Selective logging in tropical forests decreases the robustness of liana-tree interaction networks to the loss of host tree species.

ABSTRACT: Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the 'health' and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated

SUBMITTER: Magrach A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4810863 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature