Climate seasonality limits leaf carbon assimilation and wood productivity in tropical forests
Authors: | Fabien H. Wagner, Bruno Herault, Damien Bonal, Clement Stahl, Liana O. Anderson, Timothy R. Baker, Gabriel Sebastian Becker, Hans Beeckman, Danilo Boanerges Souza, Paulo Cesar Botosso, David M. J. S. Bowman, Achim Brauning, Benjamin Brede, Foster Irving Brown, Jesus Julio Camarero, Plinio Barbosa Camargo, Fernanda C. G. Cardoso, Fabricio Alvim Carvalho, Wendeson Castro, Rubens Koloski Chagas, Jerome Chave, Emmanuel N. Chidumayo, Deborah A. Clark, Flavia Regina Capellotto Costa, Camille Couralet, Paulo Henrique da Silva Mauricio, Helmut Dalitz, Vinicius Resende de Castro, Jacanan Eloisa de Freitas Milani, Edilson Consuelo de Oliveira, Luciano de Souza Arruda, Jean-Louis Devineau, David M. Drew, Oliver Dunisch, Giselda Durigan, Elisha Elifuraha, Marcio Fedele, Ligia Ferreira Fedele, Afonso Figueiredo Filho, Cesar Augusto Guimaraes Finger, Augusto Cesar Franco, Joao Lima Freitas Junior, Franklin Galvao, Aster Gebrekirstos, Robert Gliniars, Paulo Mauricio Lima de Alencastro Graca, Anthony D. Griffiths, James Grogan, Kaiyu Guan, Jurgen Homeier, Maria Raquel Kanieski, Lip Khoon Kho, Jennifer Koenig, Sintia Valerio Kohler, Julia Krepkowski, Jose Pires Lemos-Filho, Diana Lieberman, Milton Eugene Lieberman, Claudio Sergio Lisi, Tomaz Longhi Santos, Jose Luis Lopez Ayala, Eduardo Eijji Maeda, Yadvinder Malhi, Vivian R. B. Maria, Marcia C. M. Marques, Renato Marques, Hector Maza Chamba, Lawrence Mbwambo, Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaco, Hooz Angela Mendivelso, Brett P. Murphy, Joseph O'Brien, Steven F. Oberbauer, Naoki Okada, Raphael Pelissier, Lynda D. Prior, Fidel Alejandro Roig, Michael Ross, Davi Rodrigo Rossatto, Vivien Rossi, Lucy Rowland, Ervan Rutishauser, Hellen Santana, Mark Schulze, Diogo Selhorst, Williamar Rodrigues Silva, Marcos Silveira, Susanne Spannl, Michael D. Swaine, Jose Julio Toledo, Marcos Miranda Toledo, Marisol Toledo, Takeshi Toma, Mario Tomazello Filho, Juan Ignacio Valdez Hernandez, Jan Verbesselt, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Gregoire Vincent, Carolina Volkmer de Castilho, Franziska Volland, Martin Worbes, Magda Lea Bolzan Zanon, Luiz E. O. C. Aragao |
Year: | 2016 |
Type: | Scientific Journal |
Station: | Southern Research Station |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2537-2016 |
Source: | Biogeosciences |
Abstract
The seasonal climate drivers of the carbon cycle in tropical forests remain poorly known, although these forests account for more carbon assimilation and storage than any other terrestrial ecosystem. Based on a unique combination of seasonal pan-tropical data sets from 89 experimental sites (68 include aboveground wood productivity measurements and 35 litter productivity measurements), their associated canopy photosynthetic capacity (enhanced vegetation index, EVI) and climate, we ask how carbon assimilation and aboveground allocation are related to climate seasonality in tropical forests and how they interact in the seasonal carbon cycle. We found that canopy photosynthetic capacity seasonality responds positively to precipitation when rainfall is < 2000mmyr1 (water-limited forests) and to radiation otherwise (light-limited forests). On the other hand, independent of climate limitations, wood productivity and litterfall are driven by seasonal variation in precipitation and evapotranspiration, respectively. Consequently, light-limited forests present an asynchronism between canopy photosynthetic capacity and wood productivity. First-order control by precipitation likely indicates a decrease in tropical forest productivity in a drier climate in water-limited forest, and in current light-limited forest with future rainfall < 2000mmyr-1