Residence times of woody biomass in tropical forests

Background: The woody biomass residence time (τw) of an ecosystem is an important variable for accurately simulating its biomass stocks. Methods and results: We reviewed published data from 177 forest plots across the tropics and found a six-fold variation (23–129 years) in τw across our dataset, with a median τw of ca. 50 years. This value is similar to the median default value across 21 vegetation models for tropical forests, although the range of values used in models is large (20 to 200 years). Conclusions: The notion of a constant τw across all tropical forests may be of limited utility, given the large observed variation in τw. We found that while there was little relationship between climate variables and τw, there was evidence that edaphic factors exerted a strong influence on τw. In both the Neotropics and the Paleotropics, τw was highest in heavily weathered soils, suggesting that low soil fertility and/or non-limiting soil physical conditions exert a critical influence on τw. There is considerable uncertainty in how τw will be affected by global environmental change, especially by increased atmospheric CO2. Even small changes in τw could significantly reduce the future tropical forest carbon sink predicted by many vegetation models.

[1]  D. A. King,et al.  What controls tropical forest architecture: testing environmental, structural and floristic drivers , 2012 .

[2]  S. Lewis,et al.  Drought-induced shifts in the floristic and functional composition of tropical forests in Ghana. , 2012, Ecology letters.

[3]  Daniel S. Goll,et al.  Nutrient limitation reduces land carbon uptake in simulations with a model of combined carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling , 2012 .

[4]  J. Terborgh,et al.  Basin-wide variations in Amazon forest structure and function are mediated by both soils and climate , 2012 .

[5]  P. Hart.  Patterns of Tree Mortality in a Monodominant Tropical Forest , 2012 .

[6]  Yadvinder Malhi,et al.  The productivity, metabolism and carbon cycle of tropical forest vegetation , 2012 .

[7]  Y. Malhi,et al.  The allocation of ecosystem net primary productivity in tropical forests , 2011, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[8]  P. Moorcroft,et al.  Tree mortality in the eastern and central United States: patterns and drivers , 2011 .

[9]  Jerry F. Franklin,et al.  Causes and implications of the correlation between forest productivity and tree mortality rates , 2011 .

[10]  N. McDowell,et al.  The interdependence of mechanisms underlying climate-driven vegetation mortality. , 2011, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[11]  Christopher B. Field,et al.  Forest biomass allometry in global land surface models , 2011 .

[12]  P. Cox,et al.  The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), model description – Part 2: Carbon fluxes and vegetation dynamics , 2011 .

[13]  R. B. Jackson,et al.  A Large and Persistent Carbon Sink in the World’s Forests , 2011, Science.

[14]  Sophie Graefe,et al.  Elevation effects on the carbon budget of tropical mountain forests (S Ecuador): the role of the belowground compartment , 2011 .

[15]  W. Salas,et al.  Benchmark map of forest carbon stocks in tropical regions across three continents , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  K. Shiokawa,et al.  Periodic black auroral patches at the dawnside dipolarization front during a substorm , 2011 .

[17]  F. Bongers,et al.  Increasing liana abundance and biomass in tropical forests: emerging patterns and putative mechanisms. , 2011, Ecology letters.

[18]  X. Zeng,et al.  Natural and drought scenarios in an east central Amazon forest: Fidelity of the Community Land Model 3.5 with three biogeochemical models , 2011 .

[19]  C. Bigler,et al.  Will the CO2 fertilization effect in forests be offset by reduced tree longevity? , 2011, Oecologia.

[20]  Nathan J B Kraft,et al.  Functional traits and the growth-mortality trade-off in tropical trees. , 2010, Ecology.

[21]  Luiz E. O. C. Aragão,et al.  Net primary productivity allocation and cycling of carbon along a tropical forest elevational transect in the Peruvian Andes , 2010 .

[22]  D. A. King,et al.  Height-diameter allometry of tropical forest trees , 2010 .

[23]  D. Coomes,et al.  Influences of Forest Structure, Climate and Species Composition on Tree Mortality across the Eastern US , 2010, PloS one.

