carlos A PeresAbstract:Secondary Forests account for 40% of all tropical Forests yet little is known regarding their suitability as habitat for diurnal large mammals and game birds. This is especially so for second-growth that develops on large areas of degraded land. We address this by investigating assemblages of large-bodied birds and mammals in extensive patches of secondary forest in the Jari region of the north-eastern Brazilian Amazon, comparing species richness and abundance against that of adjacent undisturbed Primary Forests. We conducted 184 km of line-transect censuses over a period of 3 mo, and found that although Primary and secondary Forests held a similar abundance of large vertebrates, the species composition was very different. Secondary Forests supported a high abundance of ungulate browsers (0.85 vs 0.44 indiv. per 10 km) and smaller-bodied primates (15.6 vs 4.6 indiv. per 10 km) compared with Primary Forests. However, large prehensile-tailed primates were absent (black spider monkey Ateles paniscus) or at very low abundance (Guyanan red howler monkey Alouatta macconelli) in secondary forest. The abundance of large frugivorous/granivorous birds was also low in secondary Forests compared with Primary Forests (22.6 vs 37.1 individuals per 10 km, respectively). Faunal assemblages appear to reflect food resource availability. Concurrent vegetation surveys indicated that secondary Forests had high levels of terrestrial and understorey browse. Fruit production was largely restricted to pioneer trees such as Bellucia and Inga spp. Although these regenerating Forests were an important habitat for large mammals and birds, they were limited in terms of faunal richness, particularly dispersers of large-seeded plants.
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litter fall and decomposition in Primary secondary and plantation Forests in the brazilian amazon
Forest Ecology and Management, 2007Co-Authors: Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Leandro V Ferreira, Carlos A PeresAbstract:Litter fall and leaf decomposition represent important functional processes, yet we have a limited understanding of these processes in disturbed and regenerating tropical habitats. Litter production, litterfall phenology and leaf decomposition were examined in Primary Forests, 14–19-year-old secondary Forests and 4–5-year-old Eucalyptus urophylla plantations in the north-east Brazilian Amazon. Total annual litter fall was similar in Primary and secondary Forests, and lower in plantations. Leaf fall in Primary and secondary Forests was negatively associated with rainfall, and was highest in the dry season. Leaf fall in Eucalyptus plantations showed an opposite response, and peaked during the wet season. Decomposition experiments were carried out in the three habitats using 1200 litter bags (1 mm mesh) filled separately with leaves from four different species of tree, including an exotic plantation species (E. urophylla) and trees typical of secondary (Bellucia spp. and Vismia spp.) and Primary Forests (Bertholettia excelsa). Litter bags were re-weighed at 3-month intervals 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after being placed on the forest floor. A repeated measures General Linear Model showed that litter decomposition was similar in the Primary and secondary forest, and slowest in the Eucalyptus plantations. Leaves decomposed, from fastest to slowest, in the following order: E. urophylla > B. excelsa > Vismia spp. > Bellucia spp. There was no significant interaction between leaf species and habitat type. Our results indicate that secondary Forests regenerating on abandoned and degraded Amazonian lands can be effective at restoring ecosystem processes such as litterfall and decomposition.
Navjot S Sodhi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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correction corrigendum Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2014Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Nature 478, 378–381 (2011); doi:10.1038/nature10425 We identified a conversion error in some of the biodiversity values used in our meta-analysis. The meta-analysis requires both mean and standard deviation values for each record, and several studies reported 95% confidence intervals instead of standard deviation.
