CRB: Restoring Seasonal Tropical Forests in Mexico: Using Designer Communities to Direct Succession

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9981607AllenThe proposed research follows upon current research on mycorrhizae and ecophysiology of planted trees in seasonal tropical forest. Defining measurable goals for restoration is one of the central issues in restoration ecology, and is especially problematic in species rich and disturbed systems such as seasonal tropical forests. Designer communities will be established to initiate succession in two sites, and measure the feedbacks that developing communities have on 1) ecophysiological characteristics of trees over time, 2) biodiversity of colonizing plant species, 3) mycorrhizal fungal diversity and effects on plant growth, and 4) soil properties. Because of the high beta diversity in tropical forest, the original species composition can not be duplicated, but species with defined ecophysiological characteristics can be selected that may either slow or hasten succession. These characteristics include fast and slow-growing plants, sun and shade plants, large and small-seeded species, drought tolerance, C/N of leaf tissue, wood density, and others. Three kinds of communities will be established, late seral, early seral, and a mix of seral species. Experiments will test the hypothesis that the growth rate and seral status of the managed community will have different feedbacks on community and soil properties. The rate of canopy closure will vary, as will animal seed dispersers and diversity of plant colonization. Overall, this project will provide needed information on the value of designer communities as a mechanism to direct succession and restore native vegetation to degraded tropical lands.