In a study recently published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, an international group of researchers sought to understand which aspects of the functioning of tropical forests can ensure greater or lesser resilience to global climate change.

As the authors explain, in an ecosystem all organisms interact with each other and with various environmental factors, such as temperature and water availability, for example. These interactions are influenced both by species diversity and by the diversity of species groups with specific functions within the same ecosystem, that is, by functional diversity. Another important concept for understanding research is functional redundancy – which occurs when in the same ecosystem there are several species that perform the same function. In this case, if one of them disappears, its ecological function will not be lost.

In the work, the researchers analyzed the relationships between functional diversity and functional redundancy of tropical forests with their ability to adapt to change. The analysis took into account a set of data on 16 morphological, chemical and photosynthetic characteristics of 2,461 individual trees sampled in 74 sites, distributed on four continents. Climate data recorded in these same locations in the last 50 years were also evaluated.

For the Atlantic Forest and Amazon region, information collected in three projects linked to the BIOTA-FAPESP Program (12/51872-5, 12/51509-8 and 03/12595-7) was used.

The findings suggest that areas with high functional diversity and high functional redundancy tend to better maintain the functioning of the ecosystem after extreme weather events, i.e., they are more resilient to climate change. Drier tropical forests have lower functional diversity and lower functional redundancy compared to wetter forests, which may leave them at risk in the face of declines in water availability that have been identified in tropical regions.

According to Carlos Joly, professor at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), one of the authors of the article, the results highlight the importance of conserving the deciduous forests (characterized by the climate with two well-marked seasons: a drought and a rainy season) and semi-deciduous forests of the interior of the country.

"These forests are part of the Atlantic Forest, occupy the space between the coastal wetland and the most arid interior and have as characteristic the loss of leaves or part of the leaves in the driest period", explains the researcher.

Joly also highlights the newly launched 2050 Climate Action Plan of the State of São Paulo, which provides for the restoration of areas of semi-deciduous forests and the connection between these areas to increase resilience to climate change. "The results found in this article reinforce the importance of this action," he says.

The authors point out that climate change is altering the Earth's conditions, affecting the regional climate, and in the near future, global warming is likely to cause unprecedented weather conditions to emerge in tropical regions. Therefore, determining the distribution of tropical forests more or less resilient to a changing climate and understanding the mechanisms involved is fundamental for the conservation of biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems.

The article Functional susceptibility of tropical forests to climate change can be read here.

Source: Um só Planeta