Search

For tropical forests, such as the Amazon Forest, the turbulence intensity at the forest-atmosphere interface is high since in this region there is strong convective activity during the day and the aerodynamic roughness of the forest canopy is high. Heat and other scalar properties are exchanged between the flow and the canopy. Understanding these exchange mechanisms is essential for a variety of applications in various fields of science. Furthermore, it is known that the Amazon region has a strong influence on the transport of heat and water vapor to regions located at higher latitudes and plays an important role in the carbon cycle. Measurements carried out in micrometeorological towers are crucial for the correct quantifications of the turbulent fluxes. However, the use of micrometeorological towers in the Amazon is recent. High frequency measurements (eg Eddy covariance systems) in the Amazon rainforest were usually performed at a single point, often above the forest canopy. The first analyses from the fast response data clearly showed the existence of what is now known as the roughness sublayer (RSL). In these works, it was speculated that the surface boundary layer, was higher up. Within Amazonian RSL, important discoveries have already been made, for example: (i) the Monin-Obuhkov similarity functions are not the most appropriate for estimating turbulent fluxes in the region immediately above the forest canopy. (ii) The Amazonian nocturnal boundary layer is often populated by submeso phenomena, which create episodes of intermittent turbulence and increase the complexity of exchange processes between the forest and the atmosphere during the night. (iii) Above the Amazonian RSL, it was possible to verify that there is no evidence of a classic inertial layer. Since July 2021, the ATTO (Amazon Tall Tower Observatory) tower has been performing continuous measurements, carried out by nineteen 3D-sonic installed from 5 m (inside the forest canopy) to 316 m (above the RSL). Therefore, in this work we will show the profiles of different turbulent fluxes measured since mid-2021 under different stability conditions and at different periods of the year (dry and rainy season). These new measurement profiles, with high vertical resolution, are unique and they will allow us to understand the turbulent exchange processes in regions of the Amazon planetary boundary layer that have not been previously explored.

Modification to the law of the wall represented by a dimensionless correction function [Formula: see text] is derived using atmospheric turbulence measurements collected at two sites in the Amazon in near-neutral stratification, where z is the distance from the forest floor and h is the mean canopy height. The sites are the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory for [Formula: see text] and the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon) site for [Formula: see text]. A link between the vertical velocity spectrum [Formula: see text] ( k is the longitudinal wavenumber) and [Formula: see text] is then established using a co-spectral budget (CSB) model interpreted by the moving-equilibrium hypothesis. The key finding is that [Formula: see text] is determined by the ratio of two turbulent viscosities and is given as [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] is a scale-dependent decorrelation time scale between velocity components, [Formula: see text] is predicted from the Rotta constant [Formula: see text], and the isotropization of production constant [Formula: see text] given by rapid distortion theory, [Formula: see text] is the von Kármán constant, [Formula: see text] is the friction velocity at the canopy top, and d is the zero-plane displacement. Because the transfer of energy across scales is conserved in [Formula: see text] and is determined by the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate ([Formula: see text]), the CSB model also predicts that [Formula: see text] scales with [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the length scale of attached eddies to [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] is a macro-scale dissipation length.

