Nature Communications (Apr 2016)

Contrasting effects of defaunation on aboveground carbon storage across the global tropics

  • Anand M. Osuri,
  • Jayashree Ratnam,
  • Varun Varma,
  • Patricia Alvarez-Loayza,
  • Johanna Hurtado Astaiza,
  • Matt Bradford,
  • Christine Fletcher,
  • Mireille Ndoundou-Hockemba,
  • Patrick A. Jansen,
  • David Kenfack,
  • Andrew R. Marshall,
  • B. R. Ramesh,
  • Francesco Rovero,
  • Mahesh Sankaran

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11351
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Defaunation is linked to the decline of tree species that depend on large animals for seed dispersal, but it is unclear if this affects carbon storage. Here the authors show that defaunation effects on carbon storage vary across continents, driven by relationships between seed dispersal strategies and adult tree size.