Tropical tree species differ in damage and mortality from lightning

Lightning is an important agent of mortality for large tropical trees with
implications for tree demography and forest carbon budgets. We evaluated
interspecific differences in susceptibility to lightning damage using a
unique dataset of systematically located lightning strikes on Barro
Colorado Island, Panama. We measured differences in mortality among trees
damaged by lightning and related those to damage frequency and tree
functional traits. Eighteen of 30 focal species had lightning mortality
rates that deviated from null expectations. Several species showed little
damage and 3 species had no mortality from lightning, whereas palms were
especially likely to die from strikes. Species that were most likely to be
struck also showed the highest survival. Interspecific differences in tree
tolerance to lightning suggest that lightning-caused mortality shapes
compositional dynamics over time and space. Shifts in lightning frequency
due to climatic change are likely to alter species composition and carbon
cycling in tropical forests.