Large-Scale Patterns of Turnover and Basal Area Change in Andean Forests

BAEZ S; MALIZIA, A; CARILLA, J; BLUNDO C; AGUILAR, M; AGUIRRE, C; CUESTA, F; DUKE, A; GARCÍA FARFÁN, W; GRAU, HR; HOMEIER, J; LINARES, C; MALIZIA L; MELO CRUZ, O; OSINAGA O; PHILLIPS, O; REYLES, C; SILMAN, M; FEELEY, K

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2015 vol. 10

1932-6203

General patterns of forest dynamics and productivity in the Andes Mountains are poorlycharacterized. Here we present the first large-scale study of Andean forest dynamics usinga set of 63 permanent forest plots assembled over the past two decades. In the North-CentralAndes tree turnover (mortality and recruitment) and tree growth declined with increasingelevation and decreasing temperature. In addition, basal area increased in Lower MontaneMoist Forests but did not change in Higher Montane Humid Forests. However, at higher elevationsthe lack of net basal area change and excess of mortality over recruitment suggestsnegative environmental impacts. In North-Western Argentina, forest dynamics appear to beinfluenced by land use history in addition to environmental variation. Taken together, our resultsindicate that combinations of abiotic and biotic factors that vary across elevation gradientsare important determinants of tree turnover and productivity in the Andes. Moreextensive and longer-term monitoring and analyses of forest dynamics in permanent plotswill be necessary to understand how demographic processes and woody biomass are respondingto changing environmental conditions along elevation gradients throughthis century.