Hubau, W, De Mil, T, Van den Bulcke, J et al. (49 more authors) (2019) The persistence of carbon in the African forest understory. Nature Plants, 5 (2). pp. 133-140. ISSN 2055-026X
Abstract
Quantifying carbon dynamics in forests is critical for understanding their role in long-term climate regulation1,2,3,4. Yet little is known about tree longevity in tropical forests3,5,6,7,8, a factor that is vital for estimating carbon persistence3,4. Here we calculate mean carbon age (the period that carbon is fixed in trees7) in different strata of African tropical forests using (1) growth-ring records with a unique timestamp accurately demarcating 66 years of growth in one site and (2) measurements of diameter increments from the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network (23 sites). We find that in spite of their much smaller size, in understory trees mean carbon age (74 years) is greater than in sub-canopy (54 years) and canopy (57 years) trees and similar to carbon age in emergent trees (66 years). The remarkable carbon longevity in the understory results from slow and aperiodic growth as an adaptation to limited resource availability9,10,11. Our analysis also reveals that while the understory represents a small share (11%) of the carbon stock12,13, it contributes disproportionally to the forest carbon sink (20%). We conclude that accounting for the diversity of carbon age and carbon sequestration among different forest strata is critical for effective conservation management14,15,16 and for accurate modelling of carbon cycling4.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2019. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of a Letter published in Nature Plants. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0316-5. |
Keywords: | Forest ecology; Forestry; Plant development; Plant ecology; Tropical ecology |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) > ITS: Sustainable Transport Policy (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) > SOG: water@leeds |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 26 Nov 2018 12:40 |
Last Modified: | 26 Apr 2021 11:01 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41477-018-0316-5 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:139113 |