Dataset Information

Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology.

ABSTRACT: In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories across seven forest types and thirteen functional traits, representing major global axes of plant strategies. Results show that constraints formed by regional relative abundances of genera explain eight times more of local relative abundances than constraints based on directional selection for specific functional traits, although the latter does show clear signals of environmental dependency. These results provide a quantitative insight by inference from large-scale data using cross-disciplinary methods, furthering our understanding of ecological dynamics.

SUBMITTER: Pos E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9938116 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology.

Pos Edwin E de Souza Coelho Luiz L de Andrade Lima Filho Diogenes D Salomão Rafael P RP Amaral Iêda Leão IL de Almeida Matos Francisca Dionízia FD Castilho Carolina V CV Phillips Oliver L OL Guevara Juan Ernesto JE de Jesus Veiga Carim Marcelo M López Dairon Cárdenas DC Magnusson William E WE Wittmann Florian F Irume Mariana Victória MV Martins Maria Pires MP Sabatier Daniel D da Silva Guimarães José Renan JR Molino Jean-François JF Bánki Olaf S OS Piedade Maria Teresa Fernandez MTF Pitman Nigel C A NCA Mendoza Abel Monteagudo AM Ramos José Ferreira JF Hawes Joseph E JE Almeida Everton José EJ Barbosa Luciane Ferreira LF Cavalheiro Larissa L Dos Santos Márcia Cléia Vilela MCV Luize Bruno Garcia BG de Leão Novo Evlyn Márcia Moraes EMM Vargas Percy Núñez PN Silva Thiago Sanna Freire TSF Venticinque Eduardo Martins EM Manzatto Angelo Gilberto AG Reis Neidiane Farias Costa NFC Terborgh John J Casula Katia Regina KR Coronado Euridice N Honorio ENH Montero Juan Carlos JC Marimon Beatriz S BS Marimon-Junior Ben Hur BH Feldpausch Ted R TR Duque Alvaro A Baraloto Chris C Arboleda Nicolás Castaño NC Engel Julien J Petronelli Pascal P Zartman Charles Eugene CE Killeen Timothy J TJ Vasquez Rodolfo R Mostacedo Bonifacio B Assis Rafael L RL Schöngart Jochen J Castellanos Hernán H de Medeiros Marcelo Brilhante MB Simon Marcelo Fragomeni MF Andrade Ana A Camargo José Luís JL Demarchi Layon O LO Laurance William F WF Laurance Susan G W SGW de Sousa Farias Emanuelle E Lopes Maria Aparecida MA Magalhães José Leonardo Lima JLL Nascimento Henrique Eduardo Mendonça HEM de Queiroz Helder Lima HL Aymard Gerardo A C GAC Brienen Roel R Revilla Juan David Cardenas JDC Costa Flávia R C FRC Quaresma Adriano A Vieira Ima Célia Guimarães ICG Cintra Bruno Barçante Ladvocat BBL Stevenson Pablo R PR Feitosa Yuri Oliveira YO Duivenvoorden Joost F JF Mogollón Hugo F HF Ferreira Leandro Valle LV Comiskey James A JA Draper Freddie F de Toledo José Julio JJ Damasco Gabriel G Dávila Nállarett N García-Villacorta Roosevelt R Lopes Aline A Vicentini Alberto A Noronha Janaína Costa JC Barbosa Flávia Rodrigues FR de Sá Carpanedo Rainiellen R Emilio Thaise T Levis Carolina C de Jesus Rodrigues Domingos D Schietti Juliana J Souza Priscila P Alonso Alfonso A Dallmeier Francisco F Gomes Vitor H F VHF Lloyd Jon J Neill David D de Aguiar Daniel Praia Portela DPP Araujo-Murakami Alejandro A Arroyo Luzmila L Carvalho Fernanda Antunes FA de Souza Fernanda Coelho FC do Amaral Dário Dantas DD Feeley Kenneth J KJ Gribel Rogerio R Pansonato Marcelo Petratti MP Barlow Jos J Berenguer Erika E Ferreira Joice J Fine Paul V A PVA Guedes Marcelino Carneiro MC Jimenez Eliana M EM Licona Juan Carlos JC Mora Maria Cristina Peñuela MCP Peres Carlos A CA Zegarra Boris Eduardo Villa BEV Cerón Carlos C Henkel Terry W TW Maas Paul P Silveira Marcos M Stropp Juliana J Thomas-Caesar Raquel R Baker Tim R TR Daly Doug D Dexter Kyle G KG Householder John Ethan JE Huamantupa-Chuquimaco Isau I Pennington Toby T Paredes Marcos Ríos MR Fuentes Alfredo A Pena José Luis Marcelo JLM Silman Miles R MR Tello J Sebastián JS Chave Jerome J Valverde Fernando Cornejo FC Di Fiore Anthony A Hilário Renato Richard RR Phillips Juan Fernando JF Rivas-Torres Gonzalo G van Andel Tinde R TR von Hildebrand Patricio P Barbosa Edelcilio Marques EM de Matos Bonates Luiz Carlos LC Doza Hilda Paulette Dávila HPD Fonty Émile É Gómez Ricardo Zárate RZ Gonzales Therany T Gonzales George Pepe Gallardo GPG Guillaumet Jean-Louis JL Hoffman Bruce B Junqueira André Braga AB Malhi Yadvinder Y de Andrade Miranda Ires Paula IP Pinto Linder Felipe Mozombite LFM Prieto Adriana A Rudas Agustín A Ruschel Ademir R AR Silva Natalino N Vela César I A CIA Vos Vincent Antoine VA Zent Egleé L EL Zent Stanford S Albuquerque Bianca Weiss BW Cano Angela A Correa Diego F DF Costa Janaina Barbosa Pedrosa JBP Flores Bernardo Monteiro BM Holmgren Milena M Nascimento Marcelo Trindade MT Oliveira Alexandre A AA Ramirez-Angulo Hirma H Rocha Maira M Scudeller Veridiana Vizoni VV Sierra Rodrigo R Tirado Milton M Umaña Maria Natalia MN van der Heijden Geertje G Torre Emilio Vilanova EV Vriesendorp Corine C Wang Ophelia O Young Kenneth R KR Reategui Manuel Augusto Ahuite MAA Baider Cláudia C Balslev Henrik H Cárdenas Sasha S Casas Luisa Fernanda LF Farfan-Rios William W Ferreira Cid C Linares-Palomino Reynaldo R Mendoza Casimiro C Mesones Italo I Torres-Lezama Armando A Giraldo Ligia Estela Urrego LEU Villarroel Daniel D Zagt Roderick R Alexiades Miguel N MN Garcia-Cabrera Karina K Hernandez Lionel L Milliken William W Cuenca Walter Palacios WP Pansini Susamar S Pauletto Daniela D Arevalo Freddy Ramirez FR Sampaio Adeilza Felipe AF Sandoval Elvis H Valderrama EHV Gamarra Luis Valenzuela LV Boenisch Gerhard G Kattge Jens J Kraft Nathan N Levesley Aurora A Melgaço Karina K Pickavance Georgia G Poorter Lourens L Ter Steege Hans H

