Tree functional composition, functional diversity, and aboveground biomass show dissimilar trajectories in a tropical secondary forest restored through assisted natural regeneration.

ABSTRACT: The growing trend of agricultural abandonment requires an understanding of the development of secondary forests on old fields in the context of restoration. However, few studies examine the regeneration trajectories of functional composition and functional diversity in afrotropical secondary forests. We tested how functional composition, diversity, and aboveground biomass (AGB) change with age and determined restoration success for a secondary forest restored through assisted natural regeneration in Uganda. We assessed the influence of distance to forests on regeneration. We sampled trees in 63 plots (2000 m² each) in the secondary forest (16-22-year old) and five plots in an old-growth forest in 2011, 2014 and 2017. We computed functional composition (community-weighted means-C

SUBMITTER: Ssekuubwa E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10008352 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature