Letter

Drought-induced shifts in the floristic and functional composition of tropical forests in Ghana

  1. Sophie Fauset1,*,
  2. Timothy R. Baker1,
  3. Simon L. Lewis1,2,
  4. Ted R. Feldpausch1,
  5. Kofi Affum-Baffoe3,
  6. Ernest G. Foli4,
  7. Keith C. Hamer5,
  8. Michael D. Swaine6

Article first published online: 19 JUL 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01834.x

Issue

Ecology Letters

Ecology Letters

Volume 15, Issue 10, pages 1120–1129, October 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Ecology Letters (2012) 15: 1120–1129

Author Information

  1. 1

    Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK

  2. 2

    Department of Geography, University College London, Pearson Building, London, UK

  3. 3

    Resource Management Support Centre, Forestry Commission of Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana

  4. 4

    Ecosystem Services and Climate Change Division, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana

  5. 5

    Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK

  6. 6

    School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Aberdeen, UK

* Correspondence: E-mail: gysf@leeds.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 5 SEP 2012
  2. Article first published online: 19 JUL 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 13 JUN 2012
  4. Manuscript Revised: 28 MAY 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 11 MAY 2012

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Keywords:

  • Biomass;
  • climate change;
  • dynamics;
  • functional types;
  • Ghana;
  • long-term;
  • permanent plot;
  • plant traits;
  • precipitation;
  • species

Abstract

The future of tropical forests under global environmental change is uncertain, with biodiversity and carbon stocks at risk if precipitation regimes alter. Here, we assess changes in plant functional composition and biomass in 19 plots from a variety of forest types during two decades of long-term drought in Ghana. We find a consistent increase in dry forest, deciduous, canopy species with intermediate light demand and a concomitant decrease in wet forest, evergreen, sub-canopy and shade-tolerant species. These changes in composition are accompanied by an increase in above-ground biomass. Our results indicate that by altering composition in favour of drought-tolerant species, the biomass stocks of these forests may be more resilient to longer term drought than short-term studies of severe individual droughts suggest.

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