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The regional variation of aboveground live biomass in old-growth Amazonian forests

The regional variation of aboveground live biomass in old-growth Amazonian forests
The regional variation of aboveground live biomass in old-growth Amazonian forests
The biomass of tropical forests plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, both as a dynamic reservoir of carbon, and as a source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in areas undergoing deforestation. However, the absolute magnitude and environmental determinants of tropical forest biomass are still poorly understood. Here, we present a new synthesis and interpolation of the basal area and aboveground live biomass of old-growth lowland tropical forests across South America, based on data from 227 forest plots, many previously unpublished. Forest biomass was analyzed in terms of two uncorrelated factors: basal area and mean wood density. Basal area is strongly affected by local landscape factors, but is relatively invariant at regional scale in moist tropical forests, and declines significantly at the dry periphery of the forest zone. Mean wood density is inversely correlated with forest dynamics, being lower in the dynamic forests of western Amazonia and high in the slow-growing forests of eastern Amazonia. The combination of these two factors results in biomass being highest in the moderately seasonal, slow growing forests of central Amazonia and the Guyanas (up to 350?Mg?dry weight?ha?1) and declining to 200-250?Mg?dry weight?ha?1 at the western, southern and eastern margins. Overall, we estimate the total aboveground live biomass of intact Amazonian rainforests (area 5.76 × 106?km2 in 2000) to be 93±23?Pg?C, taking into account lianas and small trees. Including dead biomass and belowground biomass would increase this value by approximately 10% and 21%, respectively, but the spatial variation of these additional terms still needs to be quantified
Amazonia, biomass, carbon, soil fertility, tropical forests, wood density
1354-1013
1107-1138
Malhi, Y.
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Wood, D.
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Baker, T.R.
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Wright, J.A.
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Phillips, O.L.
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Cochrane, T.
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Meir, P.
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Chave, J.
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Almeida, S.
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Arroyo, L.
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Higuchi, N.
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Killeen, T.J.
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Laurance, S.G.
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Laurance, W.F.
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Lewis, S.L.
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Monteagudo, A.
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Neill, D.A.
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Nunez Vargas, P.
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Pitman, C.A.
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Quesada, C.A.
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Salomao, R.
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Silva, J.N.M.
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Lezama, A.T.
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Malhi, Y.
6aff8494-6ef1-4fe9-b6a5-222e2276eb95
Wood, D.
fbe5ea53-e906-40e1-a76b-b4934ae38fe7
Baker, T.R.
9700d6f3-fc6e-490a-8f97-cf30c5ba0470
Wright, J.A.
94990ecf-f8dd-4649-84f2-b28bf272e464
Phillips, O.L.
fbbf2f11-9869-494d-b55a-7795bc47b64b
Cochrane, T.
5e4db489-8c6a-4218-83ea-3e7e35b4a29f
Meir, P.
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Chave, J.
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Almeida, S.
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Arroyo, L.
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Higuchi, N.
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Killeen, T.J.
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Laurance, S.G.
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Laurance, W.F.
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Lewis, S.L.
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Monteagudo, A.
289f6e30-389a-412b-aa18-b2eef6a61dcb
Neill, D.A.
16298347-a8c6-411c-b2bf-716f71e2375a
Nunez Vargas, P.
0fd6f3a3-a195-4e6b-b82c-48ffd68ba7a5
Pitman, C.A.
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Quesada, C.A.
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Salomao, R.
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Silva, J.N.M.
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Lezama, A.T.
af4e4968-3da2-4ddc-b6ea-25ae05b16376

Malhi, Y., Wood, D., Baker, T.R., Wright, J.A., Phillips, O.L., Cochrane, T., Meir, P., Chave, J., Almeida, S., Arroyo, L., Higuchi, N., Killeen, T.J., Laurance, S.G., Laurance, W.F., Lewis, S.L., Monteagudo, A., Neill, D.A., Nunez Vargas, P., Pitman, C.A., Quesada, C.A., Salomao, R., Silva, J.N.M. and Lezama, A.T. (2006) The regional variation of aboveground live biomass in old-growth Amazonian forests. Global Change Biology, 12 (7), 1107-1138. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01120.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The biomass of tropical forests plays an important role in the global carbon cycle, both as a dynamic reservoir of carbon, and as a source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in areas undergoing deforestation. However, the absolute magnitude and environmental determinants of tropical forest biomass are still poorly understood. Here, we present a new synthesis and interpolation of the basal area and aboveground live biomass of old-growth lowland tropical forests across South America, based on data from 227 forest plots, many previously unpublished. Forest biomass was analyzed in terms of two uncorrelated factors: basal area and mean wood density. Basal area is strongly affected by local landscape factors, but is relatively invariant at regional scale in moist tropical forests, and declines significantly at the dry periphery of the forest zone. Mean wood density is inversely correlated with forest dynamics, being lower in the dynamic forests of western Amazonia and high in the slow-growing forests of eastern Amazonia. The combination of these two factors results in biomass being highest in the moderately seasonal, slow growing forests of central Amazonia and the Guyanas (up to 350?Mg?dry weight?ha?1) and declining to 200-250?Mg?dry weight?ha?1 at the western, southern and eastern margins. Overall, we estimate the total aboveground live biomass of intact Amazonian rainforests (area 5.76 × 106?km2 in 2000) to be 93±23?Pg?C, taking into account lianas and small trees. Including dead biomass and belowground biomass would increase this value by approximately 10% and 21%, respectively, but the spatial variation of these additional terms still needs to be quantified

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More information

Published date: July 2006
Keywords: Amazonia, biomass, carbon, soil fertility, tropical forests, wood density

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 55577
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/55577
ISSN: 1354-1013
PURE UUID: bdde88e5-2523-488c-829f-d728cab1e534
ORCID for J.A. Wright: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-2181

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Aug 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:41

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Contributors

Author: Y. Malhi
Author: D. Wood
Author: T.R. Baker
Author: J.A. Wright ORCID iD
Author: O.L. Phillips
Author: T. Cochrane
Author: P. Meir
Author: J. Chave
Author: S. Almeida
Author: L. Arroyo
Author: N. Higuchi
Author: T.J. Killeen
Author: S.G. Laurance
Author: W.F. Laurance
Author: S.L. Lewis
Author: A. Monteagudo
Author: D.A. Neill
Author: P. Nunez Vargas
Author: C.A. Pitman
Author: C.A. Quesada
Author: R. Salomao
Author: J.N.M. Silva
Author: A.T. Lezama

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