Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest

In 1947, W. J. Eggeling published an account of forest succession at Budongo, Uganda. This interpretation was based on a large-scale comparative plot study, performed in the 1930s and 1940s. This account, with its implication that species richness declines in late succession, endures as a controvers...

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Autor principal: Sheil, Douglas
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 1999
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/17918
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author Sheil, Douglas
author_browse Sheil, Douglas
author_facet Sheil, Douglas
author_sort Sheil, Douglas
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In 1947, W. J. Eggeling published an account of forest succession at Budongo, Uganda. This interpretation was based on a large-scale comparative plot study, performed in the 1930s and 1940s. This account, with its implication that species richness declines in late succession, endures as a controversial corner-stone in theories and disputes about community diversity. Data have now been collected over six decades from five of Eggeling's original plots. This paper evaluates Eggeling's successional interpretation of the Budongo vegetation. The first set of analyses assesses the consistency of the original data with the predictions of compositional progression and convergence implicit in Eggeling's model. The second analyses do the same for the time-series observations. A logical approach shows how temporal information may be derived from both between plot, and within plot, evaluations using sizestructured data. A Detrended-Correspondence-Analysis (DCA) of canopy-tree composition, from the original data, ranks the plots in perfect correspondence to Eggeling's successional sequence. A 'development-scoring' procedure is developed using passive-ordination against this sequence; this is then applied to composition by plot and stemsize class. Eggeling's original data are consistent with each prediction assessed. The analyses show compositional progression and apparent convergence across the plot series. and also progression and convergence within each plot. A monodominant-Cynornetra forest is the natural end-point of this progression. The time-series results, though in apparent agreement for one early successional plot, do not generally accord with Eggeling's ideas. The analyses illustrate a general means for evaluating explicit and implicit compositional trends in communities with structured populations.
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spelling CGSpace179182025-01-24T14:20:05Z Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest Sheil, Douglas rain forests succession analysis In 1947, W. J. Eggeling published an account of forest succession at Budongo, Uganda. This interpretation was based on a large-scale comparative plot study, performed in the 1930s and 1940s. This account, with its implication that species richness declines in late succession, endures as a controversial corner-stone in theories and disputes about community diversity. Data have now been collected over six decades from five of Eggeling's original plots. This paper evaluates Eggeling's successional interpretation of the Budongo vegetation. The first set of analyses assesses the consistency of the original data with the predictions of compositional progression and convergence implicit in Eggeling's model. The second analyses do the same for the time-series observations. A logical approach shows how temporal information may be derived from both between plot, and within plot, evaluations using sizestructured data. A Detrended-Correspondence-Analysis (DCA) of canopy-tree composition, from the original data, ranks the plots in perfect correspondence to Eggeling's successional sequence. A 'development-scoring' procedure is developed using passive-ordination against this sequence; this is then applied to composition by plot and stemsize class. Eggeling's original data are consistent with each prediction assessed. The analyses show compositional progression and apparent convergence across the plot series. and also progression and convergence within each plot. A monodominant-Cynornetra forest is the natural end-point of this progression. The time-series results, though in apparent agreement for one early successional plot, do not generally accord with Eggeling's ideas. The analyses illustrate a general means for evaluating explicit and implicit compositional trends in communities with structured populations. 1999 2012-06-04T09:04:45Z 2012-06-04T09:04:45Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/17918 en Sheil, D. 1999. Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest . Plant Ecology 140 (1) :117-127.
spellingShingle rain forests
succession
analysis
Sheil, Douglas
Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title_full Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title_fullStr Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title_full_unstemmed Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title_short Developing tests of successional hypotheses with size-structured populations, and an assessment using long-term data from a Ugandan rain forest
title_sort developing tests of successional hypotheses with size structured populations and an assessment using long term data from a ugandan rain forest
topic rain forests
succession
analysis
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/17918
work_keys_str_mv AT sheildouglas developingtestsofsuccessionalhypotheseswithsizestructuredpopulationsandanassessmentusinglongtermdatafromaugandanrainforest