Climate sensitive size-dependent survival in tropical trees

Journal Article · Mon Sep 03 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nature Ecology & Evolution

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0626-z· OSTI ID:1708853

Johnson, Daniel J. ^[1]; Needham, Jessica ^[2]; Xu, Chonggang ^[3]; Massoud, Elias C. ^[4]; Davies, Stuart ^[2]; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J. ^[5]; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh ^[6]; Chambers, Jeffrey Q. ^[7]; Chang-Yang, Chia-Hao ^[8]; Chiang, Jyh-Min ^[9]; Chuyong, George B. ^[10]; Condit, Richard ^[11]; Cordell, Susan ^[12]; Fletcher, Christine ^[13]; Giardina, Christian P. ^[14]; Giambelluca, Thomas ^[15]; Gunatilleke, Nimal ^[16]; Gunatilleke, Savitri ^[16]; Hsieh, Chang-Fu ^[17]; Hubbell, Steven ^[18] ; Inman-Narahari, Faith ^[19]; Rahman Kassim, Abd ^[20]; Katabuchi, Masatoshi ^[21]; Kenfack, David ^[18]; Litton, Creighton ^[22]; Lum, Shawn ^[23]; Nasardin, Musalmah ^[12]; Mohamad, Mohizah ^[24]; Ong, Perry S. ^[25]; Ostertag, Rebecca ^[26]; Sack, Lawren ^[27]; Swenson, Nathan G. ^[28]; Sun, I Fang ^[29]; Tan, Sylvester ^[24]; Thomas, Duncan ^[30]; Thompson, Jill ^[31]; Umaña, Maria Natalia ^[32]; Uriarte, Maria ^[33]; Valencia, Renato ^[34]; Yap, Sandra ^[35]; Zimmerman, Jess K. ^[36]; McDowell, Nate G. ^[37]; Mcmahon, Sean M. ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory
2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
3. LOS ALAMOS NATL LAB
4. University of California, Irvine
5. Smithsonian Institution
6. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, THAILAND
7. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
8. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University
9. Tunghai University
10. University of Buea, CAMEROON
11. Field Museum, Chicago, IL
12. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI
13. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MALAYSIA
14. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI,
15. University of Hawaii
16. Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya
17. Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University
18. Center for Tropical Forest Science-Forest Global Earth Observatory; Smithsonian Tropical Research
19. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI
20. Forest Research Institute Malaysia
21. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida
22. University of Hawaii at Manoa
23. Nanyang Technological University, SINGAPORE
24. Sarawak Forestry Department, Kuching, Sarawak, MALAYSIA
25. Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, PHILIPPINES
26. University of Hawaii at Hilo
27. University of California, Los Angeles
28. Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University
29. National Dong Hwa University; Hualian, TAIWAN
30. School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA
31. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
32. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
33. Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology; Columbia University, New York, NY
34. Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, ECUADOR
35. Far Eastern University, Manila, PHILLIPPINES
36. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, PUERTO RICO
37. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)

Survival rates of large trees determine forest biomass dynamics. Survival rates of small trees are linked to mechanisms that maintain biodiversity across tropical forests. How species survival rates change with size offers insight into the links between biodiversity and ecosystem function across tropical forests. We tested patterns of size-dependent tree survival across the tropics using data from 1781 species and over two million individuals to assess whether tropical forests can be characterized by size-dependent life-history survival strategies. We found species were classifiable into four “survival modes” that explain life-history variation that shapes carbon-cycling and the relative abundances within forests. Frequently collected functional traits, such as wood density, leaf mass per area, and seed mass, were not generally predictive of species’ survival modes. Mean annual temperature and cumulative water deficit predicted the proportion of biomass of survival modes, indicating important links between evolutionary strategies, climate, and carbon cycling. The application of survival modes in demographic simulations predicted biomass change across forest sites. Our results reveal globally identifiable size-dependent survival strategies that differ across diverse systems in a consistent way. The abundance of survival modes and interaction with climate ultimately determine forest structure, carbon storage in biomass, and future forest trajectories.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1708853
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-140898
• Journal Information: Nature Ecology & Evolution, Journal Name: Nature Ecology & Evolution Vol. 2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English