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Primary Forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Nature, 2011Co-Authors: Luke Gibson, Barry W Brook, Toby A Gardner, Jos Barlow, Carlos A Peres, Corey J A Bradshaw, William F Laurance, Thomas E Lovejoy, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten biodiversity, particularly in tropical Forests where both species diversity and human pressures on natural environments are high. The rapid conversion of tropical Forests for agriculture, timber production and other uses has generated vast, human-dominated landscapes with potentially dire consequences for tropical biodiversity. Today, few truly undisturbed tropical Forests exist, whereas those degraded by repeated logging and fires, as well as secondary and plantation Forests, are rapidly expanding. Here we provide a global assessment of the impact of disturbance and land conversion on biodiversity in tropical Forests using a meta-analysis of 138 studies. We analysed 2,220 pairwise comparisons of biodiversity values in Primary Forests (with little or no human disturbance) and disturbed Forests. We found that biodiversity values were substantially lower in degraded Forests, but that this varied considerably by geographic region, taxonomic group, ecological metric and disturbance type. Even after partly accounting for confounding colonization and succession effects due to the composition of surrounding habitats, isolation and time since disturbance, we find that most forms of forest degradation have an overwhelmingly detrimental effect on tropical biodiversity. Our results clearly indicate that when it comes to maintaining tropical biodiversity, there is no substitute for Primary Forests.
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lowland rainforest avifauna and human disturbance persistence of Primary forest birds in selectively logged Forests and mixed rural habitats of southern peninsular malaysia
Biological Conservation, 2005Co-Authors: Johnny De Jong, Navjot S SodhiAbstract:Abstract We compared the composition and structure of Primary forest avifauna among Primary Forests, selectively logged Forests and mixed-rural areas (e.g. villages and agricultural areas) of Peninsular Malaysia. We found that Forests that were selectively logged at least 30 years ago contained only 73–75% of the 159 species of extant Primary forest birds, with an increased proportion of dominant species. We estimated that only 28–32% of the Primary forest species utilized the mixed-rural habitat, and that the number of species that bred in the agricultural landscapes might be even lower. The microhabitat of different species most affected their vulnerability to disturbance. Most small, arboreal frugivores and omnivores, and insectivores that fed from tree trunks, showed greater persistence in the mixed-rural habitat than ground dwelling bird species, which were affected most by disturbance. Resource abundance and variables that were closely related to forest disturbance such as the density of large trees, density of dead trees, canopy cover density and shrub volume influenced the distribution of the Primary forest birds. Large Primary forest reserves and a revision of short-cycle logging regimes (ca. 30 years) are needed if we are to conserve the lowland rainforest avifauna of Peninsular Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia.
D. L. Cummings - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Dynamics associated with total aboveground biomass, C, nutrient pools, and biomass burning of Primary forest and pasture in Rondônia, Brazil during SCAR‐B
Journal of Geophysical Research, 1998Co-Authors: Liane S. Guild, J. Boone Kauffman, D. L. Cummings, Lisa J. Ellingson, Elmar Andrade De Castro, Ron E. Babbitt, D. E. WardAbstract:Burning of slashed tropical Forests and pastures is among the most significant global sources of atmospheric emissions, yet the composition of the fuels and fires that creates these emissions is not well characterized. As part of the Smoke, Clouds, and Radiation-Brazil (SCAR-B) experiment, we measured total aboveground biomass (TAGB) as well as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur pools in one cattle pasture and two slashed Primary Forests in Rondonia, Brazil. These pools were measured before and immediately after fires. From these data, we calculated the quantities of biomass and elements lost to the atmosphere during biomass burning. Prefire biomass in the pasture was 66 Mg ha−1; fire consumed 31% of this mass. Woody debris from the forest that occupied this site 12 years previously comprised 81% of the pasture prefire TAGB. Elemental inputs into the atmosphere (site losses) from the pasture fire were 9 Mg C ha−1, 88 kg N ha−1, and 5 kg S ha−1. Combining previous studies with this one, we calculate that the mean TAGB of Amazonian pastures is 74 Mg ha−1 with a mean combustion factor of 46%. Mean nutrient losses from pasture fires in Amazonia are 14 Mg C ha−1, 199 kg N ha−1, and 16 kg S ha−1. The TAGB of the two slashed Primary Forests before fire was 355 and 399 Mg ha−1 and following fire was 188 and 185 Mg ha−1 (i.e., a combustion factor of 47 and 54%), respectively. Combining this study with other studies of Amazon slashed Primary Forests, we calculate that the mean TAGB is 349 Mg ha−1 and the mean combustion factor is 48%. Total elemental losses arising from the Primary forest slash fires in this study were notably higher than losses from the pasture site: 79 and 102 Mg C ha−1; 1019 and 1196 kg N ha−1; and 87 and 96 kg S ha−1. From this study combined with previous research in Rondonia and Para, we calculate that mean nutrient losses from Primary forest slash fires are 88 Mg C ha−1, 1181 kg N ha−1, and 107 kg S ha−1. As rates of deforestation are remaining high in the Brazilian Amazon and pastures are the most frequent end product, it can be expected that these will remain the dominant sources of atmospheric emissions from Amazonia in the future.
