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Abandonment of agricultural lands promotes the global expansion of secondary forests, which are critical for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. Such roles largely depend, however, on two essential successional attributes, trajectory and recovery rate, which are expected to depend on landscape-scale forest cover in nonlinear ways. Using a multi-scale approach and a large vegetation dataset (843 plots, 3511 tree species) from 22 secondary forest chronosequences distributed across the Neotropics, we show that successional trajectories of woody plant species richness, stem density and basal area are less predictable in landscapes (4 km radius) with intermediate (40–60%) forest cover than in landscapes with high (greater than 60%) forest cover. This supports theory suggesting that high spatial and environmental heterogeneity in intermediately deforested landscapes can increase the variation of key ecological factors for forest recovery (e.g. seed dispersal and seedling recruitment), increasing the uncertainty of successional trajectories. Regarding the recovery rate, only species richness is positively related to forest cover in relatively small (1 km radius) landscapes. These findings highlight the importance of using a spatially explicit landscape approach in restoration initiatives and suggest that these initiatives can be more effective in more forested landscapes, especially if implemented across spatial extents of 1–4 km radius.

In this article, we explore why conservation schemes that have positive outcomes through the participation of local communities cannot necessarily be deemed as just. We observe that recognition (understood as inclusion and respect) of local communities’ value‐systems, a key factor towards environmental justice, is not often achieved in conservation governance. We build our argument on the authors’ extensive research on four Mexican forest areas and contrast our insights with the literature on environmental justice and conservation. All four cases are characterised by positive conservation outcomes as well as the inclusion of local communities in conservation governance, and as such are typically considered best‐practice conservation initiatives in Mexico. Yet, in all cases, our engagement with local community members leads us to believe that their value‐systems fail to be recognised in conservation governance. Three main factors appear to hinder recognition: (a) the dominant knowledge‐system underpinning conservation action prevails in legal frameworks; (b) financial resources heavily determine power relations in decision‐making, and (c) a lack of sensitiveness to local cultural norms affects local stakeholders’ capacity to communicate with external actors that design and implement conservation action. We conclude that achieving meaningful recognition of local communities’ value‐systems requires: (a) developing awareness of the structural political and economic factors impacting on decision‐making in conservation, and (b) an epistemological transformation, permeating conservation governance, in which local communities’ value‐systems are considered one of various legitimate knowledge‐systems. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Funder: Agua Salud Project, Funder: U.S. Department of Energy; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000015, Funder: CAPES; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002322, Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research-from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields. To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured. These data were collected at 61,856 globally distributed sites, spanning all major forested and non-forested biomes. The majority of trees in the database are identified to species (88%), and collectively Tallo includes data for 5163 species distributed across 1453 genera and 187 plant families. The database is publicly archived under a CC-BY 4.0 licence and can be access from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637599. To demonstrate its value, here we present three case studies that highlight how the Tallo database can be used to address a range of theoretical and applied questions in ecology-from testing the predictions of metabolic scaling theory, to exploring the limits of tree allometric plasticity along environmental gradients and modelling global variation in maximum attainable tree height. In doing so, we provide a key resource for field ecologists, remote sensing researchers and the modelling community working together to better understand the role that trees play in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.

Ecosystem service (ES) models can only inform policy design adequately if they incorporate ecological processes. We used the Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land (LPJmL) model, to address following questions for Mexico, Bolivia and Brazilian Amazon: (i) How different are C stocks and C sequestration quantifications under standard (when soil and litter C and heterotrophic respiration are not considered) and comprehensive (including all C stock and heterotrophic respiration) approach? and (ii) How does the valuation of C stock and C sequestration differ in national payments for ES and global C funds or markets when comparing both approach? We found that up to 65% of C stocks have not been taken into account by neglecting to include C stored in soil and litter, resulting in gross underpayments (up to 500 times lower). Since emissions from heterotrophic respiration of organic material offset a large proportion of C gained through growth of living matter, we found that markets and decision-makers are inadvertently overestimating up to 100 times C sequestrated. New approaches for modelling C services relevant ecological process-based can help accounting for C in soil, litter and heterotrophic respiration and become important for the operationalization of agreements on climate change mitigation following the COP21 in 2015. Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-28T23:41:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2018056.pdf: 4636292 bytes, checksum: f0c3c2bb494dc8dc92d947d954894047 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-11-28

