Collaborative Research/LTREB Renewal: Successional Pathways and Rates of Change in Tropical Forests of Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico

这是一个研究热带森林再生的长期项目。neoSelvas项目将六项独立开展的研究结合在一起，协调努力，了解和预测中美洲和南美洲放弃牧场或轮垦后热带森林再生期间的植被变化。它比较了森林结构和物种组成的时间变化与不同年龄的地块（时序）之间观察到的空间变化的地块内。在今后五年中，将利用年度清单数据计算树木和灌木物种在不同再生阶段的补充率和死亡率，并说明各地块和研究地区的树种功能特性随时间的变化。在这个项目结束时，积累的数据将提供一个更深入的了解影响物种的殖民化，扩散，功能性状分布，并在演替过程中的社区组装的因素。 项目结果将为热带森林的再生机制提供新的见解。该项目的数据集提供了指导森林恢复、碳储存和生物多样性保护的基本信息，并增强了生态系统建模和全球变化预测。这些都是具有直接社会意义的主题。研究地块为来自巴西，哥斯达黎加，美国，墨西哥和荷兰的30多名本科生，硕士，博士和博士后研究人员提供合作机会。

This is a long-term project to study regeneration in tropical forests. The neoSelvas project unites six independently developed studies in a coordinated effort to understand and predict vegetation change during regeneration of tropical forests following pasture abandonment or shifting cultivation in Central and South America. It compares temporal variation in forest structure and species composition within plots with spatial variation observed among plots of different ages (a chronosequence). Over the coming five years, annual inventory data will be used to calculate rates of recruitment and mortality of tree and shrub species in different stages of regeneration and to characterize changes in the functional characteristics of tree species across plots and study areas and over time. At the end of this project, the accumulated data will provide a deeper understanding of the factors affecting species colonization, dispersal, functional trait distributions, and community assembly during succession. Project results will provide new insights into mechanisms of regeneration in tropical forests. Datasets from the project supply essential information to guide forest restoration, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation, and to enhance ecosystem modeling and global change predictions. These are all topics of direct societal relevance. Study plots provide collaborative opportunities for over 30 undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral researchers from Brazil, Costa Rica, US, Mexico, and The Netherlands.