Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics

J.W.Ferry Slik; Gary Paoli; Krista McGuire; Ieda Amaral; Jorcely Barroso; Meredith Bastian; Lilian Blanc; Frans Bongers; Patrick Boundja; Connie Clark; Murray Collins; Gilles Dauby; Yi Ding; Jean-Louis Doucet; Eduardo Eler; Leandro Ferreira; Olle Forshed; Gabriella Fredriksson; Jean-Francois Gillet; Davis Harris; Miguel Leal; Yved Laumonier; Yadvinder Malhi; Asyraf Mansor; Emanuel Martin; Kazuki Miyamoto; Alejandro Araujo-Murakami; Hidetoshi Nagamasu; Reuben Nilus; Eddy Nurtjahya; Átila Oliveira; Onrizal Onrizal; Alexander Parada-Gutierrez; Andrea Permana; Lourens Poorter; John Poulsen; Hirma Ramirez-Angulo; Jan Reitsma; Francesco Rovero; Andes Rozak; Douglas Sheil; Javier Silva-Espejo; Marcos Silveira; Wilson Spironelo; Hans ter Steege; Tariq Stevart; Gilberto Enrique Navarro-Aguilar; Terry Sunderland; Eizi Suzuki; Jianwei Tang; Ida Theilade; Geertje van der Heijden; Johan van Valkenburg; Tran Van Do; Emilio Vilanova; Vincent Vos; Serge Wich; Hansjoerg Wöll; Tsuyoshi Yoneda; Runguo Zang; Ming-Gang Zhang; Nicole Zweifel

doi:10.1111/geb.12092

Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics

J.W.Ferry Slik, Gary Paoli, Krista McGuire, Ieda Amaral, Jorcely Barroso, Meredith Bastian, Lilian Blanc, Frans Bongers, Patrick Boundja, Connie Clark, Murray Collins, Gilles Dauby, Yi Ding, Jean-Louis Doucet, Eduardo Eler, Leandro Ferreira, Olle Forshed, Gabriella Fredriksson, Jean-Francois Gillet, Davis HarrisMiguel Leal, Yved Laumonier, Yadvinder Malhi, Asyraf Mansor, Emanuel Martin, Kazuki Miyamoto, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Hidetoshi Nagamasu, Reuben Nilus, Eddy Nurtjahya, Átila Oliveira, Onrizal Onrizal, Alexander Parada-Gutierrez, Andrea Permana, Lourens Poorter, John Poulsen, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Jan Reitsma, Francesco Rovero, Andes Rozak, Douglas Sheil, Javier Silva-Espejo, Marcos Silveira, Wilson Spironelo, Hans ter Steege, Tariq Stevart, Gilberto Enrique Navarro-Aguilar, Terry Sunderland, Eizi Suzuki, Jianwei Tang, Ida Theilade, Geertje van der Heijden, Johan van Valkenburg, Tran Van Do, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent Vos, Serge Wich, Hansjoerg Wöll, Tsuyoshi Yoneda, Runguo Zang, Ming-Gang Zhang, Nicole Zweifel

Section for Global Development

260 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aim
Large trees (d.b.h. ≥ 70 cm) store large amounts of biomass. Several studies suggest that large trees may be vulnerable to changing climate, potentially leading to declining forest biomass storage. Here we determine the importance of large trees for tropical forest biomass storage and explore which intrinsic (species trait) and extrinsic (environment) variables are associated with the density of large trees and forest biomass at continental and pan-tropical scales.
Location
Pan-tropical.
Methods
Aboveground biomass (AGB) was calculated for 120 intact lowland moist forest locations. Linear regression was used to calculate variation in AGB explained by the density of large trees. Akaike information criterion weights (AICc-wi) were used to calculate averaged correlation coefficients for all possible multiple regression models between AGB/density of large trees and environmental and species trait variables correcting for spatial autocorrelation.
Results
Density of large trees explained c. 70% of the variation in pan-tropical AGB and was also responsible for significantly lower AGB in Neotropical [287.8 (mean) ± 105.0 (SD) Mg ha−1] versus Palaeotropical forests (Africa 418.3 ± 91.8 Mg ha−1; Asia 393.3 ± 109.3 Mg ha−1). Pan-tropical variation in density of large trees and AGB was associated with soil coarseness (negative), soil fertility (positive), community wood density (positive) and dominance of wind dispersed species (positive), temperature in the coldest month (negative), temperature in the warmest month (negative) and rainfall in the wettest month (positive), but results were not always consistent among continents.
Main conclusions
Density of large trees and AGB were significantly associated with climatic variables, indicating that climate change will affect tropical forest biomass storage. Species trait composition will interact with these future biomass changes as they are also affected by a warmer climate. Given the importance of large trees for variation in AGB across the tropics, and their sensitivity to climate change, we emphasize the need for in-depth analyses of the community dynamics of large trees.

