Éditeur(s) : University of Florida Université des Antilles. Service commun de la documentation
Extrait de : 52e congrès annuel de la Société caribéenne des plantes alimentaires / 52nd annual meeting of the Caribbean food crops society (CFCS), du 10 au 16 juillet 2016. INRA, CFCS
Description : Under tropical and sub-tropical climates, a sustainable development of agriculture is challenging because of the pest pressure with favorable weather conditions. Implementation of appropriate cropping systems including growing cover crops and crop rotation plays a critical role, which can break up the food chain and life cycles of field pests. Some field trials have demonstrated that among all tested summer cover crops, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L. cv. Tropic sun) can grow vigorously during the rainy summer, cover the land quickly and densely, and it can produce a large quantity of biomass in two to three months. More importantly, sunn hemp can suppress soil root-knot nematodes via releasing some nematicides through its roots and through the decomposition of plant residues. Therefore, growing cover crop â? ? sunn hemp during the crop off season and rotating with valuable vegetable crops in the growing season has become a promising cropping system under the subtropical climate. Such a result may have a potential to be implemented in Caribbean countries to improve the sustainable development of agriculture.

Droits : CC-BY-NC-ND - Attribution - Pas d'utilisation commerciale - Pas de modification
Permalien : http://www.manioc.org/fichiers/V16313
V16313

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé :  
Large seasonal variation in the rate of change in girth of tropical rain-forest tree species has been described, but its origin is still under debate. We tested whether this variation might be related to variation in atmospheric relative humidity through its influence on bark water content and thickness. Variation in trunk circumference of 182 adult trees was measured about twice a month in an undisturbed tropical rain forest over 18mo using dendrometers. Furthermore, a laboratory experiment was conducted to test the direct influence of relative air humidity on bark water content and thickness. In the field, most trees displayed highly positive rates of change in girth at the onset of the wet season, while a quarter of the trees displayed negative changes during long dry seasons, whatever their total annual growth. This variation was correlated with environmental conditions, particularly with atmospheric relative humidity. Trees with high bark water content and thickness displayed a stronger decrease in girth during the dry season. In the chamber experiment, desiccation induced a decrease in the diameter of the trunk sections in tandem with a decrease in bark water content. As a result, seasonal variation in the rate of change in girth of tropical rain-forest trees reflects variation in trunk biophysical properties, through the influence of relative humidity on bark properties, but not directly variation in secondary growth.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01032186
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032186
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467410000155

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Vegetation phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events that are considered to be the result of adaptive responses to climate variations on short and long time scales. In the field of remote sensing of vegetation phenology, phenological metrics are derived from time series of optical data. For that purpose, considerable effort has been specifically focused on developing noise reduction and cloud-contaminated data removal techniques to improve the quality of remotely-sensed time series. Comparative studies between time series composed of satellite data acquired under clear and cloudy conditions and from radiometric data obtained with high accuracy from ground-based measurements constitute a direct and effective way to assess the operational use and limitations of remote sensing for predicting the main plant phenological events. In the present paper, we sought to explicitly evaluate the potential use of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensing data for monitoring the seasonal dynamics of different types of vegetation cover that are representative of the major terrestrial biomes, including temperate deciduous forests, evergreen forests, African savannah, and crops. After cloud screening and filtering, we compared the temporal patterns and phenological metrics derived from in situ NDVI time series and from MODIS daily and 16-composite products. We also evaluated the effects of residual noise and the influence of data gaps in MODIS NDVI time series on the identification of the most relevant metrics for vegetation phenology monitoring. The results show that the inflexion points of a model fitted to a MODIS NDVI time series allow accurate estimates of the onset of greenness in the spring and the onset of yellowing in the autumn in deciduous forests (RMSE <= one week). Phenological metrics identical to those provided with the MODIS Global Vegetation Phenology product (MDC12Q2) are less robust to data gaps, and they can be subject to large biases of approximately two weeks or more during the autumn phenological transitions. In the evergreen forests, in situ NDVI time series describe the phenology with high fidelity despite small temporal changes in the canopy foliage. However, MODIS is unable to provide consistent phenological patterns. In crops and savannah, MODIS NDVI time series reproduce the general temporal patterns of phenology, but significant discrepancies appear between MODIS and ground-based NDVI time series during very localized periods of time depending on the weather conditions and spatial heterogeneity within the MODIS pixel. In the rainforest, the temporal pattern exhibited by a MODIS 16-day composite NDVI time series is more likely due to a pattern of noise in the NDVI data structure according to both rainy and dry seasons rather than to phenological changes. More investigations are needed, but in all cases, this result leads us to conclude that MODIS time series in tropical rainforests should be interpreted with great caution. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0034-4257

hal-01032407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032407
DOI : 10.1016/j.rse.2013.01.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
Background: Heterogeneous patterns of malaria transmission are thought to be driven by factors including host genetics, distance to mosquito breeding sites, housing construction, and socio-behavioural characteristics. Evaluation of local transmission epidemiology to characterize malaria risk is essential for planning malaria control and elimination programmes. The use of geographical information systems (GIS) techniques has been a major asset to this approach. To assess time and space distribution of malaria disease in Bandiagara, Mali, within a transmission season, data were used from an ongoing malaria incidence study that enrolled 300 participants aged under six years old ". Methods: Children's households were georeferenced using a handheld global position system. Clinical malaria was defined as a positive blood slide for Plasmodium falciparum asexual stages associated with at least one of the following signs: headache, body aches, fever, chills and weakness. Daily rainfall was measured at the local weather station. Landscape features of Bandiagara were obtained from satellite images and field survey. QGIS™ software was used to map malaria cases, affected and non-affected children, and the number of malaria episodes per child in each block of Bandiagara. Clusters of high or low risk were identified under SaTScan W software according to a Bernoulli model. Results: From June 2009 to May 2010, 296 clinical malaria cases were recorded. Though clearly temporally related to the rains, Plasmodium falciparum occurrence persisted late in the dry season. Two " hot spots " of malaria transmission also found, notably along the Yamé River, characterized by higher than expected numbers of malaria cases, and high numbers of clinical episodes per child. Conversely, the northeastern sector of the town had fewer cases despite its proximity to a large body of standing water which was mosquito habitat. Conclusion: These results confirm the existence of a marked spatial heterogeneity of malaria transmission in Bandiagara, providing support for implementation of targeted interventions. Background Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, with an estimated 3.3 billion people at risk of malaria [1]. The incidence of malaria worldwide is estimated to be 216 million cases per year, with 81% of these cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria kills approximately 655,000 people per year; 91% of deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa [1], mostly in children under five years of age. In Mali, West Africa, malaria represents 36.5% of consultation motives in health center, it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality children of less than five years of age and the first reason of anaemia in pregnant women [2]. Malaria transmission is seasonal. Malaria parasite transmission and clinical disease are characterized by important microgeographic variation, often between adjacent villages, households or families [3-8]. This local heterogeneity is driven by a variety of factors including human genetics [9,10], distance to potential breeding sites [11,12], housing construction
ISSN: 1475-2875

hal-01307672
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01307672
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01307672/document
https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01307672/file/1475-2875-12-82.pdf
DOI : 10.1186/1476-072X-2-5

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier
Résumé : The distribution and speciation of mercury (Hg) in air, rain, and surface waters from the artificial tropical lake of Petit-Saut in French Guiana were investigated during the 2003/04 period. In the air, total gaseous mercury (TGM) at the dam station averaged 12 +/- 2 pmol m(-3) of which > 98% was gaseous elemental mercury (GEM). GEM distribution depicted a day-night cycling with high concentrations (up to 15 pmol m(-3)) at dawn and low concentrations (down to 5 pmol m(-3)) at nightfall. Reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) represented < 1% of the GEM with a mean concentration of 4 3 fmol m(-3). Diel RGM variations were negatively related to GEM. In the rain, the sum of all Hg species in the unfiltered (HgTUNF) averaged 16 +/- 112 pmol L-1. Temporal distribution of HgTUNF exhibited a pattern of high concentrations during the late dry seasons (up to 57.5 pmol L-1) and low concentrations (down to 2.7 pmol L-1) in the course of the wet seasons. Unfiltered reactive (HgRUNF), dissolved gaseous (DGM) and monomethyl (MMHgUNF.) Hg constituted 20, 5 and 5% of HgTUNF, respectively. All measured Hg species were positively related and displayed negative relationships with the pH of the rain. In the reservoir surface waters, dissolved total mercury (HgTD) averaged 3.4 +/- 1.2 pmol L-1 of which 10% consisted of DGM. DGM showed a trend of high concentrations during the dry seasons (480 +/- 270 finol L-1 and lower (230 +/- 130 finol L-1) in the course of the wet seasons. Diel variations included diurnal photo-induced DGM production (of about 60 firiol L-1 h(-1)) coupled to minute to hour oxidation/ reduction cycles (of > 100 firiol L-1 amplitude). Finally, calculated atmospheric Hg inputs to the Petit-Saut reservoir represented 14 mot yr(-1) whereas DGM evasion reached 23 mol yr(-1). Apportionment among forms of Hg deposition indicated that up to 75% of the total Hg invasive flux follows the rainfall pathway. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Science of The Total Environment (0048-9697) (Elsevier), 2007-10 , Vol. 385 , N. 1-3 , P. 132-145

