40 years of forest dynamics and tree demography in an intact tropical forest at M'Baïki in central Africa.

A vast silvicultural experiment was set up in 1982 nearby the town of M'Baïki in the Central African Republic to monitor the recovery of tropical forests after disturbance. The M'Baïki experiment consists of ten 4-ha Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) that were assigned to three silvicultural treatments in 1986 according to a random block design. In each plot, all trees with a girth at breast height greater than 30 cm were spatially located, numbered, measured, and determined botanically.

A large-scale species level dated angiosperm phylogeny for evolutionary and ecological analyses.

Phylogenies are a central and indispensable tool for evolutionary and ecological research. Even though most angiosperm families are well investigated from a phylogenetic point of view, there are far less possibilities to carry out large-scale meta-analyses at order level or higher. Here, we reconstructed a large-scale dated phylogeny including nearly 1/8th of all angiosperm species, based on two plastid barcoding genes, (incl.

The limited contribution of large trees to annual biomass production in an old-growth tropical forest.

Although the importance of large trees regarding biodiversity and carbon stock in old-growth forests is undeniable, their annual contribution to biomass production and carbon uptake remains poorly studied at the stand level. To clarify the role of large trees in biomass production, we used data of tree growth, mortality, and recruitment monitored during 20 yr in 10 4-ha plots in a species-rich tropical forest (Central African Republic). Using a random block design, three different silvicultural treatments, control, logged, and logged + thinned, were applied in the 10 plots.

Tropical forest recovery from logging: a 24 year silvicultural experiment from Central Africa.

Large areas of African moist forests are being logged in the context of supposedly sustainable management plans. It remains however controversial whether harvesting a few trees per hectare can be maintained in the long term while preserving other forest services as well. We used a unique 24 year silvicultural experiment, encompassing 10 4 ha plots established in the Central African Republic, to assess the effect of disturbance linked to logging (two to nine trees ha⁻¹ greater than or equal to 80 cm DBH) and thinning (11-41 trees ha⁻¹ greater than or equal to 50 cm DBH) on the structure and dynamics of the forest.