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1. Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Author

Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Marisol Toledo, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, José Luís Camargo, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Georgia Pickavance, Pieter A. Zuidema, Christopher Baraloto, Javier Silva Espejo, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Wendeson Castro, Simon L. Lewis, Susan G. Laurance, Marcos Silveira, Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaço Ladvocat, René G. A. Boot, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Lourens Poorter, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo, Armando Torres-Lezama, David A. Neill, Eric Arets, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Benoit Burban, Carlos A. Quesada, Kuo-Jung Chao, Casimiro Mendoza, Hans ter Steege, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Paulo S. Morandi, Adriana Prieto, Juliana Stropp, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, James Singh, Jon Lloyd, Timothy R. Baker, Jérôme Chave, Ana Andrade, Patrick Meir, Roderick Zagt, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Joey Talbot, Marielos Peña-Claros, Luzmila Arroyo, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Frans Bongers, Michel Baisie, Plínio Barbosa de Camargo, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Varun Swamy, Julio Serrano, Raquel Thomas, Aurora Levesley, Emanuel Gloor, Julie Peacock, David W. Galbraith, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Jeanne Houwing-Duistermaat, Timothy J. Killeen, Yadvinder Malhi, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Natalino Silva, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Jorcely Barroso, Adriano José Nogueira Lima, Simone Matias Reis, Emilio Vilanova Torre, William F. Laurance, Guido Pardo, James A. Comiskey, Agustín Rudas, Sophie Fauset, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Everton Cristo de Almeida, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Rafael Herrera, Percy Núñez Vargas, John Terborgh, Victor Chama Moscoso, Ted R. Feldpausch, Aurélie Dourdain, Damien Bonal, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Gerardo A. Aymard C, Esteban Alvarez Dávila, Peter J. Van Der Meer, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Terry L. Erwin, Lilian Blanc, Anthony Di Fiore, Antonio Carlos Lola da Costa, Haiyan Liu, Vincent A. Vos, Foster Brown, Roel J. W. Brienen, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Oliver L. Phillips, Clément Stahl, Niro Higuchi, John Pipoly, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, Thomas A. M. Pugh, Maxime Rejou-Machain, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Peter van der Hout, University of Leeds, Plymouth University, SILVA (SILVA), AgroParisTech-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), European Project: 291585,EC:FP7:ERC,ERC-2011-ADG_20110209,T-FORCES(2012), University of Plymouth, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Esquivel-Muelbert A., Phillips O.L., Brienen R.J.W., Fauset S., Sullivan M.J.P., Baker T.R., Chao K.-J., Feldpausch T.R., Gloor E., Higuchi N., Houwing-Duistermaat J., Lloyd J., Liu H., Malhi Y., Marimon B., Marimon Junior B.H., Monteagudo-Mendoza A., Poorter L., Silveira M., Torre E.V., Davila E.A., del Aguila Pasquel J., Almeida E., Loayza P.A., Andrade A., Aragao L.E.O.C., Araujo-Murakami A., Arets E., Arroyo L., Aymard C G.A., Baisie M., Baraloto C., Camargo P.B., Barroso J., Blanc L., Bonal D., Bongers F., Boot R., Brown F., Burban B., Camargo J.L., Castro W., Moscoso V.C., Chave J., Comiskey J., Valverde F.C., da Costa A.L., Cardozo N.D., Di Fiore A., Dourdain A., Erwin T., Llampazo G.F., Vieira I.C.G., Herrera R., Honorio Coronado E., Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I., Jimenez-Rojas E., Killeen T., Laurance S., Laurance W., Levesley A., Lewis S.L., Ladvocat K.L.L.M., Lopez-Gonzalez G., Lovejoy T., Meir P., Mendoza C., Morandi P., Neill D., Nogueira Lima A.J., Vargas P.N., de Oliveira E.A., Camacho N.P., Pardo G., Peacock J., Pena-Claros M., Penuela-Mora M.C., Pickavance G., Pipoly J., Pitman N., Prieto A., Pugh T.A.M., Quesada C., Ramirez-Angulo H., de Almeida Reis S.M., Rejou-Machain M., Correa Z.R., Bayona L.R., Rudas A., Salomao R., Serrano J., Espejo J.S., Silva N., Singh J., Stahl C., Stropp J., Swamy V., Talbot J., ter Steege H., Terborgh J., Thomas R., Toledo M., Torres-Lezama A., Gamarra L.V., van der Heijden G., van der Meer P., van der Hout P., Martinez R.V., Vieira S.A., Cayo J.V., Vos V., Zagt R., Zuidema P., Galbraith D., University of St Andrews. School of Geography & Sustainable Development, and Systems Ecology