Droits : 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2007/publication-3329.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.06.013
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/3329/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé :  
The production of aboveground soft tissue represents an important share of total net primary production in tropical rain forests. Here we draw from a large number of published and unpublished datasets (n = 81 sites) to assess the determinants of litterfall variation across South American tropical forests. We show that across old-growth tropical rainforests, litterfall averages 8.61±1.91Mgha−1 yr−1 (mean±standard deviation, in dry mass units). Secondary forests have a lower annual litterfall than old-growth tropical forests with a mean of 8.01±3.41Mgha−1 yr−1. Annual litterfall shows no significant variation with total annual rainfall, either globally or within forest types. It does not vary consistently with soil type, except in the poorest soils (white sand soils), where litterfall is significantly lower than in other soil types (5.42±1.91Mgha−1 yr−1). We also study the determinants of litterfall seasonality, and find that it does not depend on annual rainfall or on soil type. However, litterfall seasonality is significantly positively correlated with rainfall seasonality. Finally, we assess how much carbon is stored in reproductive organs relative to photosynthetic organs. Mean leaf fall is 5.74±1.83Mgha−1 yr−1 (71% of total litterfall). Mean allocation into reproductive organs is 0.69±0.40Mgha−1 yr−1 (9% of total litterfall). The investment into reproductive organs divided by leaf litterfall increases with soil fertility, suggesting that on poor soils, the allocation to photosynthetic organs is prioritized over that to reproduction. Finally, we discuss the ecological and biogeochemical implications of these results.
Biogeosciences

hal-01032140
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032140
DOI : 10.5194/bg-7-43-2010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Résumé : International audience
We investigated infection of rodents and shrews by Leptospira spp. in two localities of Cambodia (Veal Renh, Kaev Seima) and in four types of habitat (forests, non-flooded lands, lowland rain-fed paddy fields, houses) during the wet and the dry seasons. Habitat preference was common, and rodent and shrew species were found only in houses or in rain-fed paddy fields or in forests. Among 649 small mammals trapped belonging to 12 rodent species and 1 shrew species, 71 of 642 animals tested were carriers of Leptospira according to the 16S ribosomal RNA marker used. Rodent infection was higher in low-slope locations, corresponding to rain-fed paddy fields, especially in the rainy season and in Kaev Seima. Rodents (Rattus exulans) and shrews (Suncus murinus) inhabiting households showed significantly low levels of infections, whereas rodents living in and near to forests (shrubby wasteland, orchards) showed high levels of infection.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

pasteur-00808144
https://hal-riip.archives-ouvertes.fr/pasteur-00808144
DOI : 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0349
PUBMED : 22665613

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : We investigated the relationship between habitat association and physiological performance in four congeneric species pairs exhibiting contrasting distributions between seasonally flooded and terra firme habitats in lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana, including Virola and Iryanthera (Myristicaceae), Symphonia (Clusiaceae), and Eperua (Caesalpiniaceae). We analyzed 10-year data sets of mapped and measured saplings (stems 150 cm in height and <10 cm diameter at breast height [dbh]) and trees (stems 10 cm dbh) across 37.5 ha of permanent plots covering a 300-ha zone, within which seasonally flooded areas (where the water table never descends below 1 m) have been mapped. Additionally, we tested the response of growth, survival, and leaf functional traits of these species to drought and flood stress in a controlled experiment. We tested for habitat preference using a modification of the torus translation method. Strong contrasting associations of the species pairs of Iryanthera, Virola, and Symphonia were observed at the sapling stage, and these associations strengthened for the tree stage. Neither species of Eperua was significantly associated with flooded habitats at the sapling stage, but E. falcata was significantly and positively associated with flooded forests at the tree stage, and trees of E. grandiflora were found almost exclusively in nonflooded habitats. Differential performance provided limited explanatory support for the observed habitat associations, with only congeners of Iryanthera exhibiting divergent sapling survival and tree growth. Seedlings of species associated with flooded forest tended to have higher photosynthetic capacity than their congeners at field capacity. In addition, they tended to have the largest reductions in leaf gas exchange and growth rate in response to experimental drought stress and the least reductions in response to experimental inundation. The corroboration of habitat association with differences in functional traits and, to a lesser extent, measures of performance provides an explanation for the regional coexistence of these species pairs. We suggest that specialization to seasonally flooded habitats may explain patterns of adaptive radiation in many tropical tree genera and thereby provide a substantial contribution to regional tree diversity.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01031746
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031746

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Unveiling the genetic basis of local adaptation to environmental variation is a major goal in molecular ecology. In rugged landscapes characterized by environmental mosaics, living populations and communities can experience steep ecological gradients over very short geographical distances. In lowland tropical forests, interspecific divergence in edaphic specialization (for seasonally flooded bottomlands and seasonally dry terra firme soils) has been proven by ecological studies on adaptive traits. Some species are nevertheless capable of covering the entire span of the gradient; intraspecific variation for adaptation to contrasting conditions may explain the distribution of such ecological generalists. We investigated whether local divergence happens at small spatial scales in two stands of Eperua falcata (Fabaceae), a widespread tree species of the Guiana Shield. We investigated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) and sequence divergence as well as spatial genetic structure (SGS) at four genes putatively involved in stress response and three genes with unknown function. Significant genetic differentiation was observed among sub-populations within stands, and eight SNP loci showed patterns compatible with disruptive selection. SGS analysis showed genetic turnover along the gradients at three loci, and at least one haplotype was found to be in repulsion with one habitat. Taken together, these results suggest genetic differentiation at small spatial scale in spite of gene flow. We hypothesize that heterogeneous environments may cause molecular divergence, possibly associated to local adaptation in E. falcata.
ISSN: 1010-061X

hal-01032412
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032412
DOI : 10.1111/jeb.12069

Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union
Résumé : The freshest surface waters in the tropical Pacific are found at its eastern boundary. Using in situ observations, we depict the quasi-permanent presence of a far eastern Pacific fresh pool with Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) lower than 33, which is confined between Panama's west coast and 85W in December and extends westward to 95W in April. Strong SSS fronts are found at the outer edge of this fresh pool. We investigate the seasonal dynamics of the fresh pool using complementary satellite wind, rain, sea level and in situ oceanic current data at the surface, along with hydrographic profiles. The fresh pool appears off Panama due to the strong summer rains associated with the northward migration of the ITCZ over Central America in June. During the second half of the year, the eastward-flowing North Equatorial Counter Current keeps it trapped to the coast and strengthens the SSS front on its western edge. During winter, as the ITCZ moves southward, the north-easterly Panama gap wind creates a south-westward jet-like current in its path with a dipole of Ekman pumping/eddies on its flanks. As a result, upwelling in the Panama Bight brings to the surface cold and salty waters which erode the fresh pool on its eastern side while both the jet current and the enhanced South Equatorial Current stretch the fresh pool westward until it nearly disappears in May. New SMOS satellite SSS data proves able to capture the main seasonal features of the fresh pool and monitor its spatial extent.
Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (0148-0227) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2012-04 , Vol. 117 , P. -

Droits : 2012 AGU
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00072/18311/16581.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2011JC007802
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00072/18311/

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : Total mercury (HgT) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) were investigated in a tropical head watershed (1 km(2)) of French Guiana. The watershed includes a pristine area on the hill slopes and a former gold mined flat in the bottomland. Concentrations of dissolved and particulate HgT and MMHg were measured in rain, throughfall, soil water and at three points along the stream. Samples were taken in-between and during 14 storm events at the beginning and middle of the 2005 and 2006 rainy seasons. Dissolved and particulate HgT concentrations in the stream slightly increased downstream, while dissolved and particulate MMHg concentrations were low at the pristine sub-watershed outlet (median = 0.006 ng L-1 and 1.84 ng g(-1), respectively) and sharply increased at the gold mined flat outlet (median = 0.056 ng L-1 and 6.80 ng g(-1), respectively). Oxisols, which are dominant in the pristine area act as a sink of HgT and MMHg from rain and throughfall inputs. Hydromorphic soils in the flat are strongly contaminated with Hg (including Hg droplets) and their structure has been disturbed by former gold-mining processes, leading to multiple stagnant water areas where biogeochemical conditions are favorable for methylation. In the former gold mined flat high dissolved MMHg concentrations (up to 0.8 ng L-1) were measured in puddles or suboxic soil pore waters, whereas high dissolved HgT concentrations were found in lower Eh conditions. Iron-reducing bacteria were suggested as the main methylators since highest concentrations for dissolved MMHg were associated with high dissolved ferrous iron concentrations. The connection between saturated areas and stagnant waters with the hydrographic network during rain events leads to the export of dissolved MMHg and HgT in stream waters, especially at the beginning of the rainy season. As both legal and illegal gold-mining continues to expand in French Guiana, an increase in dissolved and particulate MMHg emissions in the hydrographic network is expected. This will enhance MMHg bio-amplification and present a threat to local populations, whose diet relies mainly on fish.
Water Research (0043-1354) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2011-04 , Vol. 45 , N. 8 , P. 2659-2669

