Author(s): ESPÍRITO-SANTO, F. D. B.; GLOOR, M.; KELLER, M.; MALHI, Y.; SAATCHI, S.; NELSON, B.; OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, R. C.; PEREIRA, C.; LLOYD, J.; FROLKING, S.; PALACE, M.; SHIMABUKURO, Y. E.; DUARTE, V.; MONTEAGUDO MENDOZA, A.; LÓPEZ-GONZÁLEZ, G.; BAKER, T. R.; FELDPAUSCH, T. R.; BRIENEN, R. J. W.; ASNER, G. P.; BOYD, D. S.; PHILLIPS, O. L.

Summary: Forest inventory studies in the Amazon indicate a large terrestrial carbon sink. However, field plots may fail to represent forest mortality processes at landscape-scales of tropical forests. Here we characterize the frequency distribution of disturbance events in natural forests from 0.01ha to 2,651ha size throughout Amazonia using a novel combination of forest inventory, airborne lidar and satellite remote sensing data. We find that small-scale mortality events are responsible for aboveground biomass losses of ~1.7PgCy;1 over the entire Amazon region. We also find that intermediate-scale disturbances account for losses of ~0.2PgCy1, and that the largest-scale disturbances as a result of blow-downs only account for losses of ~0.004PgCy1. Simulation of growth and mortality indicates that even when all carbon losses from intermediate and large-scale disturbances are considered, these are outweighed by the net biomass accumulation by tree growth, supporting the inference of an Amazon carbon sink.

Publication year: 2014

Types of publication: Journal article

Unit: Embrapa Eastern Amazon

Keywords: Amazonia, Carbono, Ciência da Terra, Clima, Floresta