An Amazonian forest and its fragments as a laboratory of global change

Laurance, WF; Camargo, JLC; Fearnside, PM; Lovejoy, TE; Williamson, GB; Mesquita, RCG; Meyer, Christoph FJ; Bobrowiec, PED; Cohn-Haft, M; Laurance, SGW

Abstract

We synthesize findings from the world’s largest and longest-running experimental study of habitat fragmentation, in central Amazonia. Over the past 36 years, 11 forest fragments ranging from 1 ha to 100 ha in size have experienced a wide array of ecological changes. Edge effects have been a dominant driver of fragment dynamics, strongly affecting forest microclimate, tree mortality, carbon storage and fauna. The matrix of vegetation surrounding fragments has changed markedly over time (evolving from large cattle pastures to mosaics of abandoned pasture and secondary regrowth forest), and this, in turn, has strongly influenced the dynamics of fragments and faunal communities. Both rare weather events and apparent global-change drivers have significantly influenced forest structure and dynamics across the entire study area, both in forest fragments and in nearby intact forest. Such large-scale drivers are likely to interact synergistically with habitat fragmentation.

Citation

Laurance, W., Camargo, J., Fearnside, P., Lovejoy, T., Williamson, G., Mesquita, R., …Laurance, S. An Amazonian forest and its fragments as a laboratory of global change

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Online Publication Date: Nov 11, 2016
• Publication Date: Nov 11, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 10, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 12, 2018
• Series Title: Ecological Studies
• Series Number: 227
• Book Title: Interactions Between Biosphere, Atmosphere and Human Land Use in the Amazon Basin
• ISBN: 9783662499023
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49902-3_17
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49902-3_17
• Related Public URLs: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783662499009
• Additional Information: Funders : National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA);Smithsonian Institution;US National Science Foundation;Brazilian Science Foundation (CNPq);Amazonian State Science Foundation (FAPEAM);NASA-LBA programme;USAID;Mellon Foundation;Blue Moon Fund;Marisla Foundation