Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region

The mortality of trees in humid tropical forests plays a fundamental role in understanding forest development, particularly after disturbances such as those caused by logging and extreme weather events. The aim of this study was to evaluate estimates of individual tree mortality following Reduced Im...

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Main Authors: Erica Karolina Barros de Oliveira, Alba Valéria Rezende, Leonidas Soares Murta Júnior, Lucas Mazzei, Renato Vinícius Oliveira Castro, Marcus Vinicio Neves D'Oliveira, Rafael Coll Delgado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Ecological Informatics
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004229
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author Erica Karolina Barros de Oliveira
Alba Valéria Rezende
Leonidas Soares Murta Júnior
Lucas Mazzei
Renato Vinícius Oliveira Castro
Marcus Vinicio Neves D'Oliveira
Rafael Coll Delgado
author_facet Erica Karolina Barros de Oliveira
Alba Valéria Rezende
Leonidas Soares Murta Júnior
Lucas Mazzei
Renato Vinícius Oliveira Castro
Marcus Vinicio Neves D'Oliveira
Rafael Coll Delgado
author_sort Erica Karolina Barros de Oliveira
collection DOAJ
description The mortality of trees in humid tropical forests plays a fundamental role in understanding forest development, particularly after disturbances such as those caused by logging and extreme weather events. The aim of this study was to evaluate estimates of individual tree mortality following Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon at biennial intervals from 2005 to 2012. RIL is based on operations planning, personnel training, and investments in forest management, and harvesting through RIL must: (a) minimize environmental damage, (b) diminish operation cost by increasing work efficiency, and (c) reduce operational waste. A mortality model was constructed based on the estimation of three distance-independent competition-indices (DII) and five models for predicting the probability of individual tree mortality. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test was used to determine the most representative model, from which a Neural Network Autoregressive (NNAR) model was constructed to forecast mortality after RIL. Mortality data was correlated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and climate (Rainfall, Maximum, Minimum, and Average air temperature). The tested models showed similar and accurate estimates with R2 exceeding 0.90, although underestimation and overestimation trends were observed. The NNAR satisfactorily represented species mortality over the simulated years. The period from 2012 to 2014 was characterized by a Neutral and Weak El Niño event, and exhibited the highest mortality value for a 25 cm DBH (diameter at breast height), the smallest DBH class measured in this study. In the correlation matrix analysis, maximum air temperature showed the highest positive correlation with trees mortality. Despite the challenges in estimating individual tree mortality in tropical forests after selective logging, accurate estimates were achieved using traditional regression techniques and NNAR. These results can support technical and silvicultural decisions regarding forest management in the Eastern Amazon region of Brazil.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1574-9541
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Ecological Informatics
spelling doaj-art-18d1b050c4104c38a04f31271d7124862024-12-17T04:59:13ZengElsevierEcological Informatics1574-95412024-12-0184102880Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon regionErica Karolina Barros de Oliveira0Alba Valéria Rezende1Leonidas Soares Murta Júnior2Lucas Mazzei3Renato Vinícius Oliveira Castro4Marcus Vinicio Neves D'Oliveira5Rafael Coll Delgado6Institute of Science, Engineering, and Technology (ICET), Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM), Mucuri Campus, 39803371, Teófilo Otoni, MG, BrazilForest Engineering Department, University of Brasília (UnB), Campus Darcy Ribeiro, 70910-900 Brasília, DF, BrazilForest Science, Forest State Institute (IEF), Teófilo Otoni, 39803-084, MG, BrazilBrazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Eastern Amazon), Travessa Doutor Enéas Pinheiro, 66095-903 Belém, PA, BrazilForest Engineering Department, Federal University of São João Del Rei (UFSJ), Sete Lagoas 35701-970, MG, BrazilBrazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Acre), BR 364, km 14, Rio Branco, AC 69900-970, BrazilCenter of Biological and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Acre (UFAC), Rio Branco 69920-900, AC, Brazil; Corresponding author.The mortality of trees in humid tropical forests plays a fundamental role in understanding forest development, particularly after disturbances such as those caused by logging and extreme weather events. The aim of this study was to evaluate estimates of individual tree mortality following Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon at biennial intervals from 2005 to 2012. RIL is based on operations planning, personnel training, and investments in forest management, and harvesting through RIL must: (a) minimize environmental damage, (b) diminish operation cost by increasing work efficiency, and (c) reduce operational waste. A mortality model was constructed based on the estimation of three distance-independent competition-indices (DII) and five models for predicting the probability of individual tree mortality. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test was used to determine the most representative model, from which a Neural Network Autoregressive (NNAR) model was constructed to forecast mortality after RIL. Mortality data was correlated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and climate (Rainfall, Maximum, Minimum, and Average air temperature). The tested models showed similar and accurate estimates with R2 exceeding 0.90, although underestimation and overestimation trends were observed. The NNAR satisfactorily represented species mortality over the simulated years. The period from 2012 to 2014 was characterized by a Neutral and Weak El Niño event, and exhibited the highest mortality value for a 25 cm DBH (diameter at breast height), the smallest DBH class measured in this study. In the correlation matrix analysis, maximum air temperature showed the highest positive correlation with trees mortality. Despite the challenges in estimating individual tree mortality in tropical forests after selective logging, accurate estimates were achieved using traditional regression techniques and NNAR. These results can support technical and silvicultural decisions regarding forest management in the Eastern Amazon region of Brazil.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004229Tree mortalityForest competitionReduced impact loggingExtreme weather eventsArtificial intelligence
spellingShingle Erica Karolina Barros de Oliveira
Alba Valéria Rezende
Leonidas Soares Murta Júnior
Lucas Mazzei
Renato Vinícius Oliveira Castro
Marcus Vinicio Neves D'Oliveira
Rafael Coll Delgado
Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
Ecological Informatics
Tree mortality
Forest competition
Reduced impact logging
Extreme weather events
Artificial intelligence
title Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
title_full Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
title_fullStr Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
title_full_unstemmed Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
title_short Individual tree mortality: Risks of climate change in the eastern Brazilian Amazon region
title_sort individual tree mortality risks of climate change in the eastern brazilian amazon region
topic Tree mortality
Forest competition
Reduced impact logging
Extreme weather events
Artificial intelligence
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004229
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