Droits : 2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00035/14628/12134.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2011.02.022
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00035/14628/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
ABSTRACT :A satellite retrieval of surface solar irradiance (SSI) based on GOES satellite data is presented and validated for the French Guiana with three years of in situ measurements from six ground stations. We propose a particle filter approach combining GOES satellite observations and in situ data. We propose an original observation function based on a joint probability distribution and taking advantages of the characteristics of both the involved type of data. The statistical results are compared with those of existing estimation methods and they are found to be in accordance with them. The daily bias ranges from -12 W/m² (-6% of the mean of measurements) to 12 W/m² (6%), depending on the stations. The daily root mean square difference ranges between 23 W/m² (10%) and 27 W/m² (15%). The correlation coefficient is close to 0.92. There is no seasonal climatic effect on the method, the bias and RMSD remain similar for both the rainy and the dry season, but better correlation is observed in the rainy season than in the dry season. Uncertainties are mainly due to the presence of specific tropical atmospheric conditions during the dry season. The method has been tested through various tests: cross-validation scheme has highlighted the potential generalization of the model in a temporal dimension; the ability of the method to effectively duplicate anomalies in surface solar irradiance time series has also been tested. The robustness of the results shows the interest of the method compared to other existing estimation methods. Because of its simplicity of implementation this method opens new prospects in estimating surface solar irradiance. It is concluded that using a particle filter and original observation function method allow a high-quality surface solar irradiance estimation in French Guiana.RESUMEUne méthode d'estimation de l'irradiance solaire de surface (SSI) à partir de données satellites GOES est présentée et validée par comparaison avec trois années de mesures in situ provenant de six stations météorologiques de Guyane Française. Dans cet article, nous proposons une approche par filtre particulaire combinant observations du satellite GOES et données in situ. Nous proposons une fonction d'observation originale basée sur une distribution de probabilité conjointe des deux types de données. Les résultats statistiques sont conformes à ceux des méthodes existantes. Le biais journalier varie de -16 W / m² (-7% de la moyenne des mesures) à 12 W / m² (6%). L'erreur quadratique moyenne (RMSD) est comprise entre 23 W / m² (10%) et 27 W / m² (15%). Le coefficient de corrélation est de 0,92. La méthode est peu sensible aux variations climatiques saisonnières, le biais et RMSD restent similaires en saison des pluies comme en saison sèche, mais une meilleure corrélation est observée pendant la saison des pluies. Les incertitudes sont principalement dues à la présence de conditions atmosphériques tropicales spécifiques en saison sèche. La méthode a été soumise à différents tests : un processus de validation croisée a mis en évidence la possible généralisation du modèle dans une dimension temporelle, la capacité du modèle à reproduire efficacement des anomalies dans les séries temporelles d'irradiance solaire de surface a aussi été testée. La robustesse des résultats obtenus montrent l'intérêt du modèle par rapport aux autres méthodes d'estimation existantes. A cause de sa simplicité de mise en oeuvre cette méthode ouvre de nouvelles perspectives en matière d'estimation de l'irradiance solaire au sol. Nous concluons que l'utilisation d'un filtre particulaire combinée à une fonction d'observation originale permet une estimation de haute qualité de l'irradiance solaire au sol en Guyane Française.
Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing

meteo-01304574
https://hal-meteofrance.archives-ouvertes.fr/meteo-01304574
DOI : 10.1080/07038992.2015.1040150

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Establishing a direct link between climate change and fluctuations in animal populations through long-term monitoring is difficult given the paucity of baseline data. We hypothesized that social wasps are sensitive to climatic variations, and thus studied the impact of ENSO events on social wasp populations in French Guiana. We noted that during the 2000 La Niña year there was a 77.1% decrease in their nest abundance along ca. 5 km of forest edges, and that 70.5% of the species were no longer present. Two simultaneous 13-year surveys (1997-2009) confirmed the decrease in social wasps during La Niña years (2000 and 2006), while an increase occurred during the 2009 El Niño year. A 30-year weather survey showed that these phenomena corresponded to particularly high levels of rainfall, and that temperature, humidity and global solar radiation were correlated with rainfall. Using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm, we show that heavy rainfall during an entire rainy season has a negative impact on social wasps. Strong contrasts in rainfall between the dry season and the short rainy season exacerbate this effect. Social wasp populations never recovered to their pre-2000 levels. This is probably because these conditions occurred over four years; heavy rainfall during the major rainy seasons during four other years also had a detrimental effect. On the contrary, low levels of rainfall during the major rainy season in 2009 spurred an increase in social wasp populations. We conclude that recent climatic changes have likely resulted in fewer social wasp colonies because they have lowered the wasps' resistance to parasitoids and pathogens. These results imply that Neotropical social wasps can be regarded as bio-indicators because they highlight the impact of climatic changes not yet perceptible in plants and other animals.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-00825825
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00825825
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00825825/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00825825/file/Dejean2011_Climate.pdf
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0027004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : Climate models predict a range of changes in tropical forest regions, including increased average temperatures, decreased total precipitation, reduced soil moisture and alterations in seasonal climate variations. These changes are directly related to the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations, primarily CO2. Assessing seasonal forest growth responses to climate is of utmost importance because woody tissues, produced by photosynthesis from atmospheric CO2, water and light, constitute the main component of carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem. In this paper, we combine intra-annual tree growth measurements from published tree growth data and the corresponding monthly climate data for 25 pan-tropical forest sites. This meta-analysis is designed to find the shared climate drivers of tree growth and their relative importance across pan-tropical forests in order to improve carbon uptake models in a global change context. Tree growth reveals significant intra-annual seasonality at seasonally dry sites or in wet tropical forests. Of the overall variation in tree growth, 28.7% was explained by the site effect, i.e. the tree growth average per site. The best predictive model included four climate variables: precipitation, solar radiation (estimated with extrasolar radiation reaching the atmosphere), temperature amplitude and relative soil water content. This model explained more than 50% of the tree growth variations across tropical forests. Precipitation and solar radiation are the main seasonal drivers of tree growth, causing 19.8% and 16.3% of the tree growth variations. Both have a significant positive association with tree growth. These findings suggest that forest productivity due to tropical tree growth will be reduced in the future if climate extremes, such as droughts, become more frequent.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01268529
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268529
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268529/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268529/file/journal.pone.0092337.PDF
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0092337

