Landscape-scale changes in forest structure and functional traits along an Andes-to-Amazon elevation gradient
Author:
Asner G. P.,Anderson C.,Martin R. E.,Knapp D. E.,Tupayachi R.,Kennedy-Bowdoin T.,Sinca F.,Malhi Y.
Abstract
Abstract. Elevation gradients provide opportunities to explore environmental controls on forest structure and functioning, but plot-based studies have proven highly variable due to limited geographic scope. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to quantify changes in three-dimensional forest structure and canopy functional traits in a series of 25 ha landscapes distributed along a 3300 m elevation gradient from lowland Amazonia to treeline in the Peruvian Andes. Canopy greenness, photosynthetic fractional cover and exposed non-photosynthetic vegetation varied as much across lowland forests (100–200 m) as they did from the lowlands to the Andean treeline (3400 m). Elevation was positively correlated with canopy gap density and understory vegetation cover, and negatively related to canopy height and vertical profile. Increases in gap density were tightly linked to increases in understory plant cover, and larger gaps (20–200 m2 produced 25–30 times the response in understory cover than did smaller gaps (< 5 m2. Scaling of gap size to gap frequency was, however, relatively constant along the elevation gradient, which when combined with other canopy structural information, indicates equilibrium turnover patterns from the lowlands to treeline. Our results provide a first landscape-scale quantification of forest structure and canopy functional traits with changing elevation, thereby improving our understanding of disturbance, demography and ecosystem processes in the Andes-to-Amazon corridor.
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Reference62 articles.
1. Alves, L. F., Vieira, S. A., Scaranello, M. A., Camargo, P. B., Santos, F. A. M., Joly, C. A., and Martinelli, L. A.: Forest structure and live aboveground biomass variation along an elevational gradient of tropical Atlantic moist forest (Brazil), Forest Ecol. Manag., 260, 679–691, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.05.023, 2010. 2. Aragâo, L. E. O. C., Malhi, Y., Metcalfe, D. B., Silva-Espejo, J. E., Jiménez, E., Navarrete, D., Almeida, S., Costa, A. C. L., Salinas, N., Phillips, O. L., Anderson, L. O., Alvarez, E., Baker, T. R., Goncalvez, P. H., Huamán-Ovalle, J., Mamani-Solórzano, M., Meir, P., Monteagudo, A., Patiño, S., Peñuela, M. C., Prieto, A., Quesada, C. A., Rozas-Dávila, A., Rudas, A., Silva Jr., J. A., and Vásquez, R.: Above- and below-ground net primary productivity across ten Amazonian forests on contrasting soils, Biogeosciences, 6, 2759–2778, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-2759-2009, 2009. 3. Asner, G. P.: Hyperspectral remote sensing of canopy chemistry, physiology and diversity in tropical rainforests, in: Hyperspectral remote sensing of tropical and subtropical forests, edited by: Kalacska, M. and Sanchez-Azofeifa, G. A., Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Fl, 261–296, 2008. 4. Asner, G. P. and Heidebrecht, K. B.: Spectral unmixing of vegetation, soil and dry carbon cover in arid regions: comparing multispectral and hyperspectral observations, Int. J. Remote Sens., 23, 3939–3958, 2002. 5. Asner, G. P., Wessman, C. A., and Archer, S.: Scale dependence of absorption of photosynthetically active radiation in terrestrial ecosystems, Ecol. Appl., 8, 1003–1021, 1998.
Cited by
7 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|