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BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) acquired orally may survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract and establish an infection in the rectum, but how often this occurs is unknown. METHODS: In 2019-2022 we enrolled individuals assigned male at birth who reported sex with men and denied receptive anal sex in the past 2 years. Participants enrolled at the Seattle Sexual Health Clinic or online. Participants completed a behavioral survey and self-collected rectal swabs for CT nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) and culture and viability PCR (vPCR). We defined oral exposures as fellatio, cunnilingus, and oral-anal (i.e., rimming). RESULTS: We enrolled 275 men; 60 (22%) reported only oral exposures in the past 12 months. Of these, five (8.3%) tested positive for rectal CT by NAAT; 1 (2%) had viable CT detected (culture-positive; vPCR-positive). Another 43 participants reported only oral exposures in the past 2 months but rectal exposures 3-12 months ago. Of these, 4 (9%) tested NAAT-positive for rectal CT; 1 had viable CT detected (culture-negative; vPCR-positive). CONCLUSIONS: Passage of CT from the mouth to the rectum occurs, but is most often nucleic acid remnants rather than viable bacteria. Nonetheless, it appears possible to establish a viable rectal CT infection via oral exposures.
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Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. Risk factors include extensive sun damage, infection with Merkel cell polyomavirus, and an immunocompromised state. PRAME, also known as preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma, is a cancer-testis antigen recently found to be a useful diagnostic tool in the workup of melanocytic neoplasms. However, the expression pattern of PRAME in Merkel cell carcinoma is unknown. In this study, we examine PRAME expression in Merkel cell carcinoma and explore its prognostic implications. The institutional archives at the University of Virginia were used to search for tumors classified as Merkel cell carcinoma from 2004 to 2022. All potential cases were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis, and electronic medical records were searched for clinical and demographic data. Tumors were subsequently immunostained for PRAME and Merkel cell polyomavirus. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate relative (all-cause) survival of PRAME positivity and MCPyV positivity in our study as well as MCC-specific survival of PRAME positivity. Univariate and multivariable models were created for each outcome related to all-cause survival. A total of 39 cases were included in the study. Twenty-eight percent (11 cases) demonstrated strong PRAME expression, and 27% of cases were positive for Merkel cell polyomavirus. There was no statistically significant correlation between PRAME expression and virus positivity. With respect to PRAME, the adjusted all-cause mortality hazard ratio was 11.4 (95% CI: 1.8, 70.8). The unadjusted MCC-specific hazard ratio was 4.6 (95% CI: 0.8, 27.5). The adjusted hazard ratio pertaining to Merkel cell polyomavirus infection was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.02, 2.96). In this limited cohort, PRAME expression appears to correlate with worse outcomes in Merkel cell carcinoma.
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BACKGROUND: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a chronic inflammatory condition of the small intestine, is an important driver of childhood malnutrition globally. Quantifying intestinal morphology in EED allows for exploration of its association with functional and disease outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We sought to define morphometric characteristics of childhood EED and determine whether morphology features were associated with disease pathophysiology. METHODS: Morphometric measurements and histology were assessed on duodenal biopsy slides for this cross-sectional study from children with EED in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Zambia (n=69), and those with no pathologic abnormality (NPA; n=8) or celiac disease (n=18) in North America. Immunohistochemistry was also conducted on 46, 8, and 18 biopsy slides, respectively. Linear mixed-effects regression models were used to reveal morphometric differences between EED compared to NPA or celiac disease, and identify associations between morphometry and histology or immunohistochemistry amongst children with EED. RESULTS: In duodenal biopsies, median EED villus height (248 µm), crypt depth (299 µm), and villus:crypt (V:C) ratio (0.9) values ranged between those of NPA (396 µm villus height; 246 µm crypt depth; 1.6 V:C ratio) and celiac disease (208 µm villus height; 365 µm crypt depth; 0.5 V:C ratio). Among EED biopsy slides, morphometric assessments were not associated with histologic parameters or immunohistochemical markers, other than pathologist determined subjective semi-quantitative villus architecture. CONCLUSIONS: Morphometric analysis of duodenal biopsy slides across geographies identified morphologic features of EED, specifically short villi, elongated crypts, and a smaller V:C ratio relative to NPA slides; although not as severe as in celiac slides. Morphometry did not explain other EED features, suggesting that EED histopathologic processes may be operating independently of morphology. While acknowledging the challenges with obtaining relevant tissue, these data form the basis for further assessments of the role of morphometry in EED.
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The United Nations recently agreed to major expansions of global protected areas (PAs) to slow biodiversity declines1. However, although reserves often reduce habitat loss, their efficacy at preserving animal diversity and their influence on biodiversity in surrounding unprotected areas remain unclear2-5. Unregulated hunting can empty PAs of large animals6, illegal tree felling can degrade habitat quality7, and parks can simply displace disturbances such as logging and hunting to unprotected areas of the landscape8 (a phenomenon called leakage). Alternatively, well-functioning PAs could enhance animal diversity within reserves as well as in nearby unprotected sites9 (an effect called spillover). Here we test whether PAs across mega-diverse Southeast Asia contribute to vertebrate conservation inside and outside their boundaries. Reserves increased all facets of bird diversity. Large reserves were also associated with substantially enhanced mammal diversity in the adjacent unprotected landscape. Rather than PAs generating leakage that deteriorated ecological conditions elsewhere, our results are consistent with PAs inducing spillover that benefits biodiversity in surrounding areas. These findings support the United Nations goal of achieving 30% PA coverage by 2030 by demonstrating that PAs are associated with higher vertebrate diversity both inside their boundaries and in the broader landscape.
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Biodiversidad , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales , Objetivos , Clima Tropical , Naciones Unidas , Animales , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales/legislación & jurisprudencia , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales/métodos , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales/tendencias , Mamíferos , Agricultura Forestal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Agricultura Forestal/métodos , Agricultura Forestal/tendenciasRESUMEN
Although eco-acoustic monitoring has the potential to deliver biodiversity insight on vast scales, existing analytical approaches behave unpredictably across studies. We collated 8,023 audio recordings with paired manual avifaunal point counts to investigate whether soundscapes could be used to monitor biodiversity across diverse ecosystems. We found that neither univariate indices nor machine learning models were predictive of species richness across datasets but soundscape change was consistently indicative of community change. Our findings indicate that there are no common features of biodiverse soundscapes and that soundscape monitoring should be used cautiously and in conjunction with more reliable in-person ecological surveys.
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Biodiversidad , Ecosistema , Humanos , Aprendizaje AutomáticoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: In the United States, annual screening for rectal gonorrhea and chlamydia is only recommended for men who report receptive anal sex (RAS), but other behaviors (e.g., rimming) may lead to rectal Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae acquisition. METHODS: We enrolled individuals assigned male sex at birth who reported sex with men and denied RAS in the past 2 years or reported RAS 1 to 2 years ago but were tested and treated since last RAS. Participants enrolled in-person at the Sexual Health Clinic in Seattle, Washington (December 2019-July 2022), or online (July 2021-March 2022). Participants completed a survey that asked about 13 non-RAS behaviors and self-collected a rectal swab for gonorrhea/chlamydia nucleic acid amplification testing. We used log binomial regression to estimate the prevalence of rectal gonorrhea/chlamydia (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]) by behavior, adjusting for all other behaviors. RESULTS: We enrolled 292 participants (247 in-person and 45 online); 277 (95%) had nucleic acid amplification testing results. Rectal gonorrhea/chlamydia test positivity was 14.1% overall: 10.5% for rectal chlamydia and 4.3% for rectal gonorrhea. Most participants (70%) reported ≥1 behavior that involved direct contact with their anus. We observed a higher risk of rectal chlamydia for those who did versus did not report perianal play at 12 months (aPR, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-5.22) and 2 months (aPR, 2.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-4.79). This was the only behavior significantly associated with testing positive. CONCLUSIONS: Rectal C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae prevalence was high among men who deny RAS, suggesting other possible routes of acquisition. Rectal screening for those who deny RAS should be made with careful consideration of individual- and population-level effects.
