Size and frequency of natural forest disturbances and the Amazon forest carbon balance.
Forest inventory studies in the Amazon indicate a large terrestrial carbon sink. However, field plots may fail to represent forest mortality processes at landscape-scales of tropical forests. Here we characterize the frequency distribution of disturbance events in natural forests from 0.01ha to 2,651ha size throughout Amazonia using a novel combination of forest inventory, airborne lidar and satellite remote sensing data. We find that small-scale mortality events are responsible for aboveground biomass losses of ~1.7PgCy;1 over the entire Amazon region. We also find that intermediate-scale disturbances account for losses of ~0.2PgCy1, and that the largest-scale disturbances as a result of blow-downs only account for losses of ~0.004PgCy1. Simulation of growth and mortality indicates that even when all carbon losses from intermediate and large-scale disturbances are considered, these are outweighed by the net biomass accumulation by tree growth, supporting the inference of an Amazon carbon sink.
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Other Authors: | |
Format: | Artigo de periódico biblioteca |
Language: | Ingles English |
Published: |
2014-03-18
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Subjects: | Ciência da Terra, Carbono, Clima, Floresta, Amazonia, |
Online Access: | http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/982675 |
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Summary: | Forest inventory studies in the Amazon indicate a large terrestrial carbon sink. However, field plots may fail to represent forest mortality processes at landscape-scales of tropical forests. Here we characterize the frequency distribution of disturbance events in natural forests from 0.01ha to 2,651ha size throughout Amazonia using a novel combination of forest inventory, airborne lidar and satellite remote sensing data. We find that small-scale mortality events are responsible for aboveground biomass losses of ~1.7PgCy;1 over the entire Amazon region. We also find that intermediate-scale disturbances account for losses of ~0.2PgCy1, and that the largest-scale disturbances as a result of blow-downs only account for losses of ~0.004PgCy1. Simulation of growth and mortality indicates that even when all carbon losses from intermediate and large-scale disturbances are considered, these are outweighed by the net biomass accumulation by tree growth, supporting the inference of an Amazon carbon sink. |
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