Characterize forest structure of transitions between main successional stages |
—— A case study in Costa Rica |
Characterize forest structure of transitions between main successional stages |
—— A case study in Costa Rica |
Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are dominated by deciduous species (trees and lianas). Lianas are structural parasites that use trees to ascend to the canopy and move from the host tree to other trees (Sanchez et al. 2017). Lianas can harm host trees by competing with them for above- and belowground resources (Chen et al., 2008), reducing tree growth rates and increasing tree mortality (Schnitzer and Carson, 2010). TDFs contain a wealth of biodiversity and essential habitats for wildlife and, in combination with other tropical ecosystems, play a significant role in global climate regulation and the carbon cycle.
However, one of the major problems associated with the study of ecological succession in TDFs is the lack of information between different main successional stages (Early, Intermediate, and Late). These zones between the main successional stages are regarded as "transitions". Compared with the main successional stages, these transitions represent slight variability and unique forest structural features during the ecological succession process (Li et al., 2017). To fill this gap, I used Light Ranging and Detection (LiDAR) data to characterize forest structure differences between transitions and main successional stages by selecting 27 plots at a tropical dry forest site in Costa Rica. The work proves that transitions exist and highlights the subtle but unique transitional features between intermediate and late successional stages. |