Sensitivity of South American tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

Amy C. Bennett (), Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Paulo S. Morandi, Fernanda Coelho de Souza, Wendeson Castro, Luisa Fernanda Duque, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Rubens Manoel dos Santos, Eliana Ramos, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Timothy R. Baker, Flávia R. C. Costa, Simon L. Lewis, Beatriz S. Marimon, Juliana Schietti, Benoît Burban, Erika Berenguer, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Wilmar Lopez, Flávia Delgado Santana, Laura Jessica Viscarra, Fernando Elias, Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, David Galbraith, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Thaise Emilio, Nayane C. C. S. Prestes, Jos Barlow, Nathalle Cristine Alencar Fagundes, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Luciana F. Alves, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Vinícius Andrade Maia, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Eric J. M. M. Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Olaf Bánki, Christopher Baraloto, Plínio Barbosa Camargo, Jorcely Barroso, Wilder Bento da Silva, Damien Bonal, Alisson Borges Miranda Santos, Roel J. W. Brienen, Foster Brown, Carolina V. Castilho, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Victor Chama Moscoso, Ezequiel Chavez, James A. Comiskey, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Nállarett Dávila Cardozo, Natália Aguiar-Campos, Lia Oliveira Melo, Jhon Aguila Pasquel, Géraldine Derroire, Mathias Disney, Maria Socorro, Aurélie Dourdain, Ted R. Feldpausch, Joice Ferreira, Valeria Forni Martins, Toby Gardner, Emanuel Gloor, Gloria Gutierrez Sibauty, René Guillen, Eduardo Hase, Bruno Hérault, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Walter Huaraca Huasco, John P. Janovec, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Carlos Joly, Michelle Kalamandeen, Timothy J. Killeen, Camila Lais Farrapo, Aurora Levesley, Leon Lizon Romano, Gabriela Lopez Gonzalez, Flavio Antonio Maës dos Santos, William E. Magnusson, Yadvinder Malhi, Simone Matias de Almeida Reis, Karina Melgaço, Omar A. Melo Cruz, Irina Mendoza Polo, Tatiana Montañez, Jean Daniel Morel, M Percy Núñez Vargas, Raimunda Oliveira de Araújo, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Toby Pennington, Georgia C. Pickavance, John Pipoly, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Carlos Quesada, Freddy Ramirez Arevalo, Hirma Ramírez‐Angulo, Rafael Flora Ramos, James E. Richardson, Cléber Rodrigo de Souza, Anand Roopsind, Gustavo Schwartz, Richarlly C. Silva, Javier Silva Espejo, Marcos Silveira, James Singh, Yhan Soto Shareva, Marc Steininger, Juliana Stropp, Joey Talbot, Hans Steege, John Terborgh, Raquel Thomas, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Geertje Heijden, Peter Hout, Roderick Zagt and Oliver L. Phillips
Additional contact information
Amy C. Bennett: University of Leeds
Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza: Jardín Botánico de Missouri
Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert: University of Birmingham
Paulo S. Morandi: UNEMAT—Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Fernanda Coelho de Souza: University of Brasilia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro
Wendeson Castro: Universidade Federal do Acre
Luisa Fernanda Duque: Socioecosistemas y Cambio Climatico, Fundación Con Vida
Gerardo Flores Llampazo: Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre de Grohmann
Rubens Manoel dos Santos: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Eliana Ramos: Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica
Emilio Vilanova Torre: Wildlife Conservation Society
Esteban Alvarez-Davila: National Open University and Distance
Timothy R. Baker: University of Leeds
Flávia R. C. Costa: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Simon L. Lewis: University of Leeds
Beatriz S. Marimon: UNEMAT—Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Juliana Schietti: Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM)
Benoît Burban: UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane)
Erika Berenguer: University of Oxford
Alejandro Araujo-Murakami: Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno
Zorayda Restrepo Correa: Socioecosistemas y Cambio Climatico, Fundación Con Vida
Wilmar Lopez: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Flávia Delgado Santana: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Laura Jessica Viscarra: Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno
Fernando Elias: Universidade Federal do Pará
Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez: Jardín Botánico de Missouri
Ben Hur Marimon-Junior: UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
David Galbraith: University of Leeds
Martin J. P. Sullivan: Manchester Metropolitan University
Thaise Emilio: University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Nayane C. C. S. Prestes: UNEMAT—Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Jos Barlow: Lancaster University
Nathalle Cristine Alencar Fagundes: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Edmar Almeida de Oliveira: UNEMAT—Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Patricia Alvarez Loayza: Duke University
Luciana F. Alves: University of California
Simone Aparecida Vieira: Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Vinícius Andrade Maia: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Luiz E. O. C. Aragão: National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
Eric J. M. M. Arets: Wageningen University & Research
Luzmila Arroyo: Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno
Olaf Bánki: Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Christopher Baraloto: Florida International University
Plínio Barbosa Camargo: Universidade de São Paulo
