Browsing by Autor "Renate Seidel"

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Beta‐diversity in temperate and tropical forests reflects dissimilar mechanisms of community assembly
(Wiley, 2012) Jonathan A. Myers; Jonathan M. Chase; Iván Jiménez; Peter M. Jørgensen; Alejandro Araujo‐Murakami; Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana; Renate Seidel
Site-to-site variation in species composition (β-diversity) generally increases from low- to high-diversity regions. Although biogeographical differences in community assembly mechanisms may explain this pattern, random sampling effects can create this pattern through differences in regional species pools. Here, we compared assembly mechanisms between spatially extensive networks of temperate and tropical forest plots with highly divergent species pools (46 vs. 607 species). After controlling for sampling effects, β-diversity of woody plants was similar and higher than expected by chance in both forests, reflecting strong intraspecific aggregation. However, different mechanisms appeared to explain aggregation in the two forests. In the temperate forest, aggregation reflected stronger environmental correlations, suggesting an important role for species-sorting (e.g. environmental filtering) processes, whereas in the tropics, aggregation reflected stronger spatial correlations, more likely reflecting dispersal limitation. We suggest that biogeographical differences in the relative importance of different community assembly mechanisms contribute to these striking gradients in global biodiversity.
Herb assemblage dynamics over seven years in different cocoa production systems
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2022) Luis Marconi; Renate Seidel; Laura Armengot
Spatial patterns of above-ground structure, biomass and composition in a network of six Andean elevation transects
(Taylor & Francis, 2013) Cécile Girardin; William Farfán-Ríos; Karina García; Kenneth J. Feeley; Peter M. Jørgensen; Alejandro Araujo Murakami; Leslie Cayola Pérez; Renate Seidel; Narel Paniagua; A C.
Background: The Amazon to Andes transition zone provides large expanses of relatively pristine forest wilderness across environmental gradients. Such elevational gradients are an excellent natural laboratory for establishing long-term interactions between forest ecosystems and environmental parameters, which is valuable for understanding ecosystem responses to environmental change. Aims: This study presents data on elevational trends of forest structure (biomass, basal area, height, stem density), species richness, and composition from six elevational transects in the Andes. Methods: We analysed the spatial patterns of forest structure, above-ground biomass and composition from 76 permanent plots, ranging from lowland Amazonian rain forest to high-elevation cloud forests in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Results: Forest above-ground woody biomass stocks ranged from 247 Mg ha−1 (Peru, 210 m) to 86 Mg ha−1 (Peru, 3450 m), with significantly decreasing trends of tree height and biomass and an increasing trend of stem density with increasing elevation. We observed an increase in forest richness at three taxonomic levels at mid-elevation, followed by a decrease in richness within the cloud immersion zone. Conclusions: The transects show an increase in stem density, a decline in tree height and above-ground coarse wood biomass and a hump-shaped trend in species richness with increasing elevation. These results suggest that environmental change could lead to significant shifts in the properties of these ecosystems over time.