Global frameworks to guide consistent monitoring of changes in human–nature interactions across space and time are needed to better understand how healthy ecosystems support societies and to inform policy design. Monitoring Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESVs) can provide a comprehensive picture of how links between nature and people are changing. A first proposed set of EESV classes comprises: ecological supply, anthropogenic contribution, demand, use, instrumental values, and relational values. Development of specific indicators of these classes for three exemplary ecosystem services (food from fisheries, crop pollination and wildlife viewing) confirms their readiness for global operationalization. The EESV classes will advance our ability to monitor progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Tropical agricultural frontiers are rapidly changing and present unique opportunities to reconcile ecosystem services (ES) provision, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood maintenance of rural communities. To understand the dynamics of these frontiers, we analyzed preferences, reasons associated with importance, and spatial perceptions of ES and biodiversity in Mexico at two scales. In seven workshops and 42 interviews, participants ranked preferred ES and expressed reasons for their importance. They identified the relevant areas for ES and biodiversity. We used this data to create an index to obtain maps of perceived spatial patterns and perform a cluster analysis to identify ES bundles. A redundancy analysis highlighted the factors that help explain the spatial patterns and qualitative and quantitative methods were used to explore the reasons behind participants’ rankings of relative importance. We found two contrasting bundles at the regional scale: the natural protected area, where biodiversity is highest, and the agricultural frontier, where agricultural services were highest. At the ejido scale, ejidos whose livelihoods are mainly centered on agriculture and those that develop diverse activities were grouped. Socio-ecological factors (e.g., ejido area, PES program, and indigenous population) further distinguished ejidos focused on agricultural expansion, those dominated by marginalized local inhabitants, and those focused on forest management. The most dominant reasons underlying ES rankings include having sufficient nutritious food and economic support linked to agricultural services. We discuss the role of conservation strategies, historical government decisions, and biophysical characteristics in shaping strong trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and agriculture—and the role of voluntary local conservation initiatives and a national PES scheme in supporting opportunities to reconcile some of these trade-offs. This study demonstrates the importance of integrating local community preferences and perceptions into spatially explicit products that can be used in inclusive conservation and landscape planning approaches for tropical landscapes worldwide.

Tropical forests are converted at an alarming rate for agricultural use and pastureland, but also regrow naturally through secondary succession. For successful forest restoration, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of secondary succession. These mechanisms may vary across forest types, but analyses across broad spatial scales are lacking. Here, we analyse forest recovery using 1,403 plots that differ in age since agricultural abandonment from 50 sites across the Neotropics. We analyse changes in community composition using species-specific stem wood density (WD), which is a key trait for plant growth, survival and forest carbon storage. In wet forest, succession proceeds from low towards high community WD (acquisitive towards conservative trait values), in line with standard successional theory. However, in dry forest, succession proceeds from high towards low community WD (conservative towards acquisitive trait values), probably because high WD reflects drought tolerance in harsh early successional environments. Dry season intensity drives WD recovery by influencing the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of the community WD over time as vegetation cover builds up. These ecological insights can be used to improve species selection for reforestation. Reforestation species selected to establish a first protective canopy layer should, among other criteria, ideally have a similar WD to the early successional communities that dominate under the prevailing macroclimatic conditions.

Climate change scenarios show that water availability could be decreasing in the near future, adding to the increasing problem of the growing water demands in socioeconomic sectors. The aim of this work was to generate a geographically explicit water balance concerning availability vs. demand in an overpopulated region of Mexico. Water balance and water deficit models were made for three periods of time: 1970–2000, and two future periods of time (2041–2060 and 2061–2080). Three global climate models were used in addition to two different climate scenarios from each (Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) RCP 4.6 and RCP 8.5). Water demand for socioeconomic sectors was calculated through the water footprint. Water availability was 197,644.58 hm3/year, while that the water demand was 59,187 hm3/year. The socioeconomic sectors with the highest demand were domestic services (48%), agriculture (27%), livestock agriculture (20%), and timber production (5%). The highest water availability areas were not the same as those with the highest demand and vice versa. However, 39% of municipalities had a higher water demand than its availability. A significant reduction in water availability was identified, considering an interval of -15% to 40%. This variation depends on climate models, scenarios, and period of time. Areas with overpopulated cities in the region would have higher pressure on water availability. These results could be used in the implementation of public policies by focusing on adaptation strategies to reduce water deficit in the immediate future.

Abiotic and biotic filters may play differential roles in the plant community organization along forest succession in abandoned fields. However, little is known about how life stage-specific filters influence species replacement during succession. We approach this issue by analyzing changes in community attributes (abundance, species density, species diversity, species composition) and the phylogenetic structure of shrubs and trees at different life stages during the old-field succession of a seasonally tropical dry forest (TDF) in Western Mexico. We raised two main questions: (1) How different are the trajectories of change in community attributes and phylogenetic structure along succession for shrub and tree species at different life-stages? (2) Do different stage-specific trajectories result from differential filtering mechanisms? We used a chronosequence of abandoned pastures and forest sites, classified in five successional categories (with three sites each): Pasture (< 1.5 years fallow age), Early (3.5–5.5 y), Mid (6–8 y), Advanced (13–15 y), and Old-Growth Forest. Identity and abundance of species were recorded at five life stages: seeds in the top soil layer, seedlings (plants emerged from seeds, 10–100 cm height), resprouts (plants emerging from buds in roots or stumps, 10–100 cm height), juvenile [shrubs and trees > 100 cm height and < 2.5 cm diameter at breast height (DBH)], adults (shrubs and trees with DBH ≥ 2.5 cm). Additionally, we quantified the phylogenetic mean parwise distance (MPD) among species, and analyzed the phylogenetic community structure, for each successional category and life stage. We found that early in succession the resprout stage was more abundant and diverse than the seedling stage, while the inverse occurred late in succession. Along the first 15 years of succession, the seedling stage showed a clumped phylogenetic structure (with a strong dominance of legume species), while the resprout stage tended to have an overdispersed one (with species from a wide range of clades). Also, community attributes of the juvenile and adult stages approached those of the old-growth forest, and in both stages the phylogenetic structure changed from clustered to random. Overall, our results suggest that the assembly of shrub and trees communities along succession resulted from a combination of abiotic filtering processes, operating mostly on seedlings (selecting primarily legume drought-tolerant species), and biotic filtering processes, operating mostly in resprouts (generating a taxonomic and phylogenetically diverse regenerative pool). The implications of these results for the management of secondary TDF in human modified landscapes are discussed.

We agree with Ceddia that investment can play a key role in achieving the transformative change that is necessary to reverse nature's ongoing decline. In our Review, we pointed to the large impact of extractive industries, the unequal distribution of wealth associated with trade flows, and the handful of transnational corporations that control the majority of supply chains in agriculture, fishing, logging, and mining. Changing investment in these sectors can profoundly affect the future of nature. More broadly, the impact of both public and private investment deserves more visibility ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]). It is also important to focus on the role that public policy and public opinion (including a more holistic view of economics and quality of life) can have in shaping investment ([ 3 ][3], [ 4 ][4]). A new economic system should build on and enhance the fabric of life rather than erode it. By rewarding actions that promote sustainability and penalizing actions that result in environmental deterioration, policies and attitudes can create powerful incentives for change in global financial and economic systems toward this vision. 1. [↵][5]1. E. S. Brondizio et al. 1. P. Balvanera et al ., in Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, E. S. Brondizio et al., Eds. (Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany, 2019). 2. [↵][6]1. E. S. Brondizio et al. 1. K. A. Brauman et al ., in Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, E. S. Brondizio et al., Eds. (Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany, 2019). 3. [↵][7]1. E. S. Brondizio et al. 1. K. M. A. Chan et al ., in Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, E. S. Brondizio et al., Eds. (Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany, 2019) 4. [↵][8]1. E. S. Brondizio et al. 1. J. Razzaque et al ., in Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, E. S. Brondizio et al., Eds. (Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bonn, Germany, 2019). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [7]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [8]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text"

Ecosystem services research in Latin America has been steadily growing and has advanced conceptual understandings, methodological approaches, and global policy applications. One key element for the success of ecosystem services research is expanding collaboration across disciplines, countries, and sectors. This paper sets thestage for the special issue on The state of the art of Ecosystem Services Research and Practice in Latin Americathat resulted from such collaborations and the resulting insights. To do so we: 1 - present a recent overview ofecosystem services research in Latin America, 2 - assess the role of the network organizing InternationalCongresses on Ecosystem Services in the Neotropics (CISEN, from its initials in Spanish) in fostering collaborations across countries, sectors, research topics, and disciplines, 3 - describe how this special issue wasconceived and operationalized to further break collaboration silos and advance understanding, and 4 - presentan overview of the papers included in this special issue. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities forfuture contribution of Latin American research to the rapidly evolving Ecosystem Services literature. Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Pérez Harguindeguy, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Perevochtchikova, María. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Laterra, Pedro. Fundación Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Caceres, Daniel Mario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Plural valuation is about eliciting the diverse values of nature articulated by different stakeholders in order to inform decision making and thus achieve more equitable and sustainable outcomes. We explore what approaches align with plural valuation on the ground, as well as how different social-ecological contexts play a role in translating plural valuation into decisions and outcomes. Based on a co-constructed analytical approach relying on empirical information from ten cases from the Global South, we find that plural valuation contributes to equitable and sustainable outcomes if the valuation process: 1) is based on participatory value elicitation approaches; 2) is framed with a clear action-oriented purpose; 3) provides space for marginalized stakeholders to articulate their values in ways that can be included in decisions; 4) is used as a tool to identify and help reconcile different cognitive models about human-nature relations; and 5) fosters open communication and collaboration among stakeholders. We also find that power asymmetries can hinder plural valuation. As interest and support for undertaking plural valuation grows, a deeper understanding is needed regarding how it can be adapted to different purposes, approaches, and social-ecological contexts in order to contribute to social equity and sustainability. Fil: Zafra-Calvo, Noelia. Basque Centre For Climate Change; España Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Pascual, Unai. Basque Centre For Climate Change; España Fil: Merçon, Juliana. Universidad Veracruzana; México Fil: Martín López, Berta. Leuphana University Of Lüneburg; Alemania Fil: van Noordwijk, Meine. World Agroforestry Centre; Indonesia Fil: Mwampamba, Tuyeni Heita. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Lele, Sharachchandra. Ashoka Trust For Research In Ecology And The Environmen; India Fil: Ifejika Speranza, Chinwe. University of Bern; Suiza Fil: Arias-Arévalo, Paola. Universidad del Valle; Colombia Fil: Cabrol, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Desarrollo Rural; Argentina Fil: Caceres, Daniel Mario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: O'Farrell, Patrick. Council For Scientific And Industrial Research; Sudáfrica Fil: Subramanian, Suneetha Mazhenchery. United Nations University. Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability; Japón Fil: Devy, Soubadra. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environmen; India Fil: Krishnan, Siddhartha. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environmen; India Fil: Carmenta, Rachel. University of Cambridge; Reino Unido Fil: Guibrunet, Louise. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Kraus-Elsin, Yoanna. Instituto Humboldt; Colombia Fil: Moersberger, Hannah. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia Fil: Cariño, Joji. Forest Peoples Programm; Reino Unido Fil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina

