Evidence for arrested succession in a liana‐infested Amazonian forest
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Empirical evidence and modelling both suggest that global changes may lead to an increased dominance of lianas and thus to an increased prevalence of liana‐infested forest formations in tropical forests. The implications for tropical forest structure and the carbon cycle remain poorly understood. We studied the ecological processes underpinning the structure and dynamics of a liana‐infested forest in French Guiana, using a combination of long‐term surveys (tree, liana, seedling and litterfall), soil chemical analyses and remote‐sensing approaches (LiDAR and Landsat). At stand scale and for adult trees, the liana‐infested forest had higher growth, recruitment and mortality rates than the neighbouring high‐canopy forest. Both total seedling density and tree seedling recruitment were lower in the liana‐infested forest. Stand scale above‐ground biomass of the liana‐infested forest was 58% lower than in the high‐canopy forest. Above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) was comparable in the liana‐infested and high‐canopy forests. However, due to more abundant leaf production, the relative contribution of fast turnover carbon pools to ANPP was larger in the liana‐infested forest and the carbon residence time was half that of the high‐canopy forest. Although soils of the liana‐infested forest were richer in nutrients, soil elemental ratios suggest that liana‐infested forest and high‐canopy forest soils both derive from the same geological substrate. The higher nutrient concentration in the liana‐infested forest may therefore be the result of a release of nutrients from vegetation after a forest blowdown. Using small‐footprint LiDAR campaigns, we show that the overall extent of the liana‐infested forest has remained stable from 2007 to 2012 but about 10% of the forest area changed in forest cover type. Landsat optical imagery confirms the liana‐infested forest presence in the landscape for at least 25 years. Synthesis. Because persistently high rates of liana infestation are maintained by the fast dynamics of the liana‐infested forest, liana‐infested forests here appear to be the result of an arrested tropical forest succession. If the prevalence of such arrested succession forests were to increase in the future, this would have important implications for the carbon sink potential of Amazonian forests.
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Liana forests can be relatively stable because lianas self-perpetuate by causing physical damage to trees, allowing lianas to remain at high density.
“Liana forests can also be relatively stable, because lianas self-perpetuate by causing physical damage to trees, allowing lianas to remain at high density90,91.”
From Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system (2024) · cites this paper as [91]
The Abstract reports that the studied liana-infested forest remained stable in extent from 2007 to 2012 and that fast forest dynamics maintained high liana infestation. The “Influence of Lianas on Forest Dynamics” section links tree mortality and resulting canopy gaps to liana maintenance, but attributes faster tree dynamics probably to species composition and competition; it does not establish physical damage to trees as the mechanism. The study also concerns a single forest patch, rather than liana forests generally. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system
Flores, B. M., Montoya, E., Sakschewski, B., Nascimento, N., Staal, A., Betts, R. A., Levis, C., Lapola, D. M., Esquível-Muelbert, A., Jakovac, C., et al. (2024) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06970-0 · Cited by 607 · see citing works
- Authors
- Tymen, B., Réjou‐Méchain, M., Dalling, J. W., Fauset, S., Feldpausch, T. R., Norden, N., Phillips, O. L., Turner, B. L., Viers, J., & Chave, J.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Fundación Cedrela Diagonal 40A # 18A‐09 Bogotá Colombia
- Corresponding author
- Tymen, Blaise
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Ecology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-11-27
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 149-159
- ISSN
- 0022-0477 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2745
- OpenAlex
- W1941006159
- Cited by
- 93
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 5.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Ecology (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (acceptedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Smithsonian Digital Repository (Smithsonian Institution) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Forest ecology and management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Keywords
- liana infestation, tropical forest dynamics, Amazon rainforest, seedling recruitment, tree mortality, aboveground biomass, net primary productivity, carbon residence time, soil nutrients, carbon sink potential, forest structure
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