Diversity enhances carbon storage in tropical forests
Corresponding Author
L. Poorter
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Correspondence: Lourens Poorter, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorM. T. van der Sande
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Alterra, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Thompson
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Penicuik, UK
Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Search for more papers by this authorE. J. M. M. Arets
Alterra, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorA. Alarcón
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Álvarez-Sánchez
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorN. Ascarrunz
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorP. Balvanera
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorG. Barajas-Guzmán
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. Boit
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorF. Bongers
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorF. A. Carvalho
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorG. Cornejo-Tenorio
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorF. R. C. Costa
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. F. Duivenvoorden
IBED, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorL. P. Dutrieux
Lab of GIS and Remote-Sensing, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorB. J. Enquist
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ, 85721 USA
The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd, Santa Fe, NM, 87501 USA
Search for more papers by this authorF. Fernández-Méndez
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Dinámica de Ecosistemas Tropicales, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plant, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorB. Finegan
Production and Conservation in Forests Programme, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Search for more papers by this authorL. H. L. Gormley
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
Search for more papers by this authorJ. R. Healey
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
Search for more papers by this authorM. R. Hoosbeek
Department of Soil Quality, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorG. Ibarra-Manríquez
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. B. Junqueira
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorC. Levis
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. C. Licona
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorW. E. Magnusson
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorM. Martínez-Ramos
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. Martínez-Yrizar
Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Hermosillo, Mexico
Search for more papers by this authorL. C. Maskell
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster, UK
Search for more papers by this authorJ. A. Meave
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorF. Mora
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorR. Muñoz
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorC. Nytch
Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Search for more papers by this authorM. P. Pansonato
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorT. W. Parr
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster, UK
Search for more papers by this authorH. Paz
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorE. A. Pérez-García
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorL. Y. Rentería
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Rodríguez-Velazquez
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorD. M. A. Rozendaal
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA
Search for more papers by this authorB. Sakschewski
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorB. Salgado-Negret
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Schietti
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorF. L. Sinclair
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya
Search for more papers by this authorP. F. Souza
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorF. C. Souza
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Stropp
Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorH. ter Steege
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorN. G. Swenson
Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742 USA
Search for more papers by this authorK. Thonicke
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorM. Toledo
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorM. Uriarte
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, USA
Search for more papers by this authorP. van der Hout
Van der Hout Forestry Consulting, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorN. Zamora
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio), Santo Domingo, Costa Rica
Search for more papers by this authorM. Peña-Claros
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
L. Poorter
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Correspondence: Lourens Poorter, Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, Wageningen 6700 AA, The Netherlands.
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorM. T. van der Sande
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Alterra, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Thompson
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Penicuik, UK
Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Search for more papers by this authorE. J. M. M. Arets
Alterra, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorA. Alarcón
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Álvarez-Sánchez
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorN. Ascarrunz
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorP. Balvanera
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorG. Barajas-Guzmán
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. Boit
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorF. Bongers
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorF. A. Carvalho
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorG. Cornejo-Tenorio
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorF. R. C. Costa
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. F. Duivenvoorden
IBED, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorL. P. Dutrieux
Lab of GIS and Remote-Sensing, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorB. J. Enquist
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ, 85721 USA
The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd, Santa Fe, NM, 87501 USA
Search for more papers by this authorF. Fernández-Méndez
Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Dinámica de Ecosistemas Tropicales, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plant, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorB. Finegan
Production and Conservation in Forests Programme, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Search for more papers by this authorL. H. L. Gormley
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
Search for more papers by this authorJ. R. Healey
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
Search for more papers by this authorM. R. Hoosbeek
Department of Soil Quality, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorG. Ibarra-Manríquez
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. B. Junqueira
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorC. Levis
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. C. Licona
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorW. E. Magnusson
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorM. Martínez-Ramos
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorA. Martínez-Yrizar
Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Hermosillo, Mexico
Search for more papers by this authorL. C. Maskell
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster, UK
Search for more papers by this authorJ. A. Meave
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorF. Mora
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorR. Muñoz
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorC. Nytch
Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Search for more papers by this authorM. P. Pansonato
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorT. W. Parr
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Lancaster, UK
Search for more papers by this authorH. Paz
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorE. A. Pérez-García
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF, México
Search for more papers by this authorL. Y. Rentería
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Rodríguez-Velazquez
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Search for more papers by this authorD. M. A. Rozendaal
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA
Search for more papers by this authorB. Sakschewski
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorB. Salgado-Negret
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Schietti
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorF. L. Sinclair
School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya
Search for more papers by this authorP. F. Souza
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorF. C. Souza
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorJ. Stropp
Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorH. ter Steege
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorN. G. Swenson
Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742 USA
Search for more papers by this authorK. Thonicke
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V. (PIK), Potsdam, Germany and Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorM. Toledo
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF), FCA-UAGRM, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Search for more papers by this authorM. Uriarte
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, USA
Search for more papers by this authorP. van der Hout
Van der Hout Forestry Consulting, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorN. Zamora
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio), Santo Domingo, Costa Rica
Search for more papers by this authorM. Peña-Claros
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Aim
Tropical forests store 25% of global carbon and harbour 96% of the world's tree species, but it is not clear whether this high biodiversity matters for carbon storage. Few studies have teased apart the relative importance of forest attributes and environmental drivers for ecosystem functioning, and no such study exists for the tropics.
Location
Neotropics.
Methods
We relate aboveground biomass (AGB) to forest attributes (diversity and structure) and environmental drivers (annual rainfall and soil fertility) using data from 144,000 trees, 2050 forest plots and 59 forest sites. The sites span the complete latitudinal and climatic gradients in the lowland Neotropics, with rainfall ranging from 750 to 4350 mm year−1. Relationships were analysed within forest sites at scales of 0.1 and 1 ha and across forest sites along large-scale environmental gradients. We used a structural equation model to test the hypothesis that species richness, forest structural attributes and environmental drivers have independent, positive effects on AGB.
Results
Across sites, AGB was most strongly driven by rainfall, followed by average tree stem diameter and rarefied species richness, which all had positive effects on AGB. Our indicator of soil fertility (cation exchange capacity) had a negligible effect on AGB, perhaps because we used a global soil database. Taxonomic forest attributes (i.e. species richness, rarefied richness and Shannon diversity) had the strongest relationships with AGB at small spatial scales, where an additional species can still make a difference in terms of niche complementarity, while structural forest attributes (i.e. tree density and tree size) had strong relationships with AGB at all spatial scales.
Main conclusions
Biodiversity has an independent, positive effect on AGB and ecosystem functioning, not only in relatively simple temperate systems but also in structurally complex hyperdiverse tropical forests. Biodiversity conservation should therefore be a key component of the UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation strategy.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| geb12364-sup-0001-si.zip422.8 KB | Appendix S1 Overview of sites included in the study. Appendix S2 Extended methods. Appendix S3 Aboveground plot biomass estimates using the Chave and Brown equations and using different diameter cut-off limits. Appendix S4 Mixed linear model results of the relationship between aboveground biomass and taxonomical and structural forest attributes at the 0.1- and 1-ha level. Appendix S5 Strength of the relation between aboveground biomass, species richness and stem density versus annual rainfall of the sites. Appendix S6 Relationship between cation exchange capacity and rarefied richness, average stem diameter and aboveground biomass. Appendix S7 Standardized coefficients of the indirect paths in the structural equation model. Appendix S8 Relationship between average aboveground biomass at a site and annual rainfall. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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