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Natural disturbance, vegetation patterns and ecological dynamics in tropical montane forests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2016

Shelley D. Crausbay  and
Patrick H. Martin
Shelley D. Crausbay*
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
Patrick H. Martin
Affiliation:
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: crausbay@gmail.com
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Abstract:

Disturbance is a central process in forest dynamics, yet the role of natural disturbance in tropical montane forests (TMFs) has not been systematically addressed. We posit that disturbance in TMFs has a wider role than commonly acknowledged and its effects are distinctive because: (1) TMFs often have very low rates of productivity due to low resources, and so recovery from disturbance may be slow, (2) montane forests have marked environmental heterogeneity which interacts with disturbance, (3) a large percentage of TMFs are regularly exposed to high energy windstorms and landslides, and (4) TMFs contain a biogeographically rich mixture of tree species with divergent evolutionary histories that interact differently with different disturbance types. We reviewed the literature on natural disturbance in TMFs and found 119 peer-reviewed papers which met our search criteria. Our review shows that disturbance is widespread in TMFs with pronounced effects on structure, function, composition and dynamics. Disturbance is also evident in the ecology of TMF biota with clear examples of plant life-history traits adapted to disturbance, including disturbance-triggered germination, treefall gap strategies and resprouting ability. Important aspects of TMF disturbances are stochastic and site-specific, but there are broad patterns in disturbance type, frequency and severity along latitudinal, altitudinal and environmental gradients. Compared with the lowland tropics, TMF disturbances are more spatially structured, TMFs experience more disturbance types in a given area due to environmental complexity, and TMFs are much more prone to small-scale yet severe landslides as well the large and potentially catastrophic disturbances of cyclones, forest die-back and fire. On the whole, natural disturbance should assume a larger role in models of ecosystem processes and vegetation patterns in TMFs. An improved understanding of what creates variation in disturbance severity and post-disturbance recovery rates, how composition and diversity feedback on disturbance type and likelihood, and how global change will alter these dynamics are important priorities in future TMF ecology research.

Keywords

cloud forestcyclonedie-backfirelandslidenatural disturbancetreefall gapstropical montane forestvolcanic activitywind
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 32 , Special Issue 5: The ecology of tropical montane cloud forests: a global synthesis , September 2016 , pp. 384 - 403
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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