The complex links and feedbacks between ecosystems and people are now sharply in focus. Our growing understandings of the complex relations between ecosystems and people, the social and ecological drivers of changes in nature, and the different dimensions of a good quality of life, from local to global scales, have made these inter- dependencies ever more visible (IPBES 2019; Díaz et al. 2019). Furthermore, recent studies have revealed how dramatically unsustainable and inequitable the interactions between ecosystems and people are, as a result of a long legacy of consumerism and utilitarianism, patriarchy and colonialism, and the global expansion of production-oriented relationships with nature. Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Jacobs, Sander. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: Nagendra, Harini. Azim Premji University; India Fil: O'Farrell, Patrick. University of Cape Town; Sudáfrica Fil: Bridgewater, Peter. University of Canberra; Australia. Utrecht University; Países Bajos Fil: Crouzat, Emilie. Universite Grenoble Alpes; Francia Fil: Dendoncker, Nicolas. University of Namur; Bélgica Fil: Goodwin, Sean. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Países Bajos Fil: Gustafsson, Karin M.. Örebro University; Suecia Fil: Kadykalo, Andrew N.. Carleton University; Canadá Fil: Krug, Cornelia B.. Universitat Zurich; Suiza Fil: Matuk, Fernanda Ayaviri. University of Agriculture Wageningen; Países Bajos. Federal Institute of Minas Gerais; Brasil Fil: Pandit, Ram. University of Western Australia; Australia. Hokkaido University; Japón Fil: Sala, Juan Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; Argentina Fil: Schröter, Matthias. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Alemania Fil: Washbourne, Carla Leanne. Colegio Universitario de Londres; Reino Unido

Item does not contain fulltext Research practice, funding agencies and global science organizations suggest that research aimed at addressing sustainability challenges is most effective when ‘co-produced’ by academics and non-academics. Co-production promises to address the complex nature of contemporary sustainability challenges better than more traditional scientific approaches. But definitions of knowledge co-production are diverse and often contradictory. We propose a set of four general principles that underlie high-quality knowledge co-production for sustainability research. Using these principles, we offer practical guidance on how to engage in meaningful co-productive practices, and how to evaluate their quality and success. 9 p.

Effects of long-term rainfall inter-annual variation on regeneration dynamics of tropical dry forests (TDF) are still poorly understood. Such understanding is particularly important to assess the regeneration potential of TDF in landscapes subjected to slash-and-burn farming management. Here, we studied from 2004 to 2016 the effects of inter-annual rainfall variation on the dynamics of regenerative communities of woody species during the old-field succession of a TDF in Western Mexico. Over the study period a severe drought, caused by an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event in 2005, and two hurricanes (Jova, 2011, magnitude 2; Patricia, 2015, magnitude 4) were experienced. In 2004, we established a chronosequence of abandoned cattle pastures and old-growth forest sites, which were assigned to four successional categories, each one with three sites: Pasture (0–3 years fallow age), Early (3–5 years), Intermediate (8–12 years), and Old-Growth Forest (without any human disturbance). At each site, seedlings, saplings and resprouts 10–100 cm height of shrub and tree species were tagged, taxonomically identified, measured in height and monitored over 12 continuous year intervals. At each year, all new plants reaching 10 cm height were recorded and considered as recruits. Community rates (recruitment, relative growth rate in height, mortality, species gain and species loss) were calculated per year, considering all plants combined and separating shrub from tree species. All community rates varied notoriously in response to temporal rainfall variability, with almost null interaction with successional category. As expected, mortality and species loss rates declined as the amount of rainfall increased, especially when precipitation of the current and the previous year were taken into account; these rates peaked in the ENSO year and were still high in the following year. Unexpectedly, recruitment and species gain rates also declined with the increase in rainfall, especially with the amount of rainfall in the current year. Overall, community rates of tree species were more responsive than those of shrub species to temporal rainfall variation. The ENSO-related drought event produced a short and transient instability in the plant density and species density of regenerative communities. However, ENSO effects were smoothed out by subsequent rainy years, leading to a net increase in plant density and species density in all successional categories, especially in the younger one. Overall, our study shows that global (e.g. ENSO) and regional (e.g. storms, hurricanes) climate factors play a key role on forest succession, modulating the speed of the TDF regeneration dynamics. We conclude that low impact agricultural land use and the presence of good levels of remnant forest cover in the landscape confers a high potential for regeneration in abandoned agricultural fields, even under the impact of severe droughts and severe hurricanes.

