title: Selective logging in tropical forests decreases the robustness of liana-tree interaction networks to the loss of host tree species.
abstract: Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the 'health' and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated with logging. Moreover, simulation scenarios of host tree local species loss indicated that logging might decrease the robustness of liana-tree interaction networks if heavily infested trees (i.e. the most connected ones) were more likely to disappear. This effect is partially mitigated in the short term by the colonization of host trees by a greater diversity of liana species within logged forests, yet this might not compensate for the loss of preferred tree hosts in the long term. As a consequence, species interaction networks may show a lagged response to disturbance, which may trigger sudden collapses in species richness and ecosystem function in response to additional disturbances, representing a new type of 'extinction debt'.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, CHN G 74.2 Universitätstrasse 16, Zürich 8092, Switzerland Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4878, Australia Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain ainhoamagrach@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ainhoa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magrach
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Senior
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Program, Danum Valley Field Centre, Borneo, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Deddy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nurdin
authors.affiliation: School of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Suzan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benedick
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4878, Australia.
authors.forename: William F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Laurance
authors.affiliation: Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.affiliation: Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4878, Australia Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D001893:Borneo; D016468:Forestry; D065928:Forests; D008296:Malaysia; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate
keywords: Southeast Asia; ecosystem functioning; network structure; selective logging; tree–liana networks; wood density