Plants, People, Planet (May 2021)

Expanding tropical forest monitoring into Dry Forests: The DRYFLOR protocol for permanent plots

  • Peter W. Moonlight,
  • Karina Banda‐R,
  • Oliver L. Phillips,
  • Kyle G. Dexter,
  • R. Toby Pennington,
  • Tim R. Baker,
  • Haroldo C. de Lima,
  • Laurie Fajardo,
  • Roy González‐M.,
  • Reynaldo Linares‐Palomino,
  • Jon Lloyd,
  • Marcelo Nascimento,
  • Darién Prado,
  • Catalina Quintana,
  • Ricarda Riina,
  • Gina M. Rodríguez M.,
  • Dora Maria Villela,
  • Ana Carla M. M. Aquino,
  • Luzmila Arroyo,
  • Cidney Bezerra,
  • Alexandre Tadeu Brunello,
  • Roel J. W. Brienen,
  • Domingos Cardoso,
  • Kuo‐Jung Chao,
  • Ítalo Antônio Cotta Coutinho,
  • John Cunha,
  • Tomas Domingues,
  • Mário Marcos doEspírito Santo,
  • Ted R. Feldpausch,
  • Moabe Ferreira Fernandes,
  • Zoë A. Goodwin,
  • Eliana María Jiménez,
  • Aurora Levesley,
  • Leonel Lopez‐Toledo,
  • Beatriz Marimon,
  • Raquel C. Miatto,
  • Marcelo Mizushima,
  • Abel Monteagudo,
  • Magna Soelma Beserra de Moura,
  • Alejandro Murakami,
  • Danilo Neves,
  • Renata Nicora Chequín,
  • Tony César de Sousa Oliveira,
  • Edmar Almeida de Oliveira,
  • Luciano P. de Queiroz,
  • Alan Pilon,
  • Desirée Marques Ramos,
  • Carlos Reynel,
  • Priscyla M. S. Rodrigues,
  • Rubens Santos,
  • Tiina Särkinen,
  • Valdemir Fernando da Silva,
  • Rodolfo M. S. Souza,
  • Rodolfo Vasquez,
  • Elmar Veenendaal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10112
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 3
pp. 295 – 300

Abstract

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Societal Impact Statement Understanding of tropical forests has been revolutionized by monitoring in permanent plots. Data from global plot networks have transformed our knowledge of forests’ diversity, function, contribution to global biogeochemical cycles, and sensitivity to climate change. Monitoring has thus far been concentrated in rain forests. Despite increasing appreciation of their threatened status, biodiversity, and importance to the global carbon cycle, monitoring in tropical dry forests is still in its infancy. We provide a protocol for permanent monitoring plots in tropical dry forests. Expanding monitoring into dry biomes is critical for overcoming the linked challenges of climate change, land use change, and the biodiversity crisis.

Keywords