Response diversity, defined as the variable responses of species to environmental change, has been proposed as a key determinant of ecosystem resilience. We test this hypothesis along a tropical dry forest successional chronosequence that provides a gradient of species richness and diversity. The system experienced a strong disturbance from Jova, a category 2 hurricane, in 2011. We assessed the resilience of secondary forests to hurricane disturbance by estimating both the resistance and the rate of recovery of standing biomass, comparing data from several years prior- and post-hurricane. We assessed response diversity from variations in species-level litter production in response to fluctuations in precipitation during the annual wet-dry transition period in five pre-hurricane years. The two resilience components, resistance and recovery rate, were negatively correlated, suggesting these measures of resilience are inversely coupled. We found that historic reductions in basal area through human intervention may not necessarily reduce system resilience to additional disturbances, and may in some cases enhance the capacity to absorb hurricane perturbation. This implies old-growth forests can withstand some level of human intervention and structural change, and persist through a subsequent natural disturbance. In accordance with theory, sites with greater response diversity to climate should also be more resilient to disturbance; however, we found a surprising negative relationship between response diversity and rate of recovery. We speculate this contradictory result may be due to the compounding nature of multiple disturbances interacting with climate change, and suggest our understanding of mechanisms that confer resilience to ecosystems might need reevaluation as anthropogenic pressures related to land-use and climate intensify.

Significance Identifying and explaining regional differences in tropical forest dynamics, structure, diversity, and composition are critical for anticipating region-specific responses to global environmental change. Floristic classifications are of fundamental importance for these efforts. Here we provide a global tropical forest classification that is explicitly based on community evolutionary similarity, resulting in identification of five major tropical forest regions and their relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. African and American forests are grouped, reflecting their former western Gondwanan connection, while Indo-Pacific forests range from eastern Africa and Madagascar to Australia and the Pacific. The connection between northern-hemisphere Asian and American forests is confirmed, while Dry forests are identified as a single tropical biome., Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world’s tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world’s tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.

Resumen Existe un creciente entendimiento de una fuerte interdependencia entre las sociedades y los ecosistemas, y de esta vision surge como parte de un nuevo paradigma el concepto de sistema socioecologico (SS). En este articulo se presenta un analisis de las contribuciones de los academicos mexicanos al analisis de los SS. Primero, revisamos los conceptos basicos de sistemas socioecologicos, resiliencia, vulnerabilidad y servicios ecosistemicos en el contexto de los SS. Segundo, analizamos las aportaciones teorico-conceptuales de los cientificos mexicanos a estos temas. Tercero, describimos algunos estudios de caso sobresalientes sobre el analisis integral de SS. Cuarto, exploramos cuantitativamente el aporte de los academicos mexicanos en publicaciones sobre SS, resiliencia y sustentabilidad. Quinto, analizamos los programas educativos de licenciatura y posgrado sobre estos temas en Mexico. Sexto, describimos como estos enfoques han permeado en la toma de decisiones. Finalmente, hacemos un analisis de los vacios del conocimiento, retos y perspectivas, identificando los avances importantes en el tema de SS, resiliencia y vulnerabilidad en el pais. Consideramos fundamental entender los retos relacionados con la estabilidad de los sistemas, la certidumbre cientifica y la existencia de expertos tomadores de decisiones asi como el desarrollo de SS mas resilientes y menos vulnerables.

