Large-Scale Wind Disturbances Promote Tree Diversity in a Central Amazon Forest

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 8; p. e103711
• Main Authors: Marra, Daniel Magnabosco, Chambers, Jeffrey Q., Higuchi, Niro, Trumbore, Susan E., Ribeiro, Gabriel H. P. M., dos Santos, Joaquim, Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I., Reu, Björn, Wirth, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 06.08.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Blowdown; Brazil; Canopies; Canopy gaps; Climate science; Confidence intervals; Correlation analysis; Data recovery; death rates; Disturbance; Disturbances; Earth Sciences; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Evolutionary biology; Forest canopy; forest ecology; Forests; Gaps; Health aspects; Laboratories; Light; Mortality; Plant diversity; Plateaus; Quechua people; Rainforests; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Satellites; Spacecraft; Species diversity; Topography; Trees; Trees - physiology; Vegetation; Wind; wood; Brazil; Louisiana; California; United States > US

Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m(2)) blowdown gaps create...