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : 14 pages
International audience
Central Africa hosts the world's second largest tropical forest after the Amazonian basin. However, as compared to its Amazonian counterpart, the Central Africa forests receive much less rain (∼1500 mm/year in mean spread over two rainy seasons in March-May and September-November, and two dry seasons). They also experience a slower deforestation rate, so that the main threat for the next decades might come from climate variations. Nonetheless, their response to the annual cycle of solar radiation and rainfall/clouds is still poorly known. Analysing high resolution remote sensing data of Enhanced Vegetation Index, rainfall, cloudiness, and solar radiation for a target region located between 0 and 5°N and 12–19°E, we explore the climatic drivers of the forests greenness mean annual cycle. Three main points emerge; first, the diurnal cycle is a key-scale for understanding the mean annual cycles of rainfall and incoming solar radiation at surface, then how climate shapes the greenness mean annual evolution; second, neither the two dry seasons nor the two rainy seasons resemble each other in terms of cloud cover, solar radiation and rainfall, and their links with greenness levels; third, whereas the first rainy season (March-May) appears optimal for greenness especially because of favorable light conditions, water availability is the main controlling factor during the main dry season and at the start of the first vegetative season (February). Regarding the little dry season (mid-June-mid-August) and the second rainy season (September-October), light availability might be the main limiting factor. These findings pave the way for further studies of the climate interannual variability and change impacts on the Central Africa forests, taking into account time-scale interactions.
ISSN: 0168-1923

hal-01309565
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01309565
DOI : 10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.04.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : Climate models for the coming century predict rainfall reduction in the Amazonian region, including change in water availability for tropical rainforests. Here, we test the extent to which climate variables related to water regime, temperature and irradiance shape the growth trajectories of neotropical trees. . We developed a diameter growth model explicitly designed to work with asynchronous climate and growth data. Growth trajectories of 205 individual trees from 54 neotropical species censused every 2 months over a 4-year period were used to rank 9 climate variables and find the best predictive model. . About 9% of the individual variation in tree growth was imputable to the seasonal variation of climate. Relative extractable water was the main predictor and alone explained more than 60% of the climate effect on tree growth, i.e. 5.4% of the individual variation in tree growth. Furthermore, the global annual tree growth was more dependent on the diameter increment at the onset of the rain season than on the duration of dry season. . The best predictive model included 3 climate variables: relative extractable water, minimum temperature and irradiance. The root mean squared error of prediction (0.035 mm.d(-1)) was slightly above the mean value of the growth (0.026 mm.d(-1)). . Amongst climate variables, we highlight the predominant role of water availability in determining seasonal variation in tree growth of neotropical forest trees and the need to include these relationships in forest simulators to test, in silico, the impact of different climate scenarios on the future dynamics of the rainforest.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01268350
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268350
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0034074
PRODINRA : 215438
PUBMED : 22506012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Seasonal variations in environmental conditions influence the functioning of the whole ecosystem of tropical rain forests, but as yet little is known about how such variations directly influence the leaf gas exchange and transpiration of individual canopy tree species. We examined the influence of seasonal variations in relative extractable water in the upper soil layers on predawn leaf water potential, saturated net photosynthesis, leaf dark respiration, stomatal conductance, and tree transpiration of 13 tropical rain forest canopy trees (eight species) over 2yr in French Guiana. The canopies were accessed by climbing ropes attached to the trees and to a tower. Our results indicate that a small proportion of the studied trees were unaffected by soil water depletion during seasonal dry periods, probably thanks to efficient deep root systems. The trees showing decreased tree water status (i.e., predawn leaf water potential) displayed a wide range of leaf gas exchange responses. Some trees strongly regulated photosynthesis and transpiration when relative extractable water decreased drastically. In contrast, other trees showed little variation, thus indicating good adaptation to soil drought conditions. These results have important applications to modeling approaches: indeed, precise evaluation and grouping of these response patterns are required before any tree-based functional models can efficiently describe the response of tropical rain forest ecosystems to future changes in environmental conditions.
ISSN: 0006-3606

hal-01032411
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032411
DOI : 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2012.00902.x

