Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests

L Poorter; F Bongers; T M Aide; A M Almeyda Zambrano; P Balvanera; J M Becknell; V Boukili; P H S Brancalion; E N Broadbent; Robin L Chazdon; Dylan Craven; J S De Almeida-Cortez; G A L Cabral; B H J De Jong; J S Denslow; D H Dent; S J DeWalt; Juan M Dupuy; Sandra M Duran; Mario M Espirato-Santo; Maria C Fandino; Ricardo G Cesar; Jefferson S Hall; Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni; Catarina C Jakovac; Andre B Junqueria; Deborah Kennard; Susan G Letcher; Juan-Carlos Licona; Madelon Lohbeck; Erika Marin-Spiotta; Miguel Martinez-Ramos; Paulo Massoca; Jorge A Meave; Rita Mesquita; Francisco Mora; Rodrigo Munoz; Robert Muscarella; Yule R F Nunes; Susana Ochoa-Gaona; Alexandre A deOliveira; Edith Orihuela-Belmonte; Marielos Pena-Claros; Eduardo A Perez-Garcia; Daniel Piotto; Jennifer S Powers; Jorge Rodriguez-Velazques; I Eunice Romero-Perez; Jorge Ruiz; Juan G Saldarriaga; Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa; Naomi B Schwartz; Marc K Steininger; Nathan G Sweson; Marisol Toledo; Maria Uriarte; Michiel van Bruegal; Hans van der Wal; Maria D M Veloso; Hans F M Vester; Alberto Vicentini; Ima C G Vieira; Tony Vizcarrra Bentos; G Bruce Williamson; Danae M A Rozendaal

doi:10.1038/nature16512

Back

Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests

L Poorter, F Bongers, T M Aide, A M Almeyda Zambrano, P Balvanera, J M Becknell, V Boukili, P H S Brancalion, E N Broadbent, Robin L Chazdon, …

Nature, Vol.530(7589), pp.211-214

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16512

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16512View

Published Version

Abstract

Land-use change occurs nowhere more rapidly than in the tropics, where the imbalance between deforestation and forest regrowth has large consequences for the global carbon cycle. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the rate of biomass recovery in secondary forests, and how these rates are influenced by climate, landscape, and prior land use. Here we analyse aboveground biomass recovery during secondary succession in 45 forest sites and about 1,500 forest plots covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics. The studied secondary forests are highly productive and resilient. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years was on average 122 megagrams per hectare (Mg ha-1), corresponding to a net carbon uptake of 3.05 Mg C ha 1 yr-1, 11 times the uptake rate of old-growth forests. Aboveground biomass stocks took a median time of 66 years to recover to 90% of old-growth values. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years varied 11.3-fold (from 20 to 225 Mg ha-1) across sites, and this recovery increased with water availability (higher local rainfall and lower climatic water deficit). We present a biomass recovery map of Latin America, which illustrates geographical and climatic variation in carbon sequestration potential during forest regrowth. The map will support policies to minimize forest loss in areas where biomass resilience is naturally low (such as seasonally dry forest regions) and promote forest regeneration and restoration in humid tropical lowland areas with high biomass resilience. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Details

Title: Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests
Authors: L Poorter (Author)
F Bongers (Author)
T M Aide (Author)
A M Almeyda Zambrano (Author)
P Balvanera (Author)
J M Becknell (Author)
V Boukili (Author)
P H S Brancalion (Author)
E N Broadbent (Author)
Robin L Chazdon (Author) - University of Connecticut, United States
Dylan Craven (Author)
J S De Almeida-Cortez (Author)
G A L Cabral (Author)
B H J De Jong (Author)
J S Denslow (Author)
D H Dent (Author)
S J DeWalt (Author)
Juan M Dupuy (Author)
Sandra M Duran (Author)
Mario M Espirato-Santo (Author)
Maria C Fandino (Author)
Ricardo G Cesar (Author)
Jefferson S Hall (Author)
Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni (Author)
Catarina C Jakovac (Author)
Andre B Junqueria (Author)
Deborah Kennard (Author)
Susan G Letcher (Author)
Juan-Carlos Licona (Author)
Madelon Lohbeck (Author)
Erika Marin-Spiotta (Author)
Miguel Martinez-Ramos (Author)
Paulo Massoca (Author)
Jorge A Meave (Author)
Rita Mesquita (Author)
Francisco Mora (Author)
Rodrigo Munoz (Author)
Robert Muscarella (Author)
Yule R F Nunes (Author)
Susana Ochoa-Gaona (Author)
Alexandre A deOliveira (Author)
Edith Orihuela-Belmonte (Author)
Marielos Pena-Claros (Author)
Eduardo A Perez-Garcia (Author)
Daniel Piotto (Author)
Jennifer S Powers (Author)
Jorge Rodriguez-Velazques (Author)
I Eunice Romero-Perez (Author)
Jorge Ruiz (Author)
Juan G Saldarriaga (Author)
Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa (Author)
Naomi B Schwartz (Author)
Marc K Steininger (Author)
Nathan G Sweson (Author)
Marisol Toledo (Author)
Maria Uriarte (Author)
Michiel van Bruegal (Author)
Hans van der Wal (Author)
Maria D M Veloso (Author)
Hans F M Vester (Author)
Alberto Vicentini (Author)
Ima C G Vieira (Author)
Tony Vizcarrra Bentos (Author)
G Bruce Williamson (Author)
Danae M A Rozendaal (Author)
Publication details: Nature, Vol.530(7589), pp.211-214
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1038/nature16512
ISSN: 0028-0836
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451191002621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

2 File views/ downloads

1927 Record Views

899 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Highly Cited Paper

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites