Lightning-caused disturbance in the Peruvian Amazon

Request article access

Gora, E. M., and S. P. Yanoviak. 2020. Lightning-caused disturbance in the Peruvian Amazon. Biotropica 52:813–817.

Abstract:

We surveyed seven lightning strike sites in the northern Peruvian Amazon. An average of 17.3 trees were damaged per strike; large trees (> 60 cm diameter) were disproportionately affected. The results contribute to a growing body of evidence that lightning is an important agent of disturbance pantropically.

Keywords: forest dynamics, large trees, tree death, tree mortality, tropical forest