Observational data from two field campaigns in the Amazon forest were used to study the vertical structure of turbulence above the forest. The analysis was performed using the reduced turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget and its associated two-dimensional phase space. Results revealed the existence of two regions within the roughness sublayer in which the TKE budget cannot be explained by the canonical flat-terrain TKE budgets in the canopy roughness sublayer or in the lower portion of the convective ABL. Data analysis also suggested that deviations from horizontal homogeneity have a large contribution to the TKE budget. Results from LES of a model canopy over idealized topography presented similar features, leading to the conclusion that flow distortions caused by topography are responsible for the observed features in the TKE budget. These results support the conclusion that the boundary layer above the Amazon forest is strongly impacted by the gentle topography underneath.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a produção e decomposição de serapilheira em uma área de floresta primária de terra firme na Reserva Biológica do Jaru. Para tanto, foi implantada uma parcela permanente de 1 hectare, onde foram demarcadas 25 subparcelas com 20 x 20 m cada. Para a coleta de serapilheira, instalou-se 25 coletores de PVC (1 em cada centro da subparcela), medindo 0,25 m², a 1 metro do solo, com malha de nylon de 1 mm. Para estimar o estoque de serapilheira, utilizou-se 25 coletores de madeira, medindo 0,25 m², com malha de nylon de 1 mm, dispostos no solo de cada subparcela. As coletas da pesquisa foram realizadas quinzenalmente, entre os meses de outubro de 2016 a setembro de 2017, e a serapilheira triada nas frações: folha, galho, material reprodutivo e miscelânea. No laboratório, os materiais amostrados foram secos em estufa à 80 ºC e pesados em balança de precisão centesimal, sendo que a decomposição de serapilheira foi estimada através da relação entre produção e estoque. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, a produção de serapilheira total foi de 14,13 Mg ha-1 e as frações seguiram o padrão: folha>miscelânea>galho>material reprodutivo. As maiores produções aconteceram na estação seca e a taxa de decomposição foi 1,37, indicando que a atividade microbiana na área de estudo é acelerada.Palavras-chave: dinâmica sazonal; nutrição de plantas; ecologia florestal; decomposição. LITTER DYNAMICS IN A FOREST AREA OF GROUND FIRM, WESTERN AMAZON ABSTRACT:The objective of this study was to evaluate the litter production and decomposition in an area of primary upland forest in the Jaru Biological Reserve. For that, a permanent plot of 1 hectare was implanted, where 25 subplots with 20 x 20 m each were demarcated. For the collection of litter, 25 PVC collectors were installed (1 in each center of the subplot), measuring 0.25 m², 1 meter from the ground, with 1 mm nylon mesh. To estimate the litter stock, 25 wood collectors, measuring 0.25 m², with 1 mm nylon mesh, were used, arranged in the soil of each subplot. The collections of the research were carried out fortnightly, between the months of October 2016 and September 2017, and the litter is sorted in the fractions: leaf, branch, reproductive material and miscellaneous. In the laboratory, the sampled materials were dried in an oven at 80 ºC and weighed on a centesimal precision scale, and the litter decomposition was estimated through the relationship between production and stock. According to the results obtained, the total litter production was 14.13 Mg ha-1 and the fractions followed the pattern: leaf>miscellaneous>branch>reproductive material. The highest yields occurred in the dry season and the decomposition rate was 1.37, indicating that the microbial activity in the study area is accelerated.Keyword: seasonal dynamics; plant nutrition; forest ecology; decomposition.

In vegetation canopies with complex architectures, diffuse solar radiation can enhance carbon assimilation through photosynthesis because isotropic light is able to reach deeper layers of the canopy. Although this effect has been studied in the past decade, the mechanisms and impacts of this enhancement over South America remain poorly understood. Over the Amazon deforestation arch large amounts of aerosols are released into the atmosphere due to biomass burning, which provides an ideal scenario for further investigation of this phenomenon in the presence of canopies with complex architecture. In this paper, the relation of aerosol optical depth and surface fluxes of mass and energy are evaluated over three study sites with artificial neural networks and radiative transfer modeling. Results indicate a significant effect of the aerosol on the flux of carbon dioxide between the vegetation and the atmosphere, as well as on energy exchange, including that surface fluxes are sensitive to second-order radiative impacts of aerosols on temperature, humidity, and friction velocity. CO2 exchanges increased in the presence of aerosol in up to 55 % in sites with complex canopy architecture. A decrease of approximately 12 % was observed for a site with shorter vegetation. Energy fluxes were negatively impacted by aerosols over all study sites.

Observations of the vertical structure of the turbulent flow in different stability regimes above and within the Amazon Forest at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site are presented. The shear length scale at the canopy top together with the coherent turbulent structures time and separation length scale were evaluated to determine influence of stability on the inception and development of the roughness sublayer. Five stability regimes were identified. The definition of an intense table regime allowed the identification of a peculiar condition characterized by low-wind and weak coherent structures confined close to the canopy top and producing negligible transport. Submeso motions dominate the flow dynamics in this regime both above and inside the roughness sublayer.The shear length scale increases with decreasing stability, presenting two asymptotes for large unstable and stable stratification and a linear behaviour close to neutral stratification. The coherent structure time and length scales are detected using an original method based on the autocorrelation functions of 5-min subsets of turbulent quantities. The vertical time scale is larger in neutral conditions and decreases for both increasing and decreasing stability, while the separation length scale at the canopy top presents a linear dependence on the shear length scale, whose slope is maximum in neutral conditions and decreases departing from neutrality. A new parameterization describing the dependence of the coherent eddies’ separation length scale on the h/L stability parameter is presented.

A central constituent of the ATTO project is the deployment of an array of sonic anemometers to measure vertical profiles of means and second-order moments of the wind velocity vector. The two instruments used are the Campbell Scientific Instruments CSAT-3B and the Thies Ultrasonic Anemometer 3D. The accuracy of the vertical profiles of turbulent quantities critically depensds on an absence of bias between the measurement levels; however, dedicated intercomparisons of the sonic anemometers used in ATTO have not been previously performed. The main objective of the experiment was to check how close the sonic anemometers designated to be installed respond to the same atmospheric conditions, and to develop confidence in interpreting the measured data.

New particle formation (NPF), referring to the nucleation of molecular clusters and their subsequent growth into the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) size range, is a globally significant and climate-relevant source of atmospheric aerosols. Classical NPF exhibiting continuous growth from a few nanometers to the Aitken mode around 60–70 nm is widely observed in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) around the world but not in central Amazonia. Here, classical NPF events are rarely observed within the PBL, but instead, NPF begins in the upper troposphere (UT), followed by downdraft injection of sub-50 nm (CN) particles into the PBL and their subsequent growth. Central aspects of our understanding of these processes in the Amazon have remained enigmatic, however. Based on more than 6 years of aerosol and meteorological data from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO; February 2014 to September 2020), we analyzed the diurnal and seasonal patterns as well as meteorological conditions during 254 of such Amazonian growth events on 217 event days, which show a sudden occurrence of particles between 10 and 50 nm in the PBL, followed by their growth to CCN sizes. The occurrence of events was significantly higher during the wet season, with 88 % of all events from January to June, than during the dry season, with 12 % from July to December, probably due to differences in the condensation sink (CS), atmospheric aerosol load, and meteorological conditions. Across all events, a median growth rate (GR) of 5.2 nm h−1 and a median CS of 1.1 × 10−3 s−1 were observed. The growth events were more frequent during the daytime (74 %) and showed higher GR (5.9 nm h−1) compared to nighttime events (4.0 nm h−1), emphasizing the role of photochemistry and PBL evolution in particle growth. About 70 % of the events showed a negative anomaly of the equivalent potential temperature (Δθe′) – as a marker for downdrafts – and a low satellite brightness temperature (Tir) – as a marker for deep convective clouds – in good agreement with particle injection from the UT in the course of strong convective activity. About 30 % of the events, however, occurred in the absence of deep convection, partly under clear-sky conditions, and with a positive Δθe′ anomaly. Therefore, these events do not appear to be related to downdraft transport and suggest the existence of other currently unknown sources of sub-50 nm particles.

