1. The global distribution and drivers of wood density and their impact on forest carbon stocks.
- Author
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Mo L, Crowther TW, Maynard DS, van den Hoogen J, Ma H, Bialic-Murphy L, Liang J, de-Miguel S, Nabuurs GJ, Reich PB, Phillips OL, Abegg M, Adou Yao YC, Alberti G, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Alvarado BV, Alvarez-Dávila E, Alvarez-Loayza P, Alves LF, Amaral I, Ammer C, Antón-Fernández C, Araujo-Murakami A, Arroyo L, Avitabile V, Aymard GA, Baker TR, Bałazy R, Banki O, Barroso JG, Bastian ML, Bastin JF, Birigazzi L, Birnbaum P, Bitariho R, Boeckx P, Bongers F, Boonman CCF, Bouriaud O, Brancalion PHS, Brandl S, Brearley FQ, Brienen R, Broadbent EN, Bruelheide H, Bussotti F, Gatti RC, César RG, Cesljar G, Chazdon R, Chen HYH, Chisholm C, Cho H, Cienciala E, Clark C, Clark D, Colletta GD, Coomes DA, Valverde FC, Corral-Rivas JJ, Crim PM, Cumming JR, Dayanandan S, de Gasper AL, Decuyper M, Derroire G, DeVries B, Djordjevic I, Dolezal J, Dourdain A, Engone Obiang NL, Enquist BJ, Eyre TJ, Fandohan AB, Fayle TM, Feldpausch TR, Ferreira LV, Finér L, Fischer M, Fletcher C, Frizzera L, Gamarra JGP, Gianelle D, Glick HB, Harris DJ, Hector A, Hemp A, Hengeveld G, Hérault B, Herbohn JL, Herold M, Hietz P, Hillers A, Honorio Coronado EN, Hui C, Ibanez T, Imai N, Jagodziński AM, Jaroszewicz B, Johannsen VK, Joly CA, Jucker T, Jung I, Karminov V, Kartawinata K, Kearsley E, Kenfack D, Kennard DK, Kepfer-Rojas S, Keppel G, Khan ML, Killeen TJ, Kim HS, Kitayama K, Köhl M, Korjus H, Kraxner F, Kucher D, Laarmann D, Lang M, Lewis SL, Li Y, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Lu H, Lukina NV, Maitner BS, Malhi Y, Marcon E, Marimon BS, Marimon-Junior BH, Marshall AR, Martin EH, McCarthy JK, Meave JA, Melo-Cruz O, Mendoza C, Mendoza-Polo I, Miscicki S, Merow C, Mendoza AM, Moreno VS, Mukul SA, Mundhenk P, Nava-Miranda MG, Neill D, Neldner VJ, Nevenic RV, Ngugi MR, Niklaus PA, Ontikov P, Ortiz-Malavasi E, Pan Y, Paquette A, Parada-Gutierrez A, Parfenova EI, Park M, Parren M, Parthasarathy N, Peri PL, Pfautsch S, Picard N, Piedade MTF, Piotto D, Pitman NCA, Poorter L, Poulsen AD, Poulsen JR, Pretzsch H, Arevalo FR, Restrepo-Correa Z, Richardson SJ, Rodeghiero M, Rolim SG, Roopsind A, Rovero F, Rutishauser E, Saikia P, Salas-Eljatib C, Saner P, Schall P, Schelhaas MJ, Schepaschenko D, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Schmid B, Schöngart J, Searle EB, Seben V, Serra-Diaz JM, Sheil D, Shvidenko AZ, Da Silva AC, Silva-Espejo JE, Silveira M, Singh J, Sist P, Slik F, Sonké B, Sosinski EE Jr, Souza AF, Stereńczak KJ, Svenning JC, Svoboda M, Swanepoel B, Targhetta N, Tchebakova N, Ter Steege H, Thomas R, Tikhonova E, Umunay PM, Usoltsev VA, Valencia R, Valladares F, Van Bodegom PM, van der Plas F, Van Do T, van Nuland ME, Vasquez RM, Verbeeck H, Viana H, Vibrans AC, Vieira S, von Gadow K, Wang HF, Watson JV, Werner GDA, Wittmann F, Woell H, Wortel V, Zagt R, Zawiła-Niedźwiecki T, Zhang C, Zhao X, Zhou M, Zhu ZX, Zo-Bi IC, and Zohner CM
- Subjects
- Biomass, Wood, Forests, Carbon metabolism, Carbon analysis, Trees growth & development, Trees metabolism
- Abstract
The density of wood is a key indicator of the carbon investment strategies of trees, impacting productivity and carbon storage. Despite its importance, the global variation in wood density and its environmental controls remain poorly understood, preventing accurate predictions of global forest carbon stocks. Here we analyse information from 1.1 million forest inventory plots alongside wood density data from 10,703 tree species to create a spatially explicit understanding of the global wood density distribution and its drivers. Our findings reveal a pronounced latitudinal gradient, with wood in tropical forests being up to 30% denser than that in boreal forests. In both angiosperms and gymnosperms, hydrothermal conditions represented by annual mean temperature and soil moisture emerged as the primary factors influencing the variation in wood density globally. This indicates similar environmental filters and evolutionary adaptations among distinct plant groups, underscoring the essential role of abiotic factors in determining wood density in forest ecosystems. Additionally, our study highlights the prominent role of disturbance, such as human modification and fire risk, in influencing wood density at more local scales. Factoring in the spatial variation of wood density notably changes the estimates of forest carbon stocks, leading to differences of up to 21% within biomes. Therefore, our research contributes to a deeper understanding of terrestrial biomass distribution and how environmental changes and disturbances impact forest ecosystems., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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