Publications by authors named "Milenka M Pillco"
The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning a broad suite of ecosystem properties: (i) structure and environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, and (iv) ecosystem functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous and often complex and nonlinear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStem respiration constitutes a substantial proportion of autotrophic respiration in forested ecosystems, but its drivers across different spatial scales and land-use gradients remain poorly understood. This study quantifies and examines the impact of logging disturbance on stem CO efflux (EA) in Malaysian Borneo. EA was quantified at tree- and stand-level in nine 1-ha plots over a logging gradient from heavily logged to old-growth using the static chamber method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTropical forests post-logging are a persistent net carbon source to the atmosphere.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2023
Article Synopsis
- Many tropical forests that have been logged and damaged are believed to absorb carbon, but this may not be true.
- A study in Malaysian Borneo shows that instead of helping with carbon absorption, these forests are actually releasing a lot of carbon from the soil and dead plants.
- The research found that after logging, these forests can produce more carbon than they absorb, challenging the common belief that they are good for the environment.
Foliar trait adaptation to sun and shade has been extensively studied in the context of photosynthetic performance of plants, focusing on nitrogen allocation, light capture and use chlorophyll pigments and leaf morphology; however, less is known about the potential sun-shade dichotomy of other functionally important foliar traits. In this study, we measured 19 traits in paired sun and shade leaves along a 3,500-m elevation gradient in southern Peru to test whether the traits differ with canopy position, and to assess if relative differences vary with species composition and/or environmental filters. We found significant sun-shade differences in leaf mass per area (LMA), photosynthetic pigments (Chl ab and Car), and δC.
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