Size and frequency of natural forest disturbances and the Amazon forest carbon balance

Fernando D.B. Espírito-Santo (), Manuel Gloor, Michael Keller, Yadvinder Malhi, Sassan Saatchi, Bruce Nelson, Raimundo C. Oliveira Junior, Cleuton Pereira, Jon Lloyd, Steve Frolking, Michael Palace, Yosio E. Shimabukuro, Valdete Duarte, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Gabriela López-González, Tim R. Baker, Ted R. Feldpausch, Roel J.W. Brienen, Gregory P. Asner, Doreen S. Boyd and Oliver L. Phillips
Additional contact information
Fernando D.B. Espírito-Santo: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Manuel Gloor: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Michael Keller: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire
Yadvinder Malhi: Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford
Sassan Saatchi: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Bruce Nelson: National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA), CP 478
Raimundo C. Oliveira Junior: EMBRAPA Amazônia Oriental (CPATU)
Jon Lloyd: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Steve Frolking: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire
Michael Palace: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire
Yosio E. Shimabukuro: National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
Valdete Duarte: National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
Abel Monteagudo Mendoza: Jardin Botanico de Missouri
Gabriela López-González: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Tim R. Baker: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Ted R. Feldpausch: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Roel J.W. Brienen: School of Geography, University of Leeds
Gregory P. Asner: Carnegie Institution for Science
Doreen S. Boyd: School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park
Oliver L. Phillips: School of Geography, University of Leeds

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract 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 0.01 ha to 2,651 ha 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 ~1.28 Pg C y−1 over the entire Amazon region. We also find that intermediate-scale disturbances account for losses of ~0.01 Pg C y−1, and that the largest-scale disturbances as a result of blow-downs only account for losses of ~0.003 Pg C y−1. 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.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4434

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