Jorcely Barroso: Universidade Federal do Acre
Wilder Bento da Silva: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Damien Bonal: Université de Lorraine, INRAE, UMR Silva, AgroParisTech
Alisson Borges Miranda Santos: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Roel J. W. Brienen: University of Leeds
Foster Brown: Woods Hole Research Center
Carolina V. Castilho: Embrapa Roraima, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro: Universidade Federal do Acre
Victor Chama Moscoso: Jardín Botánico de Missouri
Ezequiel Chavez: Museo Noel Kempff
James A. Comiskey: Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service
Fernando Cornejo Valverde: Proyecto Castaña
Nállarett Dávila Cardozo: Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana
Natália Aguiar-Campos: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Lia Oliveira Melo: Universidade Federal do Oeste do Para
Jhon Aguila Pasquel: Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana
Géraldine Derroire: UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane)
Mathias Disney: University College London
Aurélie Dourdain: UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane)
Ted R. Feldpausch: University of Exeter
Joice Ferreira: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
Valeria Forni Martins: University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Toby Gardner: Stockholm Environment Institute
Emanuel Gloor: University of Leeds
Gloria Gutierrez Sibauty: Jardin Botanico Municipal de Santa Cruz
René Guillen: Parque Nacional y Área Natural de Manejo Integrado ‘Kaa-iya del Gran Chaco’
Eduardo Hase: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Bruno Hérault: CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés
Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado: University of St Andrews
Walter Huaraca Huasco: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad de Cusco
John P. Janovec: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
Eliana Jimenez-Rojas: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Carlos Joly: University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
Michelle Kalamandeen: University of Cambridge
Timothy J. Killeen: Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado
Camila Lais Farrapo: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Aurora Levesley: University of Leeds
Leon Lizon Romano: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
Gabriela Lopez Gonzalez: University of Leeds
Flavio Antonio Maës dos Santos: University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
William E. Magnusson: Coordenação da Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Yadvinder Malhi: University of Oxford
Simone Matias de Almeida Reis: UNEMAT—Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Karina Melgaço: University of Leeds
Omar A. Melo Cruz: Universidad del Tolima
Irina Mendoza Polo: Jardín Botánico de Medellín
Tatiana Montañez: Universidad del Tolima
Jean Daniel Morel: Universidade Federal de Lavras
M Percy Núñez Vargas: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad de Cusco
Raimunda Oliveira de Araújo: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho: University of Leeds
Alexander Parada Gutierrez: Herbario Universitario (PORT)
Toby Pennington: University of Exeter
Georgia C. Pickavance: University of Leeds
John Pipoly: Broward County Parks & Recreation
Nigel C. A. Pitman: Keller Science Action Center, Field Museum
Carlos Quesada: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
Freddy Ramirez Arevalo: Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana
Hirma Ramírez‐Angulo: Universidad de Los Andes
Rafael Flora Ramos: Universidade Estadual de Campinas
James E. Richardson: University College Cork
Cléber Rodrigo de Souza: Universidade Federal de Lavras
Anand Roopsind: Conservation International
Gustavo Schwartz: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
Richarlly C. Silva: Universidade Federal do Acre
Javier Silva Espejo: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad de Cusco
Marcos Silveira: Universidade Federal do Acre
James Singh: Guyana Forestry Commission
Yhan Soto Shareva: Jardín Botánico de Missouri
Marc Steininger: University of Maryland
Juliana Stropp: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MNCN-CSIC)
Joey Talbot: University of Leeds
Hans Steege: Naturalis Biodiversity Center
John Terborgh: University of Florida
Raquel Thomas: Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development
Luis Valenzuela Gamarra: Jardín Botánico de Missouri
Geertje Heijden: University of Nottingham
Peter Hout: Van der Hout Forestry Consulting
Roderick Zagt: Tropenbos International
Oliver L. Phillips: University of Leeds

Nature Climate Change, 2023, vol. 13, issue 9, 967-974

Abstract: Abstract The tropical forest carbon sink is known to be drought sensitive, but it is unclear which forests are the most vulnerable to extreme events. Forests with hotter and drier baseline conditions may be protected by prior adaptation, or more vulnerable because they operate closer to physiological limits. Here we report that forests in drier South American climates experienced the greatest impacts of the 2015–2016 El Niño, indicating greater vulnerability to extreme temperatures and drought. The long-term, ground-measured tree-by-tree responses of 123 forest plots across tropical South America show that the biomass carbon sink ceased during the event with carbon balance becoming indistinguishable from zero (−0.02 ± 0.37 Mg C ha−1 per year). However, intact tropical South American forests overall were no more sensitive to the extreme 2015–2016 El Niño than to previous less intense events, remaining a key defence against climate change as long as they are protected.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41558-023-01776-4

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