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Doktorsavhandling2024Öppen tillgång

Multi-functional trait-based species selection for regenerating tropical rainforests

Lindh, Arvid

Sammanfattning

Forests are key sources of renewable materials needed to transition into a bio-based economy free from fossil-based resources. Tropical forests are especially important due to their large land area and high growth potential. However, tropical forests are under pressure from both climate and land-use changes that reduce ecosystem function. As a response, forest restoration efforts have increased and key aspects to ensure their success include tree species selection and understanding how management alters forested landscapes. In this thesis, I discuss current framing of tropical forest categorization and present a conceptual model that emphasizes management-driven transitions of forests between states (Paper I). Furthermore, I explore how functional-trait variation in tree species native to Borneo correlates with different values and ecosystem services that restoration may need to consider to support a bio-based economy, specifically financial potential (Paper II), conservation of beetle diversity (Paper III), and leaf litter decomposition in a changing climate (Paper IV). Financial potential was found to be linked with low leaf-nutrient content, pH, and specific leaf area, and harvesting of native tree species grown using restoration methods were found to be a potentially viable management option (Paper II). Specific leaf area and leaf area were important in supporting total beetle diversity, but predators and fungivores were related to separate suites of traits (Paper III). Finally, an interactive effect between precipitation frequency (rarely reported) and volume on mass loss was identified, where reductions in either variable lowered mass loss from decomposition (Paper IV). While high nutrient content and pH, and low lignin and tannin content, were correlated with high mass loss, no change in trait-decomposition links between climate scenarios was found. This thesis concludes that while it seems possible to find tree species with disproportionately high ecosystem value, no single trait combination can provide every ecosystem service. Thus, promoting tree species with complementary trait compositions should be prioritized.

Nyckelord

tropical forests; restoration; functional traits; ecosystem services

Publicerad i

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2024, nummer: 2024:71ISBN: 978-91-8046-362-1, eISBN: 978-91-8046-398-0Utgivare: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences