Modified Whittaker plots as an assessment and monitoring tool for vegetation in a lowland tropical rainforest |
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Authors: | Campbell Patrick Comiskey James Alonso Alfonso Dallmeier Francisco Nuñez Percy Beltran Hamilton Baldeon Severo Nauray William de la Colina Rafael Acurio Lucero Udvardy Shana |
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Institution: | (1) Smithsonian Institution Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program, Conservational Research Center, National Zoological Park, 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW, Suite 3123, Washington, DC, 20560-0705, U.S.A;(2) Departmento de Botanica, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru;(3) Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Avenida Arenales 1256, Jesus Maria, Lima, Apartado 14–0434, Lima, 14, Peru |
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Abstract: | Resource exploitation in lowland tropical forests is increasingand causing loss of biodiversity. Effective evaluation and management of the impacts of development on tropical forests requires appropriate assessment and monitoring tools. We proposethe use of 0.1-ha multi-scale, modified Whittaker plots (MWPs) to assess and monitor vegetation in lowland tropical rainforests.We established MWPs at 4 sites to: (1) describe and comparecomposition and structure of the sites using MWPs, (2) compare these results to those of 1-ha permanent vegetation plots (BDPs),and (3) evaluate the ability of MWPs to detect changes in populations (statistical power). We recorded more than 400 species at each site. Species composition among the sites was distinctive, while mean abundance and basal area was similar. Comparisons between MWPs and BDPs show that they record similarspecies composition and abundance and that both perform equallywell at detecting rare species. However, MWPs tend to record morespecies, and power analysis studies show that MWPs were more effective at detecting changes in the mean number of species of trees 10 cm in diameter at breast height (dbh) and in herbaceous plants. Ten MWPs were sufficient to detect a change of 11% in the mean number of herb species, and they were able to detect a 14% change in the mean number of species of trees 10 cm dbh. The value of MWPs for assessment and monitoringis discussed, along with recommendations for improving the sampling design to increase power. |
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Keywords: | assessment modified Whittaker plots monitoring tropical forests |
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