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1. Arbuscular mycorrhizal trees influence the latitudinal beta-diversity gradient of tree communities in forests worldwide

Author

Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira, George D. Weiblen, Feng Liu, Xugao Wang, Juyu Lian, Han Xu, Amanda Uowolo, Michael O'Brien, Keping Ma, Xue Yin, Nianxun Xi, Hu Du, Xiangcheng Mi, Min Cao, Vojtech Novotny, Guangze Jin, Pavel Šamonil, Youshi Wang, Xiankun Li, Kristina J. Aderson-Teixeira, Fangliang He, Pulchérie Bissiengou, Kun Xu, Jill Thompson, Weiguo Sang, Norm Bourg, Luxiang Lin, Fuping Zeng, Gregory S. Gilbert, Mingjian Yu, Mingxi Jiang, Hervé Memiaghe, Haibao Ren, Glen Reynolds, Buhang Li, Kuo-Jung Chao, Wei-Chun Chao, Yadvinder Malhi, Yu Liu, Yonglin Zhong, William J. McShea, David A. Orwig, Stephen P. Hubbell, Li Zhu, Hui Tang, Zhihong Wu, Jan den Ouden, Songyan Tian, Guochun Shen, Xihua Wang, Lian-Ming Gao, María Uriarte, Geoffrey G. Parker, Iveren Abiem, Michael D. Morecroft, Zhanqing Hao, Yu-Yun Chen, Xiujuan Qiao, Sean M. McMahon, Jess K. Zimmerman, Joseph A. LaManna, James A. Lutz, Wanhui Ye, David Janík, Chengjin Chu, Fuchen Luan, Xinghua Sui, Jonas Stillhard, David Kenfack, Bin Wang, Guo-Zhang Michael Song, Christian P. Giardina, Nathalie Butt, Yingming Zhang, Ya-Huang Luo, Zhiqiang Shen, Yankun Liu, Susan Cordell, I-Fang Sun, David A. Coomes, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Alfonso Alonso, Zhiyao Su, Andy Hector, David F. R. P. Burslem, Minhua Zhang, Patrick A. Jansen, Jonathan Myers, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Wusheng Xiang, Yide Li, Stuart J. Davies, Hazel M. Chapman, Kai Zhu, Andrew J. Larson, Suqin Fang, Kamil Král, Zhong, Yonglin [0000-0002-0521-4601], Chu, Chengjin [0000-0002-0606-449X], Myers, Jonathan A. [0000-0002-2058-8468], Gilbert, Gregory S. [0000-0002-5195-9903], Lutz, James A. [0000-0002-2560-0710], Stillhard, Jonas [0000-0001-8850-4817], Zhu, Kai [0000-0003-1587-3317], Thompson, Jill [0000-0002-4370-2593], Baltzer, Jennifer L. [0000-0001-7476-5928], He, Fangliang [0000-0003-0774-4849], LaManna, Joseph A. [0000-0002-8229-7973], Aderson-Teixeira, Kristina J. [0000-0001-8461-9713], Burslem, David F.R.P. [0000-0001-6033-0990], Alonso, Alfonso [0000-0001-6860-8432], Wang, Xugao [0000-0003-1207-8852], Gao, Lianming [0000-0001-9047-2658], Orwig, David A. [0000-0001-7822-3560], Abiem, Iveren [0000-0002-0925-0618], Butt, Nathalie [0000-0003-1517-6191], Chang-Yang, Chia-Hao [0000-0003-3635-4946], Chapman, Hazel [0000-0001-8509-703X], Fang, Suqin [0000-0002-1324-4640], Hector, Andrew [0000-0002-1309-7716], Jansen, Patrick A. [0000-0002-4660-0314], Kenfack, David [0000-0001-8208-3388], Liu, Yu [0000-0001-9869-2735], Luo, Yahuang [0000-0002-0073-419X], Ma, Keping [0000-0001-9112-5340], Malhi, Yadvinder [0000-0002-3503-4783], McMahon, Sean M. [0000-0001-8302-6908], Mi, Xiangcheng [0000-0002-2971-5881], Morecroft, Mike [0000-0002-7978-5554], Novotny, Vojtech [0000-0001-7918-8023], O’Brien, Michael J. [0000-0003-0943-8423], Ouden, Jan den [0000-0003-1518-2460], Ren, Haibao [0000-0002-8955-301X], Sang, Weiguo [0000-0002-7131-896X], Uriarte, María [0000-0002-0484-0758], Xi, Nianxun [0000-0002-1711-3875], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Myers, Jonathan A [0000-0002-2058-8468], Gilbert, Gregory S [0000-0002-5195-9903], Lutz, James A [0000-0002-2560-0710], Baltzer, Jennifer L [0000-0001-7476-5928], LaManna, Joseph A [0000-0002-8229-7973], Aderson-Teixeira, Kristina J [0000-0001-8461-9713], Burslem, David FRP [0000-0001-6033-0990], Orwig, David A [0000-0001-7822-3560], Jansen, Patrick A [0000-0002-4660-0314], McMahon, Sean M [0000-0001-8302-6908], and O'Brien, Michael J [0000-0003-0943-8423]

