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High-resolution spectroscopy can be used to measure leaf chemical and structural traits. Such leaf traits are often highly correlated to other traits, such as photosynthesis, through the leaf economics spectrum. We measured VNIR (visible-near infrared) leaf reflectance (400-1,075 nm) of sunlit and shaded leaves in ~150 dominant species across ten, 1 ha plots along a 3,300 m elevation gradient in Peru (on 4,284 individual leaves). We used partial least squares (PLS) regression to compare leaf reflectance to chemical traits, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, structural traits, including leaf mass per area (LMA), branch wood density and leaf venation, and 'higher-level' traits such as leaf photosynthetic capacity, leaf water repellency, and woody growth rates. Empirical models using leaf reflectance predicted leaf N and LMA ( r2 > 30% and %RMSE < 30%), weakly predicted leaf venation, photosynthesis, and branch density ( r2 between 10 and 35% and %RMSE between 10% and 65%), and did not predict leaf water repellency or woody growth rates ( r2<5%). Prediction of higher-level traits such as photosynthesis and branch density is likely due to these traits correlations with LMA, a trait readily predicted with leaf spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes to the carbon cycle in tropical forests could affect global climate, but predicting such changes has been previously limited by lack of field-based data. Here we show seasonal cycles of the complete carbon cycle for 14, 1 ha intensive carbon cycling plots which we separate into three regions: humid lowland, highlands, and dry lowlands. Our data highlight three trends: (1) there is differing seasonality of total net primary productivity (NPP) with the highlands and dry lowlands peaking in the dry season and the humid lowland sites peaking in the wet season, (2) seasonal reductions in wood NPP are not driven by reductions in total NPP but by carbon during the dry season being preferentially allocated toward either roots or canopy NPP, and (3) there is a temporal decoupling between total photosynthesis and total carbon usage (plant carbon expenditure). This decoupling indicates the presence of nonstructural carbohydrates which may allow growth and carbon to be allocated when it is most ecologically beneficial rather than when it is most environmentally available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar irradiance and precipitation are the most likely drivers of the seasonal variation of net primary productivity (NPP) in tropical forests. Since their roles remain poorly understood, we use litter traps, dendrometer bands and census data collected from one hectare permanent plots to quantify the seasonality of above-ground NPP components and weather parameters in 13 sites distributed along a 2800-m altitudinal gradient ranging from lowland Amazonia to the high Andes. We combine canopy leaf area index and litterfall data to describe the seasonality of canopy production. We hypothesize that solar irradiance is the primary driver of canopy phenology in wetter sites, whereas precipitation drives phenology in drier systems. The seasonal rhythm of canopy NPP components is in synchrony with solar irradiance at all altitudes. Leaf litterfall peaks in the late dry season, both in lowland (averaging 0.54 ± 0.08 Mg C ha y−1, n = 5) and montane forests (averaging 0.29 ± 0.04 Mg C ha y−1, n = 8). Peaks in above-ground coarse woody NPP appears to be triggered by the onset of rainfall in seasonal lowland rain forests (averaging 0.26 ± 0.04 Mg C ha y−1, n = 5, in November), but not in montane cloud forests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The net primary productivity, carbon (C) stocks and turnover rates (i.e. C dynamics) of tropical forests are an important aspect of the global C cycle. These variables have been investigated in lowland tropical forests, but they have rarely been studied in tropical montane forests (TMFs). This study examines spatial patterns of above- and belowground C dynamics along a transect ranging from lowland Amazonia to the high Andes in SE Peru. Fine root biomass values increased from 1.50 Mg C ha at 194 m to 4.95 ± 0.62 Mg C ha at 3020 m, reaching a maximum of 6.83 ± 1.13 Mg C ha at the 2020 m elevation site. Aboveground biomass values decreased from 123.50 Mg C ha at 194 m to 47.03 Mg C ha at 3020 m. Mean annual belowground productivity was highest in the most fertile lowland plots (7.40 ± 1.00 Mg C ha yr) and ranged between 3.43 ± 0.73 and 1.48 ± 0.40 Mg C ha yr in the premontane and montane plots. Mean annual aboveground productivity was estimated to vary between 9.50 ± 1.08 Mg C ha yr (210 m) and 2.59 ± 0.40 Mg C ha yr (2020 m), with consistently lower values observed in the cloud immersion zone of the montane forest. Fine root C residence time increased from 0.31 years in lowland Amazonia to 3.78 ± 0.81 years at 3020 m and stem C residence time remained constant along the elevational transect, with a mean of 54 ± 4 years. The ratio of fine root biomass to stem biomass increased significantly with increasing elevation, whereas the allocation of net primary productivity above- and belowground remained approximately constant at all elevations. Although net primary productivity declined in the TMF, the partitioning of productivity between the ecosystem subcomponents remained the same in lowland, premontane and montane forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]