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Forests
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Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Forests: Structure, Species Richness and Regeneration
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Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Forests: Structure, Species Richness and Regeneration

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 November 2024 | Viewed by 4162

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Milton Marques Fernandes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forest Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n, São Cristóvão 49100-000, SE, Brazil
Interests: nutrient cycling; forest ecology
Prof. Dr. Henrique Machado Dias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Postgraduate Programme in Forest Sciences, Forestry and Wood Sciences Department, Jerônimo Monteiro Campus, Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Jerônimo Monteiro 29550-000, ES, Brazil
Interests: forest ecology; environment and sustainable development; park planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tropical forests have the greatest biodiversity in the world. However, intense deforestation processes occur, generating numerous secondary forests. Understanding how this ecological dynamic of tropical forests, in a landscape dominated by forest fragments, affects forest structure, species richness and natural regeneration is crucial for the survival and biological integrity of tropical forests. Current studies are increasingly demonstrating the non-existence of primary forests and that tropical forests require actions such as ecological restoration, creation of ecological corridors and protection of large forest remnants. Tropical forests generate a series of ecosystem services such as pollination, seed dispersal, carbon sequestration and water production that are vital for the survival of flora, fauna and humans. This Special Issue will keep researchers and other interested parties up to date on the latest developments in the field of tropical forest ecological dynamics. Those interested in tropical forest ecology and management are welcome to collaborate and share their latest results in this field.

