African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) are ecosystem engineers that browse and damage large quantities of vegetation during their foraging and movement. Though elephant trail networks and clearings are conspicuous features of many African forests, the consequences of elephant foraging for forest structure and diversity are poorly documented. In this study in northeastern Gabon, we compare stem size, stem density, proportional damage, species diversity, and species relative abundance of seedlings and saplings in the vicinity of seven tree species that produce elephant‐preferred fruits (“elephant trees”) relative to control trees that do not. Across 34 survey trees, with a combined census area of 2.04 ha, we recorded data on 26,128 woody stems in three sizes classes. Compared with control trees, the area around elephant trees had the following: (a) a significantly greater proportion of damaged seedlings and a marginally greater proportion of damaged saplings (with 82% and 24% greater odds of damage, respectively); (b) no significant difference in stem density or species diversity; and (c) a significantly greater relative abundance of seedlings of elephant tree species. Increasing distance away from focal elephant trees was associated with significantly reduced sapling stem damage, significantly increased sapling stem density, and significantly increased sapling species diversity. Considered in sum, our results suggest that elephants can affect the structure and diversity of Afrotropical forests through their foraging activities, with some variation based on location and plant size class. Developing a more complete understanding of elephants’ ecological effects will require continued research, ideally with manipulative experiments.

中文翻译：

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评估大象觅食对热带森林结构和多样性的影响

非洲森林象（非洲象环）是生态系统工程师，他们在觅食和移动过程中浏览并破坏了大量的植被。尽管大象步道网络和砍伐是许多非洲森林的显着特征，但大象觅食对森林结构和多样性的后果却鲜有记载。在加蓬东北部的这项研究中，我们比较了七种树种附近的幼苗和幼树的茎大小，茎密度，成比例的损害，物种多样性和物种相对丰度，这些物种产生了大象喜欢的果实（“大象树”）相对于控制没有的树。在34棵调查树上，人口普查总面积为2.04公顷，我们记录了三个大小等级的26,128个木本茎的数据。与对照树相比，大象树周围的面积如下：（a）受损幼苗的比例显着更高，受损树苗的比例略高（分别为82％和24％）；（b）茎密度或物种多样性无明显差异；（c）大象树种的幼苗的相对丰度明显更高。距聚焦象树的距离增加与树苗茎损伤的明显减少，树苗茎密度的显着增加以及树苗物种多样性的显着增加有关。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明，大象可以通过觅食活动影响非热带森林的结构和多样性，但其位置和植物大小等级会有所不同。