Ecotones as Windows into Organismal-to-Biome Scale Responses across Neotropical Forests
Abstract
:1. Introduction: What Is an Ecotone?
2. Neotropical Ecotones: Our Current State of Understanding
3. Interesting Ecotones and Promising Research Questions
3.1. Mexico’s Pacific Dry Forests as a Biogeographical Bridge between Rainforests and Deserts
3.2. Cerrado and Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil: Linking Contemporary to Geological Change
3.3. Tropical Dry Forests and Rainforests: Ecological and Evolutionary Cousins
4. How to Study Ecotones
4.1. Scale
4.2. Remote Sensing and Sensor Networks
4.3. Vegetation Dynamics Plot Networks
4.4. Dispersal
4.5. Physiological Responses to Temperature and Drought
4.6. Environmental DNA Metabarcoding
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Country | Region | Relevant Studies |
---|---|---|
Mexico | Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, central Mexico; the southern slope of the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca | [90,91] |
Costa Rica | Área de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica | [13,58,97] |
Colombia | La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; Cauca-Patía Basin; Magdalena River Basin | [102,103,104] |
Bolivia | Santa Cruz, Bolivia | [93,105] |
Brazil | Caatinga-Cerrado-Atlantic ranforest ecotones, northeastern Brazil | [23,33] |
Scale | Focus | Example Studies and Key Findings |
---|---|---|
Stand | Impact of microhabitat on species composition | The transition zone between tropical moist and dry forests significantly influenced epiphyte composition (vascular and non-vascular), but microsite conditions affected only non-vascular epiphytes [110]. |
Plant trait variation | Functional trait diversity showed a mosaicity pattern in the ecotone, indicating that the spatial heterogeneity of functional traits within transition zones played a crucial role in defining the ecological dynamics of bog-forest ecotones [63]. | |
Landscape | Soil carbon dynamics | Microbial activity and nutrient availability were key drivers of soil carbon dynamics in a forest–savanna ecotone in Ghana [111]. |
Edge effects on plant recruitment | The negative edge effect on seedling recruitment in a forest and grassland ecotone was attributed to reduced seed availability, unfavorable post-dispersal conditions for germination, and seedling establishment [112]. | |
Environmental filters | Plant community trait values shifted in response to soil and light variation. Low soil nutrients and water in the coniferous zone were major constraints for most lowland rainforest species with acquisitive traits [113]. | |
Region | ||
Disturbance | Tropical forests and savannas worldwide may represent alternative stable states, with their resilience universally varying based on precipitation. Tree cover responded non-linearly to changes in precipitation [114]. | |
Speciation | Quaternary climate variations influenced population divergence including genetic differentiation due to forest contraction and biome separation between Amazonia and Atlantic Forests. These climate-driven divergences, occurring in recent times, also explained speciation and evolutionary radiation over longer timescales [115]. |
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Ortiz-Colin, P.; Hulshof, C.M. Ecotones as Windows into Organismal-to-Biome Scale Responses across Neotropical Forests. Plants 2024, 13, 2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13172396
Ortiz-Colin P, Hulshof CM. Ecotones as Windows into Organismal-to-Biome Scale Responses across Neotropical Forests. Plants. 2024; 13(17):2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13172396
Chicago/Turabian StyleOrtiz-Colin, Perla, and Catherine M. Hulshof. 2024. "Ecotones as Windows into Organismal-to-Biome Scale Responses across Neotropical Forests" Plants 13, no. 17: 2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13172396