Fyllas, NM, Bentley, LP, Shenkin, A et al. (17 more authors) (2017) Solar radiation and functional traits explain the decline of forest primary productivity along a tropical elevation gradient. Ecology Letters, 20 (6). pp. 730-740. ISSN 1461-023X
Abstract
One of the major challenges in ecology is to understand how ecosystems respond to changes in environmental conditions, and how taxonomic and functional diversity mediate these changes. In this study, we use a trait-spectra and individual-based model, to analyse variation in forest primary productivity along a 3.3 km elevation gradient in the Amazon-Andes. The model accurately predicted the magnitude and trends in forest productivity with elevation, with solar radiation and plant functional traits (leaf dry mass per area, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, and wood density) collectively accounting for productivity variation. Remarkably, explicit representation of temperature variation with elevation was not required to achieve accurate predictions of forest productivity, as trait variation driven by species turnover appears to capture the effect of temperature. Our semi-mechanistic model suggests that spatial variation in traits can potentially be used to estimate spatial variation in productivity at the landscape scale.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Fyllas, NM, Bentley, LP, Shenkin, A et al. (17 more authors) (2017) Solar radiation and functional traits explain the decline of forest primary productivity along a tropical elevation gradient. Ecology Letters, 20 (6). pp. 730-740., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12771. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Keywords: | Andes; climate; functional traits; global ecosystem monitoring; modelling; TFS ; tropical forests |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Jun 2017 10:12 |
Last Modified: | 02 May 2018 00:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ele.12771 |
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Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:118230 |