Cristina Barber, a graduate of Boise State’s Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Ph.D. program, recently led a team of researchers studying tropical forests. Their findings appear in a new study published in Ecological Applications, revealing that large, solitary trees in tropical agricultural landscapes are dying at higher rates than their smaller counterparts. Using cutting-edge aerial imagery and computer models, the research team identified more than 6,000 individual trees in Panama and found that larger, isolated trees were more likely to die, compared to smaller trees in forest patches. The study raises global concerns, as these large, scattered trees are vital providers of ecosystem services, including carbon storage, biodiversity support and shade for livestock.
This study has implications far beyond Panama. As agricultural intensification and land development expand throughout the tropics, isolated trees are increasingly being lost — often invisibly, as satellite monitoring typically overlooks individual trees in open landscapes. The authors urge global conservation efforts to prioritize these keystone trees, which support both people and wildlife. “Without intervention,” the study warns “we may be heading toward treeless pasturelands where ecological restoration becomes far more difficult.”