| 1. |
- Muscarella, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The global abundance of tree palms
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 29:9, s. 1495-1514
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimPalms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change.LocationTropical and subtropical moist forests.Time periodCurrent.Major taxa studiedPalms (Arecaceae).MethodsWe assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure.ResultsOn average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work.ConclusionsTree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests.
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| 2. |
- Cuni-Sanchez, Aida, et al.
(författare)
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High aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 596:7873, s. 536-542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tropical forests store 40–50per cent of terrestrial vegetation carbon. However, spatial variations in aboveground live tree biomass carbon (AGC) stocks remain poorly understood, in particular in tropical montane forests. Owing to climatic and soil changes with increasing elevation, AGC stocks are lower in tropical montane forests compared with lowland forests. Here we assemble and analyse a dataset of structurally intact old-growth forests (AfriMont) spanning 44 montane sites in 12 African countries. We find that montane sites in the AfriMont plot network have a mean AGC stock of 149.4megagrams of carbon per hectare (95% confidence interval 137.1–164.2), which is comparable to lowland forests in the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network4 and about 70per cent and 32per cent higher than averages from plot networks in montane and lowland forests in the Neotropics, respectively. Notably, our results are two-thirds higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default values for these forests in Africa8. We find that the low stem density and high abundance of large trees of African lowland forests is mirrored in the montane forests sampled. This carbon store is endangered: we estimate that 0.8 million hectares of old-growth African montane forest have been lost since 2000. We provide country-specific montane forest AGC stock estimates modelled from our plot network to helpto guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. Our findings highlight the need for conserving these biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems.
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| 3. |
- Garcia, Claude A., et al.
(författare)
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Strategy games to improve environmental policymaking
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2398-9629. ; 5:6, s. 464-471
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scholars develop scenarios to identify the operational margins of system Earth, but focus less on how decisions are made that affect the system one way or another. Strategy games can help increase the representation of human agency in scenario development, allowing for deliberation among diverse worldviews. While the scientific community documents environmental degradation and develops scenarios to identify the operational margins of system Earth, less attention is given to how decisions are made that steer the system in one direction or the other. We propose to use strategy games for this purpose, increasing the representation of human agency in scenario development and creating spaces for deliberation between different worldviews. Played by the right people, strategy games could help break free from established norms and support more transparent democratic dialogues, responding to the human and social limitations of current decision-making. The question is, who gets to play?
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| 4. |
- Rist, Lucy, et al.
(författare)
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The impacts of selective logging on non-timber forest products of livelihood importance
- 2012
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 268, s. 57-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential for combining timber and non-timber forest product extraction has been examined in the context of diversified forest management. Many tropical forests are exploited both commercially for timber and by forest-dependent communities for non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Divergences between these two uses may have significant implications for forest-dependent livelihoods. This article gathers existing examples of conflicts and complementarities between selective logging and non-timber uses of forest from the livelihood perspective. Additionally it draws on three case studies from Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia to examine by what mechanisms, and to what extent, logging impacts forest resources of livelihood importance, as well as to consider how factors such as logging regime and forest management system may mediate such influences. By doing so we aim to shed further light on a relatively unacknowledged issue in tropical forest management and conservation.Four specific mechanisms were identified; conflict of use and the indirect impacts of logging being those most commonly implicated in negative effects on livelihood-relevant NTFPs. Eighty two percent of reviewed articles highlighted negative impacts on NTFP availability. Examples of positive impacts were restricted to light demanding species that respond to the opening of forest structure and typically represent a small subset of those of livelihood value. Despite considerable impacts on livelihoods, in all three case studies we found evidence to support the potential for enhanced compatibility between timber extraction and the subsistence use of NTFPs. Drawing on this evidence, and findings from our review, we make specific recommendations for research, policy and management implementation. These findings have significant implications for reconciling timber and non-timber uses of tropical forests.
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