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Stefan Olin

Project coordinator

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Land-cover change alters stand structure, species diversity, leaf functional traits, and soil conditions in Cambodian tropical forests

Author

  • Chansopheaktra Sovann
  • Torbern Tagesson
  • Patrik Vestin
  • Sakada Sakhoeun
  • Soben Kim
  • Sothea Kok
  • Stefan Olin

Summary, in English

Given the severe land-use and land-cover change pressure on tropical forests and the high demand for field observations of ecosystem characteristics, it is crucial to collect such data both in pristine tropical forests and in the converted deforested land-cover classes. To gain insight into the ecosystem characteristics of pristine tropical forests (EFs), regrowth forests (RFs), and cashew plantations (CPs), we established an ecosystem monitoring site in Phnom Kulen National Park, Cambodia. Here, we present the first observed datasets at this site of forest inventories, leaf area index (LAI), leaf traits of woody species, a fraction of intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR), and soil and meteorological conditions. Using these data, we aimed to assess how land-cover change affects stand structure, species diversity, leaf functional traits, and soil conditions among the three land-cover classes and to evaluate the feasibility of locally calibrated diameters at breast height (DBHs) and tree height (H) allometries for improving aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation. We found significant differences in these ecosystem characteristics, caused by the anthropogenic land-cover conversion, which underlines land-cover change's profound impact on stand structure, species diversity, leaf functional traits, and soil conditions in these tropical forest regions. Our results further demonstrated the feasibility of locally updating aboveground biomass estimates using power-law functions based on relationships between DBH and H. These datasets and findings can contribute to enriching tropical forest research databanks and supporting sustainable forest management.

Department/s

  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
  • eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
  • MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system

Publishing year

2025-09-15

Language

English

Pages

4649-4677

Publication/Series

Biogeosciences

Volume

22

Issue

18

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Copernicus GmbH

Topic

  • Physical Geography
  • Earth Observation
  • Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation (including Biodiversity)

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1726-4189