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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Evidence of thermophilization in Afromontane forests
Nature Communications, Vol.15, pp.1-9
2024
PMID: 38987543
Abstract
Thermophilization is the directional change in species community composition towards greater relative abundances of species associated with warmer environments. This process is well-documented in temperate and Neotropical plant communities, but it is uncertain whether this phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the tropics. Here we extend the search for thermophilization to equatorial Africa, where lower tree diversity compared to other tropical forest regions and different biogeographic history could affect community responses to climate change. Using re-census data from 17 forest plots in three mountain regions of Africa, we find a consistent pattern of thermophilization in tree communities. Mean rates of thermophilization were +0.0086 °C·y−1 in the Kigezi Highlands (Uganda), +0.0032 °C·y−1 in the Virunga Mountains (Rwanda-Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo) and +0.0023 °C·y−1 in the Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania). Distinct from other forests, both recruitment and mortality were important drivers of thermophilzation in the African plots. The forests studied currently act as a carbon sink, but the consequences of further thermophilization are unclear.
Details
- Title
- Evidence of thermophilization in Afromontane forests
- Authors
- Aida Cuni-Sanchez (Corresponding Author) - University of YorkEmanuel H. Martin - College of African Wildlife ManagementEustrate Uzabaho - International Gorilla Conservation ProgrammeAlain S. K. Ngute - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteRobert Bitariho - Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyCharles Kayijamahe - International Gorilla Conservation ProgrammeAndrew R. Marshall - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Forest Research InstituteNassoro A. Mohamed - College of African Wildlife ManagementGideon A. Mseja - College of African Wildlife ManagementAventino Nkwasibwe - Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyFrancesco Rovero - University of FlorenceDouglas Sheil - Wageningen University & ResearchRogers Tinkasimire - Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyLawrence Tumugabirwe - Mbarara University of Science and TechnologyKenneth J. Feeley - University of MiamiMartin J. P. Sullivan (Corresponding Author) - Manchester Metropolitan University
- Publication details
- Nature Communications, Vol.15, pp.1-9
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-024-48520-w
- ISSN
- 2041-1723
- PMID
- 38987543
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- Source data for figures are provided with this paper. Data supporting the findings of this study are available as a data package in ForestPlots.net [https://doi.org/10.5521/forestplots.net/2024_2]. Climate data were obtained from Chelsa (https://chelsa-climate.org/) and Worldclim V2 (https://www.worldclim.com/version2). Species occurrence records were obtained from the GBIF data portal (https://www.gbif.org/), and trait data obtained from the African Plant Database (http://africanplantdatabase.ch) and the PROTA database (https://www.prota4u.org/). Input data underlying statistical analyses are available at [https://doi.org/10.5521/forestplots.net/2024_2]. Source data are provided with this paper.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991048892802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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