Seasonal and drought-related changes in leaf area profiles depend on height and light environment in an Amazon forest

Smith, MN; Stark, SC; Taylor, TC; Ferreira, ML; de Oliveira, E; Restrepo-Coupe, N; Chen, S; Woodcock, T; dos Santos, DB; Alves, LF; Figueira, M; de Camargo, PB; de Oliveira, RC; Aragão, LEOC; Falk, DA; McMahon, SM; Huxman, TE; Saleska, SR

Seasonal and drought-related changes in leaf area profiles depend on height and light environment in an Amazon forest

Smith, MN Stark, SC Taylor, TC Ferreira, ML de Oliveira, E Restrepo-Coupe, N

Chen, S Woodcock, T dos Santos, DB Alves, LF Figueira, M de Camargo, PB de Oliveira, RC Aragão, LEOC Falk, DA McMahon, SM Huxman, TE Saleska, SR

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: New Phytologist, 2019, 222 (3), pp. 1284 - 1297
Issue Date:: 2019-05-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Smith, MN	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Stark, SC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Taylor, TC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ferreira, ML	en_US
dc.contributor.author	de Oliveira, E	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Restrepo-Coupe, N https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3921-1772	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chen, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Woodcock, T	en_US
dc.contributor.author	dos Santos, DB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Alves, LF	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Figueira, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	de Camargo, PB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	de Oliveira, RC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Aragão, LEOC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Falk, DA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	McMahon, SM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Huxman, TE	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Saleska, SR	en_US
dc.date.available	2019-01-04	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-05-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	New Phytologist, 2019, 222 (3), pp. 1284 - 1297	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0028-646X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/136504
dc.description.abstract	© 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust Seasonal dynamics in the vertical distribution of leaf area index (LAI) may impact the seasonality of forest productivity in Amazonian forests. However, until recently, fine-scale observations critical to revealing ecological mechanisms underlying these changes have been lacking. To investigate fine-scale variation in leaf area with seasonality and drought we conducted monthly ground-based LiDAR surveys over 4 yr at an Amazon forest site. We analysed temporal changes in vertically structured LAI along axes of both canopy height and light environments. Upper canopy LAI increased during the dry season, whereas lower canopy LAI decreased. The low canopy decrease was driven by highly illuminated leaves of smaller trees in gaps. By contrast, understory LAI increased concurrently with the upper canopy. Hence, tree phenological strategies were stratified by height and light environments. Trends were amplified during a 2015–2016 severe El Niño drought. Leaf area low in the canopy exhibited behaviour consistent with water limitation. Leaf loss from short trees in high light during drought may be associated with strategies to tolerate limited access to deep soil water and stressful leaf environments. Vertically and environmentally structured phenological processes suggest a critical role of canopy structural heterogeneity in seasonal changes in Amazon ecosystem function.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	New Phytologist	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/nph.15726	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Plant Biology & Botany	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Brazil	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Droughts	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	El Nino-Southern Oscillation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Forests	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Light	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Plant Leaves	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Seasons	en_US
dc.title	Seasonal and drought-related changes in leaf area profiles depend on height and light environment in an Amazon forest	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	222	en_US
utslib.for	0705 Forestry Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	0401 Atmospheric Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience	en_US
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	222	en_US

Abstract:

© 2019 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust Seasonal dynamics in the vertical distribution of leaf area index (LAI) may impact the seasonality of forest productivity in Amazonian forests. However, until recently, fine-scale observations critical to revealing ecological mechanisms underlying these changes have been lacking. To investigate fine-scale variation in leaf area with seasonality and drought we conducted monthly ground-based LiDAR surveys over 4 yr at an Amazon forest site. We analysed temporal changes in vertically structured LAI along axes of both canopy height and light environments. Upper canopy LAI increased during the dry season, whereas lower canopy LAI decreased. The low canopy decrease was driven by highly illuminated leaves of smaller trees in gaps. By contrast, understory LAI increased concurrently with the upper canopy. Hence, tree phenological strategies were stratified by height and light environments. Trends were amplified during a 2015–2016 severe El Niño drought. Leaf area low in the canopy exhibited behaviour consistent with water limitation. Leaf loss from short trees in high light during drought may be associated with strategies to tolerate limited access to deep soil water and stressful leaf environments. Vertically and environmentally structured phenological processes suggest a critical role of canopy structural heterogeneity in seasonal changes in Amazon ecosystem function.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/136504