Lianas decelerate tropical forest thinning during succession

Medina-Vega, José A.; van der Heijden, Geertje M.F.; Schnitzer, Stefan A.

Abstract

The well-established pattern of forest thinning during succession predicts an increase in mean tree biomass with decreasing tree density. The forest thinning pattern is commonly assumed to be driven solely by tree-tree competition. The presence of non-tree competitors could alter thinning trajectories, thus altering the rate of forest succession and carbon uptake. We used a large-scale liana removal experiment over 7years in a 60- to 70-year-old Panamanian forest to test the hypothesis that lianas reduce the rate of forest thinning during succession. We found that lianas slowed forest thinning by reducing tree growth, not by altering tree recruitment or mortality. Without lianas, trees grew and presumably competed more, ultimately reducing tree density while increasing mean tree biomass. Our findings challenge the assumption that forest thinning is driven solely by tree-tree interactions; instead, they demonstrate that competition from other growth forms, such as lianas, slow forest thinning and ultimately delay forest succession.

Citation

Medina-Vega, J. A., van der Heijden, G. M., & Schnitzer, S. A. (2022). Lianas decelerate tropical forest thinning during succession. Ecology Letters, 25(6), 1432-1441. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14008

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Deposit Date: Apr 20, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 13, 2023
• Journal: Ecology Letters
• Print ISSN: 1461-023X
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-0248
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1432-1441
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14008
• Keywords: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7766989
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14008