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Science, Biogeography, Beta diversity, Biodiversity, General Physics and Astronomy, Biology, Forests, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Article, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Environment, Latitude, Trees, Mycorrhizae, FLORESTAS, Life Science, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Plant Dispersal, Soil Microbiology, Multidisciplinary, Host Microbial Interactions, Ecology, General Chemistry, respiratory system, 15. Life on land, PE&RC, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, 631/158/852, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Nestedness, Tree (set theory), Arbuscular mycorrhizal, human activities, 631/158/670, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) associations are critical for host-tree performance. However, how mycorrhizal associations correlate with the latitudinal tree beta-diversity remains untested. Using a global dataset of 45 forest plots representing 2,804,270 trees across 3840 species, we test how AM and EcM trees contribute to total beta-diversity and its components (turnover and nestedness) of all trees. We find AM rather than EcM trees predominantly contribute to decreasing total beta-diversity and turnover and increasing nestedness with increasing latitude, probably because wide distributions of EcM trees do not generate strong compositional differences among localities. Environmental variables, especially temperature and precipitation, are strongly correlated with beta-diversity patterns for both AM trees and all trees rather than EcM trees. Results support our hypotheses that latitudinal beta-diversity patterns and environmental effects on these patterns are highly dependent on mycorrhizal types. Our findings highlight the importance of AM-dominated forests for conserving global forest biodiversity., The relationship of mycorrhizal associations with latitudinal gradients in tree beta-diversity is unexplored. Using a global dataset approach, this study examines how trees with arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal associations contribute to latitudinal beta-diversity patterns and the environmental controls of these patterns.