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Chemistry(all), Software_GENERAL, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, General Physics and Astronomy, Forests, 01 natural sciences, Amazonegebied, Carbon sink, Trees, Growth–survival trade-off, Risk Factors, Tropical climate, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Biomass, lcsh:Science, Biomass (ecology), GE, Multidisciplinary, Ecology, Amazon rainforest, Bomen, Mortality rate, food and beverages, risk factors, mortality, trees, PE&RC, Tropical ecology, Tree (data structure), population characteristics, Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, InformationSystems_MISCELLANEOUS, Brazil, geographic locations, GE Environmental Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Carbon Sequestration, Science, Physics and Astronomy(all), Models, Biological, 010603 evolutionary biology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Article, Tree mortality, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Amazonia, Tropische bossen, parasitic diseases, Forest ecology, Life Science, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Ecosystem, Author Correction, Vegetatie, Proportional Hazards Models, Tropical Climate, Vegetation, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), DAS, social sciences, General Chemistry, Carbon Dioxide, 15. Life on land, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Sterfte, lcsh:Q, Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted—modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth–survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality., Tree mortality has been shown to be the dominant control on carbon storage in Amazon forests, but little is known of how and why Amazon forest trees die. Here the authors analyse a large Amazon-wide dataset, finding that fast-growing species face greater mortality risk, but that slower-growing individuals within a species are more likely to die, regardless of size.

Published
2020

2. Author Correction: Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Author

Javier Silva Espejo, Kuo-Jung Chao, Antonio Carlos Lola da Costa, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, René G. A. Boot, Lourens Poorter, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Ana Andrade, Ted R. Feldpausch, Adriano José Nogueira Lima, Yadvinder Malhi, Jon Lloyd, Joey Talbot, Jérôme Chave, José Luís Camargo, Paulo S. Morandi, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Varun Swamy, Adriana Prieto, Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Timothy R. Baker, Julio Serrano, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Haiyan Liu, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Marisol Toledo, Agustín Rudas, Simone Matias Reis, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Juliana Stropp, Christopher Baraloto, Luzmila Arroyo, Simon L. Lewis, Thomas A. M. Pugh, James Singh, Roderick Zagt, Percy Núñez Vargas, John Terborgh, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Lilian Blanc, Gerardo A. Aymard C, Terry L. Erwin, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Anthony Di Fiore, Peter van der Hout, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Frans Bongers, Niro Higuchi, William F. Laurance, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Sophie Fauset, Hans ter Steege, Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaço Ladvocat, Emanuel Gloor, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Susan G. Laurance, Foster Brown, Marcos Silveira, Jorcely Barroso, Natalino Silva, Oliver L. Phillips, Clément Stahl, Everton Cristo de Almeida, Jeanne Houwing-Duistermaat, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Rafael Herrera, Victor Chama Moscoso, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Guido Pardo, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Wendeson Castro, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Carlos A. Quesada, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Armando Torres-Lezama, David A. Neill, Eric Arets, Pieter A. Zuidema, Aurora Levesley, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, James A. Comiskey, Peter J. Van Der Meer, Vincent A. Vos, Roel J. W. Brienen, Julie Peacock, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Aurélie Dourdain, Georgia Pickavance, Casimiro Mendoza, Marielos Peña-Claros, Plínio Barbosa de Camargo, Maxime Rejou-Machain, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Benoit Burban, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Patrick Meir, Michel Baisie, Raquel Thomas, David W. Galbraith, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Timothy J. Killeen, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo, John Pipoly, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, Damien Bonal, and Esteban Alvarez Dávila

Subjects
Multidisciplinary, Vegetation, Amazon rainforest, Science, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, Mode (statistics), General Physics and Astronomy, General Chemistry, PE&RC, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Geography, Statistics, Life Science, Vegetatie, Bos- en Landschapsecologie, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Vegetation, Forest and Landscape Ecology, Dead tree, Tree (set theory), Vegetatie
Abstract

The original version of this Article contained an error in Table 2, where the number of individuals in the “All Amazonia” row was reported as 11,6431 instead of 116,431. Also, the original version of this Article contained an error in the Methods, where the R2 for the proportion of broken/uprooted dead trees increase per year was reported as 0.12, the correct value being 0.06. The original version of this Article contained errors in the author affiliations. The affiliation of Gerardo A. Aymard C. with UNELLEZGuanare, Herbario Universitario (PORT), Portuguesa, Venezuela Compensation International Progress S.A. Ciprogress–Greenlife.

