Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest
Treefall gaps are the major source of disturbance in most tropical forests. The frequency and size of these gaps have important implications for forest ecosystem processes as they can influence the functional trait distribution of tree communities, stand-level aboveground biomass and productivity. H...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2013-11-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/6769/2013/bg-10-6769-2013.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818367852471648256 |
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| author | E. Lobo J. W. Dalling |
| author_facet | E. Lobo J. W. Dalling |
| author_sort | E. Lobo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Treefall gaps are the major source of disturbance in most tropical forests.
The frequency and size of these gaps have important implications for forest
ecosystem processes as they can influence the functional trait distribution
of tree communities, stand-level aboveground biomass and productivity.
However, we still know little about the relative importance of environmental
drivers of gap disturbance regimes because existing studies vary greatly in
criteria used for defining gaps, in the spatial extent of the study area, and
the spatial resolution of canopy height measurements. Here we use lidar
(light detecting and ranging) to explore how forest age, topography and soil
type affect canopy disturbance patterns across a 1500 ha tropical forest
landscape in central Panama. We characterize disturbance based on the
frequency distribution of gap sizes (the "gap size distribution"), and the
area of the forest affected by gaps (the "gap area fraction"). We found
that slope and forest age had significant effects on the gap size
distribution, with a higher frequency of large gaps associated with
old-growth forests and more gentle slopes. Slope and forest age had similar
effects on the gap area fraction, however gap area fraction was also affected
by soil type and by aspect. We conclude that variation in disturbance
patterns across the landscape can be linked to factors that act at the fine
scale (such as aspect or slope), and factors that show heterogeneity at
coarser scales (such as forest age or soil type). Awareness of the role of
different environmental factors influencing gap formation can help scale up
the impacts of canopy disturbance on forest communities measured at the plot
scale to landscape and regional scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:58:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b9ebafd8ff7d4e7a8803912668d83878 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:58:38Z |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biogeosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-b9ebafd8ff7d4e7a8803912668d838782022-12-21T23:28:27ZengCopernicus PublicationsBiogeosciences1726-41701726-41892013-11-0110116769678110.5194/bg-10-6769-2013Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forestE. Lobo0J. W. Dalling1Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USADepartment of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USATreefall gaps are the major source of disturbance in most tropical forests. The frequency and size of these gaps have important implications for forest ecosystem processes as they can influence the functional trait distribution of tree communities, stand-level aboveground biomass and productivity. However, we still know little about the relative importance of environmental drivers of gap disturbance regimes because existing studies vary greatly in criteria used for defining gaps, in the spatial extent of the study area, and the spatial resolution of canopy height measurements. Here we use lidar (light detecting and ranging) to explore how forest age, topography and soil type affect canopy disturbance patterns across a 1500 ha tropical forest landscape in central Panama. We characterize disturbance based on the frequency distribution of gap sizes (the "gap size distribution"), and the area of the forest affected by gaps (the "gap area fraction"). We found that slope and forest age had significant effects on the gap size distribution, with a higher frequency of large gaps associated with old-growth forests and more gentle slopes. Slope and forest age had similar effects on the gap area fraction, however gap area fraction was also affected by soil type and by aspect. We conclude that variation in disturbance patterns across the landscape can be linked to factors that act at the fine scale (such as aspect or slope), and factors that show heterogeneity at coarser scales (such as forest age or soil type). Awareness of the role of different environmental factors influencing gap formation can help scale up the impacts of canopy disturbance on forest communities measured at the plot scale to landscape and regional scales.http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/6769/2013/bg-10-6769-2013.pdf |
| spellingShingle | E. Lobo J. W. Dalling Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest Biogeosciences |
| title | Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| title_full | Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| title_fullStr | Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| title_short | Effects of topography, soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| title_sort | effects of topography soil type and forest age on the frequency and size distribution of canopy gap disturbances in a tropical forest |
| url | http://www.biogeosciences.net/10/6769/2013/bg-10-6769-2013.pdf |
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