1
|
Feng Y, Negrón-Juárez RI, Romps DM, Chambers JQ. Amazon windthrow disturbances are likely to increase with storm frequency under global warming. Nat Commun 2023; 14:101. [PMID: 36609508 PMCID: PMC9822931 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35570-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Forest mortality caused by convective storms (windthrow) is a major disturbance in the Amazon. However, the linkage between windthrows at the surface and convective storms in the atmosphere remains unclear. In addition, the current Earth system models (ESMs) lack mechanistic links between convective wind events and tree mortality. Here we find an empirical relationship that maps convective available potential energy, which is well simulated by ESMs, to the spatial pattern of large windthrow events. This relationship builds connections between strong convective storms and forest dynamics in the Amazon. Based on the relationship, our model projects a 51 ± 20% increase in the area favorable to extreme storms, and a 43 ± 17% increase in windthrow density within the Amazon by the end of this century under the high-emission scenario (SSP 585). These results indicate significant changes in tropical forest composition and carbon cycle dynamics under climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanlei Feng
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Robinson I Negrón-Juárez
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - David M Romps
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Q Chambers
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Spanner GC, Gimenez BO, Wright CL, Menezes VS, Newman BD, Collins AD, Jardine KJ, Negrón-Juárez RI, Lima AJN, Rodrigues JR, Chambers JQ, Higuchi N, Warren JM. Dry Season Transpiration and Soil Water Dynamics in the Central Amazon. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:825097. [PMID: 35401584 PMCID: PMC8987125 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.825097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
With current observations and future projections of more intense and frequent droughts in the tropics, understanding the impact that extensive dry periods may have on tree and ecosystem-level transpiration and concurrent carbon uptake has become increasingly important. Here, we investigate paired soil and tree water extraction dynamics in an old-growth upland forest in central Amazonia during the 2018 dry season. Tree water use was assessed via radial patterns of sap flow in eight dominant canopy trees, each a different species with a range in diameter, height, and wood density. Paired multi-sensor soil moisture probes used to quantify volumetric water content dynamics and soil water extraction within the upper 100 cm were installed adjacent to six of those trees. To link depth-specific water extraction patterns to root distribution, fine root biomass was assessed through the soil profile to 235 cm. To scale tree water use to the plot level (stand transpiration), basal area was measured for all trees within a 5 m radius around each soil moisture probe. The sensitivity of tree transpiration to reduced precipitation varied by tree, with some increasing and some decreasing in water use during the dry period. Tree-level water use scaled with sapwood area, from 11 to 190 L per day. Stand level water use, based on multiple plots encompassing sap flow and adjacent trees, varied from ∼1.7 to 3.3 mm per day, increasing linearly with plot basal area. Soil water extraction was dependent on root biomass, which was dense at the surface (i.e., 45% in the upper 5 cm) and declined dramatically with depth. As the dry season progressed and the upper soil dried, soil water extraction shifted to deeper levels and model projections suggest that much of the water used during the month-long dry-down could be extracted from the upper 2-3 m. Results indicate variation in rates of soil water extraction across the research area and, temporally, through the soil profile. These results provide key information on whole-tree contributions to transpiration by canopy trees as water availability changes. In addition, information on simultaneous stand level dynamics of soil water extraction that can inform mechanistic models that project tropical forest response to drought.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruno O. Gimenez
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama City, Panama
| | - Cynthia L. Wright
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | | | - Brent D. Newman
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
| | - Adam D. Collins
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
| | - Kolby J. Jardine
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | | | | | | | - Jeffrey Q. Chambers
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Niro Higuchi
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Jeffrey M. Warren
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gimenez BO, Jardine KJ, Higuchi N, Negrón-Juárez RI, Sampaio-Filho IDJ, Cobello LO, Fontes CG, Dawson TE, Varadharajan C, Christianson DS, Spanner GC, Araújo AC, Warren JM, Newman BD, Holm JA, Koven CD, McDowell NG, Chambers JQ. Species-Specific Shifts in Diurnal Sap Velocity Dynamics and Hysteretic Behavior of Ecophysiological Variables During the 2015-2016 El Niño Event in the Amazon Forest. Front Plant Sci 2019; 10:830. [PMID: 31316536 PMCID: PMC6611341 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Current climate change scenarios indicate warmer temperatures and the potential for more extreme droughts in the tropics, such that a mechanistic understanding of the water cycle from individual trees to landscapes is needed to adequately predict future changes in forest structure and function. In this study, we contrasted physiological responses of tropical trees during a normal dry season with the extreme dry season due to the 2015-2016 El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. We quantified high resolution temporal dynamics of sap velocity (Vs), stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf water potential (ΨL) of multiple canopy trees, and their correlations with leaf temperature (Tleaf) and environmental conditions [direct solar radiation, air temperature (Tair) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD)]. The experiment leveraged canopy access towers to measure adjacent trees at the ZF2 and Tapajós tropical forest research (near the cities of Manaus and Santarém). The temporal difference between the peak of gs (late morning) and the peak of VPD (early afternoon) is one of the major regulators of sap velocity hysteresis patterns. Sap velocity displayed species-specific diurnal hysteresis patterns reflected by changes in Tleaf. In the morning, Tleaf and sap velocity displayed a sigmoidal relationship. In the afternoon, stomatal conductance declined as Tleaf approached a daily peak, allowing ΨL to begin recovery, while sap velocity declined with an exponential relationship with Tleaf. In Manaus, hysteresis indices of the variables Tleaf-Tair and ΨL-Tleaf were calculated for different species and a significant difference (p < 0.01, α = 0.05) was observed when the 2015 dry season (ENSO period) was compared with the 2017 dry season ("control scenario"). In some days during the 2015 ENSO event, Tleaf approached 40°C for all studied species and the differences between Tleaf and Tair reached as high at 8°C (average difference: 1.65 ± 1.07°C). Generally, Tleaf was higher than Tair during the middle morning to early afternoon, and lower than Tair during the early morning, late afternoon and night. Our results support the hypothesis that partial stomatal closure allows for a recovery in ΨL during the afternoon period giving an observed counterclockwise hysteresis pattern between ΨL and Tleaf.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kolby J. Jardine
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Niro Higuchi
- National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Robinson I. Negrón-Juárez
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | | | | | - Clarissa G. Fontes
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Todd E. Dawson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Charuleka Varadharajan
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Danielle S. Christianson
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | | | | | - Jeffrey M. Warren
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Brent D. Newman
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
| | - Jennifer A. Holm
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Charles D. Koven
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Nate G. McDowell
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States
| | - Jeffrey Q. Chambers
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Magnabosco Marra D, Trumbore SE, Higuchi N, Ribeiro GHPM, Negrón-Juárez RI, Holzwarth F, Rifai SW, Dos Santos J, Lima AJN, Kinupp VF, Chambers JQ, Wirth C. Windthrows control biomass patterns and functional composition of Amazon forests. Glob Chang Biol 2018; 24:5867-5881. [PMID: 30256494 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Amazon forests account for ~25% of global land biomass and tropical tree species. In these forests, windthrows (i.e., snapped and uprooted trees) are a major natural disturbance, but the rates and mechanisms of recovery are not known. To provide a predictive framework for understanding the effects of windthrows on forest structure and functional composition (DBH ≥10 cm), we quantified biomass recovery as a function of windthrow severity (i.e., fraction of windthrow tree mortality on Landsat pixels, ranging from 0%-70%) and time since disturbance for terra-firme forests in the Central Amazon. Forest monitoring allowed insights into the processes and mechanisms driving the net biomass change (i.e., increment minus loss) and shifts in functional composition. Windthrown areas recovering for between 4-27 years had biomass stocks as low as 65.2-91.7 Mg/ha or 23%-38% of those in nearby undisturbed forests (~255.6 Mg/ha, all sites). Even low windthrow severities (4%-20% tree mortality) caused decadal changes in biomass stocks and structure. While rates of biomass increment in recovering vegetation were nearly double (6.3 ± 1.4 Mg ha-1 year-1 ) those of undisturbed forests (~3.7 Mg ha-1 year-1 ), biomass loss due to post-windthrow mortality was high (up to -7.5 ± 8.7 Mg ha-1 year-1 , 8.5 years since disturbance) and unpredictable. Consequently, recovery to 90% of "pre-disturbance" biomass takes up to 40 years. Resprouting trees contributed little to biomass recovery. Instead, light-demanding, low-density genera (e.g., Cecropia, Inga, Miconia, Pourouma, Tachigali, and Tapirira) were favored, resulting in substantial post-windthrow species turnover. Shifts in functional composition demonstrate that windthrows affect the resilience of live tree biomass by favoring soft-wooded species with shorter life spans that are more vulnerable to future disturbances. As the time required for forests to recover biomass is likely similar to the recurrence interval of windthrows triggering succession, windthrows have the potential to control landscape biomass/carbon dynamics and functional composition in Amazon forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Magnabosco Marra
- Biogeochemical Processes Department, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
- AG Spezielle Botanik und Funktionelle Biodiversität, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susan E Trumbore
- Biogeochemical Processes Department, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Niro Higuchi
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Gabriel H P M Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Robinson I Negrón-Juárez
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
| | - Frederic Holzwarth
- AG Spezielle Botanik und Funktionelle Biodiversität, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sami W Rifai
- Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joaquim Dos Santos
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Adriano J N Lima
- Laboratório de Manejo Florestal, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Valdely F Kinupp
- Ciência e Tecnologia do Amazonas, Campus Manaus-Zona Leste, Herbário EAFM, Instituto Federal de Educação, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Jeffrey Q Chambers
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
- Geography Department, University of California, Berkeley, California
| | - Christian Wirth
- AG Spezielle Botanik und Funktionelle Biodiversität, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Functional Biogeography Fellow Group, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Rifai SW, Urquiza Muñoz JD, Negrón-Juárez RI, Ramírez Arévalo FR, Tello-Espinoza R, Vanderwel MC, Lichstein JW, Chambers JQ, Bohlman SA. Landscape-scale consequences of differential tree mortality from catastrophic wind disturbance in the Amazon. Ecol Appl 2016; 26:2225-2237. [PMID: 27755720 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Revised: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Wind disturbance can create large forest blowdowns, which greatly reduces live biomass and adds uncertainty to the strength of the Amazon carbon sink. Observational studies from within the central Amazon have quantified blowdown size and estimated total mortality but have not determined which trees are most likely to die from a catastrophic wind disturbance. Also, the impact of spatial dependence upon tree mortality from wind disturbance has seldom been quantified, which is important because wind disturbance often kills clusters of trees due to large treefalls killing surrounding neighbors. We examine (1) the causes of differential mortality between adult trees from a 300-ha blowdown event in the Peruvian region of the northwestern Amazon, (2) how accounting for spatial dependence affects mortality predictions, and (3) how incorporating both differential mortality and spatial dependence affect the landscape level estimation of necromass produced from the blowdown. Standard regression and spatial regression models were used to estimate how stem diameter, wood density, elevation, and a satellite-derived disturbance metric influenced the probability of tree death from the blowdown event. The model parameters regarding tree characteristics, topography, and spatial autocorrelation of the field data were then used to determine the consequences of non-random mortality for landscape production of necromass through a simulation model. Tree mortality was highly non-random within the blowdown, where tree mortality rates were highest for trees that were large, had low wood density, and were located at high elevation. Of the differential mortality models, the non-spatial models overpredicted necromass, whereas the spatial model slightly underpredicted necromass. When parameterized from the same field data, the spatial regression model with differential mortality estimated only 7.5% more dead trees across the entire blowdown than the random mortality model, yet it estimated 51% greater necromass. We suggest that predictions of forest carbon loss from wind disturbance are sensitive to not only the underlying spatial dependence of observations, but also the biological differences between individuals that promote differential levels of mortality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sami W Rifai
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA.
| | - José D Urquiza Muñoz
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos, Perú
| | - Robinson I Negrón-Juárez
- Climate Sciences Department, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | | | - Rodil Tello-Espinoza
- Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional Amazonía Peruana, Iquitos, Perú
| | - Mark C Vanderwel
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Jeremy W Lichstein
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Jeffrey Q Chambers
- Climate Sciences Department, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
- Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Pesquisas de Silvicultura Tropical, 69060-001, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Stephanie A Bohlman
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Muhr J, Angert A, Negrón-Juárez RI, Muñoz WA, Kraemer G, Chambers JQ, Trumbore SE. Carbon dioxide emitted from live stems of tropical trees is several years old. Tree Physiol 2013; 33:743-52. [PMID: 23893086 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpt049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Storage carbon (C) pools are often assumed to contribute to respiration and growth when assimilation is insufficient to meet the current C demand. However, little is known of the age of stored C and the degree to which it supports respiration in general. We used bomb radiocarbon ((14)C) measurements to determine the mean age of carbon in CO2 emitted from and within stems of three tropical tree species in Peru. Carbon pools fixed >1 year previously contributed to stem CO2 efflux in all trees investigated, in both dry and wet seasons. The average age, i.e., the time elapsed since original fixation of CO2 from the atmosphere by the plant to its loss from the stem, ranged from 0 to 6 years. The average age of CO2 sampled 5-cm deep within the stems ranged from 2 to 6 years for two of the three species, while CO2 in the stem of the third tree species was fixed from 14 to >20 years previously. Given the consistency of (14)C values observed for individuals within each species, it is unlikely that decomposition is the source of the older CO2. Our results are in accordance with other studies that have demonstrated the contribution of storage reserves to the construction of stem wood and root respiration in temperate and boreal forests. We postulate the high (14)C values observed in stem CO2 efflux and stem-internal CO2 result from respiration of storage C pools within the tree. The observed age differences between emitted and stem-internal CO2 indicate an age gradient for sources of CO2 within the tree: CO2 produced in the outer region of the stem is younger, originating from more recent assimilates, whereas the CO2 found deeper within the stem is older, fueled by several-year-old C pools. The CO2 emitted at the stem-atmosphere interface represents a mixture of young and old CO2. These observations were independent of season, even during a time of severe regional drought. Therefore, we postulate that the use of storage C for respiration occurs on a regular basis challenging the assumption that storage pools serve as substrates for respiration only during times of limited assimilation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Muhr
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena 07745, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Chambers JQ, Negrón-Juárez RI, Hurtt GC, Marra DM, Higuchi N. Lack of intermediate-scale disturbance data prevents robust extrapolation of plot-level tree mortality rates for old-growth tropical forests. Ecol Lett 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01398.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|