High-quality atmospheric CO2 measurements are sparse in Amazonia, but can provide critical insights into the spatial and temporal variability of sources and sinks of CO2. In this study, we present the first 6 years (2014–2019) of continuous, high-precision measurements of atmospheric CO2 at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO, 2.1°S, 58.9°W). After subtracting the simulated background concentrations from our observational record, we define a CO2 regional signal (urn:x-wiley:13541013:media:gcb15905:gcb15905-math-1802) that has a marked seasonal cycle with an amplitude of about 4 ppm. At both seasonal and inter-annual scales, we find differences in phase between urn:x-wiley:13541013:media:gcb15905:gcb15905-math-0001 and the local eddy covariance net ecosystem exchange (EC-NEE), which is interpreted as an indicator of a decoupling between local and non-local drivers of urn:x-wiley:13541013:media:gcb15905:gcb15905-math-0002. In addition, we present how the 2015–2016 El Niño-induced drought was captured by our atmospheric record as a positive 2σ anomaly in both the wet and dry season of 2016. Furthermore, we analyzed the observed seasonal cycle and inter-annual variability of urn:x-wiley:13541013:media:gcb15905:gcb15905-math-0004 together with net ecosystem exchange (NEE) using a suite of modeled flux products representing biospheric and aquatic CO2 exchange. We use both non-optimized and optimized (i.e., resulting from atmospheric inverse modeling) NEE fluxes as input in an atmospheric transport model (STILT). The observed shape and amplitude of the seasonal cycle was captured neither by the simulations using the optimized fluxes nor by those using the diagnostic Vegetation and Photosynthesis Respiration Model (VPRM). We show that including the contribution of CO2 from river evasion improves the simulated shape (not the magnitude) of the seasonal cycle when using a data-driven non-optimized NEE product (FLUXCOM). The simulated contribution from river evasion was found to be 25% of the seasonal cycle amplitude. Our study demonstrates the importance of the ATTO record to better understand the Amazon carbon cycle at various spatial and temporal scales.

New particle formation (NPF), referring to the nucleation of molecular clusters and their subsequent growth into the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) size range, is a globally significant and climate-relevant source of atmospheric aerosols. Classical NPF exhibiting continuous growth from a few nanometers to the Aitken mode around 60–70 nm is widely observed in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) around the world, but not in central Amazonia. Here, classical NPF events are rarely observed in the PBL, but instead, NPF begins in the upper troposphere (UT), followed by downdraft injection of sub-50 nm (CN

Water recycled through transpiring forests influences the spatial distribution of precipitation in the Amazon and has been shown to play a role in the initiation of the wet season. However, due to the challenges and costs associated with measuring evapotranspiration (ET) directly and high uncertainty in remote-sensing ET retrievals, the spatial and temporal patterns in Amazon ET remain poorly understood. In this study, we estimated ET over the Amazon and 10 sub-basins using a catchment-balance approach, whereby ET is calculated directly as the balance between precipitation, runoff, and change in groundwater storage. We compared our results with ET from remote-sensing datasets, reanalysis, models from Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIP5 and CMIP6 respectively), and in situ flux tower measurements to provide a comprehensive overview of current understanding. Catchment-balance analysis revealed a gradient in ET from east to west/southwest across the Amazon Basin, a strong seasonal cycle in basin-mean ET primarily controlled by net incoming radiation, and no trend in ET over the past 2 decades. This approach has a degree of uncertainty, due to errors in each of the terms of the water budget; therefore, we conducted an error analysis to identify the range of likely values. Satellite datasets, reanalysis, and climate models all tended to overestimate the magnitude of ET relative to catchment-balance estimates, underestimate seasonal and interannual variability, and show conflicting positive and negative trends. Only two out of six satellite and model datasets analysed reproduced spatial and seasonal variation in Amazon ET, and captured the same controls on ET as indicated by catchment-balance analysis. CMIP5 and CMIP6 ET was inconsistent with catchment-balance estimates over all scales analysed. Overall, the discrepancies between data products and models revealed by our analysis demonstrate a need for more ground-based ET measurements in the Amazon as well as a need to substantially improve model representation of this fundamental component of the Amazon hydrological cycle.

