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Soil and vegetation effects of tropical deforestation

  • Chapter
Tropical Rain Forest: A Wider Perspective

Part of the book series: Conservation Biology Series ((COBI,volume 10))

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Abstract

The regrowth of vegetation after deforestation provides a paradox: of rapid growth but with species composition and diversity at odds with the original primary forest. Secondary species which regenerate from seed in the soil after clearance are totally different from the primary species which dominate ‘climax’ tropical rain forests. Regrowth of primary forest after disturbance depends on distance and access to seed sources of primary forest species. On-site biological effects of deforestation are also controlled by alteration of the physicochemical environment in which plants and animals live and grow, combined with the resilience to perturbation shown by plant and animal associations, both above and below the soil surface. Resilience is partly determined by reproductive abilities of plants, both vegetative and sexual, the volume, frequency, dispersal, dormancy and germination of their seeds. Resilience is also determined by the speed of vegetation regrowth, as this affects the rate of alteration of soil and microclimate conditions of the site. A range of research studies world-wide, in the neotropics, Africa and the Far East, have charted specific ecological changes taking place when tropical forests are removed. Some are site-specific, others provide more process-related information which helps in predicting how newly deforested sites might respond over time.

‘Nature nowhere abhors a vacuum more strongly than on a patch of bare soil in the humid tropics.’

Whitmore(1991)

‘Widespread deforestation is creating a landscape in which mature tropical forests are islands in a sea of successional vegetation.’

Uhl(1987)

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  1. SGS Environment, Yorkshire House, Chapel Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 9AG, UK

    S. M. Ross

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  1. Ecology and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    F. B. Goldsmith

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Ross, S.M. (1998). Soil and vegetation effects of tropical deforestation. In: Goldsmith, F.B. (eds) Tropical Rain Forest: A Wider Perspective. Conservation Biology Series, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4912-9_6

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