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Infecciones por Chlamydia , Gonorrea , Ácidos Nucleicos , Enfermedades del Recto , Minorías Sexuales y de Género , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Humanos , Estados Unidos/epidemiología , Gonorrea/diagnóstico , Gonorrea/epidemiología , Gonorrea/prevención & control , Homosexualidad Masculina , Prevalencia , Infecciones por Chlamydia/diagnóstico , Infecciones por Chlamydia/epidemiología , Infecciones por Chlamydia/prevención & control , Conducta Sexual , Neisseria gonorrhoeae/genética , Chlamydia trachomatis , Enfermedades del Recto/epidemiología , Enfermedades del Recto/diagnósticoRESUMEN
Modeling studies suggest that transmission of gonorrhea and chlamydia to multiple anatomic sites within the same person is necessary to reproduce observed high rates of extragenital gonorrhea/chlamydia. Limited empiric behavioral data support this idea. In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled individuals assigned male at birth who reported sex with men (MSM) and denied receptive anal sex (RAS) in the past 2 years. Participants enrolled in-person at the Sexual Health Clinic in Seattle, Washington (December 2019-September 2021) or online (July 2021-September 2021), and completed a sexual history questionnaire that asked about specific sexual acts and sequence of those acts during their last sexual encounter. We enrolled 210 MSM during the 16-month recruiting period. The median number of sex acts reported at last sexual encounter was 4 (interquartile range 3-5). The most commonly reported acts at last sex were: kissing (83%), receiving oral sex (82%), and insertive anal sex (65%). There was substantial variability in the sequence of acts reported; no unique sequence of sex acts was reported by more than 12% of the population. Ninety percent of participants reported sequences of behaviors that could lead to gonorrhea or chlamydia transmission within the same person (respondent or partner); the most common of these combinations was kissing followed by receiving oral sex (64% reporting). Engaging in multiple sex acts within a single sexual encounter is common and may lead to gonorrhea/chlamydia transmission within the same person. This complicates empiric measurements of transmission probabilities needed to estimate population-level transmission.
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Infecciones por Chlamydia , Gonorrea , Infecciones por VIH , Minorías Sexuales y de Género , Enfermedades de Transmisión Sexual , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Humanos , Gonorrea/epidemiología , Homosexualidad Masculina , Estudios Transversales , Infecciones por Chlamydia/epidemiología , Enfermedades de Transmisión Sexual/epidemiología , Conducta Sexual , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Here we provide the 'Global Spectrum of Plant Form and Function Dataset', containing species mean values for six vascular plant traits. Together, these traits -plant height, stem specific density, leaf area, leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen content per dry mass, and diaspore (seed or spore) mass - define the primary axes of variation in plant form and function. The dataset is based on ca. 1 million trait records received via the TRY database (representing ca. 2,500 original publications) and additional unpublished data. It provides 92,159 species mean values for the six traits, covering 46,047 species. The data are complemented by higher-level taxonomic classification and six categorical traits (woodiness, growth form, succulence, adaptation to terrestrial or aquatic habitats, nutrition type and leaf type). Data quality management is based on a probabilistic approach combined with comprehensive validation against expert knowledge and external information. Intense data acquisition and thorough quality control produced the largest and, to our knowledge, most accurate compilation of empirically observed vascular plant species mean traits to date.
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Climate change is causing glaciers to retreat across much of the Himalaya, leading to a rapid shift of the vegetation cover to higher altitudes. However, the rate of vegetation shift with respect to glacier retreat, climate change, and topographic parameters is not empirically quantified. Using remote sensing measurements, we estimate (a) the rate of glacier-ice mass loss, (b) the upward vegetation line shift rate, (c) regional greening trends, and (d) a relationship between the factors influencing the greenness of the landscape and vegetation change in the Himalaya. We find that the glacier mass loss rate is 10.9 ± 1.2 Gt/yr and the mean vegetation line shifts upward in altitude by 7-28 ± 1.5 m/yr. Considering the land use/land cover change pattern, the grassland area is found to be expanding the most, particularly in the de-glaciated regions. The vegetation change is found to be controlled by soil moisture and slope of the area.
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Monitoreo del Ambiente , Cubierta de Hielo , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Cambio Climático , AltitudRESUMEN
The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is one of the most recognized global patterns of species richness exhibited across a wide range of taxa. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed in the past two centuries to explain LDG, but rigorous tests of the drivers of LDGs have been limited by a lack of high-quality global species richness data. Here we produce a high-resolution (0.025° × 0.025°) map of local tree species richness using a global forest inventory database with individual tree information and local biophysical characteristics from ~1.3 million sample plots. We then quantify drivers of local tree species richness patterns across latitudes. Generally, annual mean temperature was a dominant predictor of tree species richness, which is most consistent with the metabolic theory of biodiversity (MTB). However, MTB underestimated LDG in the tropics, where high species richness was also moderated by topographic, soil and anthropogenic factors operating at local scales. Given that local landscape variables operate synergistically with bioclimatic factors in shaping the global LDG pattern, we suggest that MTB be extended to account for co-limitation by subordinate drivers.
