Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa

Danaë M.A. Rozendaal; Oliver L. Phillips; Simon L. Lewis; Kofi Affum-Baffoe; Esteban Alvarez-Davila; Ana Andrade; Luiz E.O.C. Aragão; Alejandro Araujo-Murakami; Timothy R. Baker; Olaf Bánki; Roel J.W. Brienen; José Luis C. Camargo; James A. Comiskey; Marie Noël Djuikouo Kamdem; Sophie Fauset; Ted R. Feldpausch; Timothy J. Killeen; William F. Laurance; Susan G.W. Laurance; Thomas Lovejoy; Yadvinder Malhi; Beatriz S. Marimon; Ben Hur Marimon Junior; Andrew R. Marshall; David A. Neill; Percy Núñez Vargas; Nigel C.A. Pitman; Lourens Poorter; Jan Reitsma; Marcos Silveira; Bonaventure Sonké; Terry Sunderland; Hermann Taedoumg; Hans ter Steege; John W. Terborgh; Ricardo K. Umetsu; Geertje M.F. van der Heijden; Emilio Vilanova; Vincent Vos; Lee J.T. White; Simon Willcock; Lise Zemagho; Mark C. Vanderwel

doi:10.1002/ecy.3052

Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa

Danaë M.A. Rozendaal^*, Oliver L. Phillips, Simon L. Lewis, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Ana Andrade, Luiz E.O.C. Aragão, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Timothy R. Baker, Olaf Bánki, Roel J.W. Brienen, José Luis C. Camargo, James A. Comiskey, Marie Noël Djuikouo Kamdem, Sophie Fauset, Ted R. Feldpausch, Timothy J. Killeen, William F. Laurance, Susan G.W. Laurance, Thomas LovejoyYadvinder Malhi, Beatriz S. Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Andrew R. Marshall, David A. Neill, Percy Núñez Vargas, Nigel C.A. Pitman, Lourens Poorter, Jan Reitsma, Marcos Silveira, Bonaventure Sonké, Terry Sunderland, Hermann Taedoumg, Hans ter Steege, John W. Terborgh, Ricardo K. Umetsu, Geertje M.F. van der Heijden, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent Vos, Lee J.T. White, Simon Willcock, Lise Zemagho, Mark C. Vanderwel

^*Corresponding author for this work

Environment and Geography

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree’s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale geographic and environmental variation in these competitive effects has yet to be evaluated across the tropical forest biome. We quantified effects of competition on tree-level basal area growth and mortality for trees ≥10-cm diameter across 151 ~1-ha plots in mature tropical forests in Amazonia and tropical Africa by developing nonlinear models that accounted for wood density, tree size, and neighborhood crowding. Using these models, we assessed how water availability (i.e., climatic water deficit) and soil fertility influenced the predicted plot-level strength of competition (i.e., the extent to which growth is reduced, or mortality is increased, by competition across all individual trees). On both continents, tree basal area growth decreased with wood density and increased with tree size. Growth decreased with neighborhood crowding, which suggests that competition is important. Tree mortality decreased with wood density and generally increased with tree size, but was apparently unaffected by neighborhood crowding. Across plots, variation in the plot-level strength of competition was most strongly related to plot basal area (i.e., the sum of the basal area of all trees in a plot), with greater reductions in growth occurring in forests with high basal area, but in Amazonia, the strength of competition also varied with plot-level wood density. In Amazonia, the strength of competition increased with water availability because of the greater basal area of wetter forests, but was only weakly related to soil fertility. In Africa, competition was weakly related to soil fertility and invariant across the shorter water availability gradient. Overall, our results suggest that competition influences the structure and dynamics of tropical forests primarily through effects on individual tree growth rather than mortality and that the strength of competition largely depends on environment-mediated variation in basal area.

Original language	English
Article number	e03052
Number of pages	11
Journal	Ecology
Volume	101
Issue number	7
Early online date	5 May 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3052
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2020

Bibliographical note

Keywords

climatic water deficit
competition
forest dynamics
mortality
neighborhood effects
soil fertility
trait-based models
tree growth
tropical forest
wood density

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ecy.3052
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Rozendaal, D. M. A., Phillips, O. L., Lewis, S. L., Affum-Baffoe, K., Alvarez-Davila, E., Andrade, A., Aragão, L. E. O. C., Araujo-Murakami, A., Baker, T. R., Bánki, O., Brienen, R. J. W., Camargo, J. L. C., Comiskey, J. A., Djuikouo Kamdem, M. N., Fauset, S., Feldpausch, T. R., Killeen, T. J., Laurance, W. F., Laurance, S. G. W., ... Vanderwel, M. C. (2020). Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa. Ecology, 101(7), Article e03052. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3052

@article{c71588cd63fb483986608e4d9c815105,

title = "Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa",

abstract = "Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree{\textquoteright}s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale geographic and environmental variation in these competitive effects has yet to be evaluated across the tropical forest biome. We quantified effects of competition on tree-level basal area growth and mortality for trees ≥10-cm diameter across 151 ~1-ha plots in mature tropical forests in Amazonia and tropical Africa by developing nonlinear models that accounted for wood density, tree size, and neighborhood crowding. Using these models, we assessed how water availability (i.e., climatic water deficit) and soil fertility influenced the predicted plot-level strength of competition (i.e., the extent to which growth is reduced, or mortality is increased, by competition across all individual trees). On both continents, tree basal area growth decreased with wood density and increased with tree size. Growth decreased with neighborhood crowding, which suggests that competition is important. Tree mortality decreased with wood density and generally increased with tree size, but was apparently unaffected by neighborhood crowding. Across plots, variation in the plot-level strength of competition was most strongly related to plot basal area (i.e., the sum of the basal area of all trees in a plot), with greater reductions in growth occurring in forests with high basal area, but in Amazonia, the strength of competition also varied with plot-level wood density. In Amazonia, the strength of competition increased with water availability because of the greater basal area of wetter forests, but was only weakly related to soil fertility. In Africa, competition was weakly related to soil fertility and invariant across the shorter water availability gradient. Overall, our results suggest that competition influences the structure and dynamics of tropical forests primarily through effects on individual tree growth rather than mortality and that the strength of competition largely depends on environment-mediated variation in basal area.",

keywords = "climatic water deficit, competition, forest dynamics, mortality, neighborhood effects, soil fertility, trait-based models, tree growth, tropical forest, wood density",

author = "Rozendaal, {Dana{\"e} M.A.} and Phillips, {Oliver L.} and Lewis, {Simon L.} and Kofi Affum-Baffoe and Esteban Alvarez-Davila and Ana Andrade and Arag{\~a}o, {Luiz E.O.C.} and Alejandro Araujo-Murakami and Baker, {Timothy R.} and Olaf B{\'a}nki and Brienen, {Roel J.W.} and Camargo, {Jos{\'e} Luis C.} and Comiskey, {James A.} and {Djuikouo Kamdem}, {Marie No{\"e}l} and Sophie Fauset and Feldpausch, {Ted R.} and Killeen, {Timothy J.} and Laurance, {William F.} and Laurance, {Susan G.W.} and Thomas Lovejoy and Yadvinder Malhi and Marimon, {Beatriz S.} and {Marimon Junior}, {Ben Hur} and Marshall, {Andrew R.} and Neill, {David A.} and {N{\'u}{\~n}ez Vargas}, Percy and Pitman, {Nigel C.A.} and Lourens Poorter and Jan Reitsma and Marcos Silveira and Bonaventure Sonk{\'e} and Terry Sunderland and Hermann Taedoumg and {ter Steege}, Hans and Terborgh, {John W.} and Umetsu, {Ricardo K.} and {van der Heijden}, {Geertje M.F.} and Emilio Vilanova and Vincent Vos and White, {Lee J.T.} and Simon Willcock and Lise Zemagho and Vanderwel, {Mark C.}",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. ",

year = "2020",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1002/ecy.3052",

language = "English",

volume = "101",

journal = "Ecology",

issn = "0012-9658",

publisher = "Ecological Society of America",

number = "7",

}

Rozendaal, DMA, Phillips, OL, Lewis, SL, Affum-Baffoe, K, Alvarez-Davila, E, Andrade, A, Aragão, LEOC, Araujo-Murakami, A, Baker, TR, Bánki, O, Brienen, RJW, Camargo, JLC, Comiskey, JA, Djuikouo Kamdem, MN, Fauset, S, Feldpausch, TR, Killeen, TJ, Laurance, WF, Laurance, SGW, Lovejoy, T, Malhi, Y, Marimon, BS, Marimon Junior, BH, Marshall, AR, Neill, DA, Núñez Vargas, P, Pitman, NCA, Poorter, L, Reitsma, J, Silveira, M, Sonké, B, Sunderland, T, Taedoumg, H, ter Steege, H, Terborgh, JW, Umetsu, RK, van der Heijden, GMF, Vilanova, E, Vos, V, White, LJT, Willcock, S, Zemagho, L & Vanderwel, MC 2020, 'Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa', Ecology, vol. 101, no. 7, e03052. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3052

TY - JOUR

T1 - Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa

AU - Rozendaal, Danaë M.A.

AU - Phillips, Oliver L.

AU - Lewis, Simon L.

AU - Affum-Baffoe, Kofi

AU - Alvarez-Davila, Esteban

AU - Andrade, Ana

AU - Aragão, Luiz E.O.C.

AU - Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro

AU - Baker, Timothy R.

AU - Bánki, Olaf

AU - Brienen, Roel J.W.

