Dataset Information

Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests.

ABSTRACT: Carbon storage is widely acknowledged as one of the most valuable forest ecosystem services. Deforestation, logging, fragmentation, fire, and climate change have significant effects on tropical carbon stocks; however, an elusive and yet undetected decrease in carbon storage may be due to defaunation of large seed dispersers. Many large tropical trees with sizeable contributions to carbon stock rely on large vertebrates for seed dispersal and regeneration, however many of these frugivores are threatened by hunting, illegal trade, and habitat loss. We used a large data set on tree species composition and abundance, seed, fruit, and carbon-related traits, and plant-animal interactions to estimate the loss of carbon storage capacity of tropical forests in defaunated scenarios. By simulating the local extinction of trees that depend on large frugivores in 31 Atlantic Forest communities, we found that defaunation has the potential to significantly erode carbon storage even when only a small proportion of large-seeded trees are extirpated. Although intergovernmental policies to reduce carbon emissions and reforestation programs have been mostly focused on deforestation, our results demonstrate that defaunation, and the loss of key ecological interactions, also poses a serious risk for the maintenance of tropical forest carbon storage.

SUBMITTER: Bello C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4730851 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests.

Bello Carolina C Galetti Mauro M Pizo Marco A MA Magnago Luiz Fernando S LF Rocha Mariana F MF Lima Renato A F RA Peres Carlos A CA Ovaskainen Otso O Jordano Pedro P

Science advances 20151218 11

Carbon storage is widely acknowledged as one of the most valuable forest ecosystem services. Deforestation, logging, fragmentation, fire, and climate change have significant effects on tropical carbon stocks; however, an elusive and yet undetected decrease in carbon storage may be due to defaunation of large seed dispersers. Many large tropical trees with sizeable contributions to carbon stock rely on large vertebrates for seed dispersal and regeneration, however many of these frugivores are thr ...[more]

PMID: 26824067

Similar Datasets

Project description:Regenerating tropical forests are increasingly important for their role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon stocks in above-ground biomass can recover to old-growth forest levels within 60-100 years. However, more than half of all carbon in tropical forests is stored below-ground, and our understanding of carbon storage in soils during tropical forest recovery is limited.Importantly, soil carbon accumulation does not necessarily reflect patterns in above-ground biomass carbon accrual during secondary forest succession, and factors related to past land use, species composition and soil characteristics may influence soil carbon storage during forest regrowth.Using tree census data and a measure of tree community shade tolerance (species-specific light response values), we assessed the relationship between soil organic carbon stocks and tree functional groups during secondary succession along a chronosequence of 40- to 120-year-old naturally regenerating secondary forest and old-growth tropical forest stands in Panama.While previous studies found no evidence for increasing soil C storage with secondary forest age, we found a strong relationship between tree functional composition and soil carbon stocks at 0-10 cm depth, whereby carbon stocks increased with the relative influence of light-demanding tree species. Light demanding trees had higher leaf nitrogen but lower leaf density than shade-tolerant trees, suggesting that rapid decomposition of nutrient-rich plant material in forests with a higher proportion of light-demanding species results in greater accumulation of carbon in the surface layer of soils. Synthesis. We propose that soil carbon storage in secondary tropical forests is more strongly linked to tree functional composition than forest age, and that the persistence of long-lived pioneer trees could enhance soil carbon storage as forests age. Considering shifts in tree functional groups could improve estimates of carbon sequestration potential for climate change mitigation by tropical forest regrowth. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Project description:Ecosystem functioning and integrity are affected by the loss of large-bodied animals, and comprehending when and how ecosystems are affected is an important goal of defaunation ecology. Despite considerable investigation, our understanding is incomplete. Previous research is biased towards the study of seed dispersal in the Neotropics. This study examined whether and how defaunation affects stem density, species diversity, species composition, spatial distribution, and dispersal mode composition of young understorey plants in an Afrotropical setting. Rectangular plots along transects and wedge-shaped plots under focal trees of five mammal-dispersed species were used to compare three sites representing a defaunation gradient in the Dja faunal reserve in Cameroon. Results showed no change in stem density. Woody plant diversity was highest in the most defaunated site, and compositional differences were noted. Under focal trees, the overall abundance of both seedlings and juveniles was similar. The most defaunated site had the highest number of seedlings far from parent trees. More juvenile stems occurred near parent trees in the least defaunated site. This surprising trend might result from fruit dispersal by small, surviving animals and humans more easily collecting fruits, for food or medicinal purposes, in defaunated, more accessible sites. Negligible or no differences in the abundance of animal-dispersed species and other dispersal modes emerged. This study highlights the roles of extant taxa as surrogate providers of ecological services in defaunated Afrotropical forests. Hence, functional compensation is a serious possibility. Additionally, conceptual models of defaunation consequences that exclude the role of humans may not reflect real-world situations. Overall, these investigations suggest that tropical forests, especially those where ecological niches are less partitioned, may be more resilient to defaunation pressures than is often assumed. Effectively conserving extant, and perhaps less iconic, animal species provides hope for defaunated forests.

Dataset Information

Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests.

Publications

Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets