Winner–loser plant trait replacements in human-modified tropical forests

Anthropogenic landscape modification may lead to the proliferation of a few species and the loss of many. Here we investigate mechanisms and functional consequences of this winner-loser replacement in six human-modified Amazonian and Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil using a causal inference framework. Combining floristic and functional trait data for 1,207 tree species across 271 forest plots, we find that forest loss consistently caused an increased dominance of low-density woods and small seeds dispersed by endozoochory (winner traits) and the loss of distinctive traits, such as extremely dense woods and large seeds dispersed by synzoochory (loser traits). Effects on leaf traits and maximum tree height were rare or inconsistent. The independent causal effects of landscape configuration were rare, but local degradation remained important in multivariate trait-disturbance relationships and exceeded the effects of forest loss in one Amazonian region. Our findings highlight that tropical forest loss and local degradation drive predictable functional changes to remaining tree assemblages and that certain traits are consistently associated with winners and losers across different regional contexts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Published
2024-12-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02592-5
Citations
14
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.67

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article

Winner–loser plant trait replacements in human-modified tropical forests

Fernanda C. Souza, Isabelle Maréchaux, Joseph E. Hawes, Cajo J. F. ter Braak et al.
14 citations
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
9.67
article

Winner–loser plant trait replacements in human-modified tropical forests

Fernanda C. Souza, Isabelle Maréchaux, Joseph E. Hawes, Cajo J. F. ter Braak, Jos Barlow, Felipe P. L. Melo, Maíra Benchimol, Carlos A. Peres, Marcelo Tabarelli, Eduardo Mariano‐Neto, D.E. Bauman, Víctor Arroyo‐Rodríguez, Larissa Rocha‐Santos, Bruno X. Pinho, Joice Ferreira, Érika Berenguer, Deborah Faria, Juliana M. Silveira, Bráulio Almeida Santos, Thiago Gonçalves‐Souza
article en
14 citations

Abstract

Anthropogenic landscape modification may lead to the proliferation of a few species and the loss of many. Here we investigate mechanisms and functional consequences of this winner-loser replacement in six human-modified Amazonian and Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil using a causal inference framework. Combining floristic and functional trait data for 1,207 tree species across 271 forest plots, we find that forest loss consistently caused an increased dominance of low-density woods and small seeds dispersed by endozoochory (winner traits) and the loss of distinctive traits, such as extremely dense woods and large seeds dispersed by synzoochory (loser traits). Effects on leaf traits and maximum tree height were rare or inconsistent. The independent causal effects of landscape configuration were rare, but local degradation remained important in multivariate trait-disturbance relationships and exceeded the effects of forest loss in one Amazonian region. Our findings highlight that tropical forest loss and local degradation drive predictable functional changes to remaining tree assemblages and that certain traits are consistently associated with winners and losers across different regional contexts.

Nature Ecology & EvolutionVol. 9(2)
University of East Anglia (GB), University of Bern (CH), Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Bern University of Applied Sciences (CH), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Universidade Federal de Lavras (BR), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Universidade Federal da Paraíba (BR), Université de Montpellier (FR), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR), Institut Agro Montpellier (FR), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (BR), University of Michigan (US), Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (BR), University of Oxford (GB), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations (FR), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), Instituto Maria e Joao Aleixo (BR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Nottingham Trent University (GB), Lancaster University (GB), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), Wageningen University & Research (NL), University of Cumbria (GB)
Conservation, Food and Health Foundation, Idea Wild, Rufford Foundation, Government of the United Kingdom, Nature Conservancy, Sight Research UK, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Natural Environment Research Council
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
9.67
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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