Tropical secondary forests are important sinks for atmospheric carbon, yet C uptake and accumulation rates are highly uncertain, and the mechanisms poorly understood. We evaluated the recovery of C stocks in four pools (aboveground biomass, litter, roots and topsoil) during dry forest regrowth by combining a space for time replacement (that is, a chronosequence) with a repeated measurements approach (that is, a resampling). We fit nonlinear models to chronosequence data to test whether forest age could explain differences in C stocks across sites, and to changes in aboveground biomass calculated from resampling over two 3-year periods, to test the predictive potential of forest age. We combined data from both approaches into structural equation models (SEM) to assess forest age and tree community attributes (diversity and dominance) as drivers of C stocks and changes in aboveground biomass. Forest age explained differences across sites in C stocks for aboveground biomass, litter and live roots, but not for the remaining pools. Observed C stock changes in aboveground biomass were poorly predicted by forest age. SEM revealed that aboveground biomass C was consistently and positively related to forest age and to the community weighted mean of maximum tree height (H max CWM), but not to tree diversity. Observed C stock changes were related only to H max CWM, although not consistently across the two 3-year periods. Our results highlight that the chronosequence approach can yield reasonable insights into long-term C accumulation trends, but erroneous estimates of C change over specific time periods. They also show that, in addition to age, dominance by tall statured species, but not tree species diversity, plays a significant role in C accumulation.

Land-use change in tropical dry forests can dramatically alter soil properties, but little is known about their resilience. We assessed soil resilience by examining resistance to, as well as recovery from, pasture use by smallholder farmers in western Mexico. We measured 25 soil and vegetation properties and compared old-growth forest (OGF) sites and pastures to evaluate resistance to pasture use. We assessed whether those properties recovered to OGF reference values after pasture abandonment by analyzing the trajectories of properties along a chronosequence of secondary vegetation. Finally, we assessed whether recovery of soil properties could be inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties. Nine out of 25 properties differed significantly between the OGF sites and pastures. From these nine nonresistant properties, six (i.e., penetration resistance, soil C concentration, soil C/N, basal area, individual density, rarefied species richness of woody vegetation) showed recovery as a significant positive relationship with forest age. In contrast, surface litter C, litter C/N, and soil available P showed no resistance and no recovery within the successional period examined (up to 35 y). The best vegetation indicator for the recovery of some soil properties was woody species richness. This may suggest that functional differences of colonizing plants matter for recovery after pasture use. Our findings indicate that soil was overall resilient to pasture use, but some properties did not recover synchronously with vegetation properties during succession. Thus, more attention should be paid to soil function, because full ecosystem recovery is often inferred from the recovery of vegetation properties. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Impacts of climate change require that society urgently develops ways to reduce amounts of carbon in the atmosphere. Tropical forests present an important opportunity, as they take up and store large amounts of carbon. It is often suggested that forests with high biodiversity have large stocks and high rates of carbon uptake. Evidence is, however, scattered across geographic areas and scales, and it remains unclear whether biodiversity is just a co‐benefit or also a requirement for the maintenance of carbon stocks and uptake. Here, we perform a quantitative review of empirical studies that analyzed the relationships between plant biodiversity attributes and carbon stocks and carbon uptake in tropical forests. Our results show that biodiversity attributes related to species, traits or structure significantly affect carbon stocks or uptake in 64% of the evaluated relationships. Average vegetation attributes (community‐mean traits and structural attributes) are more important for carbon stocks, whereas variability in vegetation attributes (i.e., taxonomic diversity) is important for both carbon stocks and uptake. Thus, different attributes of biodiversity have complementary effects on carbon stocks and uptake. These biodiversity effects tend to be more often significant in mature forests at broad spatial scales than in disturbed forests at local spatial scales. Biodiversity effects are also more often significant when confounding variables are not included in the analyses, highlighting the importance of performing a comprehensive analysis that adequately accounts for environmental drivers. In summary, biodiversity is not only a co‐benefit, but also a requirement for short‐ and long‐term maintenance of carbon stocks and enhancement of uptake. Climate change policies should therefore include the maintenance of multiple attributes of biodiversity as an essential requirement to achieve long‐term climate change mitigation goals.