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Biodiversidad , Bosques , Suelo , ÁrbolesRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs, have a high risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. We assessed the health and economic impacts of different HIV and syphilis testing strategies among three key populations in Viet Nam using a dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test (RDT). SETTING: We used the spectrum AIDS impact model to simulate the HIV epidemic in Viet Nam and evaluated five testing scenarios among key populations. We used a 15-year time horizon and a provider perspective for costs. PARTICIPANTS: We simulate the entire population of Viet Nam in the model. INTERVENTIONS: We modelled five testing scenarios among key populations: (1) annual testing with an HIV RDT, (2) annual testing with a dual RDT, (3) biannual testing using dual RDT and HIV RDT, (4) biannual testing using HIV RDT and (5) biannual testing using dual RDT. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome is incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Secondary outcomes include HIV and syphilis cases. RESULTS: Annual testing using a dual HIV/syphilis RDT was cost-effective (US$10 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY)) and averted 3206 HIV cases and treated 27 727 syphilis cases compared with baseline over 15 years. Biannual testing using one dual test and one HIV RDT (US$1166 per DALY), or two dual tests (US$5672 per DALY) both averted an additional 875 HIV cases, although only the former scenario was cost-effective. Annual or biannual HIV testing using HIV RDTs and separate syphilis tests were more costly and less effective than using one or two dual RDTs. CONCLUSIONS: Annual HIV and syphilis testing using dual RDT among key populations is cost-effective in Vietnam and similar settings to reach global reduction goals for HIV and syphilis.
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Infecciones por VIH , Minorías Sexuales y de Género , Sífilis , Análisis Costo-Beneficio , Infecciones por VIH/diagnóstico , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Prueba de VIH , Homosexualidad Masculina , Humanos , Masculino , Sífilis/diagnóstico , Sífilis/epidemiología , Vietnam/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research-from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields. To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured. These data were collected at 61,856 globally distributed sites, spanning all major forested and non-forested biomes. The majority of trees in the database are identified to species (88%), and collectively Tallo includes data for 5163 species distributed across 1453 genera and 187 plant families. The database is publicly archived under a CC-BY 4.0 licence and can be access from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637599. To demonstrate its value, here we present three case studies that highlight how the Tallo database can be used to address a range of theoretical and applied questions in ecology-from testing the predictions of metabolic scaling theory, to exploring the limits of tree allometric plasticity along environmental gradients and modelling global variation in maximum attainable tree height. In doing so, we provide a key resource for field ecologists, remote sensing researchers and the modelling community working together to better understand the role that trees play in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.
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Bosques , Árboles , Biomasa , Carbono/metabolismo , Ciclo del Carbono , Ecosistema , Árboles/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects aim to contribute to climate change mitigation by protecting and enhancing carbon stocks in tropical forests, but there have been no systematic global evaluations of their impact. We used a new data set for tropical humid forests and a standardized evaluation approach (based on pixel matching) to quantify the performance of a representative sample of 40 voluntary REDD+ projects in 9 countries certified under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). In the first 5 years of implementation, deforestation within project areas was reduced by 47% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24-68) compared with matched counterfactual pixels, and degradation rates were 58% lower (95% CI: 49-63). Reductions were small in absolute terms but greater in sites located in high-deforestation settings and did not appear to be substantially undermined by leakage activities in forested areas within 10 km of project boundaries. At the 26th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community renewed its commitment to tackling tropical deforestation as a nature-based solution to climate change. Our results indicate that incentivizing forest conservation through voluntary site-based projects can slow tropical deforestation and highlight the particular importance of prioritizing financing for areas at greater risk of deforestation.
