Journal Article
Crown Exposure Regulates Aboveground Wood Productivity Responses to Soil Fertility in Lowland Tropical Forests
José A. Medina‐Vega; Álvaro Duque; Daniel Zuleta; Nicolás Castaño; Renato Valencia; Salomón Aguilar; David Mitre; Rolando Pérez; Shawn K. Y. Lum; David F. R. P. Burslem; Michael J. O'Brien; Glen Reynolds; Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin; Nantachai Pongpattananurak; Sangsan Phumsathan; Corneille E. N. Ewango; Jean‐Remy M. Makana; Akira Itoh; Mohizah Bt. Mohamad; Sylvester Tan; Jill Thompson; María Uriarte; Jess K. Zimmerman; Alexandre A. de Oliveira; Ana C. S. de Andrade; João Batista da Silva; Alberto Vicentini; Warren Y. Brockelman; Anuttara Nathalang; Tze Leong Yao; Sisira Ediriweera; Vojtech Novotny; George D. Weiblen; Stuart J. Davies
Ecology Letters · Vol. 28, Issue 12 · 2025
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of aboveground wood productivity (AWP) in tropical forests is crucial for explaining ecosystem functioning and predicting their responses to environmental change. While climatic water availability is a well‐established driver, the role of soil nutrients and their interaction with other resources remains uncertain. We investigated how soil nutrients and light interactions shape AWP in lowland tropical forests using fine‐scale soil and tree (≥ 1 cm DBH) data from 15 large forest plots. Canopy‐exposed trees are nutrient‐limited, with AWP increasing more with phosphorus (P) than with potassium (K), indicating P's greater role in plant growth and productivity. Conversely, understory AWP declined in fertile areas, likely due to intensified size‐asymmetric competition. At the population level (mean across canopy layers), no relationship between soil nutrients and AWP emerged because contrasting responses among layers offset any overall association. Our results suggest that fine‐scale heterogeneity and canopy stratification drive nutrient effects on tropical forest productivity.