River flow responses to forestation at annual time scales The landscapes of the future might look very different to those today, and many have argued that increasing tree cover is essential to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. But forests affect many naturalprocesses, including water availability. We systematically reviewed the literature to determine howContinue reading “Partial river flow recovery with forest age is rare in the decades following establishment”
Author Archives: coomeslab
A Research Agenda for Microclimate Ecology in Human-Modified Tropical Forests
Logging and habitat fragmentation impact tropical forest ecosystems in numerous ways, perhaps the most striking of which is by altering the temperature, humidity, and light environment of the forest—its microclimate. Because local-scale microclimatic conditions directly influence the physiology, demography and behavior of most species, many of the impacts of land-use intensification on the biodiversity andContinue reading “A Research Agenda for Microclimate Ecology in Human-Modified Tropical Forests”
Imaging spectroscopy reveals the effects of topography and logging on the leaf chemistry of tropical forest canopy trees
In this study we show that logged tropical forests have reduced leaf nutrient concentrations compared with old-growth forests and this becomes more pronounced as forests recover in stature. Our findings suggest rock-derived nutrients, such as phosphorus, in short supply in tropical forests on old soils, are depleted by as much as 30% by logging. ThisContinue reading “Imaging spectroscopy reveals the effects of topography and logging on the leaf chemistry of tropical forest canopy trees”
Capturing juvenile tree dynamics from count data using Approximate Bayesian Computation
The juvenile life stage is a crucial determinant of forest dynamics and a first indicator of changes to species’ ranges under climate change. However, paucity of detailed re‐measurement data of seedlings, saplings and small trees means that their demography is not well understood at large scales, and rarely represented in forest models in detail. InContinue reading “Capturing juvenile tree dynamics from count data using Approximate Bayesian Computation”
3D Segmentation of Trees Through a Flexible Multiclass Graph Cut Algorithm
Developing a robust algorithm for automatic individual tree crown (ITC) detection from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data sets is important for tracking the responses of trees to anthropogenic change. Such approaches allow the size, growth, and mortality of individual trees to be measured, enabling forest carbon stocks and dynamics to be tracked and understood. ManyContinue reading “3D Segmentation of Trees Through a Flexible Multiclass Graph Cut Algorithm”
Seasonal drivers of understorey temperature buffering in temperate deciduous forests across Europe
Forest understorey microclimates are often buffered against extreme heat or cold, with important implications for the organisms living in these environments. We quantified seasonal effects of understorey microclimate predictors describing canopy structure, canopy composition and topography (i.e., local factors) and the forest patch size and distance to the coast (i.e., landscape factors). The local canopyContinue reading “Seasonal drivers of understorey temperature buffering in temperate deciduous forests across Europe”
Changes in leaf functional traits of rainforest canopy trees associated with an El Niño event in Borneo
El Niño events generate periods of relatively low precipitation, low cloud cover and high temperature over the rainforests of Southeast Asia, but their impact on tree physiology remains poorly understood. Here we use remote sensing and functional trait approaches – commonly used to understand plant acclimation to environmental fluctuations – to evaluate rainforest responses toContinue reading “Changes in leaf functional traits of rainforest canopy trees associated with an El Niño event in Borneo”
Using image spectroscopy to study diversity in tropical forests
Tropical forests harbour remarkable density and diversity of woody plants, but how different processes interact to enable so many species to co-exist despite intense competition for resources is yet unresolved. Traditionally, tropical diversity has been studied by establishing field inventory plots, but this is difficult and labour-intensive task, which limits the area that can beContinue reading “Using image spectroscopy to study diversity in tropical forests”
The world’s tallest tropical tree in three dimensions
Here we report the recent discovery of the world’s tallest tropical tree (Shorea faguetiana), possibly the world’s tallest angiosperm (flowering plant), located in the rainforests of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. In addition, we provide a novel three-dimensional exploration of the dimensions of this remarkable tree and use these data to speculate on what drives the limitsContinue reading “The world’s tallest tropical tree in three dimensions”
Mapping tree architecture with lasers
The complexity of tree architecture may be the reason we find trees relaxing but it is hard to account for in ecology. Along with our colleagues from UCL and Wageningen University, we mapped the range of tree architecture using terrestrial laser scanning data. This was done by scanning trees and forests from multiple locations, fittingContinue reading “Mapping tree architecture with lasers”