Evaluación Global de la Efectividad de proyectos REDD+ en la Reducción de la Deforestación y Degradación en el Trópico Húmedo Resumen Los proyectos para la reducción de emisiones derivados de la deforestación y degradación de bosques (REDD+) tienen como meta contribuir a la mitigación del cambio climático al protejer y fomentar la disponibilidad de carbono en bosques tropicales, pero a la fecha no se han realizado evaluaciones globales sistemáticas sobre su impacto. Utilizamos bases de datos recientes sobre bosques tropicales húmedos y un método estandarizado de evaluación (basado en 'emparejamiento' [matching] de pixeles) para cuantificar el desempeño de una muestra representativa de 40 proyectos voluntarios REDD+ , localizados en 9 países y certificados bajo el estándar Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). En los primeros 5 años de implementación, la deforestación en las áreas de los proyectos disminuyó en 47% (IC 95% 24-68) en comparación con los pixeles contrafactuales correspondientes, y las tasas de degradación fueron 58% menos (IC 95% 49-63). Las reducciones fueron pequeñas en términos absolutos pero mayores en sitios con tasas de deforestación elevadas, y no parecieron ser afectadas sustancialmente por efectos de fuga (leakage) en áreas boscosas en un radio de 10 km de los límites del proyecto. En la COP26, la comunidad internacional renovó su compromiso de afrontar la deforestación tropical como una solución al cambio climático basada en la naturaleza. Nuestros resultados indican que incentivar la conservación de bosques mediante proyectos locales voluntarios puede disminuir la deforestación tropical, y resaltan la importancia de priorizar financiamiento en áreas con un mayor riesgo de deforestación.
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Conservación de los Recursos Naturales , Bosques , Cambio Climático , CarbonoRESUMEN
Tropical forests are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, yet their functioning is threatened by anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Global actions to conserve tropical forests could be enhanced by having local knowledge on the forests' functional diversity and functional redundancy as proxies for their capacity to respond to global environmental change. Here we create estimates of plant functional diversity and redundancy across the tropics by combining a dataset of 16 morphological, chemical and photosynthetic plant traits sampled from 2,461 individual trees from 74 sites distributed across four continents together with local climate data for the past half century. Our findings suggest a strong link between climate and functional diversity and redundancy with the three trait groups responding similarly across the tropics and climate gradient. We show that drier tropical forests are overall less functionally diverse than wetter forests and that functional redundancy declines with increasing soil water and vapour pressure deficits. Areas with high functional diversity and high functional redundancy tend to better maintain ecosystem functioning, such as aboveground biomass, after extreme weather events. Our predictions suggest that the lower functional diversity and lower functional redundancy of drier tropical forests, in comparison with wetter forests, may leave them more at risk of shifting towards alternative states in face of further declines in water availability across tropical regions.
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Cambio Climático , Ecosistema , Bosques , Árboles , AguaRESUMEN
One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are â¼73,000 tree species globally, among which â¼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.
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Conservación de los Recursos Naturales , Bosques , Árboles/clasificación , Planeta Tierra , Árboles/crecimiento & desarrolloRESUMEN
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) associations are critical for host-tree performance. However, how mycorrhizal associations correlate with the latitudinal tree beta-diversity remains untested. Using a global dataset of 45 forest plots representing 2,804,270 trees across 3840 species, we test how AM and EcM trees contribute to total beta-diversity and its components (turnover and nestedness) of all trees. We find AM rather than EcM trees predominantly contribute to decreasing total beta-diversity and turnover and increasing nestedness with increasing latitude, probably because wide distributions of EcM trees do not generate strong compositional differences among localities. Environmental variables, especially temperature and precipitation, are strongly correlated with beta-diversity patterns for both AM trees and all trees rather than EcM trees. Results support our hypotheses that latitudinal beta-diversity patterns and environmental effects on these patterns are highly dependent on mycorrhizal types. Our findings highlight the importance of AM-dominated forests for conserving global forest biodiversity.
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Biodiversidad , Bosques , Micorrizas/fisiología , Árboles/fisiología , Interacciones Microbiota-Huesped/fisiología , Dispersión de las Plantas , Microbiología del Suelo , Árboles/microbiologíaRESUMEN
The past 40 years in Southeast Asia have seen about 50% of lowland rainforests converted to oil palm and other plantations, and much of the remaining forest heavily logged. Little is known about how fragmentation influences recovery and whether climate change will hamper restoration. Here, we use repeat airborne LiDAR surveys spanning the hot and dry 2015-16 El Niño Southern Oscillation event to measure canopy height growth across 3,300 ha of regenerating tropical forests spanning a logging intensity gradient in Malaysian Borneo. We show that the drought led to increased leaf shedding and branch fall. Short forest, regenerating after heavy logging, continued to grow despite higher evaporative demand, except when it was located close to oil palm plantations. Edge effects from the plantations extended over 300 metres into the forests. Forest growth on hilltops and slopes was particularly impacted by the combination of fragmentation and drought, but even riparian forests located within 40 m of oil palm plantations lost canopy height during the drought. Our results suggest that small patches of logged forest within plantation landscapes will be slow to recover, particularly as ENSO events are becoming more frequent.