Published
2021

2. ForestGEO : Understanding forest diversity and dynamics through a global observatory network

Author

David A. Orwig, Alfonso Alonso, Daoguang Zhu, Sean C. Thomas, Ana Andrade, Sean M. McMahon, Konstantinos Papathanassiou, Patrick J. Baker, Lauren Krizel, Yves Basset, Nestor Laurier Engone Obiang, Lillian Jennifer Rodriguez, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira, Matthew Scott Luskin, Sandra L. Yap, Shawn K. Y. Lum, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Dairon Cárdenas, David Kenfack, Hongwei Ni, Kuo-Jung Chao, Richard P. Phillips, Fangliang He, William J. McShea, Keping Ma, George B. Chuyong, Sylvester Tan, Peter S. Ashton, Norman A. Bourg, Thomas W. Giambelluca, Jessica Shue, Stephen P. Hubbell, Kamariah Abu Salim, Rebecca Ostertag, Tomáš Vrška, Gregory S. Gilbert, David F. R. P. Burslem, Keith Clay, Wei Chun Chao, Geoffrey G. Parker, Michael O'Brien, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, C.V.S. Gunatilleke, Joseph S. Wright, Hans Pretzsch, Han Xu, Marco D. Visser, Amy Wolf, Somboon Kiratiprayoon, Minhua Zhang, Weiguo Sang, Jonah Filip, Rolando Pérez, Xiaojun Du, Mohizah Mohamad, Patrick A. Jansen, Xihua Wang, Christian P. Giardina, Zhanqing Hao, H. S. Dattaraja, Sisira Ediriweera, Min Cao, Vojtech Novotny, Erle C. Ellis, Liza S. Comita, Creighton M. Litton, Raman Sukumar, Pulchérie Bissiengou, Jill Thompson, Robin B. Foster, Jan den Ouden, Stephanie A. Bohlman, Ryan A. Chisholm, Susan Cordell, I-Fang Sun, David Allen, Suzanne Lao, Jess K. Zimmerman, Xugao Wang, Richard Condit, Gunter A. Fischer, Lawren Sack, Li Wan Chang, Robert W. Howe, Jonathan Myers, Andy Jones, Yu Liu, Mingjian Yu, Mingxi Jiang, Natalia Norden, Hong Truong Luu, George D. Weiblen, Andreas Huth, Ivette Perfecto, Alvaro Duque, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Daniel Zuleta, Alberto Vicentini, Erika Gonzalez-Akre, Li Zhu, Logan Monks, David Janík, Yadvinder Malhi, Xiankun Li, Iveren Abiem, Anudeep Singh, Mamoru Kanzaki, Chengjin Chu, Duncan Thomas, Guo Zhang M. Song, Amanda Uowolo, Haibo Ren, Shirong Liu, Jean-Remy Makana, Christopher W. Dick, James A. Lutz, Paul M. Musili, Faith Inman-Narahari, Edwino S. Fernando, Akira Itoh, Kang Min Ngo, María Uriarte, Warren Y. Brockelman, Wanhui Ye, Renato Valencia, Yu Yun Chen, Hazel M. Chapman, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Tze Leong Yao, Billy C.H. Hau, Daniel J. Johnson, Salomón Aguilar, Timothy J. S. Whitfeld, I. A. U. N. Gunatilleke, Nathan G. Swenson, Matteo Detto, Shameema Esufali, Benjamin L. Turner, Yide Li, Stuart J. Davies, Hervé Memiaghe, Hebbalalu S. Suresh, Nantachai Pongpattananurak, Matthew E. Baker, Gabriel Arellano, Xiangcheng Mi, John Vandermeer, Andrew J. Larson, Sabrina E. Russo, David Mitre, Caly McCarthy, Kamil Král, Adam R. Martin, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Glen Reynolds, and Anuttara Nathalang

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Capacity strengthening, Tropical forests, Network science, Climate change, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Ecology and Environment, Forest plot, Ecosystem, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Demography, Species diversity, Abiotic component, Forest dynamics, business.industry, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Taiga, Environmental resource management, PE&RC, Forest plots, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Earth system science, Geography, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Tree growth and mortality, business
Abstract

ForestGEO is a network of scientists and long-term forest dynamics plots (FDPs) spanning the Earth's major forest types. ForestGEO's mission is to advance understanding of the diversity and dynamics of forests and to strengthen global capacity for forest science research. ForestGEO is unique among forest plot networks in its large-scale plot dimensions, censusing of all stems ≥1 cm in diameter, inclusion of tropical, temperate and boreal forests, and investigation of additional biotic (e.g., arthropods) and abiotic (e.g., soils) drivers, which together provide a holistic view of forest functioning. The 71 FDPs in 27 countries include approximately 7.33 million living trees and about 12,000 species, representing 20% of the world's known tree diversity. With >1300 published papers, ForestGEO researchers have made significant contributions in two fundamental areas: species coexistence and diversity, and ecosystem functioning. Specifically, defining the major biotic and abiotic controls on the distribution and coexistence of species and functional types and on variation in species' demography has led to improved understanding of how the multiple dimensions of forest diversity are structured across space and time and how this diversity relates to the processes controlling the role of forests in the Earth system. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain that impede our ability to predict how forest diversity and function will respond to climate change and other stressors. Meeting these global research challenges requires major advances in standardizing taxonomy of tropical species, resolving the main drivers of forest dynamics, and integrating plot-based ground and remote sensing observations to scale up estimates of forest diversity and function, coupled with improved predictive models. However, they cannot be met without greater financial commitment to sustain the long-term research of ForestGEO and other forest plot networks, greatly expanded scientific capacity across the world's forested nations, and increased collaboration and integration among research networks and disciplines addressing forest science.

Published
2021

3. Woody vegetation composition and diversity in woodlands inside and outside a Forest Reserve in Jos, Nigeria

Author

Sonali Saha, Iveren Abiem, Shiiwua A. Manu, and Emmanuel Barde Elisha

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Agroforestry, Biodiversity, Gallery forest, Wildlife, Diameter at breast height, Species diversity, Woodland, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Geography, Habitat, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 010606 plant biology & botany, Woody plant
Abstract

Protected areas such as forest reserves are often assumed to be best ways to conserve biodiversity and maintain intact ecosystems. We examined woody plant composition and diversity in the gallery forest and savannah woodland habitats of Amurum Forest Reserve and areas immediately surrounding it in Jos, Nigeria. A total of 100 10 × 10 m sample plots were established inside and outside the reserve. All woody plants ≥1 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) were identified and measured. A total of 7,564 individual plants categorized as 134 species from 44 families were recorded. Overall species diversity was significantly higher in the Forest Reserve than outside the reserve, although more species were encountered outside the reserve. Our findings suggest that, protected areas and the areas surrounding them are important for the conservation of biodiversity as the areas outside protected areas also contain species of conservation value. The continuous degrading areas outside protected areas isolates them and poses a serious threat to the long-term viability of wildlife populations, so it is important that biodiversity in protected areas and their surrounding areas be conserved.

Published
2017
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4. Afromontane Forest Diversity and the Role of Grassland-Forest Transition in Tree Species Distribution

Author

Hazel M. Chapman, Iveren Abiem, David Kenfack, and Gabriel Arellano

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, torus translation, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, savannah, habitat preference, forest core, species sorting, lcsh:QH301-705.5, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology, Ecological Modeling, Ngel Nyaki, Species diversity, Species sorting, Ecotone, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), Geography, Tree stand, lcsh:Biology (General), Habitat, ecotone, Guild, Biological dispersal, niche partitioning, fire, 010606 plant biology & botany, Forest transition
Abstract

Local factors can play an important role in defining tree species distributions in species rich tropical forests. To what extent the same applies to relatively small, species poor West African montane forests is unknown. Here, forests survive in a grassland matrix and fire has played a key role in their spatial and temporal dynamics since the Miocene. To what extent these dynamics influence local species distributions, as compared with other environmental variables such as altitude and moisture remain unknown. Here, we use data from the 20.28 ha montane forest plot in Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, South-East Nigeria to explore these questions. The plot features a gradient from grassland to core forest, with significant edges. Within the plot, we determined tree stand structure and species diversity and identified all trees &ge, 1 cm in diameter. We recorded species guild (pioneer vs. shade tolerant), seed size, and dispersal mode. We analyzed and identified to what extent species showed a preference for forest edges/grasslands or core forest. Similarly, we looked for associations with elevation, distance to streams and forest versus grassland. We recorded 41,031 individuals belonging to 105 morphospecies in 87 genera and 47 families. Around 40% of all tree species, and 50% of the abundant species, showed a clear preference for either the edge/grassland habitat or the forest core. However, we found no obvious association between species guild, seed size or dispersal mode, and distance to edge, so what leads to this sorting remains unclear. Few species distributions were influenced by distance to streams or altitude.

