EVALUATING FUNCTIONAL DISTANCES OF WOODY SPECIES AS INDICATORS OF ECOLOGICAL ELASTICITY AND PROVISION FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT
Keywords:
Abstract
Understanding the functional distances of woody species in forest ecosystems is crucial for assessing their ecological elasticity and providing valuable insights for forest management practices. Functional distances reflect the ecological dissimilarity between species based on their functional traits, such as growth rates, seed dispersal mechanisms, and tolerance to environmental conditions. This study aims to evaluate the functional distances of woody species and their potential as indicators of ecological elasticity and provision for forest management. By analyzing functional trait data and species composition in different forest stands, functional distances are calculated using appropriate metrics, such as functional trait dissimilarity indices. The results provide a quantitative measure of the ecological dissimilarity between species, allowing for the identification of species that play key roles in ecosystem functioning and resilience. Additionally, the functional distances can inform forest management decisions, including species selection for reforestation, ecosystem restoration, and the promotion of biodiversity. This research contributes to the development of sustainable forest management strategies by integrating functional ecology and species trait-based approaches.
References
Kraft, N. J. B., Valencia, R., & Ackerly, D. D. (2008). Functional traits and niche-based tree community assembly in an Amazonian forest. Science, 322(5901), 580-582.
McGill, B. J., Enquist, B. J., Weiher, E., & Westoby, M. (2006). Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 21(4), 178-185.
Laliberté, E., & Legendre, P. (2010). A distance-based framework for measuring functional diversity from multiple traits. Ecology, 91(1), 299-305.
Swenson, N. G., & Enquist, B. J. (2007). Ecological and evolutionary determinants of a key plant functional trait: Wood density and its community-wide variation across latitude and elevation. American Journal of Botany, 94(3), 451-459.
Violle, C., Navas, M. L., Vile, D., Kazakou, E., Fortunel, C., Hummel, I., ... & Munoz, F. (2007). Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos, 116(5), 882-892.
Diaz, S., Kattge, J., Cornelissen, J. H., Wright, I. J., Lavorel, S., Dray, S., ... & Perez-Harguindeguy, N. (2016). The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature, 529(7585), 167-171.
Chave, J., Coomes, D., Jansen, S., Lewis, S. L., Swenson, N. G., & Zanne, A. E. (2009). Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecology Letters, 12(4), 351-366.
Fonseca, C. R., & Ganade, G. (2001). Species functional redundancy, random extinctions and the stability of ecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 89(1), 118-125.
Cavender-Bares, J., Kozak, K. H., Fine, P. V. A., & Kembel, S. W. (2009). The merging of community ecology and phylogenetic biology. Ecology Letters, 12(7), 693-715.
Petchey, O. L., & Gaston, K. J. (2006). Functional diversity (FD), species richness and community composition. Ecology Letters, 9(7), 815-823.
