Variation in stem mortality rates determines patterns of above‐ground biomass in Amazonian forests: implications for dynamic global vegetation models

Abstract

Understanding the processes that determine above‐ground biomass ( AGB) in Amazonian forests is important for predicting the sensitivity of these ecosystems to environmental change and for designing and evaluating dynamic global vegetation models ( DGVMs). AGB is determined by inputs from woody productivity [woody net primary productivity ( NPP)] and the rate at which carbon is lost through tree mortality. Here, we test whether two direct metrics of tree mortality (the absolute rate of woody biomass loss and the rate of stem mortality) and/or woody NPP, control variation in AGB among 167 plots in intact forest across Amazonia. We then compare these relationships and the observed variation in AGB and woody NPP with the predictions of four DGVMs. The observations show that stem mortality rates, rather than absolute rates of woody biomass loss, are the most important predictor of AGB, which is consistent with the importance of stand size structure for determining spatial variation in AGB. The relationship between stem mortality rates and AGB varies among different regions of Amazonia, indicating that variation in wood density and height/diameter relationships also influences AGB. In contrast to previous findings, we find that woody NPP is not correlated with stem mortality rates and is weakly positively correlated with AGB. Across the four models, basin‐wide average AGB is similar to the mean of the observations. However, the models consistently overestimate woody NPP and poorly represent the spatial patterns of both AGB and woody NPP estimated using plot data. In marked contrast to the observations, DGVMs typically show strong positive relationships between woody NPP and AGB. Resolving these differences will require incorporating forest size structure, mechanistic models of stem mortality and variation in functional composition in DGVMs.

Contributors

Timothy R. Baker: [e-mail]

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Glob Chang Biol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Glob Chang Biol

Journal ID (doi): 10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2486

Journal ID (publisher-id): GCB

Title: Global Change Biology

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc. (Hoboken )

ISSN (Print): 1354-1013

ISSN (Electronic): 1365-2486

Publication date (Electronic): 19 May 2016

Publication date (Print): December 2016

Volume: 22

Issue: 12 ( doiID: 10.1111/gcb.2016.22.issue-12 )

Pages: 3996-4013

Affiliations

[ ¹ ] School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds LS6 2QT UK

[ ² ] CAVElab Computational & Applied Vegetation Ecology Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Ghent University Coupure Links 653 B‐9000 Gent Belgium

[ ³ ] Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA‐CNRS‐UVSQ Université Paris‐Saclay F‐91191 Gif‐sur‐Yvette France

[ ⁴ ] UMR 7619 METIS IPSL, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC, CNRS, EPHE 75252 Paris France

[ ⁵ ] TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan Technical University Munich Hans‐Carl‐von‐Carlowitz‐Platz 2 85354 Freising Germany

[ ⁶ ] Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Telegrafenberg A62 PO Box 60 12 03 D‐14412 Potsdam Germany

[ ⁷ ] INPE Av. Dos Astronautas, 1.758, Jd. Granja CEP: 12227‐010 Sao Jose dos Campos SP Brazil

[ ⁸ ] Jardín Botánico de Missouri Prolongacion Bolognesi Mz.e, Lote 6 Oxapampa, Pasco Peru

[ ⁹ ] Geography College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Rennes Drive Exeter EX4 4RJ UK

[ ¹⁰ ] INPA Av. André Araújo, 2.936 CEP 69067‐375 Petrópolis, Manaus AM Brazil

[ ¹¹ ] School of Geosciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh EH9 3FF UK

[ ¹² ] Earth and Environmental Sciences Division Los Alamos National Laboratory PO Box 1663 Los Alamos NM 87545 USA

[ ¹³ ] ALTERRA Wageningen‐UR PO Box 47 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands

[ ¹⁴ ] Research School of Biology Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia

[ ¹⁵ ] Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University 26 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA

[ ¹⁶ ] Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies University of Oklahoma National Weather Center Suite 2100 120 David L. Boren Blvd Norman OK 73072 USA

[ ¹⁷ ] Fundación Con‐Vida Cr68 A 46 A‐77 Medellín Medellín Colombia

[ ¹⁸ ] Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado Universidad Autonoma Gabriel Rene Moreno Casilla 2489, Av. Irala 565 Santa Cruz Bolivia

[ ¹⁹ ] UNELLEZ‐Guanare, Programa de Ciencias del Agro y el Mar, Herbario Universitario (PORT) Mesa de Cavacas Estado Portuguesa 3350 Venezuela

[ ²⁰ ] Department of Biological Sciences International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) Florida International University 112200 SW 8th Street, OE 167 Miami FL 33199 USA

[ ²¹ ] Universidade Federal do Acre Campus de Cruzeiro do Sul Rio Branco Brazil

[ ²² ] INRA UMR 1137 “Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestiere” 54280 Champenoux France

[ ²³ ] Tropenbos International PO Box 232 6700 AE Wageningen The Netherlands

[ ²⁴ ] Université Paul Sabatier CNRS UMR 5174 Evolution et Diversité Biologique bâtiment 4R1 31062 Toulouse France