Published
2021

3. Tropical forest wood production: a cross-continental comparison

Author

Timothy R. Baker, Helen C. Keeling, Oliver L. Phillips, Simon L. Lewis, Jon Lloyd, Stuart J. Davies, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Kuo-Jung Chao, Sylvester Tan, Kamariah Abu Salim, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Rodolfo Vasquez, David F. R. P. Burslem, Reuben Nilus, David A. Neill, Carlos A. Quesada, and Lindsay F. Banin

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 2. Zero hunger, Dipterocarpaceae, Biomass (ecology), 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Ecology, biology, Wood production, Amazon rainforest, Botany, Tropics, Edaphic, Plant Science, Rainforest, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Geography, Soil fertility, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Summary: Tropical forest above-ground wood production (AGWP) varies substantially along environmental gradients. Some evidence suggests that AGWP may vary between regions and specifically that Asian forests have particularly high AGWP. However, comparisons across biogeographic regions using standardized methods are lacking, limiting our assessment of pan-tropical variation in AGWP and potential causes. We sampled AGWP in NW Amazon (17 long-term forest plots) and N Borneo (11 plots), both with abundant year-round precipitation. Within each region, forests growing on a broad range of edaphic conditions were sampled using standardized soil and forest measurement techniques. Plot-level AGWP was 49% greater in Borneo than in Amazonia (9.73 ± 0.56 vs. 6.53 ± 0.34 Mg dry mass ha -1 a -1 , respectively; regional mean ± 1 SE). AGWP was positively associated with soil fertility (PCA axes, sum of bases and total P). After controlling for the edaphic environment, AGWP remained significantly higher in Bornean plots. Differences in AGWP were largely attributable to differing height-diameter allometry in the two regions and the abundance of large trees in Borneo. This may be explained, in part, by the greater solar radiation in Borneo compared with NW Amazonia. Trees belonging to the dominant SE Asian family, Dipterocarpaceae, gained woody biomass faster than otherwise equivalent, neighbouring non-dipterocarps, implying that the exceptional production of Bornean forests may be driven by floristic elements. This dominant SE Asian family may partition biomass differently or be more efficient at harvesting resources and in converting them to woody biomass. Synthesis. N Bornean forests have much greater AGWP rates than those in NW Amazon when soil conditions and rainfall are controlled for. Greater resource availability and the highly productive dipterocarps may, in combination, explain why Asian forests produce wood half as fast again as comparable forests in the Amazon. Our results also suggest that taxonomic groups differ in their fundamental ability to capture carbon and that different tropical regions may therefore have different carbon uptake capacities due to biogeographic history. North Bornean forests have much greater AGWP rates than those in north-western Amazon when soil conditions and rainfall are controlled for. Greater resource availability and the highly productive dipterocarps may, in combination, explain why these Asian forests produce wood half as fast again as comparable forests in the Amazon. Our results also suggest that taxonomic groups differ in their fundamental ability to capture carbon and that different tropical regions may therefore have different carbon uptake capacities due to biogeographic history.

Published
2014

4. How do trees die? Mode of death in northern Amazonia

Author

Armando Torres-Lezama, Abel Monteagudo, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, Kuo-Jung Chao, and Oliver L. Phillips

Subjects
Biomass (ecology), Geography, Ecology, Forest dynamics, Amazon rainforest, Amazonian, Forest ecology, Amazonian forest, Plant Science, Woody plant
Abstract

Question: How do trees die in high-mortality and low mortality Amazonian forest regions? Why do trees die in different ways? Location: Humid, lowland forests in Amazonian Peru and Venezuela.

Published
2009

5. Growth and wood density predict tree mortality in Amazon forests

Author

Abel Monteagudo, Emanuel Gloor, Oliver L. Phillips, Armando Torres-Lezama, Rodolfo Vásquez Martínez, and Kuo-Jung Chao

Subjects
Ecology, Forest dynamics, Amazon rainforest, Amazonian, Tropics, Plant Science, Biology, Taxon, Relative growth rate, Forest ecology, Arbol, computer, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, computer.programming_language
Abstract

Summary 1. Tree mortality is an important process in forest ecology. We explored the extent to which tropical tree death is a predictable outcome of taxon and individual level properties by means of mixedspecies logistic regression, for trees ≥ 10 cm in diameter. We worked in two lowland forest regions with markedly different floristic composition and dynamic regimes ‐ the high wood density, lowmortality northeastern (NE) Amazon (in eastern Venezuela), and the low wood density, highmortality northwestern (NW) Amazon (in northern Peru). 2. Among those genera that are shared between regions there were no detectable regional differences in mortality rates. This suggests that floristic compositional differences are a major driver of the twofold regional contrast in stand-level mortality. 3. In NE forests, mortality risk of individual trees is best predicted by low taxon-level wood density, slow relative growth, and large size, reflecting phylogenetically determined life-history strategy, physiological stress and senescence. 4. In NW forests, trees with low wood density and slow relative growth are also at most risk, but probability of death is independent of tree size, indicating that senescence is unimportant in this region. 5. Synthesis. This study shows that despite fundamental floristic and dynamic differences between the two Amazonian regions, mortality risk can be predicted with mixed-species, individual-based statistical models and that the predictors are remarkably similar, such that tree growth and wood density both play important roles.

