African Savanna Plot Joins the CTFS-SIGEO Network

On August 14^th, 2011, tree mapping and tagging began at the Mpala forest dynamics plot in Kenya. The new plot is within the Mpala Research Centre and Wildlife Foundation. The 150-hectare plot is the first CTFS-SIGEO plot in Savanna vegetation, with an open tree canopy and grassy and herbaceous understory. The plot traverses two distinct soil types: black cotton soils at higher elevations, which are dominated by the “whistling thorn” acacia (A. drepanolobium), and red clay soils in lower terrain, with a diverse flora of including several other acacia species. 

Mpala plot researchers with CTFS Africa Program Coordinator David Kenfack (far right)

Despite being almost on the equator, the plot is 1,660 m above sea level and is consequently not as botanically diverse as many CTFS-SIGEO tropical forest plots.  The tree species diversity is estimated to be around 100 species. Some common species include: Acacia mellifera, Acacia nilotica, Acacia brevispica, Acacia xanthophloea, Acacia etbaica, Boscia angustifolia, Balanites aegyptiaca,  Balanites glabra, Maerua sp., Combretum molle, Mystroxylon sp., and Scutia myritina.

Although of moderate botanical diversity, the savanna has an exceptional diversity of wildlife, including: elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyena, wild dogs, and many species of antelope. The herbivorous species have a huge impact on the plant community.  

Before the commencement of the work at Mpala, twelve staff took part in a one-week training session where they learned CTFS standard field protocols and data management techniques. The team has already encountered several new challenges associated with the Savanna ecosystem: many individual plants have multiple stems with low branching heights, many species have large, sharp thorns, and staff have to be alert, having to play hide and seek with the elephants and other wildlife during fieldwork! As of October 29, 2011, an area covering 13 ha had been mapped and tagged, and included seven species. As expected, tree density is low, with an average of 792 trees per hectare.

Staline Kibet and David Kenfack contributed to this post.

Plot Census Finished in Pacific Northwest Temperate Forest of the U.S.

Fieldwork for the establishment of the Wind River Forest Dynamics (WFDP) plot finished in early October. Located in southwest Washington State, the plot extends 800 m east-west and 320 m north-south, for a total area of 25.6 ha. This configuration matches the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot in California and the Wabikon Forest Dynamics Plot in Wisconsin. The WFDP has approximately 35,000 trees (data entry not yet complete). In addition to tagging all woody stems according to the CTFS protocol, the project has mapped snags ≥10 cm dbh, continuous patches of shrub cover ≥2 m², and large woody debris ≥50 cm diameter. Snags remain standing for decades in the Pacific Northwest, and constitute important habitat for vertebrates. Snag height and decomposition class will be measured as part of the 5-year measurements to track snag devolution over time. The project team measures shrubs because they form dense patches that inhibit tree regeneration, and woody debris because it can remain an important part of the ecosystem for centuries.

From left, Sean McMahon(SIGEO), Andy Jones (Oregon State), Stuart Davies (SIGEO),
and Jim Lutz (WFDP PrincipalInvestigator) in front of a typical Douglas-fir, 72 meters tall.

Wind RiverForest Dynamics Plot 2011 volunteers, Rachel Mickey,

Cassie Gamm, Dani Lange, SeanJeronimo, and James Freund,

demonstrate their techniques on the last dayof nailing.

The WFDP was established by the PIs (Jim Lutz and Andrew Larson), their students, a dedicated and waterproof field crew, and a large cadre of volunteers. The grid survey was conducted by surveying professionals and instructors and students from University of Washington, University of Montana, and Clark College.


More information about the Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/wfdp.

Publications: July-September 2011

Arias García, J.C., Duque Montoya, A.J., Cárdenas López, D., 2009. Crecimiento diamétrico de un bosque del Noroccidente amazónico. Revista Colombia Amazónica Nueva Época Vol. 2, 57-64.

