B21L:
Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: Current Progress and Future Promise in the Study of a Unique, Overlooked, and Major Biome I


Session ID#: 7886

Session Description:
Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) once accounted for over 40% of all tropical forests, and differ from tropical rainforests in their biogeochemistry, hydrology, and ecology due to the presence of long dry seasons with little rainfall. Historically, STDF have not received as much scientific attention as rainforests.  However, because of their large areal extent, high potential for carbon sequestration, and increasing vulnerability to climate and land-use change, a growing number of studies have been directed toward quantifying the intersection between SDTF processes and the physical environment. In this session we highlight recent progress in our understanding of STDFs through both empirical research and modeling. We welcome contributions on all topics related to SDTF ecology, especially including: physiological mechanisms for coping with seasonal and long-term drought, biogeochemical cycling, phenology, plant functional types, belowground processes, and interactions between vegetation and the climate, as well as feedback from management strategies.
Primary Convener:  Jennifer S Powers, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Minneapolis, MN, United States
Conveners:  David Medvigy, University of Notre Dame, Biological Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, United States, Xue Feng, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering and Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, Minneapolis, United States and Gerardo A Sanchez-Azofeifa, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Chairs:  David Medvigy, University of Notre Dame, Biological Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, United States and Xue Feng, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering and Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, Minneapolis, United States
OSPA Liaison:  Jennifer S Powers, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Minneapolis, MN, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • GC - Global Environmental Change
  • H - Hydrology
Index Terms:

0410 Biodiversity [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
0414 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
0439 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics [BIOGEOSCIENCES]
1620 Climate dynamics [GLOBAL CHANGE]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Modeling forest disturbance and recovery in secondary subtropical dry forests of Puerto Rico (Invited) (63002)
Jennifer A. Holm, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States, Herman Henry Shugart, University of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville, VA, United States and Skip J. Van Bloem, Clemson University, Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Georgetown, SC, United States
Emerging deforestation trends in tropical dry forests ecoregions of Mexico and Central America (Invited) (63050)
Carlos Alonso Portillo, Guofeng Cao and Vaughn Smith, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
Catastrophic ecosystem shifts in dry tropical forest: evidence, mechanisms and implications for climate change (Invited) (63376)
Deborah Lawrence1, Paolo D'Odorico2, Christiane Runyan2, Lucy Diekmann2,3, Marcia S DeLonge2,4, Rishiraj Das2, James Eaton2, Karen Vandecar1 and Birgit Schmook5, (1)University of Virginia, Environmental Sciences, Charlottesville, VA, United States, (2)University of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville, VA, United States, (3)Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, United States, (4)Union of Concerned Scientists Washington DC, Washington, DC, United States, (5)ECOSUR El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal, Mexico
Hydrological niche separation explains seasonal and inter-annual variations of vegetation dynamics in seasonally dry tropical forests (63964)
Xiangtao Xu1, David Medvigy2, Jennifer S Powers3, Justin Becknell3 and Kaiyu Guan4, (1)Princeton University, Geosciences, Princeton, NJ, United States, (2)University of Notre Dame, Biological Sciences, Notre Dame, IN, United States, (3)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (4)Stanford University, Stanford, United States
Reproductive Phenology of a Seasonally-Dry Dipterocarp Forest in Southern Thailand (84020)
Erin Kurten, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Royal Thai Forest Department, Silvicultural Research Division, Forest Research Office, Bangkok, Thailand and Stuart J Davies, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Forest Global Earth Observatory, Washington DC, DC, United States
Carbon, nitrogen cycling and land cover changes during regrowth in African dry tropical forests: integrating perspectives from field and satellite data across a chronosequence in the Miombo Woodlands of western Tanzania (69860)
Marc T Mayes, Nature Conservancy NatureNet Fellow, Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton, NJ, United States, Jerry M Melillo, MBL, The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA, United States, John F Mustard, Brown University, Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Providence, RI, United States, Christopher Neill, Marine Biological Laboratory, Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA, United States and Gerson Nyadzi, Millennium Villages Project-Mbola, Tabora, Tanzania
Creation of Alternate Stable States in Tropical Dry Forests as a Consequence of Human Disturbance (86309)
Skip J. Van Bloem1, Stefanie L Whitmire1 and Jarrod Thaxton2, (1)Clemson University, Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Georgetown, SC, United States, (2)University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Mayaguez, PR, United States
A Novel Tropical Dry Forests: A Response to Environmental Change. (79268)
Ariel E. Lugo, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Rio Piedras, PR, United States and Sandra Molina, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Puerto Rico, Biology, Ponce, PR, United States

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