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CorrectionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Acacia mangium monocultures can catalyse the recovery of the tree community and aboveground carbon stock in the Philippines
Forest Ecology and Management, Vol.601, pp.1-16
2026
Abstract
Acacia mangium monocultures have been widely planted in national and internationally funded reforestation projects in the Philippines. Most plantations have been established for timber production, with the added benefits of enhancing ecosystem functions by capturing carbon (C) and restoring biodiversity. However, the impacts of A. mangium plantations are poorly examined. In this study, we assess the effects of A. mangium monocultures on above and below-ground C storage and the contribution of A. mangium and other tree species to aboveground C stock in reforestation sites at different ages and management stages. We also measured the presence of native species within a chrono-sequence of plantations, along with key soil characteristics. Sites studied were 2, 10, and 24-year-old plantations compared to reference states of Imperata cylindrica grasslands and remnant forests. Our results showed that A. mangium monocultures can transition toward native forest-like communities, with the 24-year-old plantation having an observed species richness of 24 ± 16.7 species compared to that of 45 ± 22.1 of the remnant forest. The shift from A. mangium monoculture to a co-dominance of multiple native species enabled the transition from short- to long-term aboveground C storage, which reached an average value of 79.2 Mg/ha. The topsoil (0–10 cm) C was similar to that of the remnant forest over time, with an average value among landcover types of 53.3 ± 7.9 Mg/ha. Soil pH oscillated following the dynamics of tree community establishment and growth, while total nitrogen and available phosphorus increased over time. We suggest that the versatile traits of A. mangium, occasional harvest for timber and charcoal, the small-scale natural disturbances, and the proximity of forest remnants acted synergistically to promote natural regeneration. Focused on local conditions of the Philippines, our study provides novel insights into the restoration potential of A. mangium plantations in similar tropical landscapes worldwide, offering evidence that it has potential in reforestation to be a nature-based solution for climate change and ecosystem services recovery.
Details
- Title
- Acacia mangium monocultures can catalyse the recovery of the tree community and aboveground carbon stock in the Philippines
- Authors
- Jenny Vivian (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteRobin L. Chazdon - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteAlexandra A. Catling - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteAlison Shapcott - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteJohn Herbohn - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteDavid J. Lee - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research Institute
- Publication details
- Forest Ecology and Management, Vol.601, pp.1-16
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123357
- ISSN
- 1872-7042; 0378-1127
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Data Availability
- Data and code used for analyses are available at: https://github.com/JennyVivian99/Tree_C_and_community_recovery_with_Acacia_mangium
- Grant note
- This research was undertaken with financial support provided by the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). In addition, financial support was received from the UniSC International Research Scholarship for the research and writing of this article, while the Forest Research Institute of UniSC provided funding specifically for the open-access publication of this manuscript.
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; Forest Industries Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Forest Research Institute; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991184279002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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