Published
2020
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5. Direct and indirect effects of climate on richness drive the latitudinal diversity gradient in forest trees

Author

Glen Reynolds, Guochun Shen, Shujun Wen, Billy C.H. Hau, Hervé Memiaghe, George D. Weiblen, David Storch, Keping Ma, Guangze Jin, Zhiyao Su, Fangliang He, Andy Hector, Jiangshan Lai, Bin Wang, Gary G. Mittelbach, William J. McShea, Weiguo Sang, Yingming Zhang, David A. Orwig, Ya-Huang Luo, Juyu Lian, David Kenfack, Xiujuan Qiao, Xihua Wang, Richard Condit, Ming Ni, Xiankun Li, Alfonso Alonso, Xiangcheng Mi, Jiaxin Zhang, Qing He, Xiaotong Zhang, Lian-Ming Gao, Wusheng Xiang, Stephen P. Hubbell, Kai Zhu, James A. Lutz, Geoffrey G. Parker, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Suqin Fang, Kamil Král, Jess K. Zimmerman, Norm Bourg, Wanhui Ye, Xinghua Sui, Luxiang Lin, Zhanqin Hao, Bingwei Zhang, Yankun Liu, Han Xu, Yide Li, Min Cao, Buhang Li, Xugao Wang, Hazel M. Chapman, Haibao Ren, Xue Yin, Nianxun Xi, Michael O'Brien, Kun Xu, Iveren Abiem, Youshi Wang, Chengjin Chu, Gunter A. Fischer, Mingxi Jiang, Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira, Yu Liu, Tomáš Vrška, David F. R. P. Burslem, I-Fang Sun, Jonathan Myers, Jennifer L. Baltzer, and Songyan Tian

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, BIODIVERSIDADE, Ecology, Climate, Niche differentiation, Biodiversity, Species diversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Basal area, Trees, 010601 ecology, Geography, Abundance (ecology), Species richness, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Diversity (business), Global biodiversity
Abstract

Climate is widely recognised as an important determinant of the latitudinal diversity gradient. However, most existing studies make no distinction between direct and indirect effects of climate, which substantially hinders our understanding of how climate constrains biodiversity globally. Using data from 35 large forest plots, we test hypothesised relationships amongst climate, topography, forest structural attributes (stem abundance, tree size variation and stand basal area) and tree species richness to better understand drivers of latitudinal tree diversity patterns. Climate influences tree richness both directly, with more species in warm, moist, aseasonal climates and indirectly, with more species at higher stem abundance. These results imply direct limitation of species diversity by climatic stress and more rapid (co-)evolution and narrower niche partitioning in warm climates. They also support the idea that increased numbers of individuals associated with high primary productivity are partitioned to support a greater number of species.

