Variations in Amazon forest productivity correlated with foliar nutrients and modelled rates of photosynthetic carbon supply

Mercado, LM; Patiño, S; Domingues, TF; Fyllas, NM; Weedon, GP; Sitch, S; Quesada, CA; Phillips, OL; Aragão, LEOC; Malhi, Y; Dolman, AJ; Restrepo-Coupe, N; Saleska, SR; Baker, TR; Almeida, S; Higuchi, N; Lloyd, J

Variations in Amazon forest productivity correlated with foliar nutrients and modelled rates of photosynthetic carbon supply

Mercado, LM Patiño, S Domingues, TF Fyllas, NM Weedon, GP Sitch, S Quesada, CA Phillips, OL Aragão, LEOC Malhi, Y Dolman, AJ Restrepo-Coupe, N

Saleska, SR Baker, TR Almeida, S Higuchi, N Lloyd, J

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2011, 366 (1582), pp. 3316 - 3329
Issue Date:: 2011-01-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2011000526OK.pdf		731.62 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Mercado, LM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Patiño, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Domingues, TF	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fyllas, NM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Weedon, GP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sitch, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Quesada, CA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Phillips, OL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Aragão, LEOC	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Malhi, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dolman, AJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Restrepo-Coupe, N https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3921-1772	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Saleska, SR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Baker, TR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Almeida, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Higuchi, N	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lloyd, J	en_US
dc.date.issued	2011-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2011, 366 (1582), pp. 3316 - 3329	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0962-8436	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18101
dc.description.abstract	The rate of above-ground woody biomass production, WP, in some western Amazon forests exceeds those in the east by a factor of 2 or more. Underlying causes may include climate, soil nutrient limitations and species composition. In this modelling paper, we explore the implications of allowing key nutrients such as N and P to constrain the photosynthesis of Amazon forests, and also we examine the relationship between modelled rates of photosynthesis and the observed gradients in WP. We use a model with current understanding of the underpinning biochemical processes as affected by nutrient availability to assess: (i) the degree to which observed spatial variations in foliar [N] and [P] across Amazonia affect stand-level photosynthesis; and (ii) how these variations in forest photosynthetic carbon acquisition relate to the observed geographical patterns of stem growth across the Amazon Basin. We find nutrient availability to exert a strong effect on photosynthetic carbon gain across the Basin and to be a likely important contributor to the observed gradient in WP. Phosphorus emerges as more important than nitrogen in accounting for the observed variations in productivity. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of future tropical forests under a changing climate. © 2011 The Royal Society.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1098/rstb.2011.0045	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Evolutionary Biology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Plant Leaves	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Plant Stems	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Trees	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Carbon Dioxide	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Carbon	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nitrogen	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Phosphorus	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Soil	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Atmosphere	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Tropical Climate	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Photosynthesis	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Models, Biological	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Wood	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Computer Simulation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Brazil	en_US
dc.title	Variations in Amazon forest productivity correlated with foliar nutrients and modelled rates of photosynthetic carbon supply	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1582	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	366	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0705 Forestry Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health 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	1582	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	366	en_US

Abstract:

The rate of above-ground woody biomass production, WP, in some western Amazon forests exceeds those in the east by a factor of 2 or more. Underlying causes may include climate, soil nutrient limitations and species composition. In this modelling paper, we explore the implications of allowing key nutrients such as N and P to constrain the photosynthesis of Amazon forests, and also we examine the relationship between modelled rates of photosynthesis and the observed gradients in WP. We use a model with current understanding of the underpinning biochemical processes as affected by nutrient availability to assess: (i) the degree to which observed spatial variations in foliar [N] and [P] across Amazonia affect stand-level photosynthesis; and (ii) how these variations in forest photosynthetic carbon acquisition relate to the observed geographical patterns of stem growth across the Amazon Basin. We find nutrient availability to exert a strong effect on photosynthetic carbon gain across the Basin and to be a likely important contributor to the observed gradient in WP. Phosphorus emerges as more important than nitrogen in accounting for the observed variations in productivity. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of future tropical forests under a changing climate. © 2011 The Royal Society.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18101