Tempo and Mode in Secondary Succession: Above-Ground Biomass, and Forest Structure on the Coiba Island, Panama (1919-2023)

Abstract

Ecology needs a unified view of the patterns and processes of secondary succession; we addressed that on the Coiba Island, Panama. We measured tree diameters and determined the land-use histories and structural properties for nine stands. We detected land-use history-legacy gradients ranging from no-use to still-in-use sites (Linear Regressions, R2≥0.87 for Above-Ground Biomass and Basal Area, n=7 stands). Three successional pathways derived from a meadow, another from shifting agriculture, another from a >400y-old forest, and four were related to a river and a camp. Our results clarify discussions like convergence-vs-divergence, organismic-vs-individualistic successions, chance-vs-determinism, and provide land-use history-based suggestions for conservation.