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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Increasing biodiversity in highly diverse plant communities can jointly increase ecosystem function and ecosystem vulnerability. This paradox requires further attention. This study analyzed the functional response of plant communities to above- and below-ground parameters along the chronosequence (degraded pastures (DP), early forests (EF), intermediate forests (IF), and old-growth forests (OF)) in two highly fragmented landscapes of the Colombian Amazon as an estimate of the level of functional vulnerability. Three sets of functional attributes were evaluated: (i) functional composition based on the community-weighted mean (CWM) of five traits; (ii) functional diversity based on the multi-trait indices and functional dispersion (FDis) of each individual trait; and (iii) the functional vulnerability at the community-level and species-level. The individual traits did not show a clear pattern along the chronosequence. However, the trend indicated an increase in the values of resource conservation traits with the age of abandonment. The functional response of the community did not vary between landscapes. Between DP and OF, there was a significant increase in functional diversity and a decrease in functional redundancy, which increased community-level vulnerability. Consequently, the more vulnerable species were observed in the IF and OF plots. In addition, a decrease in environmental parameters, such as penetration resistance, bulk density and Ca content, and an increase in slope, precipitation, electric conductivity, pH, clay, organic material, and P and N contents increased the vulnerability. We elucidated the need for secondary forest management in terms of conservation and restoration to maintain the capacity to respond to changing environmental conditions in highly fragmented landscapes in the Andean–Amazonian transition.

Details

Title
Plant-Community Vulnerability in Highly Fragmented Landscapes Is Higher in Secondary Forests Than in Old Growth Forests in the Andean–Amazonian Transition
Author
Rodríguez-León, Carlos H 1 ; Roa-Fuentes, Lilia L 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sterling, Armando 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Suárez, Juan Carlos 4 

 Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales y Desarrollo Sustentable, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia; Programa Modelos de Funcionamiento y Sostenibilidad, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia 
 Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 110231, Colombia 
 Programa Modelos de Funcionamiento y Sostenibilidad, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas SINCHI, Florencia 180001, Colombia; Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia 
 Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Centro de Investigaciones Amazónicas CIMAZ-MACAGUAL, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia 180001, Colombia 
First page
3284
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
22237747
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2748555100
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.