Publications 2010 – 2019 – Forest Ecology and Conservation Group

Advances in Microclimate Ecology Arising from Remote Sensing

This paper reviews the use of remote sensing in detecting microclimates in forests. We look into how we could combine remotely sensed data along with data from weather stations to map microclimates in forests in great detail, highlighting some opportunities they provide for ecology, conservation and climate change research. Zellweger, F.; De Frenne, P.; Lenoir, J.; Rocchini D.; Coomes…
Post-volcanic forest succession on New Zealand’s North Island: an appraisal from long-term plot data

Overview of how environmental factors characteristic of volcanism have influenced forest succession on long term plots. Smale, M.C.; Coomes, D.A.; Parfitt, R.L.; Peltzer, D.A.; Mason, N.W.H.; Fitzgerald, N.B. 2016 PDF
Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests

We explored the effect of tree species richness on tree volume productivity at the global scale using repeated forest inventories from 777,126 permanent sample plots in 44 countries containing more than 30 million trees from 8737 species spanning most of the global terrestrial biomes. Liang et al. 2016 PDF
Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition

We use growth data from more than 3 million trees in over 140,000 plots across the world to show how three key functional traits—wood density, specific leaf area and maximum height—consistently influence competitive interactions. Kunstler et al. 2016 PDF
Modelling above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: insights from a Mediterranean woodland

We use a multi-temporal airborne lidar data set for a region of central Spain to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon dynamics in typical mixed broadleaved and/or coniferous Mediterranean woodlands. Simonson, W.; Ruiz-Benito, P.; Valladares, F.; Coomes, D.A. 2016 PDF
Incorporating Canopy Cover for Airborne-Derived Assessments of Forest Biomass in the Tropical Forests of Cambodia

This research examines the role of canopy cover in influencing above ground biomass (AGB) dynamics of an open canopied forest and evaluates the efficacy of individual-based and plot-scale height metrics in predicting AGB variation in the tropical forests of AngkorThom, Cambodia. Singh, M.; Evans, D.; Coomes, D.A.; Friess, D.A.; Tan, B.S.; Nin, C.S. 2016 PDF
Airborne laser scanning of natural forests in New Zealand reveals the influences of wind on forest carbon

This study shows that forests in New Zealand facing in the direction of westerly storms are shorter and store less carbon than more sheltered forests. However, these forests develop the highest carbon density for a given height when compared with 14 other tropical forests studied using the same approach, suggesting that although wind kept these…
Canopy structure and topography jointly constrain the microclimate of human‐modified tropical landscapes

Local‐scale microclimatic conditions in forest understoreys play a key role in shaping the composition, diversity and function of these ecosystems. Consequently, understanding what drives variation in forest microclimate is critical to forecasting ecosystem responses to global change, particularly in the tropics where many species already operate close to their thermal limits and rapid land‐use transformation…
Larger fragments have more late‐successional species of woody plants than smaller fragments after 50 years of secondary succession

In 1959, a dam was constructed in Zhejiang, China, creating the Thousand Island Lake with isolated islands of different sizes that were originally hilltops. The vegetation on these isolated patches has been undisturbed since the construction of the dam and gradually gone through succession into secondary forests. In this study, we show that the patch…