Key attributes to the disturbance response of montane cloud forest trees: shade tolerance, dispersal mode and the capacity to form a seed bank

Abstract

Understanding the biological mechanisms related to plant response to disturbance is essential for predicting the changes in the structure of plant communities resulting from disturbance. The aims of this study are to identify the regeneration traits linked to the response to disturbance of tree species of a montane cloud forest in order to define regeneration types and to explore whether disturbance intensity acts to select specific regeneration types that can colonize disturbed plots. A theoretical model was developed and evaluated using structural equation modeling to link two latent variables: regeneration type and vulnerability to disturbance. We studied two plots that were subjected to different intensities of disturbance and one plot of mature forest. Shade tolerance, dispersal mode, and the capacity to form a seed bank were the traits that determine regeneration type. There was a trend for re-sprouting capacity to be associated with the regeneration types dominant in disturbed plots. Regeneration types were differentially distributed among the sites. There was evidence that disturbance intensity has a filtering effect on the colonization of disturbed plots. Species vulnerability to disturbance depends on specific combinations of regeneration traits. Structural equation modeling is useful for exploring plant response to disturbance using key parameters linked to plant persistence.