1. The productivity, allocation and cycling of carbon in forests at the dry margin of the Amazon forest in Bolivia.
- Author
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Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro, Doughty, Christopher E., Metcalfe, Daniel B., Silva-Espejo, Javier E., Arroyo, Luzmila, Heredia, Juan P., Flores, Marcio, Sibler, Rebeca, Mendizabal, Luz M., Pardo-Toledo, Erwin, Vega, Meison, Moreno, Luzmarina, Rojas-Landivar, Victor D., Halladay, Kate, Girardin, Cecile A.J., Killeen, Timothy J., and Malhi, Yadvinder
- Subjects
FORESTS & forestry ,CARBON cycle ,PLANT drying ,CLIMATE change ,PRIMARY productivity (Biology) ,RESPIRATION in plants - Abstract
Background:The dry transitional forests of the southern Amazonia have received little attention from a carbon cycling and ecosystem function perspective, yet they represent ecosystems that may be impacted by global climate change in the future. Aims:To compare the full carbon cycle for two 1-ha forest plots that straddle the ecotone between humid forest and dry forest in Amazonia, ca. 100 km from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Methods:2.5 years of measurements of the components of net primary production (NPP) and autotrophic respiration were collected. Results:Total NPP was 15.5 ± 0.89 Mg C ha−1year−1at the humid site and 11.27 ± 0.68 Mg C ha−1year−1at the dry site; a total Gross Primary Production (GPP) of 34.14 ± 2.92 Mg C ha−1year−1and 26.88 ± 2.70 Mg C ha−1year−1at the two sites. Carbon use efficiency for both sites was higher than reported for other Amazonian forests (0.45 ± 0.05 and 0.42 ± 0.05). Conclusions:Drier soil conditions selected for the dry deciduous tree species which had higher leaf photosynthesis and total GPP. NPP allocation patterns were similar at the two sites, suggesting that in terms of carbon allocation, the dry forests of the southern Amazonia behave as a scaled-down version of wetter humid forests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2014
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