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Barreto Silva, J.S., Duque Montoya, A.J., Cárdenas López, D., Moreno Hurtado, F.H., 2010. Variación florística de especies arbóreas a escala local en un bosque de tierra firme en la Amazonia colombiana. Revista Acta Amazónica, 40(1): 179-188.

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Calle Rendón, B.R., Moreno Hurtado, F.H., Cárdenas López, D, 2011. Relación entre suelos y estructura del bosque en la Amazonía colombiana, Biología Tropical Vol. 59 (3): 1307-1322.

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Cárdenas López, D., Cordero Parada, Z., Salinas Nelson, R., Suárez Suárez, S., Zuluaga Trochez, A., Barreto Silva, J.S.,  Arias García,  J.C.,, Castaño Arboleda, N., Duque Montoya, Á.J., Sua Tunjano, S., 2010. Composición florística de diez hectáreas de la Parcela Permanente Amacayacu, Amazonia colombiana, Revista Colombia Amazónica Nueva Época Vol. 3: 141-177.

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Martin, A.R., and Thomas, S.C., 2011. A Reassessment of Carbon Content in Tropical Trees. PlosOne 6(8), e23533.

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McEwan, R.W., Lin, Y.-C., Sun, I.-F.,  Hsieh, C.-F., Su, S.H., Chang, L.-W., Song, G.-Z.M., Wang, H.-H., Hwong, J.-L., Lin, K.-C.,  Yang, K.-C.,  Chiang, J.-M., 2011. Topographic and biotic regulation of aboveground carbon storage in subtropical broad-leaved forests of Taiwan. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 1817–1825.

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Peña, M.A., Cárdenas López, D., Duque Montoya, A.J., 2010. Distribución de especies y su relación con la variación ambiental y espacial a escala local en un bosque de tierra firme en la Amazonía colombiana. Revista Actualidades Biológicas, 32(92): 41-51.

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Rüger, N., Berger, U., Hubbell, S.P., Vieilledent, G., Condit, R., 2011. Growth strategies of tropical tree species: Disentangling light and size effects. PLoS ONE, 6:e25330.

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Rüger, N., Huth, A., Hubbell, S.P., Condit, R., 2011. Determinants of mortality across a tropical lowland rainforest community. Oikos, 120:1047–1056.

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Van Breugel, M., J. Ransijn, D. Craven, F. Bongers, J. S. Hall, 2011. Estimating carbon stock in secondary forests: Decisions and uncertainties associated with allometric biomass models. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 1648–1657.

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Regional Meetings Promote Collaboration Between South American CTFS-SIGEO Plots

From 19-24 September 2011, scientists from several Neotropical forest plots met in Brazil to outline research goals and identify opportunities for increased regional collaboration. Participants also presented their work at the 10^th Brazilian Congress of Ecology symposium, which focused on current research in large-scale plot networks such as CTFS-SIGEO, the São Paulo Permanent Plot network (PPP) and the Bolivian Forest Research Institute (IBIF). Meeting and symposium participants included Alvaro Duque from the National University of Colombia- Sede Medellin  and PI for the Amacayacu plot, Alberto Vicentini from the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) and PI for the Manaus plot, Renato Valencia from the Papal Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) and PI for the Yasuni plot, Alexandre de Oliveira, from the University of São Paulo and PI for the Manaus and Ilha do Cardoso plots, and Tania Brenes, Neotropical Coordinator for CTFS-SIGEO. Researchers also had the unique opportunity to visit the Ilha do Cardoso plot, pictured below.  This first-of-its-kind regional meeting was a great success and will lead to expanded regional research collaborations.

Ilha do Cardoso forest plot

CTFS-SIGEO Grant Recipient Faith Inman-Narahari Investigates Seedling Dynamics in Hawai’i

Doctoral candidate Faith Inman-Narahari recently established 64 census stations to measure seed rain and seedling distribution, abundance, survival and growth within the mapped Laupāhoehoe Forest Dynamics Plot, part of the Hawaiian Permanent Plot Network (HIPPNET). Supported by a CTFS-SIGEO research grant, Faith has applied ecological theory and studied forest plot dynamics patterns in the unique testing ground of the Hawaiian Islands. The most remote archipelago in the world, Hawai’i contains 25 of the 35 global life zones and is known for relatively low levels of tree diversity and high levels of endemism. 

The results of the study provide a comparison between the Hawaiian forests and other mainland and island forests. Interestingly, based on comparisons of published data from five other CTFS-SIGEO plot studies, Inman-Narahari has found that dispersal and habitat limitation and the proportion of species with significant habitat associations does not show a clear relationship with global diversity patterns. The project will continue with support from the USDA Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF), the University of Hawai’i, the University of California Los Angeles, and the Garden Club of America. Future publications will include tests of the effects of habitat and negative density dependence on growth and survival in both wet and dry Hawaiian forest. More information about Faith’s research is available through UCLA and on her blog. 

Faith Inman-Narahari records data in Hawaiian forest plot

NSF-Supported Scientific Exchange Fellow Erin Kurten Expands CTFS-SIGEO Partnerships in China

The National Science Foundation grant to CTFS-SIGEO (DEB-1046113), in addition to supporting the recent workshop and symposium, provides support for a program of scientific exchange between the US and China. Young US-based researchers are spending periods of one to three months in collaborating labs in China to pursue studies on the dimensions of biological diversity in the world’s forests. Dr. Erin Kurten, post-doctoral fellow with CTFS at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, is the first of these fellows and will spend one month in Shenyang, home of the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute for Applied Ecology.

While in Shenyang, Erin is working directly with Dr. Zhanqing Hao (Professor and Head of the Research Center of Forest Ecology and Forestry Eco-Engineering at CAS) and his research group. Erin is helping develop of a set of guidelines for focal tree-based monitoring of tree phenology in CForBio forest plots. Additionally, she is collaborating with group members Dr. Xugao Wang and graduate student Yuqiang Zhao on a project to understand the mechanisms underlying a set of previously described positive and negative tree species associations.

Dr. Erin Kurten of CTFS- SIGEO works with Dr. Xugao Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Erin has been warmly welcomed by Dr. Hao’s group; they have helped her settle into Shenyang and are introducing her to the culinary diversity of Northeastern China. With more intellectual and culinary collaborations to come, Erin’s month in Shenyang promises to be a good one!

NSF-US and NSF-China Build Foundation for Bilateral Science Collaboration through support of CTFS-SIGEO and CForBio Science and Training Partnership

A delegation from the US National Science Foundation met with counterparts from NSF-China in Beijing, China, on 27-28 July 2011, at a Biodiversity Symposium organized by CTFS-SIGEO and the Chinese Forest Biodiversity Monitoring Network (CForBio).

Representatives of both NSF and NSF-C spoke of the importance of their jointly funded program, “Dimensions of Biodiversity”, for building partnerships and strengthening capacity in biodiversity science between the US and China. The joint funding provides five years of support for workshops, scientific exchange visits, and the enhancement of bioinformatics tools for biodiversity research.

The goal of the program is to advance understanding of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity and how those dimensions relate to the resilience of forest communities. The long-term sustainability of forests and the services they provide depend on our ability to predict forest responses to changes in climate and land-use at a global scale.

Dimensions of Biodiversity Symposium, Beijing, China.

The NSF delegation included Penelope Firth, Deputy Director, Division of Environmental Biology; William Chang, Head of the East Asia and Pacific Program and Interim Executive Officer of International Science and Engineering; Emily Ashworth, Director of NSF China Office; and Program Officers James Wang, Sarah Mathews and Alan Tessier.

The NSF-China delegation included Zhenliang Yu, Ecology Division Director; Yinghui Liu, Ecology Program Director; Huai Chen, Director Division of American, Oceanian and Eastern European Programs; and Xiuping Liu, Program Manager, Division of American, Oceanian and Eastern European Programs.