Demographic costs and benefits of natural regeneration during tropical forest restoration

Authored by T Trevor Caughlin, la Pena-Domene Marines de, Cristina Martinez-Garza

Date Published: 2019

DOI: 10.1111/ele.13165

Sponsors: United States National Science Foundation (NSF) National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

For tropical forest restoration to result in long-term biodiversity gains, native trees must establish self-sustaining populations in degraded sites. While many have asked how seedling recruitment varies between restoration treatments, the long-term fate of these recruits remains unknown. We address this research gap by tracking natural recruits of 27 species during the first 7 years of a tropical forest restoration experiment that included both planted and naturally regenerating plots. We used an individual-based model to estimate the probability that a seedling achieves reproductive maturity after several years of growth and survival. We found an advantage for recruits in naturally regenerating plots, with up to 40\% increased probability of reproduction in this treatment, relative to planted plots. The demographic advantage of natural regeneration was highest for mid-successional species, with relatively minor differences between treatments for early-successional species. Our research demonstrates the consequences of restoration decision making across the life cycle of tropical tree species.

Tags

Individual-based model Biodiversity Community Seed dispersal reforestation Recruitment Rain-forest Establishment Natural regeneration Demographic model Dry forest Early succession Full life-cycle analysis Life-history categories Population-level Successional age Tropical forest restoration Tree growth inference Secondary succession Soil nutrients