Prof. Dr. Milton Marques Fernandes
Prof. Dr. Henrique Machado Dias
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecological restoration
  • species diversity
  • ecological succession
  • ecological groups
  • functional diversity
  • natural regeneration
  • ecological indices
  • aerial biomass
  • ecosystem services
  • forest fragmentation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 12131 KiB  
Article
Ecological Restoration Increases the Diversity of Understory Vegetation in Secondary Forests: An Evidence from 90 Years of Forest Closures
by Yuhua Ma, Fengyu Xu, Jingya Wei, Wei Wang, Zhen Wu, Duanyang Xu, Fasih Ullah Haider, Xu Li and Yan Dong
Forests 2024, 15(9), 1642; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15091642 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 963
Abstract
Ecological restoration and biodiversity are currently hot issues of global environmental concern. However, knowledge about the specific impacts of restoration duration on understory vegetation diversity remains limited. Therefore, this study comprehensive employed a spatial approach to compare the differences in understory plant diversity [...] Read more.
Ecological restoration and biodiversity are currently hot issues of global environmental concern. However, knowledge about the specific impacts of restoration duration on understory vegetation diversity remains limited. Therefore, this study comprehensive employed a spatial approach to compare the differences in understory plant diversity and species composition among secondary forests with varying ecological restoration ages (0, 10, 30, 60, and 90-year-old stands) in Huangfu Mountain National Forest Park. This methodology allowed us to clarify the key factors affecting the composition of the understory plant community and investigate the regulatory mechanisms influencing changes in understory plant diversity. The results showed that shrub Shannon’s index value, shrub evenness, herb Shannon’s index value, herb richness, and herb evenness were significantly affected by the years of restoration, with 10 years and 90 years being the highest and 60 years being the lowest. Substrate diversity was the main factor influencing plant diversity in the shrub layer. Overstory richness, soil C/N, soil C, soil N, soil bacterial Observed OTUs, soil bacterial Chao1, soil bacterial Pielou_e, and substrate diversity were the drivers of plant diversity in the herb layer. Overstory evenness had a direct effect (0.256) and an indirect effect (0.284) on herb evenness through light availability and fungal Simpson’s index value. Light availability directly negatively affected herb evenness (−0.360). In addition, 52.6% of the factors affecting the herb evenness index were from the arboreal layer evenness, light availability, and fungal Simpson’s index value. To sum up, moderate disturbance of the understory environment of natural secondary forests can be carried out after 10 years of restoration, which is more conducive to the increase of understory plant diversity. This comprehensive study provides a theoretical basis for formulating ecological restoration measures for secondary forests, particularly in understanding the optimal timing and nature of disturbance in the restoration process, reassuring the audience about the validity and reliability of the findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Forests: Structure, Species Richness and Regeneration)
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18 pages, 7099 KiB  
Article
Variation in Niche and Interspecific Associations across Elevations in Subtropical Forest Communities of the Wuyi Mountains, Southeastern China
by Jintao Hu, Zhaoliang Zheng, Xinyi Wen, Xisheng Hu, Yongming Lin, Jian Li, Jian Ni and Chengzhen Wu
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1256; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071256 - 19 Jul 2024
Viewed by 736
Abstract
Elucidating changes in the structure and function of plant communities along different elevation ranges will help researchers to analyze the strategies plant communities use in environments and processes influencing niche differentiation. The aims of this paper are to reveal the underlying mechanisms and [...] Read more.
Elucidating changes in the structure and function of plant communities along different elevation ranges will help researchers to analyze the strategies plant communities use in environments and processes influencing niche differentiation. The aims of this paper are to reveal the underlying mechanisms and ecological processes governing the development of subtropical forest ecosystem plant communities. This paper analyzes the forest vegetation of the Wuyi Mountains across the following three elevation ranges: low elevation, mid elevation, and high elevation, spanning from 560 to 2150 m. Twenty and twenty-three dominant tree and shrub layer species, respectively, were identified based on their importance values, and their niches and species associations were further analyzed based on the elevation range. The results showed interspecific associations between tree and shrub species, with the strongest associations observed at mid-elevations. The analysis of niche width and overlap showed that the number of pairs of species with a higher degree of niche overlap decreased with increasing elevation, suggesting that resource use varied at different elevations for both tree and shrub layer species, which may be related to the adaptive capacity of plants at different elevations to the environment and resource use strategies. These findings should contribute to a deeper understanding of the ecological functioning and structural framework of plant communities on Wuyi Mountain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Forests: Structure, Species Richness and Regeneration)
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17 pages, 3989 KiB  
Article
Altitudinal Variation in Species Diversity, Distribution, and Regeneration Status of a Secondary Picea Forest in Guandi Mountain, Northern China
by Mengtao Zhang, Zhuoyue Liu, Zhaohui Yang, Huanhuan Shen, Jin Wang and Xiaogang Wu
Forests 2024, 15(5), 771; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050771 - 27 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1687
Abstract
Altitude plays a crucial role in shaping the diversity and distribution of species in forest landscapes in mountainous regions. However, existing studies often lack comprehensive analysis of the intricate relationships among environmental factors, disturbances, and species diversity. This study aims to address this [...] Read more.
Altitude plays a crucial role in shaping the diversity and distribution of species in forest landscapes in mountainous regions. However, existing studies often lack comprehensive analysis of the intricate relationships among environmental factors, disturbances, and species diversity. This study aims to address this gap by thoroughly analyzing major species’ diversity, distribution, and regeneration status, along with their influencing factors, across different altitudinal gradients (1850 to 2350 m). Field surveys were conducted to examine the major species in different vegetation layers of the secondary Picea forest in Guandi Mountain. The key findings from the study include the following: (1) the study area recorded a total of nine species of adult trees, belonging to eight genera in five families, fourteen species of shrubs from eight genera in five families, and fifty-two herb species representing forty-eight genera in twenty-six families. Dominant species varied across layers, with Picea asperata Mast. and Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr. dominating the arborous layer, Lonicera ferdinandii Franch. and Cotoneaster acutifolius Turcz. in the shrub layer, and Poa pratensis L. and Duchesnea indica (Andrews.) Focke in the herb layer. (2) Altitude significantly influenced species diversity, with the most pronounced effects observed in the shrub and herb layers. (3) Tree species regeneration varied with altitude, with Picea asperata exhibiting the highest regeneration performance, particularly in the high-altitude zone (2250–2350 m). Regeneration parameters were significantly correlated with species diversity indices in both tree and shrub layers. (4) Redundancy analysis revealed that, apart from altitude, cutting (p = 0.015) influenced the species diversity of the tree layer, while annual precipitation (p = 0.006) and temperature (p = 0.01) determined the diversity of the shrub layer. Grazing (p = 0.042) was identified as a determining factor for species diversity in the herb layer. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the study area and offer practical guidance for forest management in similar mountainous landscapes worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Dynamics of Tropical Forests: Structure, Species Richness and Regeneration)
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