Consequences of land use changes on ecological plant traits and strategies in Sumatra Indonesia

The deforestation and altering land use in Sumatra, Indonesia, have resulted in significant ecological shifts,especially in tropical rainforest ecosystems that play a crucial role in global biodiversity and carbon cycling.Based on species distribution and their ecological traits, plants' trait proportion, functional composition, andfunctional diversity across four land-use systems were calculated. The effects of land-use changes on each trait inspecies and individual plant levels, their variability, and functional diversity were observed using statistical toolssuch as Pearson's chi-squared test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test, Tukey's HSD and post-hoc multiplecomparisons to detect the effects and relationships. The similarities and dissimilarities of traits were observedusing NMDS ordination-based dissimilarity of traits. By examining 1382 plant species and 156,005 individuals inforest, jungle rubber, rubber plantations, and oil palm plantations, we found variations in the number of species,individual counts, and the mix of functional traits. The findings indicated that forests and jungle rubber hadmore incredible species richness and trait diversity than monocultures, particularly in pollination and seeddispersal syndromes. A significant association was discovered between functional and taxonomic diversity at thespecies level, exhibiting declining benefits at the individual level. The study emphasizes the need for sustainableland-use strategies to mitigate biodiversity loss and maintain ecosystem services (PDF) Consequences of land use changes on ecological plant traits and strategies in Sumatra Indonesia. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386552285_Consequences_of_land_use_changes_on_ecological_plant_traits_and_strategies_in_Sumatra_Indonesia [accessed Jun 08 2025].