Restoration 
Plantations and tree crop commodities 
Enhanced nutrition and food security 
Biodiversity, safeguarding and conservation 
Nationally determined contributions 
Bioenergy and biomaterials 
Blue carbon and peatlands 
Climate change adaptation 
Landscape governance 
Gender 
Silvopastoral systems 
Market-based agroforestry-forestry 
Farm-forest policy interface 
Agroecology 
Livelihood trajectory modelling and assessment 
Inclusive finance and business models 
Innovating finance for sustainable landscapes 
Public and private commitments to zero deforestation 
Orphan tree crops 
Effectiveness of approaches to sustainable supply 
Quality of FTA research for development 
Sentinel landscapes 
Foresight 
Seeds and seedlings delivery systems 
Smallholder tree-crop commodities 
Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking. Here, we analyse forest recovery using 1,403 plots that differ in age since agricultural abandonment from 50 sites across the Neotropics. We analyse changes in community composition using species-specific stem wood density (WD), which is a key trait for plant growth, survival and forest carbon storage. In wet forest, succession proceeds from low towards high community WD (acquisitive towards conservative trait values), in line with standard successional theory. However, in dry forest, succession proceeds from high towards low community WD (conservative towards acquisitive trait values), probably because high WD reflects drought tolerance in harsh early successional environments. Dry season intensity drives WD recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of the community WD over time as vegetation cover builds up. These ecological insights can be used to improve species selection for reforestation. Reforestation species selected to establish a first protective canopy layer should, among other criteria, ideally have a similar WD to the early successional communities that dominate under the prevailing macroclimatic conditions.
Authors:
Poorter, L.; Rozendaal, D.M.A.; Bongers, F.; de Almeida-Cortez, J.S.; Almeyda, Zambrano, A.M.; Álvarez, F.S.; Andrade, J.L.; Villa, L.F.A.; Balvanera, P.; Becknell, J.M.; Bentos, T.V.; Bhaskar, R.; Boukili, V.; Brancalion, P.H.S.; Broadbent, E.N.; César, R.G.; Chave, J.; Chazdon, R.L.; Colletta, G.D.; Craven, D.; de, Jong, B.H.J.; Denslow, J.S.; Dent, D.H.; DeWalt, S.J.; García, E.D.; Dupuy, J.M.; Durán, S.M.; Espírito Santo, M.M.; Fandiño, M.C.; Fernandes, G.W.; Finegan, B.; Moser, V.G.; Hall, J.S.; Hernández-Stefanoni, J.L.; Jakovac, C.C.; Junqueira, A.B.; Kennard, D.; Lebrija-Trejos, E.; Letcher, S.G.; Lohbeck, M.; Lopez, O.R.; Marín-Spiotta, E.; Martínez-Ramos, M.; Martins, S.V.; Massoca, P.E.S.; Meave, J.A.; Mesquita, R.; Mora, F.; de Souza Moreno, V.; Müller, S.C.; Muñoz, R.; Muscarella, R.; de Oliveira, Neto, S.N.; Nunes, Y.R.F.; Ochoa-Gaona, S.; Paz, H.; Peña-Claros, M.; Piotto, D.; Ruíz, J.; Sanaphre-Villanueva, L.; Sanchez-Azofeifa, A.; Schwartz, N.B.; Steininger, M.K.; Thomas, W.W.; Toledo, M.; Uriarte, M.; Utrera, L.P.; van Breugel, M.; van der Sande, M.T.; van der Wal, H.; Veloso, M.D.M.; Vester, H.F.M.; Vieira, I.C.G.; Villa, P.M.; Williamson, G.B.; Wright, S.J.; Zanini, K.J.; Zimmerman, J.K.; Westoby, M.
Subjects:
ecology, tropical forests
Publication type:
ISI, Journal Article, Publication
Year:
2019
ISSN:
2397-334X
