Spatial Patterns in the Carbon Uptake and Dynamics of Amazonian Forests Yadvinder Malhi, Oliver Phillips, Tim Baker, Jon Lloyd with Sandra Patino, Beto Quesada, Lina Mercado, Jens Schmerler, Luzmila Arroyo, Mario Saldias, Tim Killeen, Natalino Silva, David Neill, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Niro Higuchi, Samuel Almeida, Rodolfo Vásquez, Patrick Meir, Martínez, Marcos Silveira.
How does climate vary across the Amazonian forest ?
Seasonal and interannual variability in Neotropical forests 2 Std deviation of dry season (months) 1.8 Tapajos 1.6 1.4 Manaus Caxiuana 1.2 1 Jaru 0.8 Sinop La Selva, 0.6 Costa Rica 0.4 Tower Sites 0.2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Length of dry season (months) Data are means for 1960-1998, from University of East Anglia observational database
Solar radiation and dry season length in Neotropical forests 20 Mean Solar Radiation (MJ m -2 month -1 ) 19 18 La Selva, Costa Rica 17 Sinop Jaru 16 Caxiuana Tapajos Tower sites 15 Manaus 14 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Length of dry season (months)
Solar radiation and dry season length in Neotropical forests 20 Mean Solar Radiation (MJ m -2 month -1 ) 19 18 La Selva, Costa Rica 17 Sinop Jaru 16 ? Caxiuana Tapajos Tower sites 15 Manaus 14 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Length of dry season (months)
The RAINFOR project: Red Amazonica de Inventarios Forestales (Spanish) Rede Amazonica de Inventarios Florestais (Portuguese) Amazonian Forest Inventory Network A component of Carboncycle-LBA Currently funded by European Union Max Planck Institute, Germany Royal Society, UK
Collaborating institutes in RAINFOR: Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff, Santa Cruz, Bolivia Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem, Pará, Brazil Department of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Manaus, Brasil. BOLFOR, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Conservation International, Washington D.C., U.S.A. CIFOR, EMBRAPA, Belém, Brazil. EMBRAPA, Belém, Brazil Fundación Jatun Sacha, Quito, Ecuador Missouri Botanical Garden, USA Herbario Vargas, Universidad San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru Instituto National de Pesquisas de Amazonia, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogotá, Colombia Proyecto Flora del Peru, Jardín Botánico de Missouri, Jaen, Peru Universidad Católica, Quito, Ecuador Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil University of Edinburgh UK University of Leeds, UK Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Germany
Journal of Vegetation Science, in press IGBP Special Issue on transect studies
RAINFOR ACTIVITIES 1. FOREST INVENTORIES (BOTANICAL AND STRUCTURAL) AIM To establish if Amzonian forests are changing over time (in structure, biomass, composition, and dynamics) Focus on previously established sample plots IQUITOS, PERU, JAN 2001
RAINFOR ACTIVITIES 2. SOIL AND LEAF NUTRIENT SAMPLING AIM Develop a standardised pan-Amazonian dataset of soil physics and nutrient status based on common sampling protocols and lab analyses IQUITOS, PERU, JAN 2001
Installation of Automatic Weather Stations in Data-Poor Areas NOEL KEMPFF NATIONAL PARK, BOLIVIA, JUNE 2001
Installation of Tree Growth Bands and Litter Traps NOEL KEMPFF NATIONAL PARK, BOLIVIA, JUNE 2001
Measurement of Forest Structure (Allometry, Leaf Area) NOEL KEMPFF NATIONAL PARK, BOLIVIA, JUNE 2001
RAINFOR Field Activities 2001-2002 JATUN SACHA BRAGANCA YASUNI TAPAJOS CAXIUANA MANAUS/BDFFP IQUITOS ACRE (planned 2003) SINOP JARU SOUTH TRANSECT TAMBOPATA NOEL KEMPFF LA CHONTA
Some Results NOEL KEMPFF NATIONAL PARK, BOLIVIA, JUNE 2001
Single census plots Multiple census plots
Changes in the Biomass of Tropical Forests: Evaluating Potential Biases O.L. Phillips 1 , Y. Malhi 2 , B. Vinceti 2 , T. Baker 1 , S.L. Lewis 1, 2 , N. Higuchi 3 , W.F. Laurance 4,5 , P. Núñez Vargas 6 , R. Vásquez Martinez 7 , S. Laurance 4 , L.V. Ferreira 4 , M. Stern 8 , S. Brown 9 , J Grace 2 Ecological Applications, 2002
Forest Structure
Variation in mean tree size (basal area per tree) 750 Mean tree size (basal area per tree, cm 2 ) 650 Manaus Caxiuana 550 Jau Tapajos N Peru S Peru Acre 450 Ecuador 350 N Bolivia 250 150 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Length of dry season (months)
Mean tree size is correlated with climate Why is the average tree smaller in wetter forests ? Mortality rates are higher in wet forests and these trees are younger on average ? Is large tree size advantageous in seasonally dry forests ?
Spatial Trends in Forest Diversity
Variation of Tree Family Diversity in Amazonian Terra Firme Forests 50 48 Ecuador 46 44 North Peru 42 Manaus 40 Tapajos South Peru 38 Caxiuana 36 y = -2.1383x + 46.614 34 North Bolivia 2 = 0.895 R 32 30 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Length of dry season (months < 100 mm rain) B. Vinceti, PhD Thesis, in prep
Forest Dynamics
Poor correlation between biomass turnover and climate 120 Caxiuana 100 Biomass turnover time (years) French South Manaus Guyana Venezuela (BDFFP) (white sand) 80 Manaus (Bionte) Other forest Terra firme Tapajos 60 Belem North North Bolivia Peru South Peru 40 Liana Ecuador Flooded Forest forest 20 Flooded forest 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Length of dry season (months)
If climate cannot explain the spatial variation in forest dynamics, what can ?
Spatial trends in biomass turnover time 120 Caxiuana 100 Biomass turnover time (years) French South Guyana Manaus Venezuela (BDFFP) (white sand) 80 Manaus (Bionte) Belem North Tapajos Other forest 60 Bolivia Terra firme South Peru North Peru 40 Ecuador Flooded forest Liana 20 Forest Flooded forest 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Distance from Andes (km)
Spatial trends in above-ground forest wood productivity 6 Flooded Above-ground wood carbon production forest (Iquitos) 5 4 (t C ha -1 year -1 ) Other forest South Peru Terra firme North 3 Peru Ecuador North Tapajos Bolivia Manaus Belem (Bionte) 2 Flooded forest Manaus (Bolivia) (BDFFP) Caxiuana South French Venezuela Guyana 1 (white sand) 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Distance from Andes (km)
Why would forest productivity and dynamics correlate with distance from the Andes ?
Spatial Trends in Soil Fertility 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 Soil pH 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Distance from Andes (km) Interpolated from Soil and Terrain DataBase, (SOTER), FAO 1998
The Balance between Production and Mortality in Terra Firme Forests Production 1 Mortality 0.8 Change in Basal Area (m 2 /year) Net Change 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 Tapajos Guyana E Para -0.8 S Peru Bolivia N Peru Manaus -1 Plot increasing distance from Andes
A Carbon Sink in Amazon Forest Biomass 12 W Amazonia No. of Forest Plots 10 E Amazonia 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4 4.4 4.8 Biomass carbon uptake (t C ha -1 year -1 ) carbon source carbon sink
A Carbon Sink in Amazon Forest Biomass 18 16 W Amazonia No. of Forest Plots 14 E Amazonia All Amazonia 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -1.6 -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4 4.4 4.8 Biomass carbon uptake (t C ha -1 year -1 ) carbon source carbon sink
A Carbon Sink in Amazon Forest Biomass Estimated carbon sink West Amazonia: 1.05 ± 0.32 t C ha -1 year -1 (n = 41) East Amazonia: 0.47 ± 0.35 t C ha -1 year -1 (n = 27) All Amazonia: 0.82 ± 0.25 t C ha -1 year -1 (n = 68) * Uncertainty estimates are 95% confidence limits. * Estimates corrected for spatial variations in wood density, but not yet for variations in tree allometry. * Estimates not yet weighted spatially * Estimates do not include soil carbon sink, which may be of similar magnitude
Conclusions 1. Forest structure and diversity across Amazonia correlate with length of dry season, but forest dynamics do not. 2. Most Amazonian forests appear to be increasing in biomass, turnover rate and stem density, resulting in a biomass carbon sink of 0.82 ± 0.25 t C ha -1 year -1 3. Western Amazonian forests have higher productivity and turn over carbon at twice the rate as eastern forests, and appear to be a larger carbon sink. 4. These differences are most likely explained by soil fertility. 5. Hence, the carbon sink in eastern Amazonia is probably limited by low soil fertility
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