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Regional and seasonal patterns of litterfall in tropical South America
- Source :
- Biogeosciences, ISSN 1726-4170, 2010, Vol. 7, No. 1, Archivo Digital UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Biogeosciences, Biogeosciences, European Geosciences Union, 2010, 7 (7), pp.43-55. ⟨10.5194/bg-7-43-2010⟩, Biogeosciences, ISSN 1726-4170, 2010-01, No. 7, Biogeosciences, European Geosciences Union, 2010, pp.43-55, Biogeosciences, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 43-55 (2010), Biogeosciences 1 (7), 43-55. (2010), Biogeosciences, 2010, 7 (7), pp.43-55. ⟨10.5194/bg-7-43-2010⟩, Scopus-Elsevier, ResearcherID, Repositorio UN, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, instacron:Universidad Nacional de Colombia
- Publication Year :
- 2010
- Publisher :
- E.T.S.I. Montes (UPM), 2010.
-
Abstract
- The production of aboveground soft tissue represents an important share of total net primary production in tropical rain forests. Here we draw from a large number of published and unpublished datasets (n=81 sites) to assess the determinants of litterfall variation across South American tropical forests. We show that across old-growth tropical rainforests, litterfall averages 8.61±1.91 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (mean ± standard deviation, in dry mass units). Secondary forests have a lower annual litterfall than old-growth tropical forests with a mean of 8.01±3.41 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Annual litterfall shows no significant variation with total annual rainfall, either globally or within forest types. It does not vary consistently with soil type, except in the poorest soils (white sand soils), where litterfall is significantly lower than in other soil types (5.42±1.91 Mg ha−1 yr−1). We also study the determinants of litterfall seasonality, and find that it does not depend on annual rainfall or on soil type. However, litterfall seasonality is significantly positively correlated with rainfall seasonality. Finally, we assess how much carbon is stored in reproductive organs relative to photosynthetic organs. Mean leaf fall is 5.74±1.83 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (71% of total litterfall). Mean allocation into reproductive organs is 0.69±0.40 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (9% of total litterfall). The investment into reproductive organs divided by leaf litterfall increases with soil fertility, suggesting that on poor soils, the allocation to photosynthetic organs is prioritized over that to reproduction. Finally, we discuss the ecological and biogeochemical implications of these results.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Biodiversité et Ecologie
lcsh:Life
facteur édaphique
01 natural sciences
écologie tropicale
Hojarasca - Amazonia (Región)
organe de réserve
allocation du carbone
Silvicultura
amérique du sud
stockage du carbone
tropical rain forests, litterfall, carbon
geography.geographical_feature_category
variation annuelle
Geography
litière forestière
Ecology
lcsh:QE1-996.5
physiologie de l'arbre
Soil classification
Plant litter
Old-growth forest
Soil type
fertilité du sol
forêt tropicale humide
Rainforest
tropical rain forests
litterfall
carbon
Environment
010603 evolutionary biology
facteur du milieu
Biodiversity and Ecology
pluviosité
lcsh:QH540-549.5
paramètre chimique
medicine
production primaire nette
assimilation du carbone
photosynthèse
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
geography
donnée climatique
Primary production
57 Ciencias de la vida
Biología / Life sciences
biology
15. Life on land
Seasonality
medicine.disease
paramètre biologique
lcsh:Geology
lcsh:QH501-531
variation saisonnière
Medio Ambiente
Agronomy
saisonnalité
Bosques tropicales - Amazonia (Región)
lcsh:Ecology
forêt secondaire
Soil fertility
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
fixation du carbone
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17264170 and 17264189
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Biogeosciences, ISSN 1726-4170, 2010, Vol. 7, No. 1, Archivo Digital UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Biogeosciences, Biogeosciences, European Geosciences Union, 2010, 7 (7), pp.43-55. ⟨10.5194/bg-7-43-2010⟩, Biogeosciences, ISSN 1726-4170, 2010-01, No. 7, Biogeosciences, European Geosciences Union, 2010, pp.43-55, Biogeosciences, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 43-55 (2010), Biogeosciences 1 (7), 43-55. (2010), Biogeosciences, 2010, 7 (7), pp.43-55. ⟨10.5194/bg-7-43-2010⟩, Scopus-Elsevier, ResearcherID, Repositorio UN, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, instacron:Universidad Nacional de Colombia
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2ebcf2d6ae8bbd31a80bf74d220f06a6