Published
2018

6. High aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests

Author

Janvier Lisingo, Tibebu Y. Simegn, Miroslav Svoboda, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Dismas Hakizimana, Charles Kayijamahe, Emanuel H. Martin, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Jan Altman, Petri Pellikka, Hans Verbeeck, Rob Marchant, Andreas Hemp, Jefferson S. Hall, Jiri Dolezal, Janne Heiskanen, Valerio Avitabile, Pascal Boeckx, Olivier J. Hardy, Vincent Droissart, Roy E. Gereau, Mark Lung, Felix Nchu, Hermann Taedoumg, Philip J. Platts, Charlotte E. Wheeler, Jonathan Timberlake, Colin A. Chapman, Brigitte Nyirambangutse, Andrew J. Plumptre, Demisse Sheleme, Abreham Berta Aneseyee, Joseph Okello, Terese B. Hart, Peter M. Umunay, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Lan Qie, Simon L. Lewis, Mathieu Decuyper, Senbeta Feyera, Teshome Soromessa, Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Simon Willcock, Wannes Hubau, Aster Gebrekirstos, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Ben DeVries, Gerard Imani, Martin Herold, David Horák, Andrew R. Marshall, Serge K. Begne, Achim Bräuning, Kim Calders, C. Amani, A. C. Hamilton, Marie Noel Djuikouo Kamdem, Jean-Remy Makana, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Mwangi James Kinyanjui, Yadvinder Malhi, Tomáš Albrecht, Tom Muller, Hazel M. Chapman, Robert Bitariho, Julia A. Klein, Alain Senghor K. Ngute, Marijn Bauters, Eustrate Uzabaho, Göran Wallin, Christine B. Schmitt, Hari Adhikari, Iveren Abiem, Franklin Bulonvu, Ulrike Hiltner, Moses Nsanyi Sainge, James Taplin, Amy C. Bennett, John T. Woods, Sean C. Thomas, Jason Vleminckx, David Taylor, Oliver L. Phillips, Alexandra C. Morel, James A. Comiskey, Douglas Sheil, Thalès de Haulleville, Francesco Rovero, Darlington Tuagben, Neil D. Burgess, Jon C. Lovett, Terry Sunderland, Rodrigue Batumike, Martin Gilpin, Bonaventure Sonké, Jan Bogaert, Ondrej Sedlacek, Etienne Zibera, David Kenfack, Lindsay F. Banin, Hans Beeckman, University of York [York, UK], Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), University of Leeds, Université officielle de Bukavu, Royal Museum for Central Africa [Tervuren] (RMCA), University of Jos [Nigeria], Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, Charles University [Prague] (CU), Addis Ababa University (AAU), European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Ispra] (JRC), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Universiteit Gent = Ghent University (UGENT), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Rwanda, European Project: 328075,EC:FP7:PEOPLE,FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF,ASEC-DRYLAND-FORESTS(2014), University of Helsinki, Universiteit Gent = Ghent University [Belgium] (UGENT), Earth Change Observation Laboratory (ECHOLAB), and Department of Geosciences and Geography

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, DIVERSITY, Endangered species, Datasets as Topic, Geographic Mapping, life_on_land, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 01 natural sciences, Trees, Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Biomass, 0303 health sciences, Biomass (ecology), GLOBAL PATTERNS, Multidisciplinary, Ecology, Reforestation, EASTERN ARC MOUNTAINS, Carbon cycle, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Biogeochemistry, PE&RC, Geography, MAP, C180 Ecology, climate_action, STORAGE, Carbon Sequestration, Conservation of Natural Resources, Rainforest, Climate Change, Climate change, 010603 evolutionary biology, Ecology and Environment, Earth and environmental sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Forest ecology, Life Science, Ecosystem services, Bosecologie en Bosbeheer, Laboratorium voor Geo-informatiekunde en Remote Sensing, Ecosystem, 1172 Environmental sciences, 030304 developmental biology, Tropical Climate, SINK, Forestry, 15. Life on land, Carbon, Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Attitude, 13. Climate action, Africa, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Tropical rainforest
Abstract

Tropical forests store 40–50 per cent of terrestrial vegetation carbon 1. However, spatial variations in aboveground live tree biomass carbon (AGC) stocks remain poorly understood, in particular in tropical montane forests 2. Owing to climatic and soil changes with increasing elevation 3, AGC stocks are lower in tropical montane forests compared with lowland forests 2. Here we assemble and analyse a dataset of structurally intact old-growth forests (AfriMont) spanning 44 montane sites in 12 African countries. We find that montane sites in the AfriMont plot network have a mean AGC stock of 149.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare (95% confidence interval 137.1–164.2), which is comparable to lowland forests in the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network 4 and about 70 per cent and 32 per cent higher than averages from plot networks in montane 2,5,6 and lowland 7 forests in the Neotropics, respectively. Notably, our results are two-thirds higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default values for these forests in Africa 8. We find that the low stem density and high abundance of large trees of African lowland forests 4 is mirrored in the montane forests sampled. This carbon store is endangered: we estimate that 0.8 million hectares of old-growth African montane forest have been lost since 2000. We provide country-specific montane forest AGC stock estimates modelled from our plot network to help to guide forest conservation and reforestation interventions. Our findings highlight the need for conserving these biodiverse 9,10 and carbon-rich ecosystems.

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