Lianas associated with continued forest biomass losses following large‐scale disturbances

Emma J. Mackintosh; Catherine E. Waite; Francis E. Putz; Sophie Brennan; Marion Pfeifer; Andrew R. Marshall

doi:10.1111/btp.13348

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Lianas associated with continued forest biomass losses following large‐scale disturbances

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Lianas associated with continued forest biomass losses following large‐scale disturbances

Emma J. Mackintosh, Catherine E. Waite, Francis E. Putz, Sophie Brennan, Marion Pfeifer and Andrew R. Marshall

Biotropica, e13348

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13348

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Abstract

Lianas are important to rainforest ecosystems but often impede tree growth and increase tree mortality and stem damage after disturbances that favor their growth. Understanding how lianas affect biomass recovery and rates of carbon sequestration following disturbance is therefore of crucial importance. In this study, we determine how a tropical forest recovers biomass following a large‐scale disturbance, and test how this varies with liana dominance and stem damage. We use remote sensing methods to develop a model, validated by field data from 40 20 × 20 m vegetation plots, to measure the change in tree aboveground biomass 8 years after Tropical Cyclone Yasi damaged logged forests in the Australian Wet Tropics. We related tree biomass changes to field measures of current liana dominance over trees, expressed as liana: tree basal area ratio, and assessed how these measures related to tree stem damage. Biomass declined in 34 of the 40 plots during the 8 years post‐disturbance, with loss rates and proportions of damaged tree stems increasing with the liana: tree ratio. From spatial upscaling, we found a net loss in biomass across the study landscape over the same period. Our results show that, following disturbances, lianas not only limit tree biomass recovery but also are associated with further biomass declines, most likely through their contribution to stem damage and delayed mortality. Furthermore, our finding of net biomass loss across the landscape since the cyclone shows that, post‐disturbance, rainforests can act as a carbon source with consequences for the global carbon sink.

Details

Title: Lianas associated with continued forest biomass losses following large‐scale disturbances
Authors/Creators: Emma J. Mackintosh - University of the Sunshine Coast
Catherine E. Waite - University of the Sunshine Coast
Francis E. Putz - University of the Sunshine Coast
Sophie Brennan - Murdoch University
Marion Pfeifer - Newcastle University
Andrew R. Marshall - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication Details: Biotropica, e13348
Publisher: Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.
Identifiers: 991005689070007891
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s).
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.86 Plant Communities
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology