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1
M. J. S. Bowman, D., and J. C. Z. Woinarski. "Biogeography of Australian monsoon rainforest mammals: implications for the conservation of rainforest mammals." Pacific Conservation Biology 1, no. 2 (1994): 98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc940098.
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Monsoon rainforests form an archipelago of small habitat fragments throughout the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia. According to the definition of Winter (1988) the current monsoon rainforest mammal assemblage contains only one rainforest specialist mammal species (restricted to Cape York Peninsula), and is dominated by eutherian habitat generalists (murids and bats) that mostly occur in surrounding savannah habitats. The mammal assemblages in monsoon rainforests across northern Australia (Cape York Peninsula, Northern Territory and the Kimberley) are essentially regional subsets of the local savannah and mangrove mammal assemblages, and consequently share only a limited number of species in common (most of which are bats). The lack of rainforest specialists in northwestern Australia is thought to be due to: (i) the lack of large tracts (> 1 000 ha) of monsoon rainforest habitat; (ii) the possible substantial contraction of these habitats in the past; and (iii) the limited extent of gallery rainforests, such rainforests being important habitats for rainforest mammals in South American savannahs. Unfortunately it is not possible to identify the threshold of habitat area required to maintain populations of monsoon rainforest specialist mammal species because of an impoverished fossil record pertaining to the past spatial distribution of monsoon rainforests. The implications of the lack of a specialist mammal fauna in Australian monsoon rainforests for the future of heavily fragmented tropical rainforests elsewhere in the world is briefly discussed. It is concluded that the analogy of habitat fragments to true islands is weak, that rainforest plant species are less vulnerable to local extinction than mammals, that the loss of mammal rainforest specialists may not result in a dramatic loss of plant species, and that corridors of rainforest may be critical for maintenance of rainforest mammal assemblages in areas currently subject to forest clearance.
2
Lin, Meizhi, Qingping Ling, Huiqing Pei, Yanni Song, Zixuan Qiu, Cai Wang, Tiedong Liu, and Wenfeng Gong. "Remote Sensing of Tropical Rainforest Biomass Changes in Hainan Island, China from 2003 to 2018." Remote Sensing 13, no. 9 (April 27, 2021): 1696. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13091696.
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The largest area of tropical rainforests in China is on Hainan Island, and it is an important part of the world’s tropical rainforests. The structure of the tropical rainforests in Hainan is complex, the biomass density is high, and conducting ground surveys is difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Remote sensing is a good monitoring method for biomass estimation. However, the saturation phenomenon of such data from different satellite sensors results in low forest biomass estimation accuracy in tropical rainforests with high biomass density. Based on environmental information, the biomass of permanent sample plots, and forest age, this study established a tropical rainforest database for Hainan. Forest age and 14 types of environmental information, combined with an enhanced vegetation index (EVI), were introduced to establish a tropical rainforest biomass estimation model for remote sensing that can overcome the saturation phenomenon present when using remote sensing data. The fitting determination coefficient R2 of the model was 0.694. The remote sensing estimate of relative bias was 2.29%, and the relative root mean square error was 35.41%. The tropical rainforest biomass in Hainan Island is mainly distributed in the central mountainous and southern areas. The tropical rainforests in the northern and coastal areas have been severely damaged by tourism and real estate development. Particularly in low-altitude areas, large areas of tropical rainforest have been replaced by economic forests. Furthermore, the tropical rainforest areas in some cities and counties have decreased, affecting the increase in tropical rainforest biomass. On Hainan Island, there were few tropical rainforests in areas with high rainfall. Therefore, afforestation in these areas could maximize the ecological benefits of tropical rainforests. To further strengthen the protection, there is an urgent need to establish a feasible, reliable, and effective tropical rainforest loss assessment system using quantitative scientific methodologies.
3
Scheffers, Brett R., Ben L. Phillips, William F. Laurance, Navjot S. Sodhi, Arvin Diesmos, and Stephen E. Williams. "Increasing arboreality with altitude: a novel biogeographic dimension." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280, no. 1770 (November 7, 2013): 20131581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1581.
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Biodiversity is spatially organized by climatic gradients across elevation and latitude. But do other gradients exist that might drive biogeographic patterns? Here, we show that rainforest's vertical strata provide climatic gradients much steeper than those offered by elevation and latitude, and biodiversity of arboreal species is organized along this gradient. In Philippine and Singaporean rainforests, we demonstrate that rainforest frogs tend to shift up in the rainforest strata as altitude increases. Moreover, a Philippine-wide dataset of frog distributions shows that frog assemblages become increasingly arboreal at higher elevations. Thus, increased arboreality with elevation at broad biogeographic scales mirrors patterns we observed at local scales. Our proposed ‘arboreality hypothesis’ suggests that the ability to exploit arboreal habitats confers the potential for larger geographical distributions because species can shift their location in the rainforest strata to compensate for shifts in temperature associated with elevation and latitude. This novel finding may help explain patterns of species richness and abundance wherever vegetation produces a vertical microclimatic gradient. Our results further suggest that global warming will ‘flatten’ the biodiversity in rainforests by pushing arboreal species towards the cooler and wetter ground. This ‘flattening’ could potentially have serious impacts on forest functioning and species survival.
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Curran, Timothy J., Peter J. Clarke, and Nigel W. M. Warwick. "Drought survival of Australian rainforest seedlings is influenced by species evolutionary history and soil type." Australian Journal of Botany 61, no. 1 (2013): 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt12081.
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Water availability influences regional tree distributions in rainforests, often by affecting survival of seedlings. The occurrence of ‘dry rainforest’ species in subhumid climates has been attributed to the evolution of drought-resistant species from their mesic rainforest congeners. Many genera are found in both dry and mesic rainforest of Australia but the extent to which this is due to differential drought resistance has not been confirmed experimentally. We compared drought survival within three congeneric pairs of dry and mesic rainforest taxa in a glasshouse dry-down experiment. Soil type could also play a role, with dry rainforests mostly occurring on fine-textured soils such as loams, which have a high available water-holding capacity, compensating for lower rainfall. Hence, we grew plants in loam or sand soil. In all pairs, the dry rainforest taxon was better able to survive drought, providing support for the climate-induced evolution of a dry rainforest flora and further confirming that drought resistance of seedlings can shape tree species distributions at regional scales. Two of three pairs had higher seedling survival on basalt-derived loam soil, suggesting that such soils may aid seedling persistence during drought. Over evolutionary time, this may have resulted in the high fidelity of dry rainforest for these soils.
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Ngomanda, A., A. Chepstow-Lusty, M. Makaya, C. Favier, P. Schevin, J. Maley, M. Fontugne, R. Oslisly, and D. Jolly. "Western equatorial African forest-savanna mosaics: a legacy of late Holocene climatic change?" Climate of the Past 5, no. 4 (October 26, 2009): 647–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cp-5-647-2009.
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Abstract. Past vegetation and climate changes reconstructed using two pollen records from Lakes Maridor and Nguène, located in the coastal savannas and inland rainforest of Gabon, respectively, provide new insights into the environmental history of western equatorial African rainforests during the last 4500 cal yr BP. These pollen records indicate that the coastal savannas of western equatorial Africa did not exist during the mid-Holocene and instead the region was covered by evergreen rainforests. From ca. 4000 cal yr BP a progressive decline of inland evergreen rainforest, accompanied by the expansion of semi-deciduous rainforest, occurred synchronously with grassland colonisation in the coastal region of Gabon. The contraction of moist evergreen rainforest and the establishment of coastal savannas in Gabon suggest decreasing humidity from ca. 4000 cal yr BP. The marked reduction in evergreen rainforest and subsequent savanna expansion was followed from 2700 cal yr BP by the colonization of secondary forests dominated by the palm, Elaeis guineensis, and the shrub, Alchornea cordifolia (Euphorbiaceae). A return to wetter climatic conditions from about 1400 cal yr BP led to the renewed spread of evergreen rainforest inland, whereas a forest-savanna mosaic still persists in the coastal region. There is no evidence to suggest that the major environmental changes observed were driven by human impact.
6
Menkhorst, KA, and JCZ Woinarski. "Distribution of mammals in monsoon rainforests of the Northern Territory." Wildlife Research 19, no. 3 (1992): 295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr9920295.
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The mammal fauna of 50 patches of monsoon rainforest in the Northern Territory, Australia, was surveyed. No mammal species is restricted to this habitat, and most of the region's marnmal fauna uses it at least occasionally. Mammal species composition within monsoon rainforests undergoes substantial variation along an extensive environmental gradient reflecting moisture condition and rockiness. For most mammal species, variation in abundance among patches was related more to the position of the patch on this environmental gradient than to patch size or extent of disturbance. Disturbance was positively correlated with the richness and abundance in quadrats of three taxonomic groupingsrodents, 'other' native species, and all native species (other than bats)-and negatively correlated with richness and abundance of macropods. Compared with surrounding (open forest and savanna woodland) vegetation, monsoon rainforests have few grazing herbivores and small granivorous rodents, but more species that eat fleshy fruits and seeds from woody plants. The mammal fauna of monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory is similar to that of monsoon rainforests of the Kimberley (to the west) but unlike that of wet tropical rainforests in Cape York (to the east). These differences, and the current impoverishment of the mammal fauna of the Northern Territory monsoon rainforest, are attributable to historical processes and the current small area of this highly fragmented monsoon rainforest estate. Three bat species may be important for pollination and dispersal of monsoon rainforest plants.
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Burnham, Robyn J., and Kirk R. Johnson. "South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 359, no. 1450 (October 29, 2004): 1595–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1531.
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Extant neotropical rainforest biomes are characterized by a high diversity and abundance of angiosperm trees and vines, high proportions of entire–margined leaves, high proportions of large leaves (larger than 4500 mm 2 ), high abundance of drip tips and a suite of characteristic dominant families: Sapotaceae, Lauraceae, Leguminosae (Fabaceae), Melastomataceae and Palmae (Arecaceae). Our aim is to define parameters of extant rainforests that will allow their recognition in the fossil record of South America and to evaluate all known South American plant fossil assemblages for first evidence and continued presence of those parameters. We ask when did these critical rainforest characters arise? When did vegetative parameters reach the level of abundance that we see in neotropical forests? Also, when do specific lineages become common in neotropical forests? Our review indicates that evidence of neotropical rainforest is exceedingly rare and equivocal before the Palaeocene. Even in the Palaeocene, the only evidence for tropical rainforest in South America is the appearance of moderately high pollen diversity. By contrast, North American sites provide evidence that rainforest leaf physiognomy was established early in the Palaeocene. By the Eocene in South America, several lines of evidence suggest that neotropical rainforests were diverse, physiognomically recognizable as rainforest and taxonomically allied to modern neotropical rainforests. A mismatch of evidence regarding the age of origin between sites of palaeobotanical high diversity and sites of predicted tropical climates should be reconciled with intensified collecting efforts in South America. We identify several lines of promising research that will help to coalesce previously disparate approaches to the origin, longevity and maintenance of high diversity floras of South America.
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Reichel, H., and AN Andersen. "The Rainforest Ant Fauna of Australia's Northern Territory." Australian Journal of Zoology 44, no. 1 (1996): 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9960081.
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An ant survey of Northern Territory (NT) rainforests, which occur as numerous small and isolated patches within a predominantly savanna landscape, yielded 173 species from 46 genera. The richest genera were Polyrhachis (22 species), Pheidole (21 species), Rhytidoponera (12 species) and Monomorium (12 species). Seven genera represented new records for the NT: Discothyrea, Prionopelta, Machomyrma, Strumigenys, Bothriomyrmex, Turneria and Pseudolasius. The most common ants were Generalised myrmicines, particularly species of Pheidole and Monomorium, and Opportunists such as species of Paratrechina, Tetramorium, Odontomachus and Rhytidoponera. This is also the case in rainforests of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Of NT rainforest species, 59% have Torresian (tropical) affinities, which is only slightly higher than in Kimberley rainforests (48%). However, the NT harbours a far higher proportion of specialist rainforest species (27 v. 9%), including many more with arboreal nests (13 v. 5% of total species). Many of the rainforest specialists are of considerable biogeographic interest, with a substantial number having disjunct distributions in the NT and Queensland (and often also New Guinea) A small number represent the only known Australian records of south-east Asian species. Interestingly, very few species appear to be endemic to NT rainforests, with a previously unrecorded species of Aphaenogaster being a probable exception. The NT rainforest fauna also includes several introduced species, with at least one (Pheidole megacephala) posing a serious conservation threat.
9
Kantvilas, G., P. W. James, and S. J. Jarman. "Macrolichens in Tasmanian Rainforests." Lichenologist 17, no. 1 (February 1985): 67–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0024282985000081.
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Abstract96 macrolichens, including 12 new records, are reported for cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania. These species belong mainly to the austral cool temperate element. A descriptive account of the lichen floras from five major rainforest communities is given. Field observations suggest that substrate and light are the most important ecological factors affecting the distribution of lichens in rainforest. Although most species are widespread in Tasmania, large-scale disturbance and the fragmentation of rainforest stands is seen as a threat to their survival.
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Lynch, A. J. J., and V. J. Neldner. "Problems of placing boundaries on ecological continua - options for a workable national rainforest definition in Australia." Australian Journal of Botany 48, no. 4 (2000): 511. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt97022.
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Options for a new definition of, and key for, rainforest in Australia are provided. The definitions take a national perspective, and are based on the ecological characteristics of rainforest species and some structural and floristic characteristics. Rainforest plant species are defined as those adapted to regenerating under low-light conditions experienced under the closed canopy or in localised gaps caused by recurring disturbances which are part of the natural rainforest ecosystem, and are not dependent on fire for successful regeneration. Three definitions are provided which differ in the extent of inclusion of transitional and seral communities. The first definition recognises communities such as mixed forests as transitional to rainforests and therefore as separate communities. The second definition includes a minimal component of emergent non-rainforest species in rainforest in the recognition that the main floristic component and functioning of the communities cannot be distinguished. The third definition includes the late successional stages of transitional and seral communities in rainforest on the presumption that such communities include non-rainforest species which are close to senescence, and that these communities are essential for the long-term conservation of rainforest in areas where rainforest is vulnerable and subject to major disturbance, particularly by fire. The first definition is concluded to be the least ambiguous and arbitrary, and enables a consistent approach to rainforest management. Recognition of mixed forests as a distinctive and mappable vegetation type should be incorporated in a comprehensive conservation strategy inclusive of all ecosystem developmental stages.
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Hansman, Dinah J. "Floral biology of dry rainforest in north Queensland and a comparison with adjacent savanna woodland." Australian Journal of Botany 49, no. 2 (2001): 137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt00017.
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In north Queensland, Australia, dry rainforest (deciduous and semi-evergreen vine thicket) occurs as patches within a matrix of savanna woodland. With floral morphology and pollen–ovule ratios as indicators of pollination syndrome and breeding system, the floral biology of dry rainforest was compared with that of adjacent savanna woodland and with rainforest elsewhere. Contingency tables and analysis of variance were used to examine and compare breeding system, flower diameter, floral display and putative pollination syndrome for 156 dry rainforest and 33 savanna woodland taxa. Most (91 of 97) dry rainforest species had pollen–ovule ratios indicating obligate outbreeding. Similar levels of dioecy (21%) and patterns of flowering phenology were observed to those reported for rainforests elsewhere. For dry rainforest canopy trees, flower diameter and morphology indicated pollination by small, generalist insects. Canopy trees tended to flower in the wet season and have low ovule numbers. Taxa assigned to the wind-pollination syndrome had the highest pollen–ovule ratios, suggesting less efficient pollen transfer. Sclerophyll savanna taxa (and some emergent dry rainforest trees) tended to flower in the dry season, have large flowers, high ovule numbers and a high level of floral display.
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Ross, Thalia, Sanjeev K. Srivastava, and Alison Shapcott. "Investigating the Relationship between Fire Severity and Post-Fire Vegetation Regeneration and Subsequent Fire Vulnerability." Forests 14, no. 2 (January 24, 2023): 222. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f14020222.
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The Australian 2019–2020 wildfires impacted the subtropical rainforest with a variety of burn severities, making them vulnerable to another burn. Rainforest post-fire regenerated vegetation could be highly flammable, containing fire-promoting species such as Lantana camara and fire-suppressing species such as Phytolacca octandra. This study investigated whether early post-fire regeneration may make rainforests more flammable and if this varies with fire severity. This study sampled three national parks where rainforest burnt in 2019–2020 across different fire severities to test if there were consistent patterns in post-fire regeneration flammability. We found that flammable species increased in the regions where fire severity was higher.
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Venkataraman, Vivek V., Andrew K. Yegian, Ian J. Wallace, Nicholas B. Holowka, Ivan Tacey, Michael Gurven, and Thomas S. Kraft. "Locomotor constraints favour the evolution of the human pygmy phenotype in tropical rainforests." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285, no. 1890 (November 7, 2018): 20181492. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1492.
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The convergent evolution of the human pygmy phenotype in tropical rainforests is widely assumed to reflect adaptation in response to the distinct ecological challenges of this habitat (e.g. high levels of heat and humidity, high pathogen load, low food availability, and dense forest structure), yet few precise adaptive benefits of this phenotype have been proposed. Here, we describe and test a biomechanical model of how the rainforest environment can alter gait kinematics such that short stature is advantageous in dense habitats. We hypothesized that environmental constraints on step length in rainforests alter walking mechanics such that taller individuals are expected to walk more slowly due to their inability to achieve preferred step lengths in the rainforest. We tested predictions from this model with experimental field data from two short-statured populations that regularly forage in the rainforest: the Batek of Peninsular Malaysia and the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon. In accordance with model expectations, we found stature-dependent constraints on step length in the rainforest and concomitant reductions in walking speed that are expected to compromise foraging efficiency. These results provide the first evidence that the human pygmy phenotype is beneficial in terms of locomotor performance and highlight the value of applying laboratory-derived biomechanical models to field settings for testing evolutionary hypotheses.
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Law, Bradley S. "The diet of the common blossom bat (Syconycteris australis) in upland tropical rainforest and the importance of riparian areas." Wildlife Research 28, no. 6 (2001): 619. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr00058.
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The diet of the common blossom bat (Syconycteris australis) was investigated in upland rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands. Faeces or fur pollen samples from 62 S. australis and feeding observations on 5 captive and 10 radio-tagged bats were collected. Syconycteris australis fed on blossoms from at least 18 plant species found in rainforests (plus unidentified species of Loranthaceae), 2 species from non-rainforest communities and from flowers of the cultivated banana (Musa sp.) grown on farms. Rainforest plants included 13 species of trees, 1 shrub and 4 climbers. Myrtaceae was the most important family contributing to the diet of S. australis, particularly the genus Syzygium. The chiropterophilus flower syndrome was only partly useful as a predictor of the diet of S. australis in these forests. Fruit was also eaten, being most common in the diet from late summer to autumn (wet season). Twelve months of mist-netting in riparian and non-riparian rainforest found higher capture rates in riparian rainforest in spring and summer, but not during autumn or winter. It is suggested that the availability of food species (both blossom and fruit) is high in riparian rainforest during spring and summer when S. australis is most frequently caught in this habitat. Efforts to rehabilitate rainforest along degraded creeks should offer a significant conservation benefit to this small pollinator.
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Barrett, DJ, TJ Hatton, JE Ash, and MC Ball. "Transpiration by Trees From Contrasting Forest Types." Australian Journal of Botany 44, no. 3 (1996): 249. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9960249.
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Temperate rainforests and eucalypt forests of coastal south-eastern Australia are distributed differentially with aspect. Rainforests, in which Ceratopetalum apetalum D.Don and Doryphora sassafras Endl. are the dominant tree species, occur on slopes of southerly aspect and along gully bottoms, whereas eucalypt forests, dominated by Eucalyptus maculata Hook., occur on upper slopes of northerly aspect and on ridge tops. Whether transpiration rates of trees differed across the rainforest-eucalypt forest boundary on north and south facing aspects was tested by measuring stem sap flow in trees in a single catchment during winter, summer and autumn. Differences in transpiration rate by trees in these stands were due to various combinations of biological and physical factors. Firstly, mean maximum transpiration rate per tree (crown area basis) was greater in rainforest on the gully bottom where deep soil water from down-slope drainage was greater than in eucalypt forest located upslope on the northern aspect. By contrast, there was no difference between maximum transpiration rates in rainforest and eucalypt forest on the southern aspect. Variation in transpiration rate between seasons was not related to variation in surface soil moisture content (< 0.35 m depth). Secondly, transpiration rates per unit crown area in rainforest at the gully bottom were associated with higher leaf area indices than upslope on the northern aspect. However, in rainforest upslope on the southern aspect, higher transpiration rates were not associated with higher leaf area indices. Thirdly, trees in eucalypt forest maintained similar sapwood moisture contents in summer as in winter and autumn, whereas sapwood moisture contents declined in rainforest trees in summer, suggesting that eucalypts had access to water from deep within the soil profile which was unavailable to more shallow rooting rainforest trees. Fourthly, higher modal and maximal sap velocities in eucalypt trees were partly due to wider xylem vessels and resulted in faster maximum sap flow and greater daily total water use in all seasons on both aspects than in rainforest species. Finally, as atmospheric demand for water increased from winter to summer, transpiration rates were mediated by stomata1 closure as indicated by lower average midday shoot conductance to water vapour during summer than other seasons. The interaction between microenvironment, which deteimines water availability, and physiological attsibutes, which determine tree water acquisition and use, may contribute to the differential distribution of rainforest and eucalypt forest with aspect in south-eastern Australia.
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MORLEY, Sharon E., and Maria GIBSON. "Successional changes in epiphytic rainforest lichens: implications for the management of rainforest communities." Lichenologist 42, no. 3 (March 25, 2010): 311–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0024282909990570.
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AbstractWe explored lichen species richness and patterns of lichen succession on rough barked Nothofagus cunninghamii trees and on smooth barked Atherosperma moschatum trees in cool temperate rainforests in Victoria, Australia. Nothofagus cunninghamii trees from the Yarra Ranges, and A. moschatum trees from Errinundra were ranked into size classes (small, medium, large and extra-large), and differences in species richness and composition were compared between size classes for each tree species. Nothofagus cunninghamii supported a rich lichen flora (108 trees, 52 lichen species), with the largest trees supporting a significantly higher number of species, including many uncommon species. This success was attributed to varying bark texture, stand characteristics and microhabitat variations as the trees age. Atherosperma moschatum supported a comparable number of species (120 trees, 54 lichen species). Indeed on average, this host supported more lichen species than N. cunninghamii. However, successional patterns with increasing girth were not as clear for A. moschatum, possibly due to the more stable microclimate that this smooth barked host provided. Victorian cool temperate rainforests exist primarily as small, often isolated pockets within a sea of Eucalypt-dominated, fire-prone forest. Many are regenerating from past disturbance. We find that protection of Victoria's oldest rainforest pockets is crucial, as they represent sources of rare, potentially threatened lichen species, and may be acting as reservoirs for propagules for nearby ageing rainforests. Indeed, even single, large old trees have conservation importance, as they may provide exceptional microhabitats, not found elsewhere in the regenerating rainforest environment.
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Driscoll, John, and Matt Rogalsky. "David Tudor's Rainforest: An Evolving Exploration of Resonance." Leonardo Music Journal 14 (December 2004): 25–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/0961121043067415.
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Of the works of David Tudor, none would seem to be better known than Rainforest IV, his large-scale performed installation of the 1970s. Although it has received widespread and well documented public performance, Rainforest's germination in the mid-1960s in elements of Bandoneon! (1966) and its evolution over a period of 10 years, from versions I (1968), II (1968–1969), III (1972) and IV (1973) through Forest Speech (1976), have not yet been adequately assessed. This paper follows Rainforest's trajectory chronologically: Matt Rogalsky focuses on the early versions of the work, and John Driscoll describes the collaborative development of Rainforest IV.
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Álvarez-Lopeztello, Jonás, Rafael F. Del Castillo, Celerino Robles, and Laura V. Hernández-Cuevas. "Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve the growth of pioneer tree species of tropical forests on savanna and tropical rainforest soils under nursery conditions." Scientia Fungorum 51 (April 20, 2021): e1296. http://dx.doi.org/10.33885/sf.2021.51.1296.
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Background: Tropical rainforests and savannas are often spatially distributed at close distances. The combined effects of soil type and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) might contribute to explain the preference of tropical rainforest tree species for forest areas over those of savannas. However, few studies have examined such effects on pioneer tropical tree species.
Objective: Evaluate the effects of soil type and inoculation with an AMF consortium on the growth of seedlings of pioneer tree species of tropical rainforest.
Methods: A factorial 2 x 2 experiment was conducted to evaluate the role of soil type (rainforest or savanna) and native AMF consortium on growth (height and stem diameter) of four native pioneer tree seedling species under tree nursery conditions.
Results and conclusions: The highest growth was detected on rainforest soils inoculated with AMF. Uninoculated plants growing on savanna soils rendered the lowest performance. AMF inoculation could be a valuable procedure in ecological restoration projects of tropical forests.
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Stuart-Fox, Devi M., Christopher J. Schneider, Craig Moritz, and Patrick J. Couper. "Comparative phylogeography of three rainforest-restricted lizards from mid-east Queensland." Australian Journal of Zoology 49, no. 2 (2001): 119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo00092.
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Several small isolates of rainforest situated on the central eastern coast of Australia are home to a rich herpetofauna, including four endemic species of leaftail geckos (Phyllurusspp.) and two skinks (Eulamprus spp.). To examine the extent and geographic pattern of historical subdivision among isolates, we assayed mtDNA variation in two species endemic to rainforests of this region (Phyllurus ossa and Eulamprus amplus) and, for comparison, a more widespread and less specialised lizard, Carlia rhomboidalis. There is a clear genetic signature of historical changes in population size and distribution in P. ossa that is consistent with Pleistocene (or earlier) rainforest contraction and subsequent expansion. Although more pronounced in the gecko, phylogeographic structure was congruent between E. amplusand P. ossa. In contrast to the saxicolous, rainforest-restricted P. ossaand E. amplus, the rainforest-generalist species, C. rhomboidalis, does not display strong geographic population structure. The differences in genetic population structure exhibited by the three species are consistent with species-specific differences in ecology.
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Liu, Zhihao, Hong Li, Fangtao Wu, Hui Wang, Huai Chen, Qiuan Zhu, Gang Yang, et al. "Quantification of Ecosystem-Scale Methane Sinks Observed in a Tropical Rainforest in Hainan, China." Land 11, no. 2 (January 19, 2022): 154. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11020154.
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Tropical rainforest ecosystems are important when considering the global methane (CH4) budget and in climate change mitigation. However, there is a lack of direct and year-round observations of ecosystem-scale CH4 fluxes from tropical rainforest ecosystems. In this study, we examined the temporal variations in CH4 flux at the ecosystem scale and its annual budget and environmental controlling factors in a tropical rainforest of Hainan Island, China, using 3 years of continuous eddy covariance measurements from 2016 to 2018. Our results show that CH4 uptake generally occurred in this tropical rainforest, where strong CH4 uptake occurred in the daytime, and a weak CH4 uptake occurred at night with a mean daily CH4 flux of −4.5 nmol m−2 s−1. In this rainforest, the mean annual budget of CH4 for the 3 years was −1260 mg CH4 m−2 year−1. Furthermore, the daily averaged CH4 flux was not distinctly different between the dry season and wet season. Sixty-nine percent of the total variance in the daily CH4 flux could be explained by the artificial neural network (ANN) model, with a combination of air temperature (Tair), latent heat flux (LE), soil volumetric water content (VWC), atmospheric pressure (Pa), and soil temperature at −10 cm (Tsoil), although the linear correlation between the daily CH4 flux and any of these individual variables was relatively low. This indicates that CH4 uptake in tropical rainforests is controlled by multiple environmental factors and that their relationships are nonlinear. Our findings also suggest that tropical rainforests in China acted as a CH4 sink during 2016–2018, helping to counteract global warming.
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Zimmer, Heidi C., Tony D. Auld, Lesley Hughes, Catherine A. Offord, and Patrick J. Baker. "Fuel flammability and fire responses of juvenile canopy species in a temperate rainforest ecosystem." International Journal of Wildland Fire 24, no. 3 (2015): 349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf14054.
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Historically, rainforests have been considered vulnerable to fire. Recent research, however, has shown that many rainforest species can survive fire by resisting burning and by resprouting and seeding post-fire. We investigated the response of a warm temperate rainforest community to fire by burning juveniles of the dominant canopy tree species (Doryphora sassafras, Syzygium smithii and Wollemia nobilis) and examining litter flammability in a controlled environment. The three species resprouted after the experimental burn, predominantly from buds on the stem that were below the soil surface. Higher fire temperatures resulted in reduced overall plant height and resprouting from buds lower on the stem. Increasing proportions of W. nobilis litter generated fires with higher intensities and fuel consumption compared with rainforest angiosperm litter. Moreover, fuel moisture content decreased with increasing W. nobilis litter proportions. Higher litter flammability may result in increased likelihood of fire ignition and fire severity near W. nobilis trees, which would negatively impact the juveniles of all three rainforest species. Alternatively, after lower-temperature fires (e.g. in rainforest angiosperm litter), W. nobilis may have an advantage over the other species because of faster-growing resprouts occurring higher on the stem.
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Tejada, Julia V., John J. Flynn, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Victor Pacheco, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, and Thure E. Cerling. "Comparative isotope ecology of western Amazonian rainforest mammals." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 42 (October 5, 2020): 26263–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007440117.
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Closed-canopy rainforests are important for climate (influencing atmospheric circulation, albedo, carbon storage, etc.) and ecology (harboring the highest biodiversity of continental regions). Of all rainforests, Amazonia is the world’s most diverse, including the highest mammalian species richness. However, little is known about niche structure, ecological roles, and food resource partitioning of Amazonian mammalian communities over time. Through analyses of δ13Cbioapatite, δ13Chair, and δ15Nhair, we isotopically characterized aspects of feeding ecology in a modern western Amazonian mammalian community in Peru, serving as a baseline for understanding the evolution of Neotropical rainforest ecosystems. By comparing these results with data from equatorial Africa, we evaluated the potential influences of distinct phylogenetic and biogeographic histories on the isotopic niches occupied by mammals in analogous tropical ecosystems. Our results indicate that, despite their geographical and taxonomic differences, median δ13Cdietvalues from closed-canopy rainforests in Amazonia (−27.4‰) and equatorial Africa (−26.9‰) are not significantly different, and that the median δ13Cdietexpected for mammalian herbivores in any closed-canopy rainforest is −27.2‰. Amazonian mammals seem to exploit a narrower spectrum of dietary resources than equatorial African mammals, however, as depicted by the absence of highly negative δ13Cdietvalues previously proposed as indicative of rainforests (<−31‰). Finally, results of keratin and bioapatite δ13C indicate that the predictive power of trophic relationships, and traditional dietary ecological classifications in bioapatite-protein isotopic offset expectations, must be reconsidered.
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Ngomanda, A., A. Chepstow-Lusty, M. Makaya, C. Favier, P. Schevin, J. Maley, M. Fontugne, R. Oslisly, and D. Jolly. "Western equatorial African forest-savanna mosaics: a legacy of late Holocene climatic change?" Climate of the Past Discussions 5, no. 1 (February 9, 2009): 341–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cpd-5-341-2009.
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Abstract. Past vegetation and climate changes reconstructed using two pollen records from Lakes Maridor and Nguène, Gabon, provide new insights into the environmental history of western equatorial African rainforests during the last 4500 cal yr BP. The Lake Maridor pollen record indicates that the coastal savannas of western equatorial Africa did not exist during the mid-Holocene and instead the region was covered by evergreen rainforests. In the Lake Nguène pollen record, a rapid decline of hygrophilous evergreen rainforest occurred around 4000 cal yr BP, synchronously with grassland expansion around Lake Maridor. The establishment of coastal savannas in Gabon suggests decreasing humidity at the onset of the late Holocene. The marked reduction in evergreen rainforest and subsequent savanna expansion was associated with the colonization of secondary forests dominated by the palm, Elaeis guineensis, in the coastal region and the shrub, Alchornea cordifolia, further inland. A return to wetter climatic conditions from about 1400 cal yr BP led to the renewed spread of evergreen rainforest inland, whereas a forest-savanna mosaic still persists in the coastal region. There is no evidence to suggest that the major environmental changes observed are driven by human impact.
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de Almeida, Rafael Felipe, and Cássio van den Berg. "Biogeography of Stigmaphyllon (Malpighiaceae) and a Meta-Analysis of Vascular Plant Lineages Diversified in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforests Point to the Late Eocene Origins of This Megadiverse Biome." Plants 9, no. 11 (November 13, 2020): 1569. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants9111569.
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We investigated the biogeography of Stigmaphyllon, the second-largest lianescent genus of Malpighiaceae, as a model genus to reconstruct the age and biogeographic history of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest (BAF). Few studies to date have focused on the tertiary diversification of plant lineages in the BAFs, especially on Stigmaphyllon. Phylogenetic relationships for 24 species of Stigmaphyllon (18 ssp. From the Atlantic forest (out of 31 spp.), three spp. from the Amazon Rainforest, two spp. from the Caatinga biome, and a single species from the Cerrado biome) were inferred based on one nuclear DNA (PHYC) and two ribosomal DNA (ETS, ITS) regions using parsimony and Bayesian methods. A time-calibrated phylogenetic tree for ancestral area reconstructions was additionally generated, coupled with a meta-analysis of vascular plant lineages diversified in the BAFs. Our results show that: (1) Stigmaphyllon is monophyletic, but its subgenera are paraphyletic; (2) the most recent common ancestor of Stigmaphyllon originated in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest/Caatinga region in Northeastern Brazil ca. 26.0 Mya; (3) the genus colonized the Amazon Rainforest at two different times (ca. 22.0 and 6.0 Mya), the Caatinga biome at least four other times (ca. 14.0, 9.0, 7.0, and 1.0 Mya), the Cerrado biome a single time (ca. 15.0 Mya), and the Southern Atlantic Rainforests five times (from 26.0 to 9.0 Mya); (4) a history of at least seven expansion events connecting the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest to other biomes from 26.0 to 9.0 Mya, and (5) a single dispersion event from South America to Southeastern Asia and Oceania at 22.0 Mya via Antarctica was proposed. Compared to a meta-analysis of time-calibrated phylogenies for 64 lineages of vascular plants diversified in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforests, our results point to a late Eocene origin for this megadiverse biome.
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BATISTA G., JUVENAL E., and SCOTT A. MORI. "Two New Species of Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) from rainforest on the Caribbean slope of Panama." Phytotaxa 296, no. 1 (February 14, 2017): 41. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.296.1.2.
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Eschweilera donosoensis and Eschweilera rotundicarpa are described from the lowlands rainforest and cloud forest of the Caribbean slope of Panama. E. donosoensis is common in the lowland rainforests in the Donoso District, Colón Province and E. rotundicarpa is endemic to cloud forest in the General De División Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park, Coclé Province and also the lowland rainforest of Valle Grande in the Donoso District, Colón Province. In this paper these species are illustrated, and information on distribution, habitat, ecology, phenology and conservation status according to IUCN are provided.
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Donald, Julian, Pete Maxfield, Don Murray, and M. D. Farnon Ellwood. "How Tropical Epiphytes at the Eden Project Contribute to Rainforest Canopy Science." Sibbaldia: the International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture, no. 14 (January 17, 2017): 55–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.24823/sibbaldia.2016.188.
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Understanding the ecological patterns and ecosystem processes of tropical rainforest canopies is becoming increasingly urgent in the face of widespread deforestation. However, accessing rainforest canopies is far from simple, and performing manipulative experiments in the canopy is particularly challenging. Botanic gardens provide an ideal ‘halfway house’ between field experiments and controlled laboratory conditions. As an ideal venue for testing equipment and refining ideas, botanic gardens also provide scientists with a direct route to public engagement, and potentially to research impact. Here we describe the ‘fernarium’, an adjustable canopy research platform for the standardisation, manipulation and detailed study of epiphytic bird’s nest ferns (Asplenium nidus) at the Eden Project in Cornwall. The fernarium provides a platform not only for the scientific study of bird’s nest ferns, but for public engagement, science communication and a wider understanding of the urgent environmental issues surrounding tropical rainforests. We include some preliminary results from an experiment in which the microbial community of a fern soil at the Eden Project was found to be similar in composition to that of a fern from lowland tropical rainforest in Malaysian Borneo. This study illustrates how preliminary experiments in an indoor rainforest can inform experimentaltechniques and procedures fundamental to the scientific study of genuine rainforest canopies.
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Bergey, Christina M., Marie Lopez, Genelle F. Harrison, Etienne Patin, Jacob A. Cohen, Lluís Quintana-Murci, Luis B. Barreiro, and George H. Perry. "Polygenic adaptation and convergent evolution on growth and cardiac genetic pathways in African and Asian rainforest hunter-gatherers." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 48 (November 9, 2018): E11256—E11263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1812135115.
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Different human populations facing similar environmental challenges have sometimes evolved convergent biological adaptations, for example, hypoxia resistance at high altitudes and depigmented skin in northern latitudes on separate continents. The “pygmy” phenotype (small adult body size), characteristic of hunter-gatherer populations inhabiting both African and Asian tropical rainforests, is often highlighted as another case of convergent adaptation in humans. However, the degree to which phenotypic convergence in this polygenic trait is due to convergent versus population-specific genetic changes is unknown. To address this question, we analyzed high-coverage sequence data from the protein-coding portion of the genomes of two pairs of populations: Batwa rainforest hunter-gatherers and neighboring Bakiga agriculturalists from Uganda and Andamanese rainforest hunter-gatherers and Brahmin agriculturalists from India. We observed signatures of convergent positive selection between the rainforest hunter-gatherers across the set of genes with “growth factor binding” functions (P<0.001). Unexpectedly, for the rainforest groups, we also observed convergent and population-specific signatures of positive selection in pathways related to cardiac development (e.g., “cardiac muscle tissue development”; P=0.001). We hypothesize that the growth hormone subresponsiveness likely underlying the adult small body-size phenotype may have led to compensatory changes in cardiac pathways, in which this hormone also plays an essential role. Importantly, in the agriculturalist populations, we did not observe similar patterns of positive selection on sets of genes associated with growth or cardiac development, indicating our results most likely reflect a history of convergent adaptation to the similar ecology of rainforests rather than a more general evolutionary pattern.
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Hill, RS, and MK MacPhail. "A Fossil Flora From Rafted Plio-Pleistocene Mudstones at Regatta Point, Tasmania." Australian Journal of Botany 33, no. 5 (1985): 497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9850497.
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A Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene flora from Regatta Point on Macquarie Harbour contains pollen, cladodes, flowers and infructescences of Casuarina (s.l.), suggesting that the site of deposition was surrounded by the source plants. However, leaves and shoots of Nothofagus cunninghamii, Eucryphia, Atherosperma moschatum, Quintinia, Acacia, Lagarostrobos franklinii, Phyllocladus aspleniifolius, Podocarpus, Athrotaxis selaginoides and A. cf. cupressoides also occur, along with pollen and spores of the common rainforest species, and it can be inferred that a cool temperate rainforest was present upstream of the site of deposition. This fossil flora represents the earliest evidence to date of modern rainforest elements in Tasmania. Pollen of a number of modern sclerophyll species, including Epacridaceae, Proteaceae and Eucalyptus, is also present. The presence of a Quintinia leaf in the Regatta Point flora is evidence that some species have become extinct in Tasmania relatively recently. Extant Tasmanian rainforests evolved from more diverse Mid Tertiary rainforests, probably in response to the Late Tertiary cooling and repeated Quaternary glaciations. The same environmental vicissitudes may have also been responsible for the successful establishment of eucalypts on the west coast of Tasmania by the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene, resulting in a vegetation probably similar to that now present around Macquarie Harbour.
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Moritz, Craig. "Management for sustainability." Pacific Conservation Biology 1, no. 4 (1994): 275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc940275.
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In this, the fourth issue, we have the usual mix of reviews, essays and original research papers. Several articles address the complex issue of management for sustainability; what does this mean and how, for example, can we make use of forests without adversely affecting their biological processes and diversity? Another thought-provoking review considers the potential impacts of climate change and implications for conservation policy and planning. The research papers include one on rainforest expansion and another on the use of rainforest fragments by fauna; each of these is relevant to the management of tropical rainforests in north Queensland.
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Wang, Bo, Gongle Shi, Chunpeng Xu, Robert A. Spicer, Vincent Perrichot, Alexander R. Schmidt, Kathrin Feldberg, et al. "The mid-Miocene Zhangpu biota reveals an outstandingly rich rainforest biome in East Asia." Science Advances 7, no. 18 (April 2021): eabg0625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abg0625.
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During the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum [MMCO, ~14 to 17 million years (Ma) ago], global temperatures were similar to predicted temperatures for the coming century. Limited megathermal paleoclimatic and fossil data are known from this period, despite its potential as an analog for future climate conditions. Here, we report a rich middle Miocene rainforest biome, the Zhangpu biota (~14.7 Ma ago), based on material preserved in amber and associated sedimentary rocks from southeastern China. The record shows that the mid-Miocene rainforest reached at least 24.2°N and was more widespread than previously estimated. Our results not only highlight the role of tropical rainforests acting as evolutionary museums for biodiversity at the generic level but also suggest that the MMCO probably strongly shaped the East Asian biota via the northern expansion of the megathermal rainforest biome. The Zhangpu biota provides an ideal snapshot for biodiversity redistribution during global warming.
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Rödel, Mark-Oliver, and Julian Glos. "Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa." Zoosystematics and Evolution 95, no. 1 (February 4, 2019): 15–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zse.95.31726.
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In March and April 2018 we surveyed amphibians and reptiles in two Proposed Protected Areas (PPAs) in Liberia. In the Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area (KBPPA) in eastern Liberia 36 species of amphibians and 13 species of reptiles were recorded. In the Foya Proposed Protected Area (FPPA) in western Liberia 39 species of amphibians and 10 species of reptiles were recorded. The encountered herpetological communities in both sites were typical for West African rainforests. However, some species indicated disturbances, in particular at the edges of the study areas, the surrounding villages and plantations, and old artisanal gold mining sites within forests. Of particular conservation interest was the discovery of a high percentage of typical rainforest specialists with ranges restricted to the western part of the Upper Guinea rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Outstanding discoveries in KBPPA were two new species of puddle frogs, and the first country record for the arboreal, parachuting lizardHolaspisguentheri. Remarkable records in FPPA comprise a new species of stiletto snake, a new puddle frog and records of various frog species typically breeding in undisturbed rainforest streams, such asOdontobatrachusnatatorandConrauaalleni. Both study areas comprise an important proportion of the remaining rainforests in the Upper Guinea forest zone. The new discoveries indicate that within this biogeographic area, southeastern and western Liberian rainforest may still hold various undiscovered species and species of conservation concern. Further surveys in KBPPA and FPPA and nearby forests should clarify the distribution and conservation status of the new taxa.This study also emphasizes that the western part of the Liberian forests comprise at least partly a herpetofauna which differs from that of the East of the country. The recorded threatened amphibian species are all specialized on relatively undisturbed rainforests and they all have only small geographic ranges. The remaining parts of undisturbed or little disturbed forests thus have high importance for the long-term survival of these species. In conclusion the study areas have a high conservation potential and should be urgently protected from any further forest loss degradation and uncontrolled hunting.
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James, Annette A. "Rainforest." Journal of Environment Quality 33, no. 4 (2004): 1579—a. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq2004.1579a.
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McIntosh, Peter D., James L. Hardcastle, Tobias Klöffel, Martin Moroni, and Talitha C. Santini. "Can Carbon Sequestration in Tasmanian “Wet” Eucalypt Forests Be Used to Mitigate Climate Change? Forest Succession, the Buffering Effects of Soils, and Landscape Processes Must Be Taken into Account." International Journal of Forestry Research 2020 (July 30, 2020): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/6509659.
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Small areas of the wetter parts of southeast Australia including Tasmania support high-biomass “wet” eucalypt forests, including “mixed” forests consisting of mature eucalypts up to 100 m high with a rainforest understorey. In Tasmania, mixed forests transition to lower biomass rainforests over time. In the scientific and public debate on ways to mitigate climate change, these forests have received attention for their ability to store large amounts of carbon (C), but the contribution of soil C stocks to the total C in these two ecosystems has not been systematically researched, and consequently, the potential of wet eucalypt forests to serve as long-term C sinks is uncertain. This study compared soil C stocks to 1 m depth at paired sites under rainforest and mixed forests and found that there was no detectable difference of mean total soil C between the two forest types, and on average, both contained about 200 Mg·ha−1 of C. Some C in subsoil under rainforests is 3000 years old and retains a chemical signature of pyrogenic C, detectable in NMR spectra, indicating that soil C stocks are buffered against the effects of forest succession. The mean loss of C in biomass as mixed forests transition to rainforests is estimated to be about 260 Mg·ha−1 over a c. 400-year period, so the mature mixed forest ecosystem emits about 0.65 Mg·ha−1·yr−1 of C during its transition to rainforest. For this reason and because of the risk of forest fires, setting aside large areas of wet eucalypt forests as reserves in order to increase landscape C storage is not a sound strategy for long-term climate change mitigation. Maintaining a mosaic of managed native forests, including regenerating eucalypts, mixed forests, rainforests, and reserves, is likely to be the best strategy for maintaining landscape C stocks.
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Tang, Y., S. L. Boulter, and R. L. Kitching. "Heat and smoke effects on the germination of seeds from soil seed banks across forest edges between subtropical rainforest and eucalypt forest at Lamington National Park, south-eastern Queensland, Australia." Australian Journal of Botany 51, no. 3 (2003): 227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt02091.
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Physical changes and flows of energy at the interface between two contrasting ecosystems affect the distribution of species across the ecotone. The maintenance and stability of the, often abrupt, transition between Australian rainforest and non-rainforests is often attributed to fire. We use pre-germination treatments of smoke and heat on soil seed bank samples to determine plant distributions across the edge between subtropical rainforest and an adjacent eucalypt-dominated wet sclerophyll forest. Soil seed bank collections at 15 m within the eucalypt forest had both significantly higher density and diversity of seedlings than those at 30 m, at the edge itself or at any site within the rainforest. This response was most apparent when a pre-germination smoke treatment was applied. We suggest that smoke is an important germination trigger for species regenerating at this interface. Our results confirm the importance of fire in determining and maintaining the nature of this ecotone.
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Jones, C. E., J. R. Hopkins, and A. C. Lewis. "In situ measurements of isoprene and monoterpenes within a south-east Asian tropical rainforest." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 11, no. 14 (July 19, 2011): 6971–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6971-2011.
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Abstract. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted from tropical rainforests comprise a substantial fraction of global atmospheric VOC emissions, however there are only relatively limited measurements of these species in tropical rainforest regions. We present observations of isoprene, α-pinene, camphene, Δ-3-carene, γ-terpinene and limonene, as well as oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) of biogenic origin such as methacrolein, in ambient air above a tropical rainforest in Malaysian Borneo during the Oxidant and Particle Photochemical Processes above a south-east Asian tropical rainforest (OP3) project in 2008. Daytime composition was dominated by isoprene, with an average mixing ratio of the order of ~1 ppb. γ-terpinene, limonene and camphene were the most abundant monoterpenes, with average daytime mixing ratios of 102, 71 and 66 ppt respectively, and with an average monoterpene toisoprene ratio of 0.3 during sunlit hours, compared to 2.0 at night. Limonene and camphene abundances were seen to be related to both temperature and light conditions. In contrast, γ-terpinene emission continued into the late afternoon/evening, under relatively low temperature and light conditions. The contributions of isoprene, monoterpenes and other classes of VOC to the volatile carbon budget and OH reactivity have been summarised for this rainforest location. We observe good agreement between surface and aircraft measurements of boundary layer isoprene and methacrolein above the natural rainforest, suggesting that the ground-level observations are broadly representative of isoprene emissions from this region.
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Trouvé, Raphael, Ruizhu Jiang, Melissa Fedrigo, Matt D. White, Sabine Kasel, Patrick J. Baker, and Craig R. Nitschke. "Combining Environmental, Multispectral, and LiDAR Data Improves Forest Type Classification: A Case Study on Mapping Cool Temperate Rainforests and Mixed Forests." Remote Sensing 15, no. 1 (December 22, 2022): 60. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15010060.
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Predictive vegetation mapping is an essential tool for managing and conserving high conservation-value forests. Cool temperate rainforests (Rainforest) and cool temperate mixed forests (Mixed Forest, i.e., rainforest spp. overtopped by large remnant Eucalyptus trees) are threatened forest types in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Logging of these forest types is prohibited; however, the surrounding native Eucalyptus forests can be logged in some areas of the landscape. This requires accurate mapping and delineation of these vegetation types. In this study, we combine niche modelling, multispectral imagery, and LiDAR data to improve predictive vegetation mapping of these two threatened ecosystems in southeast Australia. We used a dataset of 1586 plots partitioned into four distinct forest types that occur in close proximity in the Central Highlands: Eucalyptus, Tree fern, Mixed Forest, and Rainforest. We calibrated our model on a training dataset and validated it on a spatially distinct testing dataset. To avoid overfitting, we used Bayesian regularized multinomial regression to relate predictors to our four forest types. We found that multispectral predictors were able to distinguish Rainforest from Eucalyptus forests due to differences in their spectral signatures. LiDAR-derived predictors were effective at discriminating Mixed Forest from Rainforest based on forest structure, particularly LiDAR predictors based on existing domain knowledge of the system. For example, the best predictor of Mixed Forest was the presence of Rainforest-type understorey overtopped by large Eucalyptus crowns, which is effectively aligned with the regulatory definition of Mixed Forest. Environmental predictors improved model performance marginally, but helped discriminate riparian forests from Rainforest. However, the best model for classifying forest types was the model that included all three classes of predictors (i.e., spectral, structural, and environmental). Using multiple data sources with differing strengths improved classification accuracy and successfully predicted the identity of 88% of the plots. Our study demonstrated that multi-source methods are important for capturing different properties of the data that discriminate ecosystems. In addition, the multi-source approach facilitated adding custom metrics based on domain knowledge which in turn improved the mapping of high conservation-value forest.
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Lan, Guoyu, Chuan Yang, Zhixiang Wu, Rui Sun, Bangqian Chen, and Xicai Zhang. "Network complexity of rubber plantations is lower than tropical forests for soil bacteria but not for fungi." SOIL 8, no. 1 (March 2, 2022): 149–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-149-2022.
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Abstract. Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. Past research has examined the effects of forest conversion on soil microbial composition and diversity, but it remains unknown how networks within these communities respond to forest conversion, including when tropical rainforests are replaced with rubber plantations. Microbial networks are viewed as critical indicators of soil health and quality. They consist of two parts: nodes and edges. In this study, we used data from Illumina sequencing and shotgun metagenome sequencing to analyze bacterial and fungal community network structure in a large number of soil samples from tropical rainforests and rubber plantation sites on Hainan Island, China. Our results showed that only 5 %–10 % of shared network edges (i.e., links between species A and B existing in both rubber plantations and rainforests) were observed in both bacterial and fungal communities, which indicates that forest conversion altered the soil microbial network structure. The identity of keystone operational taxonomic units (OTUs) differed entirely between rubber plantation and rainforest sites, further underscoring the altered network structure. More edges and more negative correlations within the soil bacterial–fungal networks were observed at rubber plantation sites (dry season: 4284 total edges, 844 negative; rainy season: 7257 total edges, 1744 negative) than at rainforest sites (dry season: 3650 total edges, 149 negative; rainy season: 6018 total edges, 489 negative), demonstrating that soil bacterial–fungal network structure was more complex and stable in rubber plantations than in rainforests. For bacteria, a larger number of network edges were observed among bacterial networks in samples from tropical rainforest than in samples from rubber plantations, indicating that rainforest bacterial networks were more complex than those from rubber plantations. However, soil fungal networks from rubber plantations showed more links, suggesting that forest conversion increased fungal network complexity. More edges of network and more links between species and functions were observed in the rainy season than in the dry season, indicating that seasonal changes had a strong effect on network structure and function. Further analysis shows that soil pH, potassium (AK), and total nitrogen (TN) had more links with species of some phyla. In conclusion, forest conversion results in an increase in soil pH as well as a decrease in AK and TN, and these changes as well as seasonal variations had a great impact on soil microbial composition, network structure and function.