Published
2008

6. Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink

Author

Fredy Ramírez, Carlos A. Quesada, L da Costa, Pablo Núñez, J Teran-Aguilar, René G. A. Boot, Jorcely Barroso, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Niro Higuchi, Javier E. Silva-Espejo, Zorayda Restrepo, Euler Melo Nogueira, Carolina V. Castilho, Timothy R. Baker, Marielos Peña-Claros, David W. Galbraith, Christopher Baraloto, Roderick Zagt, Emilio Vilanova, Timothy J. Killeen, Lourens Poorter, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Susan G. Laurance, Marcos Silveira, E. A. de Oliveira, John Terborgh, Simon L. Lewis, Georgia Pickavance, A. Di Fiore, Damien Bonal, Bruno Hérault, Julie Peacock, Kuo-Jung Chao, Casimiro Mendoza, Vincent A. Vos, Alexander Parada, Juliana Stropp, P. van der Hout, Roel J. W. Brienen, V. Chama, James A. Comiskey, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Marisol Toledo, Raquel Thomas-Caesar, Ted R. Feldpausch, F. Cornejo Valverde, Olaf Bánki, Yadvinder Malhi, N. C. Pallqui Camacho, R. Vásquez Martínez, Emanuel Gloor, Helen C. Keeling, E S Grahame, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Adriana Prieto, Terry L. Erwin, Agustín Rudas, Joey Talbot, I. C. Guimarães Vieira, Natalino Silva, Ana Andrade, Ricardo Keichi Umetsu, Anand Roopsind, Oliver L. Phillips, W E Magnussen, William F. Laurance, Mônica Forsthofer, Sophie Fauset, E. Alvarez Dávila, Luzmila Arroyo, H. ter Steege, Nikée Groot, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Jon Lloyd, Jérôme Chave, Michael P. Schwarz, Mireia Torello-Raventos, Juan Carlos Licona, G. M. F. van der Heijden, Miguel Alexiades, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, David A. Neill, Eric Arets, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, G. Pardo-Molina, José Luís Camargo, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, E.N. Honorio Coronado, University of Leeds, Coll Life & Environm Sci, University of Exeter, Sci Technol & Med, Dept Life Sci, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), Sch Marine & Trop Biol, James Cook University (JCU), Prolongac Bolognesi Mze, Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Sch Geog & Environm, Environm Change Inst, University of Oxford [Oxford], University College of London [London] (UCL), Sch Anthropol & Conservat, University of Kent [Canterbury], Serv Ecosistemicosy Cambio Climat, Jardín Botánico de Medellín, Ctr Trop Conservat, Duke University [Durham], Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Museo Hist Nat Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autonoma Gabriel René Moreno, Wageningen University and Research Centre [Wageningen] (WUR), Programa Cienclas Agro & Mar, UNELLEZ Guanare, Herbario Universitario PORT, Biodiversiteit Ecosyst Dynam, University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Dept Biol Sci, Int Ctr Trop Bot, Florida International University (FIU), Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Tropenbos International (TBI), Embrapa Roraima, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Coll Agr & Nat Resources, National Chung Hsing University, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Northeast Reg Inventory & Monitoring Program, National Park Service, Madre De Dios, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program, Federal University of Para - Universidade Federal do Para [Belem - Brésil], Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Dept Anthropol, University of Texas at Austin [Austin], Smithsonian Institution, Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Ctr Trop Environm & Sustainabil Sci TESS, Sch Marine & Environm Sci, Cairns, Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal (IBIF), Manejo Forestal Tierras Trop Bolivia, Manejo Forestal de los Bosques Tropicales de Bolivia (FOMABO), Escuela Ciencias Forestales ESFOR, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Universidad Estatal Amazonica, Universidad Autonoma del Beni, Forest Ecol & Forest Management Grp, Field Museum of Natural History [Chicago, USA], Universidad Nacioal de Amazonia Peruana, Inst Invest Desarrollo Forestal INDEFOR, Fac Cienclas Forestales & Ambientales, Universidad de los Andes [Bogota], Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, Inst Ciencias Nat, Univ Nacl Colombia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA), DG Joint Res Ctr, Inst Environm & Sustainabil, Commission of the European Communities, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Ecol & Biodivers Grp, Utrecht University [Utrecht], Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences [Australia], University of Wisconsin, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Van der Hout Forestry Consulting, Univ Estadual, Missouri Botanical Garden, Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Florida International University [Miami] (FIU), Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), World Wide Fund (WWF), Universidad Mayor de San Simón [Cochabamba, Bolivie] (UMSS), Universidad de los Andes [Bogota] (UNIANDES), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi [Belém, Brésil] (MPEG), Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden], Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado [Bolivie], and University of Wisconsin-Madison

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], forêt tropicale, Carbon sequestration, Atmospheric sciences, 01 natural sciences, Sink (geography), Trees, chemistry.chemical_compound, Tropical climate, Biomasse, Dynamique des populations, Biomass, Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, Multidisciplinary, geography.geographical_feature_category, Plant Stems, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, Carbon sink, food and beverages, Wood, séquestration du carbone, protection de la forêt, Carbon dioxide, Écosystème forestier, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, Brazil, Carbon Sequestration, Rainforest, P40 - Météorologie et climatologie, Mortalité, 010603 evolutionary biology, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Changement climatique, geography, Tropical Climate, Atmosphere, 15. Life on land, Carbon Dioxide, Longévité, Carbon, K10 - Production forestière, chemistry, 13. Climate action, Environmental science, Cycle du carbone
Abstract

Atmospheric carbon dioxide records indicate that the land surface has acted as a strong global carbon sink over recent decades1, 2, with a substantial fraction of this sink probably located in the tropics3, particularly in the Amazon4. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the terrestrial carbon sink will evolve as climate and atmospheric composition continue to change. Here we analyse the historical evolution of the biomass dynamics of the Amazon rainforest over three decades using a distributed network of 321 plots. While this analysis confirms that Amazon forests have acted as a long-term net biomass sink, we find a long-term decreasing trend of carbon accumulation. Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared to the 1990s. This is a consequence of growth rate increases levelling off recently, while biomass mortality persistently increased throughout, leading to a shortening of carbon residence times. Potential drivers for the mortality increase include greater climate variability, and feedbacks of faster growth on mortality, resulting in shortened tree longevity5. The observed decline of the Amazon sink diverges markedly from the recent increase in terrestrial carbon uptake at the global scale1, 2, and is contrary to expectations based on models.

Published
2015

7. Drought-mortality relationships for tropical forests

Author

Abel Monteagudo, Ted R. Feldpausch, Helen C. Keeling, Sandy J. Andelman, Luzmila Arroyo, Niro Higuchi, Jon Lloyd, Yadvinder Malhi, Atila Alves de Oliveira, Lilian Blanc, J. W. Ferry Slik, E. M. Jimenez, Rodolfo Vasquez, Michael P. Schwarz, Timothy R. Baker, Casimiro Mendoza, Bonaventure Sonké, Carlos A. Quesada, Marcos Silveira, Hirma Ramírez, Rafael Salamão, Euridice Honorio, Joshua B. Fisher, Samuel Almeida, Emilio Vilanova, Fredy Ramírez, Percy Núñez Vargas, Emanuel Gloor, Agustín Rudas, James Taplin, Simon L. Lewis, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Lola da Costa, Patrick Meir, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Juliana Stropp, Geertje M. F. van der Heijden, David W. Galbraith, Sandra Patiño, Antonio Peña Cruz, Anne Sota Thomas, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Timothy J. Killeen, Kuo-Jung Chao, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Damien Bonal, Oliver L. Phillips, Alexandra C. Morel, Esteban Alvarez Dávila, Javier Silva, Gerardo Aymard, Jon C. Lovett, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, Maria Aparecida Freitas, Adriana Prieto, Ana Andrade, University of Leeds, School of Geography, University of Oxford, University of Oxford [Oxford], Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Universidad nacional de la amazonia peruana, Universidade Federal do Para, Federal University of Para - Universidade Federal do Para [Belem - Brésil], University of Edinburgh, INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES DE LA AMAZONIA PERUANA, Instituto de Manejo Forestal, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, Instituto de Medicina Tropical 'Alexander von Humboldt' (IMT AvH), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de Colombia [Bogotà] (UNAL), Universität Bayreuth, Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC), Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] (CAS), University of Yaoundé [Cameroun], Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Utrecht University [Utrecht], Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi [Belém, Brésil] (MPEG), Missouri Botanical Garden, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana [Loreto, Perou] (UNAP), Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco (UNSAAC), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Partenaires INRAE, Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado [Bolivie], UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Universidade Federal de Pará, University of York, Manejo Forestal en las Tierras Tropicales de Bolivia, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. Diagonal 27 No. 15-09, Universidad de Los Andes, University of Bayreuth, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Université de Yaoundé I, Humboldt University of Berlin, and Universidad de Los Andes [Venezuela] (ULA)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Data Interpretation, Time Factors, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Physiology, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Rain, F62 - Physiologie végétale - Croissance et développement, Plant Science, 01 natural sciences, LAGS MORTALITY, Tropic Climate, Trees, AMAZON, Borneo, Tropical climate, K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, Silvicultura, Biomass, Forêt tropicale humide, DROUGHT, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Biomass (ecology), Plant Stems, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, Moisture stress, food and beverages, Adaptation, Physiological, Wood, Droughts, Geography, Drought Stress, Tree, Brazil, Woody plant, [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, Climate Change, Vulnerability, RAINFOR, BORNEO, Arbre, 010603 evolutionary biology, Risk Assessment, Models, Biological, Plant Stem, Time, Biological Model, Amazonia, Stress, Physiological, Forest ecology, parasitic diseases, TROPICS, Moisture Content, Tropical Forest, Ecosystem, Mortality, Adaptation, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Tropical Climate, Drought, Brasil, fungi, Tropics, Water, 15. Life on land, Medio Ambiente, Résistance à la sécheresse, Growth, Development And Aging, METIS-272981, H50 - Troubles divers des plantes
Abstract

The rich ecology of tropical forests is intimately tied to their moisture status. Multi-site syntheses can provide a macro-scale view of these linkages and their susceptibility to changing climates. Here, we report pan-tropical and regional-scale analyses of tree vulnerability to drought. We assembled available data on tropical forest tree stem mortality before, during, and after recent drought events, from 119 monitoring plots in 10 countries concentrated in Amazonia and Borneo. In most sites, larger trees are disproportionately at risk. At least within Amazonia, low wood density trees are also at greater risk of drought-associated mortality, independent of size. For comparable drought intensities, trees in Borneo are more vulnerable than trees in the Amazon. There is some evidence for lagged impacts of drought, with mortality rates remaining elevated 2 yr after the meteorological event is over. These findings indicate that repeated droughts would shift the functional composition of tropical forests toward smaller, denser-wooded trees. At very high drought intensities, the linear relationship between tree mortality and moisture stress apparently breaks down, suggesting the existence of moisture stress thresholds beyond which some tropical forests would suffer catastrophic tree mortality. © The Authors (2010). Journal compilation © New Phytologist Trust (2010).

Published
2010

8. Drought sensitivity of the Amazon rainforest

Author

Carlos A. Quesada, Ted R. Feldpausch, Gerardo Aymard, Fredy Ramírez, Marcos Silveira, Niro Higuchi, C Eurídice Honorio, Oliver L. Phillips, Alexandra C. Morel, Terry L. Erwin, Jon Lloyd, Emanuel Gloor, Anthony Di Fiore, Jérôme Chave, Michael P. Schwarz, Damien Bonal, Gareth Lloyd, Simon L. Lewis, Lilian Blanc, Olaf Bánki, Esteban Alvarez Dávila, M. C. Peñuela, Samuel Almeida, Julie Peacock, Sandy J. Andelman, Agustín Rudas, Sandra Patiño, Przemyslaw Zelazowski, Claudia I. Czimczik, Kuo-Jung Chao, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Casimiro Mendoza, Antonio Peña Cruz, Juliana Stropp, Natalino Silva, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Rafael Salamão, Helen C. Keeling, Paulo M. Brando, Patrick Meir, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Timothy J. Killeen, Percy Núñez Vargas, John Terborgh, Timothy R. Baker, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Atila Alves de Oliveira, Ana Andrade, Yadvinder Malhi, Adriana Prieto, Armando Torres-Lezama, David A. Neill, Abel Monteagudo, Daniel C. Nepstad, Luzmila Arroyo, Maria Aparecida Freitas, Javier Silva, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, E. M. Jimenez, Rodolfo Vasquez, Anne Sota Thomas, William F. Laurance, Hans ter Steege, Geertjer Van Der Heijden, Joshua B. Fisher, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Biodiversité et Ecologie, Climate, Biomass, 01 natural sciences, Trees, amazonie, K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, Biomasse, Silvicultura, Forêt tropicale humide, Milieux et Changements globaux, DROUGHT, AMAZON RAINFOREST, Multidisciplinary, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, Carbon sink, food and beverages, Droughts, CARBON CYCLE, adaptation à la sécheresse, stress à la sécheresse, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, Brazil, cycle du carbone, F40 - Écologie végétale, P40 - Météorologie et climatologie, General Science & Technology, forêt amazonienne, [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, F60 - Physiologie et biochimie végétale, Climate change, Rainforest, 010603 evolutionary biology, Carbon cycle, Biodiversity and Ecology, Sécheresse, Affordable and Clean Energy, Deforestation, Ecosystem, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, stress hybride, Changement climatique, Tropical Climate, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Atmosphere, tolérance à la sécheresse, Global change, Artículos, 15. Life on land, Carbon Dioxide, South America, Carbon, Climate Action, Medio Ambiente, Agronomy, 13. Climate action, Instituto de Investigación para el Desarrollo Forestal (INDEFOR), Environmental science, adaptation au changement climatique, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

