Changes in the carbon balance of tropical forest: evidence from long-term plots

Phillips, O.L., Malhi, Y., Higuchi, N., Laurance, W.F., Nunez, P.V., Vasquez, R.M., Laurance, S.G., Ferreira, L.V., Stern, M., Brown, S. and Grace, J. (1998) Changes in the carbon balance of tropical forest: evidence from long-term plots. Science, 282 (5388). pp. 439-442. ISSN 1095-9203

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Abstract

The role of the world’s forests as a “sink” for atmospheric carbon dioxide is the subject of active debate. Long-term monitoring of plots in mature humid tropical forests concentrated in South America revealed that biomass gain by tree growth exceeded losses from tree death in 38 out of 50 neotropical sites. These forest plots have accumulated 0.71 + 0.34 tons of carbon per hectare per year in recent decades. The data suggest that neotropical forests may be a significant carbon sink, reducing the rate of increase in atmospheric CO2.

Item Type:	Article
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	Copyright © 1998 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. This is an author produced electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Science.
Academic Units:	The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds)
Depositing User:	Repository Officer
Date Deposited:	10 Mar 2005
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2013 17:01
Published Version:	http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/282...
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1126/science.282.5388.439
URI:	http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/340

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