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Palmer, Carol, Owen Price, and Christine Bach. "Foraging ecology of the black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) in the seasonal tropics of the Northern Territory, Australia." Wildlife Research 27, no. 2 (2000): 169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr97126.
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Pteropus alecto uses landscape patchiness at two scales: firstly, between broad vegetation types (i.e. eucalypt open forest/savanna woodland versus rainforest vegetation); secondly, within vegetation types. Radio-collared Pteropus alecto selected foraging sites that were richer in flower or fruit resources than floristically similar sites and moved through the landscape in response to the flowering and fruiting of a number of plant species occurring in different vegetation types. Abundance of P. alecto within four monitored rainforest patches and the outside vegetation fluctuated substantially during the study. Overall, P. alecto was more abundant in the rainforests than in the surrounding vegetation. P. alecto foraged on the flowers and fruit from 23 species in 11 families.
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Toberman, Hannah, Chengrong Chen, and Zhihong Xu. "Rhizosphere effects on soil nutrient dynamics and microbial activity in an Australian tropical lowland rainforest." Soil Research 49, no. 7 (2011): 652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sr11202.
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Via vast exchanges of energy, water, carbon, and nutrients, tropical forests are a major driving force in the regulation of Earth’s biogeochemical, hydrological, and climatic cycles. Given the critical role of rhizosphere processes in nutrient cycling, it is likely that rhizosphere processes in tropical rainforests form a major component of the biome’s interactions with global cycles. Little is known, however, about rhizospheric processes in rainforest soils. In order to investigate the influence of rhizosphere processes upon rainforest nutrient cycling, we compared the nutrient status and microbial activity of rhizospheric soil from Australian lowland tropical rainforest with that of the surrounding bulk soil. We found a marked difference in the biological and chemical nature of the rhizosphere and bulk soils. Total carbon, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, soluble nitrogen, and a suite of trace element concentrations, alongside microbial respiration and the rate and diversity of carbon substrate use, were all significantly higher in the rhizosphere soil than the bulk soil. Rhizosphere soil δ15N was significantly lower than that of the bulk soil. Ratios of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur differed significantly between the rhizosphere and bulk soil. These clear differences suggest that rhizosphere processes strongly influence nutrient cycling in lowland tropical rainforest, and are likely to play an important role in its interaction with global cycles. This role may be under-represented with composite sampling of rhizosphere and bulk soil. Further research is required regarding the mechanisms of rainforest rhizospheric processes and their relationship with ecosystem productivity, stability, and environmental change.
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Kasmiatun, Kasmiatun, Rizky Nazarreta, and Damayanti Buchori. "Keanekaragaman dan komposisi kumbang elaterid (Coleoptera: Elateridae) di kawasan hutan hujan tropis Taman Nasional Bukit Duabelas dan Hutan Harapan, Jambi." Jurnal Entomologi Indonesia 17, no. 1 (April 29, 2020): 33. http://dx.doi.org/10.5994/jei.17.1.33.
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<p>Jambi province is one of the regions in Indonesia that has tropical rainforests with different landscape characteristics in each region. Tropical rainforests contain the highest biodiversity in the world and as a habitat for various types of flora and fauna, including elaterid beetles. Elaterid beetles have an important role as ecological bioindicators. The aim of this research was to study the diversity and species composition of elaterid beetle in two different landscape types. Insect sampling was carried out in Jambi Province on two tropical rainforest landscape, i.e. Bukit Duabelas National Park (TNBD) and Harapan Rainforest. Elaterid beetles were collected by canopy fogging method in the morning. Each landscape consists of four core plots and each core plot consist of three as subplot, total subplots observed in both landscape were 24 subplots. A total of 2069 individuals of elaterid beetles were collected, belonging to 6 subfamilies, 23 genera, and 59 morphospecies. The abundance of elaterid beetles was higher in Harapan Rainforest, while species richness was higher in TNBD landscape. Species dominant in two landscape consist to subfamily Agrypninae, belonging to genera <em>Adelocera </em>with morphospecies <em>Adelocera </em>sp.01. The result of this research showed that landscape differences influencing the composition and abundance of elaterid beetles, but it does not influence in species richness of elaterid beetles.</p>
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Garcin, Yannick, Pierre Deschamps, Guillemette Ménot, Geoffroy de Saulieu, Enno Schefuß, David Sebag, Lydie M. Dupont, et al. "Early anthropogenic impact on Western Central African rainforests 2,600 y ago." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 13 (February 26, 2018): 3261–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1715336115.
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A potential human footprint on Western Central African rainforests before the Common Era has become the focus of an ongoing controversy. Between 3,000 y ago and 2,000 y ago, regional pollen sequences indicate a replacement of mature rainforests by a forest–savannah mosaic including pioneer trees. Although some studies suggested an anthropogenic influence on this forest fragmentation, current interpretations based on pollen data attribute the ‘‘rainforest crisis’’ to climate change toward a drier, more seasonal climate. A rigorous test of this hypothesis, however, requires climate proxies independent of vegetation changes. Here we resolve this controversy through a continuous 10,500-y record of both vegetation and hydrological changes from Lake Barombi in Southwest Cameroon based on changes in carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes. δ13C-inferred vegetation changes confirm a prominent and abrupt appearance of C4 plants in the Lake Barombi catchment, at 2,600 calendar years before AD 1950 (cal y BP), followed by an equally sudden return to rainforest vegetation at 2,020 cal y BP. δD values from the same plant wax compounds, however, show no simultaneous hydrological change. Based on the combination of these data with a comprehensive regional archaeological database we provide evidence that humans triggered the rainforest fragmentation 2,600 y ago. Our findings suggest that technological developments, including agricultural practices and iron metallurgy, possibly related to the large-scale Bantu expansion, significantly impacted the ecosystems before the Common Era.
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Somavilla, Alexandre, Raimundo Nonato Martins de Moraes Junior, and José Albertino Rafael. "Is the social wasp fauna in the tree canopy different from the understory? Study of a particular area in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest." Sociobiology 66, no. 1 (April 25, 2019): 179. http://dx.doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v66i1.3568.
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Most studies about the insect community in rainforests only focus on the forest understory, and even though the rainforest canopy is one of the most fascinating and diverse environments, it remains poorly explored. Therefore, we analyzed the difference between the social wasp composition in these two strata at the ZF-2 Station in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, using flight interception traps (Malaise model Gressi and Gressi), in the rainforest understory and canopy. We collected ninety-two species belonging to 18 genera; Polybia was the richest genera (22 species), followed by Mischocyttarus (14) and Agelaia (13). Forty-four species were exclusively collected in the understory, twenty exclusively collected in the canopy, and twenty-eight in both strata. The understory was distinctly more diverse and more abundant than the canopy, while some rare or poorly collected species were only found in the canopy. We found a strong relationship between the species composition at the ZF-2 Station and the Ducke Reserve. Therefore, we suggest using traps in canopy in the Amazon biome as an effective method for collecting a higher diversity of social wasps.
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Hu, Xuan, Qi Shu, Wen Guo, Zean Shang, and Lianghua Qi. "Secondary Succession Altered the Diversity and Co-Occurrence Networks of the Soil Bacterial Communities in Tropical Lowland Rainforests." Plants 11, no. 10 (May 19, 2022): 1344. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants11101344.
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The characteristics of plant and soil bacterial communities in forest ecosystems have been reported, but our understanding of the relationship between plant communities and soil bacteria in different stages of secondary tropical rainforest succession is still poor. In June 2018, three different natural successional stages of tropical lowland rainforests, early (33 years), early-mid (60 years), and mid successional stage (73 years), in Hainan Island, China, were selected for this study. By conducting field investigation and 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing, the composition and diversity of tree communities, the niche overlap of tree species with legumes among tree species, and the diversity and composition of soil bacterial communities and co-occurrence networks within communities across the successional stages were investigated. The results showed that plant richness and species diversity increased significantly during the secondary succession of tropical lowland rainforests. The order of positive correlations between nitrogen-fixing legumes and other species in plant communities was early-mid > mid > early successional stage. Soil nutrient content and soil bacterial richness were highest in the early-mid stages of succession, followed by mid and early stages of succession. Organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), alkali nitrogen (AN), and available phosphorus (AP) had a stronger positive impact on soil bacterial communities. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that with the advancement of rainforests succession, the negative correlation between soil bacterial species decreased, and the community stability increased. Overall, as a result of tropical lowland rainforest secondary natural succession, the richness and diversity of plant communities increased, which altered the living conditions of nitrogen-fixing legumes and the soil properties, and the network complexity of soil bacterial communities increased with the rising of rainforest soil nutrient content.
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Kikkawa, Jiro, and Len Webb. "The Tropical Rain Forest: An Ecological Study." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 2 (1997): 165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970165.
