Fauset, S, Gloor, EU orcid.org/0000-0002-9384-6341, Aidar, MPM et al. (7 more authors) (2017) Tropical forest light regimes in a human-modified landscape. Ecosphere, 8 (11). e02002. ISSN 2150-8925
Abstract
Light is the key energy input for all vegetated systems. Forest light regimes are complex, with the vertical pattern of light within canopies influenced by forest structure. Human disturbances in tropical forests impact forest structure and hence may influence the light environment and thus competitiveness of different trees. In this study, we measured vertical diffuse light profiles along a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance, sampling intact, logged, secondary, and fragmented sites in the biodiversity hot spot of the Atlantic forest, southeast Brazil, using photosynthetically active radiation sensors and a novel approach with estimations of vertical light profiles from hemispherical photographs. Our results show clear differences in vertical light profiles with disturbance: Fragmented forests are characterized by rapid light extinction within their low canopies, while the profiles in logged forests show high heterogeneity and high light in the mid-canopy despite decades of recovery. The secondary forest showed similar light profiles to intact forest, but with a lower canopy height. We also show that in some cases the upper canopy layer and heavy liana infestations can severely limit light penetration. Light extinction with height above the ground and depth below the canopy top was highest in fragmented forest and negatively correlated with canopy height. The novel, inexpensive, and rapid methods described here can be applied to other sites to quantify rarely measured vertical light profiles.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Fauset et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Atlantic forest; Brazil; canopy; degraded; disturbance; extinction coefficient; fragment; montane; radiation; secondary; structure; vertical profile |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Nov 2017 16:42 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 22:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Ecological Society of America |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ecs2.2002 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:123124 |