Forest Ecology & Biodiversity

Forest ecosystems are rich, dynamic, and deeply entwined with the health of our planet. This body of research explores how forests grow, change, and support biodiversity — from the towering trees of tropical rainforests to the species-rich montane forests of Southeast Asia. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, trait-based approaches, and cutting-edge modelling, these studies shed light on the structure and function of forests, the roles of rare species, the patterns of regeneration, and the long shadows cast by human activity. Together, they reveal the complexity of ecological interactions and the pressing need to conserve and restore the world’s forests.

Featured Publications

Biotic homogenization can decrease landscape‑scale forest multifunctionality
Van der Plas, F.; Manning, P.; Coomes, D. A. et al. – PNAS (2016)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1517903113
Using a pan-European dataset, this paper demonstrates that reduced β‑diversity (species turnover) leads to declines in landscape-scale multifunctionality — emphasizing that forest variability across space matters as much as local richness

A Growth–Survival Trade‑Off Along an Elevation Gradient Is Altered by Earthquake Disturbance
Allen, R. B.; Mackenzie, D. I.; Wiser, S. K.; Bellingham, P. J.; Coomes, D. A. – Ecology & Evolution (2024)
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70467
Earthquake disturbance in mountain beech forests disrupts typical elevation-related growth–survival trade-offs, revealing how extreme events reset demographic patterns across environmental gradients.

Tall Bornean forests experience higher canopy disturbance rates than those in the eastern Amazon or Guiana shield
Jackson, T. D.; Fischer, F. J.; Gorgens, E. B.; Jucker, T.; Keller, M.; Chave, J.; Coomes, D. A. – Global Change Biology (2024)
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17493
Airborne LiDAR across tropical forests shows Borneo’s tall forests suffer more frequent small-scale canopy disturbances than comparable Amazonian sites—leading to net canopy height loss and increased vulnerability

Repeat GEDI footprints measure the effects of tropical forest disturbances
Holcomb, A.; Burns, P.; Keshav, S.; Coomes, D. A. – Remote Sensing of Environment (2024)
DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2024.114174
By pairing oversampled GEDI laser footprints, this study tracks biomass and canopy height loss following disturbance events, even at ~30 × 30 m resolution—paving the way for detailed, spaceborne disturbance monitoring

Native diversity buffers against severity of non‑native tree invasions
Delavaux, C. S.; Crowther, T. W.; Zohner, C. M.; Coomes, D. A. et al. – Nature (2023)
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06440-7
Using over 17,000 global forest plots, this paper finds that while human activity predicts invasion occurrence, high native phylogenetic and functional diversity significantly reduce invasion severity—highlighting biodiversity’s protective role