The pristine Amazon rainforest is a unique place to study ozone (O3) deposition rates and tropospheric transport, due to the absence of nearby sources of anthropogenic pollution. Parts of the low background O3 are considered to be transported from the stratosphere into the troposphere. This occurs due to general entrainment of stratospheric air at the tropopause. Within the troposphere, downdrafts provide effective vertical mixing and are known to increase surface O3 values. Low-level jets can also enhance O3 concentrations due to long range transport and locally induced mixing in the nocturnal boundary layer. Therefore, we study these phenomena based on long term datasets from 2012 to present from tall measurements towers (80 m and 325 m).Ozone mixing ratios were measured at the ATTO site (Amazon Tall Tower Observatory) in the Central Amazon (02°08’38.8’’S, 58°59’59.5’’W) since 2012 at 8 different heights between 5 cm and 80 meters and additional measurements from 80 m up to 325 meters are running since 2017. From 2015 to 2017, 3-dimensional wind measurements have been performed in 150 meters height in 10 Hz sampling rate, showing evidences for the formation of a nocturnal low-level jet (LLJ), which leads to higher turbulent mixing inside the residual layer/ stable nocturnal layer. We were comparing the nocturnal LLJ with downdrafts of air due to strong thunderstorms which led to increases of O3 as well. We are analyzing these events regarding their in-canopy air exchange, their frequency and seasonality and comparing them with the effects of the nocturnal LLJ. As the data series comprises more than eight years of data we are also analyzing the interannual variability.

Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP), better known as bioaerosols, are considered to play a role in atmospheric and climate influencing processes. Fungal spores, as a part of PBAP, account for a large fraction of coarse particulate matter in some ecosystems, as for example the Amazon rainforest. In such highly diverse ecosystems, fungi play key roles as mycorrhizal fungi for nutrient uptake of plants and as decomposers in nutrient and water cycling, and thus their community structure strongly influences local ecosystem conditions. Despite this relevance, fungal spore emission patterns under natural conditions and the corresponding triggering factors are not well characterized, yet. In this study, we present a laboratory and field measurement techniques to quantify and analyze bioaerosol emission patterns and the effect of precipitation on fungal spore emission.For investigations under field conditions, the particle emissions of fungi (Agaricomycetes) were characterized at their site of growth in the field using an optical particle sizer and a data logger. Particle concentrations and their size distribution (0.3 to 10 µm), as well as the microclimatic temperature and humidity were measured in close vicinity to the fungal fruiting body. Generally, field measurements were performed over a time span of 24 h with some exceptions ranging up to 6 days. For laboratory measurements, a newly developed glass chamber system was used to measure particle emissions of fungi under controlled conditions. During the chamber measurements, the humidity and temperature conditions were varied and recorded with a datalogger. To simulate precipitation events, the fruiting bodies were sprayed with water between measurement sections and particle emissions were monitored before and after moistening.First measurements of fungi under field and lab conditions showed that high humidity values were necessary to trigger fungal spore emissions. In many cases, precipitation events and the moisture status of the fungus and substrate had an influence on spore release. Based on the results of 47 field measurements, it was possible to establish a function simulating the spore emission patterns of fungi during their diurnal emission cycle. During field measurements, an emission of up to 55,000 spores per second was recorded directly at the fungus, which, according to the function, may correspond to emissions of up to 2.8 x 109 spores per day. Chamber measurements showed that spore emissions generally started 2-3 hours after artificial moistening.Increasing deforestation is expected to cause drier conditions and to increase the possibility of droughts, which will have an impact on the species composition and quantity of fungi in the Amazon. A combination of our field and lab emission data is expected to allow a new interpretation of bioaerosol emissions and composition in the Amazon, which can be used as a baseline to analyze the potential relevance of bioaerosols in regional atmosphere and climate processes.

This study provides a detailed analysis of the influence of atmospheric stratification on the flow dynamics above and within a dense forest for a 19-days campaign at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site. Observations taken at seven levels within and above the forest along an 81-meter and a 325-meter towers allow a unique investigation of the vertical evolution of the turbulent field in the roughness sublayer and in the surface layer above it.Five different stability classes were defined on the basis of the behavior of turbulent heat, momentum and CO2 fluxes and variance ratio as a function of h/L stability parameter (where h is the canopy height and L is the Obukhov length). The novelty is the identification of a ‘super-stable’ (SS) regime (h/L>3) characterized by extremely low wind speeds, the almost completely suppression of turbulence and a clear dominance of submeso motions both above and within the forest.The obtained data classification was used to study the influence of atmospheric stratification on the vertical profiles of turbulent statistics. The spectral characteristics of coherent structures and of submeso motions (that may influence the energy and mass exchange above the Amazon forest) have been analyzed by wavelet analyses. The role of the main structures in momentum, heat and CO2 transport at the different levels inside and above the forest and in different diabatic conditions was thoroughly investigated through multiresolution and quadrant analyses.In unstable and neutral stability, the flow above the canopy appears modulated by ejections, whereas downward and intermittent sweeps dominate the transport inside the canopy. In the roughness sublayer (z £ 2h) the coherent structures dominating the transport within and above the canopy have a characteristic temporal scale of about 100 sec, whereas above this layer the transport is mainly driven by larger scale convection (temporal scale of about 15 min).In stable conditions the height of roughness sublayer progressively decreases with increasing stability reaching the minimum value (z2. In the weakly stable regime (0.152 transport.

