Topography Shapes the Structure, Composition and Function of Tropical Forest Landscapes

Overview

Journal Ecol Lett

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2018 Apr 17

PMID 29659115

Citations 44

Authors

Tommaso Jucker

Boris Bongalov

David F R P Burslem

Reuben Nilus

Michele Dalponte

Simon L Lewis

Oliver L Phillips

Lan Qie

David A Coomes

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Topography is a key driver of tropical forest structure and composition, as it constrains local nutrient and hydraulic conditions within which trees grow. Yet, we do not fully understand how changes in forest physiognomy driven by topography impact other emergent properties of forests, such as their aboveground carbon density (ACD). Working in Borneo - at a site where 70-m-tall forests in alluvial valleys rapidly transition to stunted heath forests on nutrient-depleted dip slopes - we combined field data with airborne laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging to characterise how topography shapes the vertical structure, wood density, diversity and ACD of nearly 15 km of old-growth forest. We found that subtle differences in elevation - which control soil chemistry and hydrology - profoundly influenced the structure, composition and diversity of the canopy. Capturing these processes was critical to explaining landscape-scale heterogeneity in ACD, highlighting how emerging remote sensing technologies can provide new insights into long-standing ecological questions.

Citing Articles

Temporal and habitat-specific variations in drivers of aboveground biomass dynamics in a Chinese subtropical forest.

Bian Y, Wu Q, Zheng R, Fu J, Chen J, Mi X Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1531654.

PMID: 39906230 PMC: 11790668. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1531654.

Tree community, vegetation structure and aboveground carbon storage in Atlantic tropical forests of Cameroon.

Fobane J, Zekeng J, Chimi C, Onana J, Ebanga A, Tchonang L Heliyon. 2025; 10(24):e41005.

PMID: 39759375 PMC: 11700276. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41005.

Contrasting environmental drivers of tree community variation within heath forests in Brunei Darussalam, Borneo.

Mohd Ikbal I, Md Jaafar S, Ahmad N, Sukri R Biodivers Data J. 2024; 12:e127919.

PMID: 39713065 PMC: 11662205. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e127919.

Forest dynamics where typhoon winds blow.

Chan A, Jackson T, Law Y, Rau E, Coomes D New Phytol. 2024; 245(6):2496-2511.

PMID: 39673250 PMC: 11840412. DOI: 10.1111/nph.20350.

Tracking tree demography and forest dynamics at scale using remote sensing.

Battison R, Prober S, Zdunic K, Jackson T, Fischer F, Jucker T New Phytol. 2024; 244(6):2251-2266.

PMID: 39425465 PMC: 11579445. DOI: 10.1111/nph.20199.

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