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This long-awaited book would seem to mark the end of classical tropical botany and phytogeography as subjects for scholarly pursuits. Since the middle of the century, when the first edition of The Tropical Rain Forest appeared, the wet tropical lowlands of the world have become an industrial battleground and, today at the end of the "Second Millennium", the future of the remaining rainforests that have evolved over millions of years looks bleak. Indeed, the book may well become "a record of what the rainforest was like in the twentieth century", as stated on its first page. This elegiac declaration not only reflects world concern about its pending extinction, but also Professor Richards' increasingly personal involvement with rainforest conservation in his later years.
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Sanderson, Rachel. "Many Beautiful Things: Colonial Botanists' Accounts of the North Queensland Rainforests." Historical Records of Australian Science 18, no. 1 (2007): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/hr07004.
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Colonial botanists played an important role in both elucidating and reshaping the nature of the North Queensland rainforests between 1860 and 1915. The Government Botanist of Victoria, Ferdinand von Mueller, was the first to begin to document the plant life of North Queensland. In 1859, on separation from New South Wales, Queensland's first Colonial Botanist was appointed to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens; this role was filled initially by Walter Hill, then by Frederick Manson Bailey.They were based at a distance from the northern rainforests and largely relied on local collectors to supply them with specimens that they would then identify, name and describe. They were also part of a network that assisted in the introduction of plants to North Queensland from other tropical locations for acclimatization purposes, and they worked to promote the development of tropical agriculture in the region. Colonial botanists not only promoted the settlement of rainforest areas and utilization of rainforest species, they also recorded and commented on the associated processes of environmental change that they observed.
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Houston, Wayne A., and Alistair Melzer. "Dry rainforests have a distinct and more diverse assemblage of epigaeic invertebrates than eucalypt woodlands: implications for ecosystem health monitoring." Pacific Conservation Biology 18, no. 2 (2012): 133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc120133.
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Dry rainforests have a disproportionately higher diversity of plant species than the eucalypt woodlands that dominate Australian landscapes. While several endemic vertebrate species have been found in dry rainforests, their values for invertebrate fauna are relatively poorly known. Epigaeic invertebrates of four patches of dry rainforests in Queensland were annually compared to those of nearby eucalypt woodlands using pitfall traps between 1998 and 2002. Dry rainforests had significantly greater Order-level richness, lower dominance, fewer invertebrates and a different assemblage. Invertebrate composition was characterized by typically shelter- or moisture-requiring taxa, such as earwigs, pseudoscorpions, gastropods, millipedes, isopods, Diplura and Symphyla. This may reflect the greater prevalence of moister microhabitats in dry rainforests in comparison to woodlands. Coinciding with several years of low dry season rainfall, invertebrate abundance declined in dry rainforests but not woodlands, indicating that dry rainforest epigaeic fauna may be more sensitive to reduced soil moisture compared with woodland fauna. This may reflect differences of some taxa in evolutionary lineage or the mediation of vegetation phenology and differences in drought susceptibility of the two vegetation types. Importantly, the study provides evidence that faunal assemblages of drier rainforests may be more vulnerable to tipping points associated with droughts and changing rainfall regimes than nearby woodlands. Furthermore, it demonstrated the importance of including a range of vegetation types in any long-term monitoring programs and that an understanding of ecological responses to environmental drivers is critical to interpreting data. The relatively greater sensitivity of dry rainforest biota to droughts compared with woodlands indicates that it could provide a regional “control” for this effect.
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Kenneally, Kevin F. "Kimberley tropical monsoon rainforests of western Australia: perspectives on biological diversity." Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 12, no. 1 (July 20, 2018): 149–228. http://dx.doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v12.i1.927.
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There are more than 1,500 patches of monsoon rainforest, totaling 7,000 hectares, scattered across 170,000 square km of the tropical Kimberley region of Western Australia. They are small, isolated and embedded within a mosaic of mostly flammable eucalypt savanna woodlands. The status and condition of Kimberley monsoon rainforest biodiversity are assessed based on geographically comprehensive survey data from a total of 100 sites and opportunistic collecting in many others. Monsoon rainforests are rich in species not found in the region’s other vegetation communities. Most rainforests and their associated faunal assemblages are not currently reserved and many of the survey sites were found to be severely disturbed by fire and introduced feral cattle. The disturbance impact of fires, introduced animals and weeds is shown to apply generally across the three major forms of land tenure operating in the Kimberley; namely, Aboriginal land (including Indigenous Protected Areas), Crown land (including pastoral leasehold), and national parks and reserves. The implications of these disturbance factors on the conservation and management practices of monsoon rainforest patches in the region are considered. It is concluded that conservation of patches requires active fire and feral animal management. Equally, however, the long-term genetic viability of these small scattered patches and populations requires effective conservation at the landscape scale. Mounting evidence of the Kimberley as a historical and significant center of refugia warrants action from scientists, governments, conservation agencies, Indigenous landholders as well as local communities to protect and conserve its unique biota and the processes responsible for generating and sustaining it.
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Clay, RE, and AN Andersen. "Ant Fauna of a Mangrove Community in the Australian Seasonal Tropics, With Particular Reference to Zonation." Australian Journal of Zoology 44, no. 5 (1996): 521. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9960521.
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The ant fauna of Australia's tropical rainforests is composed primarily of Indo-Malayan taxa, and is remarkably disjunct from the surrounding savanna ant fauna, which is dominated by autochthonous, arid-adapted species. Mangrove communities, which like the rainforests have closed canopies, are major components of the Australian tropics; however, their ant faunas remain poorly known, despite ants being the dominant insect group in them. This paper describes the ant fauna of a mangrove community in Darwin Harbour, and compares it with the regional savanna and rainforest fauna. Ants were sampled at baits located on the ground, foliage, and tree trunks, along three transects following the elevation/tidal gradient. Sixteen ant species were recorded in mangroves, including three savanna species, six rainforest species (one, Monomorium ?turneri, not previously recorded in Northern Territory), five habitat generalists, and two species restricted to mangroves, Polyrhachis constricta and P. sokolova, which remarkably nest in intertidal sediments and are subject to inundation. Species of Crematogaster and Polyrhachis were most abundant, and Polyrhachis was the richest genus with six species. The biogeographical affinities of the ant fauna were very similar to those of local rainforest faunas, but with a higher incidence (50%) of obligately arboreal species. Five of the Polyrhachis species occurred in distinct zones along the elevational/tidal gradient, thus exhibiting the zonation so characteristic of mangrove plant species, although the ant zonation did not appear to be mediated by floristic changes. Potential causes of this zonation are both abiotic and biotic, but their relative importances remain a matter of conjecture.
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Jones, C. E., J. R. Hopkins, and A. C. Lewis. "In situ measurements of isoprene and monoterpenes within a South-East Asian tropical rainforest." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 11, no. 1 (January 17, 2011): 1189–218. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-11-1189-2011.
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Abstract. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted from tropical rainforests comprise a substantial fraction of global atmospheric VOC emissions, however there are only relatively limited measurements of these species in tropical rainforest regions. We present observations of isoprene, α-pinene, camphene, Δ-3-carene, γ-terpinene and limonene, and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) of biogenic origin such as methacrolein, in ambient air above a~tropical rainforest in Malaysian Borneo. Daytime composition was dominated by isoprene, with an average mixing ratio of the order of ~1 ppb. γ-terpinene, limonene and camphene were the most abundant monoterpenes, with average daytime mixing ratios of 102, 71 and 66 ppt, respectively, and with an average monoterpene to isoprene ratio of 0.3 during sunlight hours, compared to 2.0 at night. Limonene and camphene abundances were seen to be related to both temperature and light conditions. In contrast, γ-terpinene emission occurred into the late afternoon/evening, under relatively low temperature and light conditions. We observe good agreement between surface and aircraft measurements of boundary layer isoprene and methacrolein above the natural rainforest, suggesting that the ground-level observations are broadly representative of isoprene emissions from this region.
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Melick, DR, and DH Ashton. "The Effects of Natural Disturbances on Warm Temperate Rain-Forests in South-Eastern Australia." Australian Journal of Botany 39, no. 1 (1991): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9910001.
Full textAbstract:
The effects of fire, flood and landslide disturbance on the floristics and structure of some warm temperate rainforests in East Gippsland were investigated from 1983 to 1989. Subcommunities within these forests were delineated by the numerical analyses of floristic data. In moister sites, relatively undisturbed rainforest is dominated by Acmena smithii in association with Acronychia oblongifolia and Rapanea howittiana together with numerous vines and ferns. The size-class distributions of the major tree species indicate that these forests are regenerating. In riparian habitats, Tristaniopsis laurina tends to dominate due to its greater flood resistance whereas Pittosporum undulatum becomes prominent in edaphically drier sites. Within burnt rainforest A. smithii and T. laurina have regenerated vegetatively but P. undulatum has been eliminated. In adjacent wet sclerophyll forest subsequent invasion by rainforest seedlings has occurred. In gorges, landslides may cause disturbance to various degrees and subsequent colonisation is dependent upon both the site and the matrix of the material transposed. The status of the various subcommunities is discussed in terms of the environmental gradients present, the modes of regeneration and the types of primary and secondary successions initiated by the disturbances.