Résumé : Les forêts côtières inondables (FCI) des régions tropicales et subtropicales remplissent des fonctions écologiques nécessaires aux écosystèmes marins côtiers situés en aval et aux populations humaines vivant à proximité Aux Antilles, les mangroves et les forêts marécageuses à Pterocarpus officinalis sont structurés par des espèces ligneuses qui ont développé des adaptations particulières à la salinité, à l’inondation et aux substrats meubles sur lesquels elles reposent. Dans des contextes climatiques à forte saisonnalité, les saisons sèches prolongées entraînent de fortes variations de la salinité et du niveau de la nappe, que le changement climatique devrait amplifier. Les modèles climatiques de la région Caraïbe prévoient des saisons sèches plus sèches liées à une baisse des précipitations de 20 à 50 %. Or, la question des capacités de résistance et d’acclimatation des espèces ligneuses des FCI à des variations saisonnières marquées de leur environnement édaphique a été peu traitée dans la littérature scientifique.L’objectif de ce travail de thèse a été double. Il s’est agi, d'une part, de caractériser la structure et la croissance de faciès de végétation représentatifs des FCI antillaises et de mettre en évidence leurs déterminants. A cet effet, des individus adultes, des espèces ligneuses dominantes des FCI, (Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa, Pterocarpus officinalis, Rhizophora mangle), dans cinq faciès de végétation sur le gradient terre-mer, ont été suivis sur l'île de Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe). D’autre part, les effets de variations salines extrêmes sur la croissance et l’écophysiologie de ces quatre espèces ont été évalués au stade plantule par une expérience en conditions contrôlées.A travers cette étude, il a été montré que les différences de salinité et de fertilité entre les stationspermettent d’expliquer la composition et la structure des peuplements de FCI. Cette étude a égalementmontré que P. officinalis peut se maintenir dans une gamme de salinité plus large que ne l'indiquait lalittérature.Dans le contexte des Antilles où les marnages sont faibles, la saisonnalité du climat entraine des variations saisonnières importantes d’un ensemble de descripteurs édaphiques tels que le niveau de la nappe, la salinité du sol, le pH et le potentiel RedOx. L’inondation et la salinité des sols sont fortement corrélées aux variations mensuelles des précipitations. Les périodes sèches sont accompagnées de salinités élevées et d’une baisse du niveau de la nappe allant jusqu’à l’exondation des sols dans toutes les stations suivies. Les stress environnementaux liés à la saisonnalité entrainent une baisse de la production primaire. L’accroissement cambial mensuel des individus est fortement corrélé avec les précipitations et l’intensité du vent. Dans les stations de mangrove, la sècheresse édaphique régule la production primaire des palétuviers. En forêt marécageuse, la part de la sècheresse atmosphérique semble plus importante pour expliquer la production de P. officinalis. Aussi, les sècheresses édaphique et atmosphérique doivent être prises en compte toutes deux pour modéliser efficacement la croissance des peuplements des FCI.Lors de la saison sèche, le stress le plus important est le stress hydrique, lié à la diminution de la teneur en eau du sol et à l’augmentation de la salinité, qui entraine des contraintes physiologiques sur les palétuviers (ajustements stomatiques, pertes de surface foliaire et de conductivité hydraulique). Le stress ionique, lié à la toxicité des ions Na+ et Cl-, permet aussi d’expliquer une partie de la contrainte sur l’assimilation en carbone. En saison sèche, l’aération des sols ne se traduit pas par une amélioration des performances de croissance chez toutes les espèces. Aussi, la croissance cambiale maximale de toutes les espèces de FCI est réalisée en saison des pluies lorsque la salinité est faible et les niveaux d’inondation élevés.
In tropical and subtropical regions, flooded coastal forests provide essentials goods and services to local communities. In the Antilles, mangrove forests and the Pterocarpus officinalis swamp forest host tree species that are adapted to salinity, flooding and loose substrates. In areas were climatic seasonality is strong, dry seasons lead to strong fluctuations of soil salinity and water table level ; that climate change is likely to make stronger again. Climate model for the Caribbean project drier dry seasons with a decease of 20 to 50 % in annual rainfall amounts. However, resistance and acclimation ability of flooded coastal forest’s species to strong environmental fluctuations still remain poorly studied.This thesis aims two objectives. On the one hand, it aims to characterize the forest structure and monthly growth of vegetation structures representative of the Antillean flooded coastal forests and to highlight their determinants. In this respect, adult trees of the four dominant species of local flooded coastal forest (Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa, Pterocarpus officinalis, Rhizophora mangle), in five stations along a sea – land gradient were monitored on the Grande-Terre island (Guadeloupe). On the other hand, the effects of salinity variation patterns and salinity levels on growth performances and physiology of seedlings from the four same species were investigated through a greenhouse experiment.This study shows that differences among average salinity and soil fertility explain the vegetation structure of flooded coastal forest. It also extents, in the literature, the range of salinity in which P. officinalis can stand at the tree stage.In the Antilles were tidal range is small, climate seasonality lead to strong edaphic seasonal variations in water table level, soil salinity, pH and RedOx potential. Flooding and soil salinity are strongly correlated to monthly rainfall amounts: dry periods lead to high salinity and to a decrease in water table level under the soil surface. Seasonal environmental stresses lead to a decrease of primary production. Cambial growth was strongly correlated to monthly precipitation and average wind speed. In mangrove stations, edaphic drought determines primary production of mangrove trees, when, in swamp forest stations, atmospheric drought determines an important part of P. officinalis’ primary production.During the dry season, water stress is the more important environmental stress, both by the decrease in soil humidity and the increase in soil salinity, and leads to physiological strains (stomatal adjustment, loss of leaf area and hydraulic conductivity) for mangrove trees. Ionic toxicity of ions Na+ and Cl- also explains a part of the strain on carbon assimilation. During the dry season, re oxygenation of soils via low water table level does not lead to an increase of physiological traits. Thus, maximum cambial growth of all species is observed during the rainy season, when salinity is low and water table level is high.Flooded coastal forest’s species do not have the same ability to recover after a dry episode. In all the studied stations, A. germinans’ cambial growth rises back as soon as the rainy season starts, when, for one station, cambial growth of L. racemosa and R. mangle stay null during the three first month of the rainy season. This low ability to recover after a dry episode is correlated to a stronger impact of the dry season on the physiological traits of these two species.The greenhouse experiment shows that salinity variation patterns are to be taken into consideration for explaining seedlings’ growth and salinity tolerance. A stronger salinity increase impacts the growth of all the studied species; a punctual drop of salinity highlights that flooded coastal forest’s species differ in ability to take advantage of a low salinity episode. These results are coherent with field observations as cambial growth was fairly explained by monthly precipitation.

