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How Climate Shapes the Functioning of Tropical Montane Cloud Forests

  • Physiological Processes (M Mencuccini, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) is a highly vulnerable ecosystem, which occurs at higher elevations in tropical mountains. Many aspects of TMCF vegetation functioning are poorly understood, making it difficult to quantify and project TMCF vulnerability to global change. We compile functional traits data to provide an overview of TMCF functional ecology. We use numerical models to understand the consequences of TMCF functional composition with respect to its responses to climate and link the traits of TMCF to its environmental conditions.

Recent Findings

TMCF leaves are small and have low SLA but high Rubisco content per leaf area. This implies that TMCF maximum net leaf carbon assimilation (An) is high but often limited by low temperature and leaf wetting. Cloud immersion provides important water and potentially nutrient inputs to TMCF plants. TMCF species possess low sapwood specific conductivity, which is compensated with a lower tree height and higher sapwood to leaf area ratio. These traits associated with a more conservative stomatal regulation results in a higher hydraulic safety margin than nearby forests not affected by clouds. The architecture of TMCF trees including its proportionally thicker trunks and large root systems increases tree mechanical stability.

Summary

The TMCF functional traits can be conceptually linked to its colder and cloudy environment limiting An, growth, water transport and nutrient availability. A hotter climate would drastically affect the abiotic filters shaping TMCF communities and potentially facilitate the invasion of TMCF by more productive lowland species.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Newton Fund through the Met Office Climate Science for Service Partnership Brazil (CSSP Brazil), the NERC grant NE/R00532X/1 and FAPESP grant 11/52072-0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK

    Cleiton B. Eller & Stephen Sitch

  2. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade de Campinas, Campinas, 13083-862, Brazil

    Cleiton B. Eller & Rafael S. Oliveira

  3. Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 03828-000, Brazil

    Leonardo D. Meireles

  4. School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Stephen S. O. Burgess

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  1. Cleiton B. Eller
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  2. Leonardo D. Meireles
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  3. Stephen Sitch
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  4. Stephen S. O. Burgess
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  5. Rafael S. Oliveira
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Correspondence to Cleiton B. Eller.

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Cleiton B Eller, Leonardo D Meireles, Stephen SO Burgess, Stephen Sitch, Rafael S Oliveira declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Eller, C.B., Meireles, L.D., Sitch, S. et al. How Climate Shapes the Functioning of Tropical Montane Cloud Forests. Curr Forestry Rep 6, 97–114 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-020-00115-6

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