Data from: Legume abundance along successional and rainfall gradients in neotropical forests

Creators

Ricardo Gomes César, Department of Forest Sciences, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo
Julie S. Denslow, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University
Jorge A. Meave, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Maria Uriarte, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University
Sandra M. Durán, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta
Jorge Rodríguez-Velázquez, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Vanessa De Souza Moreno, Department of Forest Sciences, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo
Jennifer S. Powers, Department of Plant Biology and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota
T. Mitchell Aide, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
Juan Manuel Dupuy, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Recursos Naturales
Erika Marín-Spiotta, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Daniel Piotto, Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais, Universidade Federal Do sul da Bahia
Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi
Daisy H. Dent, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros
Hans F. M. Vester, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam
Susan G. Letcher, Department of Plant Biology, College of the Atlantic
I. Eunice Romero-Pérez, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Maria Das Dores Magalhães Veloso, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros
Casandra Reyes-García, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Recursos Naturales
Justin M. Becknell, Environmental Studies Program, Colby College
Rodrigo Muñoz, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Robin L. Chazdon, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado
Edith Orihuela-Belmonte, National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change
Danaë M. A. Rozendaal, Department of Biology, University of Regina
Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta
José Luis Andrade, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Recursos Naturales
G. Wilson Fernandes, Ecologia Evolutiva and Biodiversidade/DBG, ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
George A. L. Cabral, Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Duncan N. L. Menge, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University

Description

Data from: Legume Abundance Along Successional And Rainfall Gradients In Neotropical ForestsThis database is the product of the 2ndFOR collaborative research network on secondary forests. The database contains total basal area data (in m2 ha-1) of legume trees (Leguminosae) for 1207 secondary forest plots differing in time since abandonment. The plots belong to different chonosequence studies. For a description of the database, see Gei et al. 2018. Legume Abundance Along Successional And Rainfall Gradients In Neotropical Forests. Nature Ecology and Evolution. The file "Legume basal area 2ndFOR data.csv" contains the following variables: Chronosequence: name of the chronosequence site Age: age of the plot (in years), "OG" indicates old-growth forest of unknown age LBA: total basal area of legume trees (Leguminosae) of the plot in m2 ha-1 Reference: a citation for the chronosequence study, if available PI/contact person: name(s) of the principal investigator(s) or contact person(s) for the chronosequence study.Legume basal area 2ndFOR data.csv,The nutrient demands of regrowing tropical forests are partly satisfied by nitrogen (N)-fixing legume trees, but our understanding of the abundance of those species is biased towards wet tropical regions. Here we show how the abundance of Leguminosae is affected by both recovery from disturbance and large-scale rainfall gradients through a synthesis of forest-inventory plots from a network of 42 Neotropical forest chronosequences. During the first three decades of natural forest regeneration, legume basal area is twice as high in dry compared to wet secondary forests. The tremendous ecological success of legumes in recently disturbed, water-limited forests is likely related to both their reduced leaflet size and ability to fix N2, which together enhance legume drought tolerance and water-use efficiency. Earth system models should incorporate these large-scale successional and climatic patterns of legume dominance to provide more accurate estimates of the maximum potential for natural N fixation across tropical forests.

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Publisher

DRYAD

DOI

10.5061/dryad.3p1k5d2

Funder

National Science Foundation

Language

en

Document Type

Data Set

Identifier

10.5061/dryad.3p1k5d2

Embargo Date

1-1-2019

Version

1

Share

COinS