[ ²⁵ ] Jardín Botánico de Medellín Joaquín Antonio Uribe Calle 73 # 51 D 14 Medellín Cartagena Colombia

[ ²⁶ ] Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program Puerto Maldonado Madre de Dios Perú

[ ²⁷ ] Centro de Geociencias Universidade Federal do Para CEP 66017‐970 Belem Para Brazil

[ ²⁸ ] Department of Anthropology University of Texas at Austin SAC Room 5.150 2201 Speedway Stop C3200 Austin TX 78712 USA

[ ²⁹ ] Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi Av. Magalhães Barata, 376 ‐ São Braz CEP: 66040‐170 Belém PA Brazil

[ ³⁰ ] Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana Av. José Quiñones km 2.5 Iquitos Perú

[ ³¹ ] World Wildlife Fund 1250 24th St NW Washington DC 20037 USA

[ ³² ] Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences James Cook University Cairns Qld 4878 Australia

[ ³³ ] Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal C.P. 6201 Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivia

[ ³⁴ ] Environmental Science and Policy Department and the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University (GMU) 3351 Fairfax Drive Arlington Washington DC VA 22201 USA

[ ³⁵ ] Environmental Change Institute School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3QY UK

[ ³⁶ ] Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso Campus de Nova Xavantina Caixa Postal 08 CEP 78.690‐000 Nova Xavantina MT Brazil

[ ³⁷ ] Escuela de Ciencias Forestales (ESFOR) Av. Final Atahuallpa s/n Casilla 447 Cochabamba Bolivia

[ ³⁸ ] Facultad de Ingeniería Ambiental Universidad Estatal Amazónica Paso lateral km 2 1/2 via Napo Puyo Pastaza Ecuador

[ ³⁹ ] Universidad Autonoma del Beni Campus Universitario Av. Ejército Nacional, final Riberalta Beni Bolivia

[ ⁴⁰ ] Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group Wageningen University PO Box 47 Wageningen 6700 AA The Netherlands

[ ⁴¹ ] Center for Tropical Conservation Duke University Box 90381 Durham NC 27708 USA

[ ⁴² ] Doctorado Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Universidad Nacional de Colombia Bogotá Colombia

[ ⁴³ ] Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal Universidad de Los Andes Avenida Principal Chorros de Milla Campus Universitario Forestal Edificio Principal Mérida Venezuela

[ ⁴⁴ ] Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development 77 High Street Kingston Georgetown Guyana

[ ⁴⁵ ] Museu Universitário Universidade Federal do Acre Rio Branco AC 69910‐900 Brazil

[ ⁴⁶ ] Institute of Biological and Health Sciences Federal University of Alagoas Av. Lourival Melo Mota s/n Tabuleiro do Martins, Maceió AL 57072‐900 Brazil

[ ⁴⁷ ] Naturalis Biodiversity Center PO Box 9517 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands

[ ⁴⁸ ] School of Geography University of Nottingham Nottingham NG7 2RD UK

[ ⁴⁹ ] Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado, regional Norte Amazónico C/Nicanor Gonzalo Salvatierra N° 362 Casilla 16 Riberalta Bolivia

[ ⁵⁰ ] Universidad Autónoma del Beni Avenida 6 de Agosto N° 64 Riberalta Bolivia

Author notes

[*] [* ]Correspondence: Timothy R. Baker, tel. [phone], fax [phone], e‐mail: t.r.baker@ 123456leeds.ac.uk

Article

Publisher ID: GCB13315

DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13315

PMC ID: 6849555

PubMed ID: 27082541

SO-VID: d749cf74-7ca1-442a-a3ed-570ebb21bcf1

Copyright statement: © 2016 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

License:

This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Page count

Figures: 7, Tables: 4, Pages: 18, Words: 12702

Product

Funding

Funded by: European Union's Seventh Framework Programme , open-funder-registry 10.13039/501100004963;

Award ID: 282664

Award ID: 283080

Award ID: 282664

Funded by: ERC , open-funder-registry 10.13039/501100000781;

Funded by: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Urgency , open-funder-registry 10.13039/501100000270;

Award ID: NE/F005806/1

Award ID: NE/D005590/1

Award ID: NE/I028122/1

Award ID: NE/J011002/1

Funded by: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation , open-funder-registry 10.13039/100000936;

Funded by: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico of Brazil (CNPq), project Programa de Pesquisas Ecológicas de Longa Duração , open-funder-registry 10.13039/501100003593;

Award ID: PELD‐403725/2012‐7

Funded by: Helmholtz Alliance ‘Remote Sensing and Earth System Dynamics’

Funded by: EU FP7 project ‘ROBIN’

Award ID: 283093

Funded by: Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs

Award ID: KB‐14‐003‐030

Funded by: ARC , open-funder-registry 10.13039/100000163;

Award ID: FT110100457

Funded by: Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship

Categories

Subject: Primary Research Article

Subject: Primary Research Articles

Custom metadata

source-schema-version-number 2.0

cover-date December 2016

details-of-publishers-convertor Converter:WILEY_ML3GV2_TO_JATSPMC version:5.7.1 mode:remove_FC converted:12.11.2019