Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/35458
Full metadata record
DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.advisorJones, Isabel J-
dc.contributor.advisorPfeifer, Marion-
dc.contributor.advisorDent, Daisy H-
dc.contributor.authorElsy, Alexander D-
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-11T11:11:23Z-
dc.date.issued2023-03-31-
dc.identifier.citationDent, D.H., Elsy, A.D., In Press. Structure, diversity and composition of secondary forests of the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, in: Muller-Landau, H., Wright, S.J. (Eds.), The First 100 Years of Research on Barro Colorado: Plant and Ecosystem. Smithsonian Institution.en_GB
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/35458-
dc.description.abstractSecondary forests (i.e. forests regrowing after land abandonment) are increasing in area throughout the tropics, harbouring great potential for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. The rate of recovery of these forests is well understood for tree communities in early and mid-stages of tropical forest succession (< 50 years). However, studies of successional liana communities lag behind, and few late successional studies exist for either trees or lianas. Processes such as the recovery of species composition and above-ground biomass can take place over centuries, and as such they are poorly quantified by current studies. Here I investigate forest recovery over the late stages of succession for tree and liana communities. Chapters 2 and 3 study biodiversity and structural recovery in tree communities in mid-to-late-stage successional forest (aged 40 – 120 years) in Panama. I find that species and functional diversity recover by mid-succession, but species richness and rare species do not recover to old-growth levels. Species community composition can converge on old-growth communities 120-years into succession, but I also find divergent successional pathways caused by a long-lived pioneer’s dominance. Leaf traits showed little variation in the mid-to-late stages of succession, but plant-stature related traits continued to change into late succession suggesting plant height as a major mechanism for competition for light in late successional stages. Chapter 4 examines the relationship between liana density and basal area across successional and climatic gradients spanning four countries in the Neotropics. I find that liana density and basal area is higher in moist/wet forests than dry forests, contrary to previous findings. Liana density is highest in early succession, and I find that liana dominance is most likely in highly seasonal tropical forests. These findings will help inform tropical forest recovery and confirm the value of old secondary forests for tree and liana communities.en_GB
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherUniversity of Stirlingen_GB
dc.subjectTropical Forestsen_GB
dc.subjectCommunity Ecologyen_GB
dc.subjectFunctional Traitsen_GB
dc.subjectBarro Colorado Islanden_GB
dc.subjectPanamaen_GB
dc.subjectLianasen_GB
dc.subjectNeotropicsen_GB
dc.subjectSuccessionen_GB
dc.subjectSpecies Diversityen_GB
dc.subjectRarityen_GB
dc.subjectChronosequenceen_GB
dc.subjectSecondary Foresten_GB
dc.subjectCommunity Compositionen_GB
dc.subjectFunctional Diversityen_GB
dc.subjectSuccessional Pathwaysen_GB
dc.subjectForest Structureen_GB
dc.titleTropical tree and liana community recovery through secondary successionen_GB
dc.typeThesis or Dissertationen_GB
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen_GB
dc.type.qualificationnameDoctor of Philosophyen_GB
dc.rights.embargodate2024-11-23-
dc.rights.embargoreasonI am currently in the process of writing up two of the chapters for publication and would appreciate that the thesis is not publicly available until after these chapters are published.en_GB
dc.contributor.funderIAPETUS DTP Grant NE/L002590/1en_GB
dc.author.emailalexander.david.elsy@gmail.comen_GB
dc.rights.embargoterms2024-11-24en_GB
dc.rights.embargoliftdate2024-11-24-
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences eTheses

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
ADE_Thesis_Final_STORRE_submission.pdfAlexander Elsy PhD Thesis11.69 MBAdobe PDFUnder Embargo until 2024-11-24    Request a copy


This item is protected by original copyright



Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.