http://www.theses.fr/2013AGUY0674/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : Growth defense tradeoff theory predicts that plants in low-resource habitats invest more energy in defense mechanisms against natural enemies than growth, whereas plants in high-resource habitats can afford higher leaf loss rates. A less-studied defense against herbivores involves the synchrony of leaf production, which can be an effective defense strategy if leaf biomass production exceeds the capacity of consumption by insects. The aim of this study was to determine whether leaf synchrony varied across habitats with different available resources and whether insects were able to track young leaf production among tree habitat specialists in a tropical forest of French Guiana. We predicted that high-resource habitats would exhibit more synchrony in leaf production due to the low cost and investment to replace leaf tissue. We also expected closer patterns of leaf synchrony and herbivory within related species, assuming that they shared herbivores. We simultaneously monitored leaf production and herbivory rates of five pairs of tree species, each composed of a specialist of terra firme or white-sand forests within the same lineage. Our prediction was not supported by the strong interaction of habitat and lineage for leaf synchrony within individuals of the same species; although habitat specialists differed in leaf synchrony within four of five lineages, the direction of the effect was variable. All species showed short time lags for the correlation between leaf production and herbivory, suggesting that insects are tightly tracking leaf production, especially for the most synchronous species. Leaf synchrony may provide an important escape defense against herbivores, and its expression appears to be constrained by both evolutionary history and environmental factors.
ISSN: 1385-0237

hal-01204221
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204221
DOI : 10.1007/s11258-013-0290-y
PRODINRA : 288500

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : Tropical plant diversity is extraordinarily high at both local and regional scales. Many studies have demonstrated that natural enemies maintain local diversity via negative density dependence, but we know little about how natural enemies influence beta-diversity across habitats and/or regions. One way herbivores could influence plant beta-diversity is by driving allocation trade-offs that promote habitat specialization across resource gradients. We therefore predicted that increasing resource availability should be accompanied by increasing herbivory rates and decreasing plant allocation to defense. Second, relative abundances within plant lineages are predicted to reflect patterns of habitat specialization and allocation trade-offs. A phylogenetic context is vital not only to compare homologous plant traits (including defense strategies) across habitat types, but also to connect evolutionary trade-offs to patterns of species diversification in each phylogenetic lineage. We tested these predictions for trees in white-sand, clay terra firme, and seasonally flooded forests in Peru and French Guiana that represent the range of soil fertility, forest structure, and floristic compositions found throughout the Amazon region. We established 74 0.5-ha plots in these habitats and sampled all trees. Within 12 representative plots we marked newly expanding leaves of 394 saplings representing 68 species, including the most abundant species in each plot in addition to species from five focal lineages: Swartzia and Inga (Fabaceae), Protieae (Burseracaeae), Bombacoideae (Malvaceae), and Micropholis (Sapotaceae). We measured total leaf production rates for each sapling and calculated relative herbivory impact as the ratio between herbivory rate and leaf production rate. Herbivory rates averaged 2.1% per month, did not correlate with leaf production rate, and were similar across habitats. Relative herbivore impacts exceeded leaf production rates for most species. Leaf production rate averaged 2.8%, was significantly higher in seasonally flooded forests than the other two habitats, and exhibited significant correlations with specific leaf area. Species with high herbivory rates exhibited significantly lower relative abundances in terra firme forests. Overall, focal species within lineages present contrasting patterns regarding their herbivory rates and leaf production rate within habitats. These results highlight why a lineage-based approach is necessary when attempting to connect hypotheses regarding evolutionary trade-offs to community assembly patterns.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01032418
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032418