Scientific reports 20230217 1

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important constraints via predictions using least biased probability distributions. We apply it to over two thousand hectares of Amazonian tree inventories acro ...[more]

PMID: 36801913

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Project description:UnlabelledForest encroachment into savanna is occurring at an unprecedented rate across tropical Africa, leading to a loss of valuable savanna habitat. One of the first stages of forest encroachment is the establishment of tree seedlings at the forest-savanna transition. This study examines the demographic bottleneck in the seedlings of five species of tropical forest pioneer trees in a forest-savanna transition zone in West Africa. Five species of tropical pioneer forest tree seedlings were planted in savanna, mixed/transition, and forest vegetation types and grown for 12 months, during which time fire occurred in the area. We examined seedling survival rates, height, and stem diameter before and after fire; and seedling biomass and starch allocation patterns after fire. Seedling survival rates were significantly affected by fire, drought, and vegetation type. Seedlings that preferentially allocated more resources to increasing root and leaf starch (starch storage helps recovery from fire) survived better in savanna environments (frequently burnt), while seedlings that allocated more resources to growth and resource-capture traits (height, the number of leaves, stem diameter, specific leaf area, specific root length, root-to-shoot ratio) survived better in mixed/transition and forest environments. Larger (taller with a greater stem diameter) seedlings survived burning better than smaller seedlings. However, larger seedlings survived better than smaller ones even in the absence of fire. Bombax buonopozense was the forest species that survived best in the savanna environment, likely as a result of increased access to light allowing greater investment in belowground starch storage capacity and therefore a greater ability to cope with fire.SynthesisForest pioneer tree species survived best through fire and drought in the savanna compared to the other two vegetation types. This was likely a result of the open-canopied savanna providing greater access to light, thereby releasing seedlings from light limitation and enabling them to make and store more starch. Fire can be used as a management tool for controlling forest encroachment into savanna as it significantly affects seedling survival. However, if rainfall increases as a result of global change factors, encroachment may be more difficult to control as seedling survival ostensibly increases when the pressure of drought is lifted. We propose B. buonopozense as an indicator species for forest encroachment into savanna in West African forest-savanna transitions.

Dataset Information

Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology.

Publications

Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology.

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