Amazon forests are a key but poorly understood component of the global carbon cycle. If, as anticipated, they dry this century, they might accelerate climate change through carbon losses and changed surface energy balances. We used records from multiple long-term monitoring plots across Amazonia to assess forest responses to the intense 2005 drought, a possible analog of future events. Affected forest lost biomass, reversing a large long-term carbon sink, with the greatest impacts observed where the dry season was unusually intense. Relative to pre-2005 conditions, forest subjected to a 100-millimeter increase in water deficit lost 5.3 megagrams of aboveground biomass of carbon per hectare. The drought had a total biomass carbon impact of 1.2 to 1.6 petagrams (1.2 × 10 15 to 1.6 × 10 15 grams). Amazon forests therefore appear vulnerable to increasing moisture stress, with the potential for large carbon losses to exert feedback on climate change.

Published
2009

9. After trees die: quantities and determinants of necromass across Amazonia

Author

Kuo-Jung Chao, Abel Monteagudo, Armando Torres-Lezama, Timothy R. Baker, G. Lopez-Gonzalez, Oliver L. Phillips, Julie Peacock, and R. Vásquez Martínez

Subjects
Biomass (ecology), Forest dynamics, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, Amazonian, Simulation modeling, lcsh:QE1-996.5, lcsh:Life, Primary production, Forestry, Rainforest, lcsh:Geology, lcsh:QH501-531, lcsh:QH540-549.5, Environmental science, Coarse woody debris, lcsh:Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Earth-Surface Processes
Abstract

The Amazon basin, one of the most substantial biomass carbon pools on earth, is characterised by strong macroecological gradients in biomass, mortality rates, and wood density from west to east. These gradients could affect necromass stocks, but this has not yet been tested. This study aims to assess the stocks and determinants of necromass across Amazonian forests. Field-based and literature data were used to find relationships between necromass and possible determinants. Furthermore, a simple model was applied to estimate and extrapolate necromass stocks across terra firma Amazonian forests. In eight northwestern and three northeastern Amazonian permanent plots, volumes of coarse woody debris (≥10 cm diameter) were measured in the field and the density of each decay class was estimated. Forest structure and historical mortality data were used to determine the factors controlling necromass. Necromass is greater in forests with low stem mortality rates (northeast) rather than in forests with high stem mortality rates (northwest) (58.5±10.6 and 27.3±3.2 Mg ha−1, respectively). Using all published necromass values, we find that necromass across terra firma forests in Amazonia is positively related to both forest dynamics (mortality mass inputs and a surrogate for decomposition rate (average wood density of living trees)) and forest structure (biomass), but is better explained by forest dynamics. We propose an improved method to estimate necromass for plots where necromass has not been measured. The estimates, together with other actual measurements of necromass, were scaled-up to project a total Amazonian necromass of 9.6±1.0 Pg C. The ratio of necromass (on average weighted by forest region) to coarse aboveground biomass is 0.127. Overall, we find (1) a strong spatial trend in necromass in parallel with other macroecological gradients and (2) that necromass is a substantial component of the carbon pool in the Amazon.

Published
2009

10. Does the disturbance hypothesis explain the biomass increase in basin-wide Amazon forest plot data?

Author

Timothy R. Baker, Agustín Rudas, M. C. Peñuela, D. C. Nepstad, A. Torres, Manuel Gloor, E. M. Jimenez, Fredy Ramírez, A. C. Alves De Oliveira, A. Peña Cruz, Kuo-Jung Chao, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Rafael Herrera, Lilian Blanc, Ted R. Feldpausch, H. ter Steege, Paulo M. Brando, Nállarett Dávila, Olaf Bánki, Adriana Prieto, Jon Lloyd, Jérôme Chave, Michael P. Schwarz, Marcos Silveira, Ana Andrade, E. Honorio, John Terborgh, Simon L. Lewis, S. Almeida, Esteban Álvarez, Abel Monteagudo, Yadvinder Malhi, Terry L. Erwin, H. A. Ramírez, Julie Peacock, Luzmila Arroyo, Carlos A. Quesada, Gerardo Aymard, J. N. M. Silva, Rafael de Paiva Salomão, Juliana Stropp, R. Vásquez, G. Lopez-Gonzalez, Oliver L. Phillips, A. Di Fiore, Damien Bonal, Casimiro Mendoza, William F. Laurance, David A. Neill, P. Núñez Vargas, Timothy J. Killeen, G. M. F. van der Heijden, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Natalino Silva, André V. L. Freitas, Niro Higuchi, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières [devient SILVA en 2018] (EEF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Gloor, M., and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, CARBON SINK, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Stockage, F62 - Physiologie végétale - Croissance et développement, Atmospheric sciences, 01 natural sciences, K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, Biomasse, Milieux et Changements globaux, DISTURBANCE, AMAZON RAINFOREST, General Environmental Science, Sampling bias, Weibull distribution, Global and Planetary Change, geography.geographical_feature_category, Ecology, Amazon rainforest, U10 - Informatique, mathématiques et statistiques, Forêt tempérée humide, Carbon sink, échantillonnage, Old-growth forest, séquestration du carbone, Probability distribution, biomasse forestière, Carbone, P40 - Météorologie et climatologie, forêt amazonienne, [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes, Climate change, Rainforest, Mortalité, 010603 evolutionary biology, augmentation, Mesure, Environmental Chemistry, Croissance, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Hydrology, Changement climatique, geography, Méthode statistique, MORTALITY, Modèle de simulation, 15. Life on land, artefact, POWER LAW, Medio Ambiente, 13. Climate action, Évaluation, Environmental science
Abstract

Positive aboveground biomass trends have been reported from old-growth forests across the Amazon basin and hypothesized to reflect a large-scale response to exterior forcing. The result could, however, be an artefact due to a sampling bias induced by the nature of forest growth dynamics. Here, we characterize statistically the disturbance process in Amazon old-growth forests as recorded in 135 forest plots of the RAINFOR network up to 2006, and other independent research programmes, and explore the consequences of sampling artefacts using a data-based stochastic simulator. Over the observed range of annual aboveground biomass losses, standard statistical tests show that the distribution of biomass losses through mortality follow an exponential or near-identical Weibull probability distribution and not a power law as assumed by others. The simulator was parameterized using both an exponential disturbance probability distribution as well as a mixed exponential-power law distribution to account for potential large-scale blowdown events. In both cases, sampling biases turn out to be too small to explain the gains detected by the extended RAINFOR plot network. This result lends further support to the notion that currently observed biomass gains for intact forests across the Amazon are actually occurring over large scales at the current time, presumably as a response to climate change.

Published
2009

11. The changing Amazon forest

Author

Simon L. Lewis, Kuo-Jung Chao, Timothy R. Baker, Niro Higuchi, and Oliver L. Phillips

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Greenhouse Effect, Conservation of Natural Resources, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, growth, Ecologia Florestal, Biodiversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Sink (geography), Trees, Dinâmica Florestal, carbon sink, Forest ecology, ecological change, Carbono, Ecosystem, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, geography, Tropical Climate, geography.geographical_feature_category, biomass, Amazon rainforest, Ecology, Temperature, Carbon sink, food and beverages, Water, Soil carbon, 15. Life on land, Carbon Dioxide, Old-growth forest, mortality, Environmental science, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Research Article
Abstract

Long-term monitoring of distributed, multiple plots is the key to quantify macroecological patterns and changes. Here we examine the evidence for concerted changes in the structure, dynamics and composition of old-growth Amazonian forests in the late twentieth century. In the 1980s and 1990s, mature forests gained biomass and underwent accelerated growth and dynamics, all consistent with a widespread, long-acting stimulation of growth. Because growth on average exceeded mortality, intact Amazonian forests have been a carbon sink. In the late twentieth century, biomass of trees of more than 10 cm diameter increased by 0.62±0.23 t C ha −1 yr −1 averaged across the basin. This implies a carbon sink in Neotropical old-growth forest of at least 0.49±0.18 Pg C yr −1 . If other biomass and necromass components are also increased proportionally, then the old-growth forest sink here has been 0.79±0.29 Pg C yr −1 , even before allowing for any gains in soil carbon stocks. This is approximately equal to the carbon emissions to the atmosphere by Amazon deforestation. There is also evidence for recent changes in Amazon biodiversity. In the future, the growth response of remaining old-growth mature Amazon forests will saturate, and these ecosystems may switch from sink to source driven by higher respiration (temperature), higher mortality (as outputs equilibrate to the growth inputs and periodic drought) or compositional change (disturbances). Any switch from carbon sink to source would have profound implications for global climate, biodiversity and human welfare, while the documented acceleration of tree growth and mortality may already be affecting the interactions among millions of species.

Published
2008

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