Light competition drives species replacement during secondary tropical forest succession

• Published in: Oecologia Vol. 205; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Matsuo, Tomonari, Martínez-Ramos, Miguel, Onoda, Yusuke, Bongers, Frans, Lohbeck, Madelon, Poorter, Lourens
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2024; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Competition; Density; Dominance; Ecological succession; Ecology; Forests; Growth rate; Highlighted Student Research; Hydrology/Water Resources; Interception; Leaves; Life Sciences; Light; Light interception; Light levels; Old growth forests; Plant Sciences; Rain forests; Rainforest; Rainforests; Species; Trees; Tropical Climate; Tropical forests; Understory; Wood; Tropical forest succession; Light interception and use; Light competition; Functional traits; Species replacement

Light competition is thought to drive successional shifts in species dominance in closed vegetations, but few studies have assessed this for species-rich and vertically structured tropical forests. We analyzed how light competition drives species replacement during succession, and how cross-species...