Original language	English
Journal	Global Ecology and Biogeography
Volume	22
Issue number	12
Pages (from-to)	1261-1271
Number of pages	11
ISSN	1466-822X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12092
Publication status	Published - Dec 2013

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10.1111/geb.12092

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Slik, J. W. F., Paoli, G., McGuire, K., Amaral, I., Barroso, J., Bastian, M., Blanc, L., Bongers, F., Boundja, P., Clark, C., Collins, M., Dauby, G., Ding, Y., Doucet, J-L., Eler, E., Ferreira, L., Forshed, O., Fredriksson, G., Gillet, J-F., ... Zweifel, N. (2013). Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 22(12), 1261-1271. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12092

Slik, JWF, Paoli, G, McGuire, K, Amaral, I, Barroso, J, Bastian, M, Blanc, L, Bongers, F, Boundja, P, Clark, C, Collins, M, Dauby, G, Ding, Y, Doucet, J-L, Eler, E, Ferreira, L, Forshed, O, Fredriksson, G, Gillet, J-F, Harris, D, Leal, M, Laumonier, Y, Malhi, Y, Mansor, A, Martin, E, Miyamoto, K, Araujo-Murakami, A, Nagamasu, H, Nilus, R, Nurtjahya, E, Oliveira, Á, Onrizal, O, Parada-Gutierrez, A, Permana, A, Poorter, L, Poulsen, J, Ramirez-Angulo, H, Reitsma, J, Rovero, F, Rozak, A, Sheil, D, Silva-Espejo, J, Silveira, M, Spironelo, W, ter Steege, H, Stevart, T, Navarro-Aguilar, GE, Sunderland, T, Suzuki, E, Tang, J, Theilade, I, van der Heijden, G, van Valkenburg, J, Van Do, T, Vilanova, E, Vos, V, Wich, S, Wöll, H, Yoneda, T, Zang, R, Zhang, M-G & Zweifel, N 2013, 'Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 1261-1271. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12092

@article{10d0c79ebf0c4fd882d18c198a8938ae,

title = "Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics",

abstract = "AimLarge trees (d.b.h. ≥ 70 cm) store large amounts of biomass. Several studies suggest that large trees may be vulnerable to changing climate, potentially leading to declining forest biomass storage. Here we determine the importance of large trees for tropical forest biomass storage and explore which intrinsic (species trait) and extrinsic (environment) variables are associated with the density of large trees and forest biomass at continental and pan-tropical scales.LocationPan-tropical.MethodsAboveground biomass (AGB) was calculated for 120 intact lowland moist forest locations. Linear regression was used to calculate variation in AGB explained by the density of large trees. Akaike information criterion weights (AICc-wi) were used to calculate averaged correlation coefficients for all possible multiple regression models between AGB/density of large trees and environmental and species trait variables correcting for spatial autocorrelation.ResultsDensity of large trees explained c. 70% of the variation in pan-tropical AGB and was also responsible for significantly lower AGB in Neotropical [287.8 (mean) ± 105.0 (SD) Mg ha−1] versus Palaeotropical forests (Africa 418.3 ± 91.8 Mg ha−1; Asia 393.3 ± 109.3 Mg ha−1). Pan-tropical variation in density of large trees and AGB was associated with soil coarseness (negative), soil fertility (positive), community wood density (positive) and dominance of wind dispersed species (positive), temperature in the coldest month (negative), temperature in the warmest month (negative) and rainfall in the wettest month (positive), but results were not always consistent among continents.Main conclusionsDensity of large trees and AGB were significantly associated with climatic variables, indicating that climate change will affect tropical forest biomass storage. Species trait composition will interact with these future biomass changes as they are also affected by a warmer climate. Given the importance of large trees for variation in AGB across the tropics, and their sensitivity to climate change, we emphasize the need for in-depth analyses of the community dynamics of large trees.",