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Fire in the Brazilian Amazon: 1. Biomass, nutrient pools, and losses in slashed Primary Forests
Oecologia, 1995Co-Authors: J. Boone Kauffman, D. L. Cummings, D. E. Ward, R. BabbittAbstract:Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has resulted in the conversion of >230,000 km^2 of tropical forest, yet little is known on the quantities of biomass consumed or the losses of nutrients from the ecosystem. We quantified the above-ground biomass, nutrient pools and the effects of biomass burning in four slashed Primary tropical moist Forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Total above-ground biomass (TAGB) ranged from 292 Mg ha^-1 to 436 Mg ha^-1. Coarse wood debris (>20.5 cm diameter) was the dominant fuel component. However, structure of the four sites were variable. Coarse wood debris comprised from 44% to 69% of the TAGB, while the forest floor (litter and rootmat) comprised from 3.7 to 8.0% of the TAGB. Total biomass consumption ranged from 42% to 57%. Fires resulted in the consumption of >99% of the litter and rootmat, yet
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fire in the brazilian amazon 1 biomass nutrient pools and losses in slashed Primary Forests
Oecologia, 1995Co-Authors: Boone J Kauffman, D. L. Cummings, D. E. Ward, R. BabbittAbstract:Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has resulted in the conversion of >230,000 km2 of tropical forest, yet little is known on the quantities of biomass consumed or the losses of nutrients from the ecosystem. We quantified the above-ground biomass, nutrient pools and the effects of biomass burning in four slashed Primary tropical moist Forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Total above-ground biomass (TAGB) ranged from 292 Mg ha-1 to 436 Mg ha-1. Coarse wood debris (>20.5 cm diameter) was the dominant fuel component. However, structure of the four sites were variable. Coarse wood debris comprised from 44% to 69% of the TAGB, while the forest floor (litter and rootmat) comprised from 3.7 to 8.0% of the TAGB. Total biomass consumption ranged from 42% to 57%. Fires resulted in the consumption of >99% of the litter and rootmat, yet <50% of the coarse wood debirs. Dramatic losses in C, N, and S were quantified. Lesser quantities of P, K, and Ca were lost by combustion processes. Carbon losses from the ecosystem were 58–112 Mg ha-1. Nitrogen losses ranged from 817 to 1605 kg ha-1 and S losses ranged from 92 to 122 kg ha-1. This represents losses that are as high as 56%, 68%, and 49% of the total above-ground pools of these nutrients, respectively. Losses of P were as high as 20 kg ha-1 or 32% of the above-ground pool. Losses to the atmosphere arising from Primary slash fires were variable among sites due to site differences in concentration, fuel biomass, and fuel structure, climatic fluctuations, and anthropogenic influences. Compared to fires in other forest ecosystems, fires in slashed Primary tropical evergreen Forests result in among the highest total losses of nutrients ever measured. In addition, the proportion of the total nutrient pool lost from slash fires is higher in this ecosystem compared to other ecosystems due to a higher percentage of nutrients stored in above-ground biomass.