AU - Camargo, José Luis C.

AU - Comiskey, James A.

AU - Djuikouo Kamdem, Marie Noël

AU - Fauset, Sophie

AU - Feldpausch, Ted R.

AU - Killeen, Timothy J.

AU - Laurance, William F.

AU - Laurance, Susan G.W.

AU - Lovejoy, Thomas

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Marimon, Beatriz S.

AU - Marimon Junior, Ben Hur

AU - Marshall, Andrew R.

AU - Neill, David A.

AU - Núñez Vargas, Percy

AU - Pitman, Nigel C.A.

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Reitsma, Jan

AU - Silveira, Marcos

AU - Sonké, Bonaventure

AU - Sunderland, Terry

AU - Taedoumg, Hermann

AU - ter Steege, Hans

AU - Terborgh, John W.

AU - Umetsu, Ricardo K.

AU - van der Heijden, Geertje M.F.

AU - Vilanova, Emilio

AU - Vos, Vincent

AU - White, Lee J.T.

AU - Willcock, Simon

AU - Zemagho, Lise

AU - Vanderwel, Mark C.

PY - 2020/7/1

Y1 - 2020/7/1

N2 - Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree’s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale geographic and environmental variation in these competitive effects has yet to be evaluated across the tropical forest biome. We quantified effects of competition on tree-level basal area growth and mortality for trees ≥10-cm diameter across 151 ~1-ha plots in mature tropical forests in Amazonia and tropical Africa by developing nonlinear models that accounted for wood density, tree size, and neighborhood crowding. Using these models, we assessed how water availability (i.e., climatic water deficit) and soil fertility influenced the predicted plot-level strength of competition (i.e., the extent to which growth is reduced, or mortality is increased, by competition across all individual trees). On both continents, tree basal area growth decreased with wood density and increased with tree size. Growth decreased with neighborhood crowding, which suggests that competition is important. Tree mortality decreased with wood density and generally increased with tree size, but was apparently unaffected by neighborhood crowding. Across plots, variation in the plot-level strength of competition was most strongly related to plot basal area (i.e., the sum of the basal area of all trees in a plot), with greater reductions in growth occurring in forests with high basal area, but in Amazonia, the strength of competition also varied with plot-level wood density. In Amazonia, the strength of competition increased with water availability because of the greater basal area of wetter forests, but was only weakly related to soil fertility. In Africa, competition was weakly related to soil fertility and invariant across the shorter water availability gradient. Overall, our results suggest that competition influences the structure and dynamics of tropical forests primarily through effects on individual tree growth rather than mortality and that the strength of competition largely depends on environment-mediated variation in basal area.

AB - Competition among trees is an important driver of community structure and dynamics in tropical forests. Neighboring trees may impact an individual tree’s growth rate and probability of mortality, but large-scale geographic and environmental variation in these competitive effects has yet to be evaluated across the tropical forest biome. We quantified effects of competition on tree-level basal area growth and mortality for trees ≥10-cm diameter across 151 ~1-ha plots in mature tropical forests in Amazonia and tropical Africa by developing nonlinear models that accounted for wood density, tree size, and neighborhood crowding. Using these models, we assessed how water availability (i.e., climatic water deficit) and soil fertility influenced the predicted plot-level strength of competition (i.e., the extent to which growth is reduced, or mortality is increased, by competition across all individual trees). On both continents, tree basal area growth decreased with wood density and increased with tree size. Growth decreased with neighborhood crowding, which suggests that competition is important. Tree mortality decreased with wood density and generally increased with tree size, but was apparently unaffected by neighborhood crowding. Across plots, variation in the plot-level strength of competition was most strongly related to plot basal area (i.e., the sum of the basal area of all trees in a plot), with greater reductions in growth occurring in forests with high basal area, but in Amazonia, the strength of competition also varied with plot-level wood density. In Amazonia, the strength of competition increased with water availability because of the greater basal area of wetter forests, but was only weakly related to soil fertility. In Africa, competition was weakly related to soil fertility and invariant across the shorter water availability gradient. Overall, our results suggest that competition influences the structure and dynamics of tropical forests primarily through effects on individual tree growth rather than mortality and that the strength of competition largely depends on environment-mediated variation in basal area.

KW - climatic water deficit

KW - competition

KW - forest dynamics

KW - mortality

KW - neighborhood effects

KW - soil fertility

KW - trait-based models

KW - tree growth

KW - tropical forest

KW - wood density

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084739666&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/ecy.3052

DO - 10.1002/ecy.3052

M3 - Article

C2 - 32239762

AN - SCOPUS:85084739666

SN - 0012-9658

VL - 101

JO - Ecology

JF - Ecology

IS - 7

M1 - e03052

ER -

Competition influences tree growth, but not mortality, across environmental gradients in Amazonia and tropical Africa

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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