Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T17:44:30.891Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessing ecosystem services in Neotropical dry forests: a systematic review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2016

SOFIA CALVO-RODRIGUEZ
Affiliation:
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E3, Alberta, Canada
ARTURO G. SANCHEZ-AZOFEIFA*
Affiliation:
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E3, Alberta, Canada
SANDRA M. DURAN
Affiliation:
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E3, Alberta, Canada
MARIO M. ESPÍRITO-SANTO
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros CP 126 CEP 39401-089, Minas Gerais, Brazil
*
*Correspondence: Prof. Dr. Arturo G. Sanchez-Azofeifa e-mail: [email protected]

Summary

There is an increasing consensus on the importance of understanding ecosystem service (ES) provision in order to facilitate decision making and the sustainable management of Neotropical dry forests (NTDFs), yet research on the ESs provided by NTDFs is limited. We identified the main existing gaps and trends in the quantification of provisioning, regulating and supporting ESs in NTDFs. Systematic web-based searches showed that research has been increasing in recent decades in NTDFs, supporting greater ES knowledge and assessment. Carbon storage and biodiversity are the main subjects under study, while ESs relating to water and soil lack investigation. The most common approaches for assessing ES were fauna and plant inventories, carbon dynamics and ecological processes.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avila-Cabadilla, L.D., Stoner, K.E., Nassar, J.M., Espírito-Santo, M.M.Do., Alvarez-Anorve, M., Aranguren, C., Henry, M., Gonzalez-Carcacia, J.A., Falcao, L. & Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A. (2014) Phyllostomid bat occurrence in successional stages of Neotropical dry forests. PLoS One 9: e84572.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bagstad, K.J., Semmens, D.J., Waage, S. & Winthrop, R. (2013) A comparative assessment of decision-support tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation. Ecosystem Services 5: 2739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, A., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Portillo-Quintero, C.A., Rivard, B., Castro-Contreras, S. & Fernandes, G. (2015) Patterns of leaf biochemical and structural properties of Cerrado life forms: implications for remote sensing. PLoS One 10: e0117659.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Balvanera, P., Castillo, A. & Martínez-Harms, M.J. (2011) Ecosystem services in seasonally dry tropical forests. In: Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: Ecology and Conservation, eds. Dirzo, R., Young, H., Mooney, H. & Ceballos, G., pp. 259277. London, UK: Island Press.Google Scholar
Balvanera, P., Uriarte, M., Almeida-Leñero, L., Altesor, A., DeClerck, F., Gardner, T., Hall, J., Lara, A., Laterra, P. & Peña-Claros, M. (2012) Ecosystem services research in Latin America: the state of the art. Ecosystem Services 2: 5670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bastian, M., Heymann, S. & Jacomy, M. (2009) Gephi: an open source software for exploring and manipulating networks. International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. [www document]. URL http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/09/paper/view/154/ CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonacich, P. & Lloyd, P. (2001) Eigenvector-like measures of centrality for asymmetric relations. Social Networks 23: 191201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brauman, K.A., Daily, G.C., Duarte, T.K.E. & Mooney, H.A. (2007) The nature and value of ecosystem services: an overview highlighting hydrologic services. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 32: 6798.Google Scholar
Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., McLennan, B., Sanchez-Azofeifa, A. & Garvin, T. (2009) Deforestation and forest restoration in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: putting conservation policies in context. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 931940.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campo, J., Jaramillo, V.J. & Maass, J.M. (1998) Pulses of soil phosphorus availability in a Mexican tropical dry forest: effects of seasonality and level of wetting. Oecologia 115: 167172.Google Scholar
Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D.U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., Narwani, A., Mace, G.A., Tilman, D., Wardle, D.A., Kinzig, A.P., Daily, G.C., Loreau, M., Grace, J.B., Larigauderie, A., Srivastava, D.S. & Naeem, S. (2012) Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature 486: 5967.Google Scholar
Carpenter, S.R., Mooney, H.A., Agard, J., Capistrano, D., DeFries, R.S., Díaz, S., Dietz, T., Duraiappah, A.K., Oteng-Yeboah, A., Pereira, E.H., Perrings, C., Reid, W.V., Sarukhan, J., Scholes, R.J. & Whyte, A. (2009) Science for managing ecosystem services: beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 13051312.Google Scholar
Ceballos, G., Vale, M.M., Bonacic, C., Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., List, R., Bynum, N., Medellin, R.A., Simonetti, J.A. & Rodriguez, J.P. (2009) Conservation challenges for the austral and Neotropical America section. Conservation Biology 23: 811817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chapman, L.J. & Kramer, D.L. (1991) Limnological observations of an intermittent tropical dry forest stream. Hydrobiologia 226: 153166.Google Scholar
Chazdon, R.L., Broadbent, E.N., Rozendaal, D.M.A. et al. (2016) Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics. Science Advances 2: e1501639.Google Scholar
CICES (2013) CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) V4.3. [www document]. URL http://cices.eu/ Google Scholar
Cotler, H. & Ortega-Larrocea, M.P. (2006) Effects of land use on soil erosion in a tropical dry forest ecosystem, Chamela watershed, Mexico. Catena 65: 107117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crossman, N.D., Burkhard, B. & Nedkov, S. (2012) Quantifying and mapping ecosystem services. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management 8: 14.Google Scholar
Daily, G.C., Matson, P.A. & Vitousek, P.M. (1997) Ecosystem services supplied by soil. In: Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems, ed. Daily, G.C., pp. 113132. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Daily, G.C., Söderqvist, T., Aniyar, S., Arrow, K., Dasgupta, P., Ehrlich, P.R., Folke, C., Jansson, A., Jansson, B. & Kautsky, N. (2008) The value of nature and the nature of value. Science 289: 395396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Groot, R., Brander, L., Van Der Ploeg, S., Costanza, R., Bernard, F., Braat, L., Christie, M., Crossman, N., Ghermandi, A. & Hein, L. (2012) Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units. Ecosystem Services 1: 5061.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Groot, R., Wilson, M.A. & Boumans, R.M.J. (1992) A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Special Issue: The Dynamics and Value of Ecosystem Services: Integrating Economic and Ecological Perspectives. Ecological Economics 41: 393408.Google Scholar
Díaz, S., Demissew, S., Joly, C., Lonsdale, W.M. & Larigauderie, A. (2015) A Rosetta Stone for nature's benefits to people. PLoS Biology 13: e1002040.Google Scholar
Diaz-Gustavo, N., Martínez-Salvador, M., García-Hernández, J.L., Norzagaray-Campos, M., Luna-González, A. & González-Ocampo, H.A. (2015). Carbon sequestration of Caesalpinia platyloba S. Watt (Leguminosae) (Lott 1985) in the tropical deciduous forest. PLoS One 10: e0125478.Google Scholar
Diekmann, L.O., Lawrence, D. & Okin, G.S. (2007) Changes in the spatial variation of soil properties following shifting cultivation in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Biogeochemistry 84: 99113.Google Scholar
Dominati, E., Patterson, M. & Mackay, A. (2010) A framework for classifying and quantifying the natural capital and ecosystem services of soils. Ecological Economics 69: 18581868.Google Scholar
Duran, S.M., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Rios, R.S. & Gianoli, E. (2015) The relative importance of climate, stand variables and liana abundance for carbon storage in tropical forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography 24: 939949.Google Scholar
Ellingson, L.J., Kauffman, J.B., Cummings, D.L., Sanford, R.L. & Jaramillo, V.J. (2000) Soil N dynamics associated with deforestation, biomass burning, and pasture conversion in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Forest Ecology and Management 137: 4151.Google Scholar
Farrick, K.K. & Branfireun, B.A. (2013) Left high and dry: a call to action for increased hydrological research in tropical dry forests. Hydrological Processes 27: 32543262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galicia, L. & García-Oliva, F. (2004) The effects of C, N and P additions on soil microbial activity under two remnant tree species in a tropical seasonal pasture. Applied Soil Ecology 26: 3139.Google Scholar
García-Oliva, F., Ezcurra, E. & Galicia, L. (1991) Pattern of rainfall distribution in the Central Pacific Coast of Mexico. Geografiska Annaler, Series A. Physical Geography 73: 179186.Google Scholar
García-Oliva, F., Maass, J.M. & Galicia, L. (1995) Rainstorm analysis and rainfall erosivity of a seasonal tropical region with a strong cyclonic influence on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Journal of Applied Meteorology 34: 24912498.Google Scholar
Gutiérrez, H. & Espíndola, S. (2010) Using low enthalpy geothermal resources to desalinate sea water and electricity production on desert areas in Mexico. GHC Bulletin 29: 1924.Google Scholar
Heras, A., Rodriguez, M.A. & Islas-Espinoza, M. (2014) Water appropriation and ecosystem stewardship in the Baja desert. Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems 1: 6373.Google Scholar
Hulshof, C.M., Martínez-Yrízar, A., Burquez, A., Boyle, B. & Enquist, B.J. (2013) Plant functional trait variation in tropical dry forests: a review and synthesis. In: Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation and Management, eds. Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A. & Powers, J., pp. 129140. London, UK: CRC Press.Google Scholar
IPBES (2014) Conceptual framework for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Report of the Second Session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. [www document]. URL http://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/Decision%20IPBES_2_4.pdf CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IPCC (2001) Climate change 2001. In: Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report, eds. Watson, R.T. & the Core Writing Team, pp. 35135. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. In: Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., Chen, Z., Marquis, M., Averyt, K.B., Tignor, M. & Miller, H.L., p. 996. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Janzen, D.H. (1988) Tropical dry forests: the most endangered major tropical ecosystem. In: Biodiversity, ed. Wilson, E.O., pp. 130137. Washington, DC, USA: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Janzen, D.H., Hajibabaei, M., Burns, J.M., Hallwachs, W., Remigio, E. & Hebert, P.D. (2005) Wedding biodiversity inventory of a large and complex Lepidoptera fauna with DNA barcoding. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 360: 18351845.Google Scholar
Lavorel, S., Grigulis, K., Lamarque, P., Colace, M., Garden, D., Girel, J., Pellet, G. & Douzet, R. (2011) Using plant functional traits to understand the landscape distribution of multiple ecosystem services. Journal of Ecology 99: 135147.Google Scholar
Linares-Palomino, R., Oliveira-Filho, A.T. & Pennington, T.R. (2011) Neotropical seasonally dry forests: diversity, endemism, and biogeography of woody plants. In: Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: Ecology and Conservation, eds. Dirzo, R., Young, H., Mooney, H., & Ceballos, G., pp. 321. London, UK: Island Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maass, J.M., Balvanera, P., Castillo, A., Daily, G.C., Mooney, H.A., Ehrlich, P., Quesada, M., Miranda, A., Jaramillo, V.J. & García-Oliva, F. (2005) Ecosystem services of tropical dry forests: insights from long term ecological and social research on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Ecology and Society 10: 123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maes, J., Teller, A., Erhard, M., Liquete, C., Braat, L., Berry, P., Egoh, B., Puydarrieux, P., Fiorina, C., Santos, F., Paracchini, M.L., Keune, H., Wittmer, H., Hauck, J., Fiala, I., Verburg, P.H., Condé, S., Schägner, J.P., San Miguel, J., Estreguil, C., Ostermann, O., Barredo, J.I., Pereira, H.M., Stott, A., Laporte, V., Meiner, A., Olah, B., Royo Gelabert, E., Spyropoulou, R., Petersen, J.E., Maguire, C., Zal, N., Achilleos, E., Rubin, A., Ledoux, L., Brown, C., Raes, C., Jacobs, S., Vandewalle, M., Connor, D. & Bidoglio, G. (2013) Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. An analytical framework for ecosystem assessments under Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. [www document]. URL http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/ecosystem_assessment/pdf/MAESWorkingPaper2013.pdf Google Scholar
Martínez, G. & Díaz, J.J. (2011) Morfometría en la cuenca hidrológica de San José del Cabo, baja California sur, México. Revista Geológica de América Central 44: 83100.Google Scholar
Martínez-Harms, M. J. & Balvanera, P. (2012) Methods for mapping ecosystem service supply: a review. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services Management 8: 1725.Google Scholar
Maza-Villalobos, S., Poorter, L. & Martínez-Ramos, M. (2013) Effects of ENSO and temporal rainfall variation on the dynamics of successional communities in old-field succession of a tropical dry forest. PLoS One 8: e82040.Google Scholar
Meir, P. & Pennington, R.T. (2011) Climatic change and seasonally dry tropical forests. In: Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: Ecology and Conservation, eds. Dirzo, R., Young, H., Mooney, H., & Ceballos, G., pp. 279299. London, UK: Island Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, L., Newton, A., DeFries, R., Ravilious, C., May, I., Blyth, S., Kapos, V. & Gordon, J. (2006) A global overview of the conservation status of tropical dry forests. Journal of Biogeography 33: 491505.Google Scholar
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: The Assessment Series. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Murphy, P. & Lugo, A. (1986) Ecology of tropical dry forest. Annals Review of Ecology and Systematics 17: 6768.Google Scholar
Pereira, H.M., Ferrier, S., Walters, M., Geller, G.N., Jongman, R.H., Scholes, R.J., Bruford, M.W., Brummitt, N., Butchart, S.H., Cardoso, A.C., Coops, N.C., Dulloo, E., Faith, D.P., Freyhof, J., Gregory, R.D., Heip, C., Hoft, R., Hurtt, G., Jetz, W., Karp, D.S., McGeoch, M.A., Obura, D., Onoda, Y., Pettorelli, N., Reyers, B., Sayre, R., Scharlemann, J.P., Stuart, S.N., Turak, E., Walpole, M. & Wegmann, M. (2013) Essential biodiversity variables. Science 339: 277278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pesenti, C. & Dean, K.S. (2003) Development challenges on the Baja California peninsula: the Escalera Náutica. The Journal of Environment & Development 12: 445454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poorter, L., Bongers, F., Aide, T.M. et al. (2016) Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests. Nature 530: 211214.Google Scholar
Portillo-Quintero, C.A. & Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A. (2010) Extent and conservation of tropical dry forest in the Americas. Biological Conservation 143: 144155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portillo-Quintero, C.A., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., Quesada, M. & Espírito-Santo, M.M.Do. (2014) The role of tropical dry forests for biodiversity, carbon and water conservation in the neotropics: lessons learned and opportunities for its sustainable management. Regional Environmental Change 15: 10391049.Google Scholar
Powers, J.S. & Peréz-Aviles, D. (2013) Edaphic factors are a more important control on surface fine roots than stand age in secondary tropical dry forests. Biotropica 45: 19.Google Scholar
Powers, J.S. & Tiffin, P. (2010) Plant functional type classifications in tropical dry forests in Costa Rica: leaf habit versus taxonomic approaches. Functional Ecology 24: 927936.Google Scholar
Powers, J.S., Corre, M.D., Twine, T.E & Veldkamp, E. (2011) Geographic bias of field observations of soil carbon stocks with tropical land-use changes precludes spatial extrapolation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108: 63186322.Google Scholar
Quesada, M., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Alvarez-Anorve, M., Stoner, K.E., Avila-Cabadilla, L., Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., Castillo, A., Espirito-Santo, M. M., Fagundes, M., Fernandes, G. W., Gamon, J., Lopezaraiza-Mikel, M., Lawrence, D., Morellato, L.P.C., Powers, J.S., Neves, F.S., Rosas-Guerrero, V., Sayago, R. & Sanchez-Montoya, G. (2009) Succession and management of tropical dry forests in the Americas: review and new perspectives. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 10141024.Google Scholar
Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Quesada, M., Rodriguez, J.P., Nasser, J.M., Stoner, K.E., Castillo, A., Garvin, T., Zent, E.L., Calvo-Alvarado, J.C., Kalacska, M., Fajardo, L., Gamon, J. & Cuevas-Reyes, P. (2005) Research priorities for Neotropical dry forests. Biotropica 37: 477485.Google Scholar
Scharlemann, J.P., Kapos, V., Campbell, A., Lysenko, I., Burgess, N.D., Hansen, M.C., Gibbs, H.K., Dickson, B. & Miles, L. (2010) Securing tropical forest carbon: the contribution of protected areas to REDD. Oryx 44: 352357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, T., Apgaua, D., Baldauf, C., Blackie, R., Colfer, C., Cunningham, A.B., Dexter, K., Djoudi, H., Gautier, D., Gumbo, D. & Ickowitz, A. (2015) Global dry forests: a prologue. International Forestry Review 17: 19.Google Scholar
Waring, B.G., Adams, R., Branco, S. & Powers, J.S. (2016) Scale‐dependent variation in nitrogen cycling and soil fungal communities along gradients of forest composition and age in regenerating tropical dry forests. New Phytologist 209: 845854.Google Scholar
Wilcove, D.S. & Ghazoul, J. (2015) The marketing of nature. Biotropica 47: 275276.Google Scholar