author = "J.W.Ferry Slik and Gary Paoli and Krista McGuire and Ieda Amaral and Jorcely Barroso and Meredith Bastian and Lilian Blanc and Frans Bongers and Patrick Boundja and Connie Clark and Murray Collins and Gilles Dauby and Yi Ding and Jean-Louis Doucet and Eduardo Eler and Leandro Ferreira and Olle Forshed and Gabriella Fredriksson and Jean-Francois Gillet and Davis Harris and Miguel Leal and Yved Laumonier and Yadvinder Malhi and Asyraf Mansor and Emanuel Martin and Kazuki Miyamoto and Alejandro Araujo-Murakami and Hidetoshi Nagamasu and Reuben Nilus and Eddy Nurtjahya and {\'A}tila Oliveira and Onrizal Onrizal and Alexander Parada-Gutierrez and Andrea Permana and Lourens Poorter and John Poulsen and Hirma Ramirez-Angulo and Jan Reitsma and Francesco Rovero and Andes Rozak and Douglas Sheil and Javier Silva-Espejo and Marcos Silveira and Wilson Spironelo and {ter Steege}, Hans and Tariq Stevart and Navarro-Aguilar, {Gilberto Enrique} and Terry Sunderland and Eizi Suzuki and Jianwei Tang and Ida Theilade and {van der Heijden}, Geertje and {van Valkenburg}, Johan and {Van Do}, Tran and Emilio Vilanova and Vincent Vos and Serge Wich and Hansjoerg W{\"o}ll and Tsuyoshi Yoneda and Runguo Zang and Ming-Gang Zhang and Nicole Zweifel",

year = "2013",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1111/geb.12092",

language = "English",

volume = "22",

pages = "1261--1271",

journal = "Global Ecology and Biogeography",

issn = "1466-822X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "12",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics

AU - Slik, J.W.Ferry

AU - Paoli, Gary

AU - McGuire, Krista

AU - Amaral, Ieda

AU - Barroso, Jorcely

AU - Bastian, Meredith

AU - Blanc, Lilian

AU - Bongers, Frans

AU - Boundja, Patrick

AU - Clark, Connie

AU - Collins, Murray

AU - Dauby, Gilles

AU - Ding, Yi

AU - Doucet, Jean-Louis

AU - Eler, Eduardo

AU - Ferreira, Leandro

AU - Forshed, Olle

AU - Fredriksson, Gabriella

AU - Gillet, Jean-Francois

AU - Harris, Davis

AU - Leal, Miguel

AU - Laumonier, Yved

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Mansor, Asyraf

AU - Martin, Emanuel

AU - Miyamoto, Kazuki

AU - Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro

AU - Nagamasu, Hidetoshi

AU - Nilus, Reuben

AU - Nurtjahya, Eddy

AU - Oliveira, Átila

AU - Onrizal, Onrizal

AU - Parada-Gutierrez, Alexander

AU - Permana, Andrea

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Poulsen, John

AU - Ramirez-Angulo, Hirma

AU - Reitsma, Jan

AU - Rovero, Francesco

AU - Rozak, Andes

AU - Sheil, Douglas

AU - Silva-Espejo, Javier

AU - Silveira, Marcos

AU - Spironelo, Wilson

AU - ter Steege, Hans

AU - Stevart, Tariq

AU - Navarro-Aguilar, Gilberto Enrique

AU - Sunderland, Terry

AU - Suzuki, Eizi

AU - Tang, Jianwei

AU - Theilade, Ida

AU - van der Heijden, Geertje

AU - van Valkenburg, Johan

AU - Van Do, Tran

AU - Vilanova, Emilio

AU - Vos, Vincent

AU - Wich, Serge

AU - Wöll, Hansjoerg

AU - Yoneda, Tsuyoshi

AU - Zang, Runguo

AU - Zhang, Ming-Gang

AU - Zweifel, Nicole

PY - 2013/12

Y1 - 2013/12

N2 - AimLarge trees (d.b.h. ≥ 70 cm) store large amounts of biomass. Several studies suggest that large trees may be vulnerable to changing climate, potentially leading to declining forest biomass storage. Here we determine the importance of large trees for tropical forest biomass storage and explore which intrinsic (species trait) and extrinsic (environment) variables are associated with the density of large trees and forest biomass at continental and pan-tropical scales.LocationPan-tropical.MethodsAboveground biomass (AGB) was calculated for 120 intact lowland moist forest locations. Linear regression was used to calculate variation in AGB explained by the density of large trees. Akaike information criterion weights (AICc-wi) were used to calculate averaged correlation coefficients for all possible multiple regression models between AGB/density of large trees and environmental and species trait variables correcting for spatial autocorrelation.ResultsDensity of large trees explained c. 70% of the variation in pan-tropical AGB and was also responsible for significantly lower AGB in Neotropical [287.8 (mean) ± 105.0 (SD) Mg ha−1] versus Palaeotropical forests (Africa 418.3 ± 91.8 Mg ha−1; Asia 393.3 ± 109.3 Mg ha−1). Pan-tropical variation in density of large trees and AGB was associated with soil coarseness (negative), soil fertility (positive), community wood density (positive) and dominance of wind dispersed species (positive), temperature in the coldest month (negative), temperature in the warmest month (negative) and rainfall in the wettest month (positive), but results were not always consistent among continents.Main conclusionsDensity of large trees and AGB were significantly associated with climatic variables, indicating that climate change will affect tropical forest biomass storage. Species trait composition will interact with these future biomass changes as they are also affected by a warmer climate. Given the importance of large trees for variation in AGB across the tropics, and their sensitivity to climate change, we emphasize the need for in-depth analyses of the community dynamics of large trees.

AB - AimLarge trees (d.b.h. ≥ 70 cm) store large amounts of biomass. Several studies suggest that large trees may be vulnerable to changing climate, potentially leading to declining forest biomass storage. Here we determine the importance of large trees for tropical forest biomass storage and explore which intrinsic (species trait) and extrinsic (environment) variables are associated with the density of large trees and forest biomass at continental and pan-tropical scales.LocationPan-tropical.MethodsAboveground biomass (AGB) was calculated for 120 intact lowland moist forest locations. Linear regression was used to calculate variation in AGB explained by the density of large trees. Akaike information criterion weights (AICc-wi) were used to calculate averaged correlation coefficients for all possible multiple regression models between AGB/density of large trees and environmental and species trait variables correcting for spatial autocorrelation.ResultsDensity of large trees explained c. 70% of the variation in pan-tropical AGB and was also responsible for significantly lower AGB in Neotropical [287.8 (mean) ± 105.0 (SD) Mg ha−1] versus Palaeotropical forests (Africa 418.3 ± 91.8 Mg ha−1; Asia 393.3 ± 109.3 Mg ha−1). Pan-tropical variation in density of large trees and AGB was associated with soil coarseness (negative), soil fertility (positive), community wood density (positive) and dominance of wind dispersed species (positive), temperature in the coldest month (negative), temperature in the warmest month (negative) and rainfall in the wettest month (positive), but results were not always consistent among continents.Main conclusionsDensity of large trees and AGB were significantly associated with climatic variables, indicating that climate change will affect tropical forest biomass storage. Species trait composition will interact with these future biomass changes as they are also affected by a warmer climate. Given the importance of large trees for variation in AGB across the tropics, and their sensitivity to climate change, we emphasize the need for in-depth analyses of the community dynamics of large trees.

U2 - 10.1111/geb.12092

DO - 10.1111/geb.12092

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1466-822X

VL - 22

SP - 1261

EP - 1271

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

IS - 12

ER -

Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics

Abstract

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