[24]  P. Ciais,et al.  Mortality as a key driver of the spatial distribution of aboveground biomass in Amazonian forest: results from a dynamic vegetation model , 2010 .

[25]  Yadvinder Malhi,et al.  The carbon balance of tropical forest regions, 1990–2005 , 2010 .

[26]  Maosheng Zhao,et al.  Drought-Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 Through 2009 , 2010, Science.

[27]  F. Woodward,et al.  Terrestrial Gross Carbon Dioxide Uptake: Global Distribution and Covariation with Climate , 2010, Science.

[28]  L. Aragão,et al.  Shifts in plant respiration and carbon use efficiency at a large-scale drought experiment in the eastern Amazon. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[29]  S. Andelman,et al.  Drought-mortality relationships for tropical forests. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[30]  Wolfgang Lucht,et al.  Estimating the risk of Amazonian forest dieback. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[31]  F. Woodward,et al.  Assessing uncertainties in a second-generation dynamic vegetation model caused by ecological scale limitations. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[32]  Stephen Sitch,et al.  Multiple mechanisms of Amazonian forest biomass losses in three dynamic global vegetation models under climate change. , 2010, The New phytologist.

[33]  S. Hubbell,et al.  The impact of lianas on 10 years of tree growth and mortality on Barro Colorado Island, Panama , 2010 .

[34]  S. Frolking,et al.  Storm intensity and old‐growth forest disturbances in the Amazon region , 2010 .

[35]  A. Arneth,et al.  Variations in chemical and physical properties of Amazon forest soils in relation to their genesis , 2010 .

[36]  Andrew D. Friend,et al.  Carbon and nitrogen cycle dynamics in the O‐CN land surface model: 1. Model description, site‐scale evaluation, and sensitivity to parameter estimates , 2010 .

[37]  L. Aragão,et al.  Exploring the likelihood and mechanism of a climate-change-induced dieback of the Amazon rainforest , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[38]  E. Jimenez,et al.  Fine root dynamics for forests on contrasting soils in the Colombian Amazon. , 2009 .

[39]  O. Phillips,et al.  Above- and below-ground net primary productivity across ten Amazonian forests on contrasting soils , 2009 .

[40]  Takeshi Ise,et al.  Comparison of modeling approaches for carbon partitioning: Impact on estimates of global net primary production and equilibrium biomass of woody vegetation from MODIS GPP , 2009 .

[41]  Rachel M. Law,et al.  A global model of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles for the terrestrial biosphere , 2009 .

[42]  C. Nobre,et al.  Exploring the range of climate biome projections for tropical South America: The role of CO2 fertilization and seasonality , 2009 .

[43]  S. Higgins,et al.  Impacts of climate change on the vegetation of Africa: an adaptive dynamic vegetation modelling approach , 2009 .

[44]  George C. Hurtt,et al.  Carbon cycling under 300 years of land use change: Importance of the secondary vegetation sink , 2009 .

[45]  Hisashi Sato,et al.  Simulation of the vegetation structure and function in a Malaysian tropical rain forest using the individual-based dynamic vegetation model SEIB-DGVM , 2009 .

[46]  J. Chambers,et al.  Comprehensive assessment of carbon productivity, allocation and storage in three Amazonian forests , 2009 .

[47]  J. Terborgh,et al.  Drought Sensitivity of the Amazon Rainforest , 2009, Science.

[48]  Sean C. Thomas,et al.  Increasing carbon storage in intact African tropical forests , 2009, Nature.

[49]  S. Lewis,et al.  Changing Ecology of Tropical Forests: Evidence and Drivers , 2009 .

[50]  A. Scott Denning,et al.  Combined Simple Biosphere/Carnegie‐Ames‐Stanford Approach terrestrial carbon cycle model , 2008 .

[51]  Benjamin Smith,et al.  Representation of vegetation dynamics in the modelling of terrestrial ecosystems: comparing two contrasting approaches within European climate space , 2008 .

[52]  Richard Condit,et al.  Assessing Evidence for a Pervasive Alteration in Tropical Tree Communities , 2008, PLoS biology.

[53]  Oliver L. Phillips,et al.  Growth and wood density predict tree mortality in Amazon forests , 2008 .

[54]  O. Phillips,et al.  The changing Amazon forest , 2008, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[55]  O. Phillips,et al.  The global relationship between forest productivity and biomass , 2007 .

[56]  Eric A. Davidson,et al.  Recuperation of nitrogen cycling in Amazonian forests following agricultural abandonment , 2007, Nature.

[57]  Hisashi Sato,et al.  SEIB–DGVM: A new Dynamic Global Vegetation Model using a spatially explicit individual-based approach , 2007 .

[58]  C. Potter,et al.  Constraining rooting depths in tropical rainforests using satellite data and ecosystem modeling for accurate simulation of gross primary production seasonality , 2007 .

[59]  T. A. Black,et al.  Soil-plant nitrogen cycling modulated carbon exchanges in a western temperate conifer forest in Canada , 2006 .

[60]  Stephanie A. Bohlman,et al.  Testing metabolic ecology theory for allometric scaling of tree size, growth and mortality in tropical forests. , 2006, Ecology letters.

[61]  Stuart J. Davies,et al.  The role of wood density and stem support costs in the growth and mortality of tropical trees , 2006 .

[62]  G. Boer,et al.  Simulating Competition and Coexistence between Plant Functional Types in a Dynamic Vegetation Model , 2006 .

[63]  Luiz Antonio Martinelli,et al.  Slow growth rates of Amazonian trees: consequences for carbon cycling. , 2005, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[64]  N. Stephenson,et al.  Forest turnover rates follow global and regional patterns of productivity. , 2005, Ecology letters.

[65]  T. D. Mitchell,et al.  An improved method of constructing a database of monthly climate observations and associated high‐resolution grids , 2005 .

[66]  I. C. Prentice,et al.  A dynamic global vegetation model for studies of the coupled atmosphere‐biosphere system , 2005 .

[67]  J. Terborgh,et al.  Tropical forest tree mortality, recruitment and turnover rates: calculation, interpretation and comparison when census intervals vary , 2004 .

[68]  Susan E. Trumbore,et al.  Respiration from a tropical forest ecosystem: partitioning of sources and low carbon use efficiency , 2004 .

[69]  J. Terborgh,et al.  The above‐ground coarse wood productivity of 104 Neotropical forest plots , 2004 .

[70]  Neal A. Scott,et al.  The net carbon flux due to deforestation and forest re‐growth in the Brazilian Amazon: analysis using a process‐based model , 2004 .

[71]  R. Betts,et al.  Amazonian forest dieback under climate-carbon cycle projections for the 21st century , 2004 .

[72]  Andrew D. Friend,et al.  Modelling the impact of future changes in climate, CO2 concentration and land use on natural ecosystems and the terrestrial carbon sink , 2004 .

[73]  Yadvinder Malhi,et al.  Fingerprinting the impacts of global change on tropical forests. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[74]  S L Lewis,et al.  Pattern and process in Amazon tree turnover, 1976-2001. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[75]  C. Körner.  Through enhanced tree dynamics carbon dioxide enrichment may cause tropical forests to lose carbon. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[76]  O. Phillips,et al.  Increasing biomass in Amazonian forest plots. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[77]  H. Muller‐Landau.  Interspecific and Inter‐site Variation in Wood Specific Gravity of Tropical Trees , 2004 .

[78]  Yadvinder Malhi,et al.  Increasing dominance of large lianas in Amazonian forests , 2002, Nature.

[79]  M. Noguer,et al.  Climate change 2001: The scientific basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2002 .

[80]  O. Phillips,et al.  An international network to monitor the structure, composition and dynamics of Amazonian forests (RAINFOR) , 2002 .

[81]  K. Kitayama,et al.  Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo , 2002 .

[82]  Susan E. Trumbore,et al.  Carbon sink for a century , 2001, Nature.

[83]  Jérôme Chave,et al.  Estimation of biomass in a neotropical forest of French Guiana: spatial and temporal variability , 2001, Journal of Tropical Ecology.

[84]  Andrew White,et al.  Evaluation and analysis of a dynamic terrestrial ecosystem model under preindustrial conditions at the global scale , 2000 .

[85]  G. Kohlmaier,et al.  The Frankfurt Biosphere Model: a global process-oriented model of seasonal and long-term CO2 exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. II. Global results for potential vegetation in an assumed equilibrium state , 1997 .

[86]  W. Post,et al.  Historical variations in terrestrial biospheric carbon storage , 1997 .

[87]  Andrew D. Friend,et al.  A process-based, terrestrial biosphere model of ecosystem dynamics (Hybrid v3.0) , 1997 .

[88]  I. C. Prentice,et al.  An integrated biosphere model of land surface processes , 1996 .

[89]  O. Phillips.  Long-term environmental change in tropical forests: increasing tree turnover , 1996, Environmental Conservation.

[90]  Robert M. May,et al.  MORTALITY AND RECRUITMENT RATE EVALUATIONS IN HETEROGENEOUS TROPICAL FORESTS , 1996 .

[91]  G. Farquhar,et al.  The CO 2 Dependence of Photosynthesis, Plant Growth Responses to Elevated Atmospheric CO 2 Concentrations and Their Interaction with Soil Nutrient Status. I. General Principles and Forest Ecosystems , 1996 .

[92]  Jörg Kaduk,et al.  A prognostic phenology scheme for global terrestrial carbon cycle models , 1996 .

[93]  P. Pinter,et al.  Productivity and water use of wheat under free‐air CO2 enrichment , 1995 .

[94]  P. Warnant,et al.  CARAIB - A global model of terrestrial biological productivity , 1994 .

[95]  O. Phillips,et al.  Increasing Turnover Through Time in Tropical Forests , 1994, Science.

[96]  G. Kohlmaier,et al.  Modelling stimulation of plants and ecosystem response to present levels of excess atmospheric CO2 , 1987 .

[97]  Peter M. Vitousek,et al.  Litterfall, Nutrient Cycling, and Nutrient Limitation in Tropical Forests , 1984 .

[98]  S. Lewis,et al.  On tracer theory in geophysical systems in the steady and non-steady state. Part I , 1975 .

[99]  W. Magnusson,et al.  Tree mode of death in Central Amazonia: Effects of soil and topography on tree mortality associated with storm disturbances , 2012 .

[100]  B. Poulter,et al.  Predicting pan-tropical climate change induced forest stock gains and losses—implications for REDD , 2010 .

[101]  Mariana Vertenstein,et al.  The Community Land Model's Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (CLM-DGVM): Technical description and user's guide , 2004 .

[102]  Robert J. Scholes,et al.  The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide , 2001 .

[103]  Jacques Roy,et al.  Terrestrial Primary Productivity: Definitions and Milestones , 2001 .

[104]  Peter M. Cox,et al.  Description of the "TRIFFID" Dynamic Global Vegetation Model , 2001 .

[105]  Harold A. Mooney,et al.  Terrestrial Global Productivity , 2001 .

[106]  J. Vanclay.  Mortality functions for north Queensland rainforests , 1991 .

[107]  Robert L. Sanford,et al.  Nutrient Cycling in Moist Tropical Forest , 1986 .

[108]  Jeffrey Q. Chambers,et al.  TROPICAL FORESTS : AN EVALUATION AND SYNTHESIS OF EXISTING FIELD DATA , 2022 .

[109]  S S I T C H,et al.  Evaluation of Ecosystem Dynamics, Plant Geography and Terrestrial Carbon Cycling in the Lpj Dynamic Global Vegetation Model , 2022 .

[110]  M. P.R.,et al.  A METHOD FOR SCALING VEGETATION DYNAMICS: THE ECOSYSTEM DEMOGRAPHY MODEL (ED) , 2022 .