Methane (CH4) is one of the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Despite its importance, natural sources of methane, such as tropical wetlands and termites, are still not well understood and a large source of uncertainty in the tropical CH4 budget. The Amazon rainforest is a key region for the (global) CH4 budget but, due to its remote location, continous CH4 concentration and flux measurements are still rare. The 50 m high K34 tower (field site ZF2) is located in a pristine ‘Terra Firme’ tropical forest region 60 km northwest of Manaus (Brazil), and is located next to a waterlogged valley, a possible location for anaerobic CH4 production. In October 2018, in addition to the existing EC CO2 system, an in-situ FTIR-analyzer (measuring CO2, CO, CH4, N2O and δ13CO2) was set up to measure tower profile concentrations, above and below the canopy, continuously. By analyses of vertical and temporal nighttime concentrations patterns, an emission estimate for all gases could be made, and an ecosystem emission of ~1 nmol CH4 m-2 s-1 was estimated. In addition, by use of different types of flux chambers, possible CH4 sinks and sources such as soils, trees, water and termite mounds were measured. By combining tower and flux chamber measurements, the role and magnitude of different ecosystem sources could be assessed. In this presentation, an overview of the measured CH4 forest concentrations and fluxes will be given.

Resumo Nos últimos anos tem-se verificado um contínuo avanço da fronteira agrícola da palma de óleo na região amazônica, o que provoca alterações na cobertura do solo nessa região. Diante da necessidade de se compreender a influência deste cultivo no albedo de superfície, o presente estudo visa comparar as flutuações do albedo de superfície em área de cultura de palma de óleo com os de pastagem, floresta e de vegetação secundária. Para fazer esta comparação foi utilizado dados orbitais, com base no produto MCD43A3 do satélite Terra/MODIS para os anos de 2015 e 2016. As amostras selecionadas para área de estudo mostrou que a palma de óleo obteve pouca variação, estimando valores médios α = 0.14, sendo estatisticamente distinto dos outros usos e coberturas, com o albedo: Pastagem > Palma de óleo > Vegetação Secundária > Floresta. Demonstrando que possíveis conversões de uma cobertura para outra podem influenciar no balanço de radiação na superfície, ou seja, caso o cultivo da palma de óleo continue avançando sobre as áreas de pastagem, isto diminuiria o albedo de superfície e consequentemente teria mudanças no microclima, todavia, se a expansão ocorrer sobre áreas de Vegetação Secundária ou Floresta ocorrerá uma inversão, e poderá contribuir para alterações climáticas. Abstract In recent years there has been a continuous advance of the agricultural frontier of oil palm in the Amazon region, which causes changes in soil cover in this region. Given the need to understand the influence of this crop on surface albedo, the present study aims to compare the fluctuations of surface albedo in oil palm culture area with those of pasture, forest and secondary vegetation. To make this comparison, orbital data based on Terra / MODIS satellite product MCD43A3 for the years 2015 and 2016 were used. The samples selected for the study area showed that the oil palm showed little variation, estimating values medium α = 0.14, being statistically distinct from other uses and coverings, with the albedo: Pasture > Palm Oil > Secondary Vegetation > Forest. Demonstrating that possible conversions from one cover to another can influence the surface radiation balance, ie if oil palm cultivation continues to advance over pasture areas, this would decrease surface albedo and consequently have microclimate changes, however. If expansion occurs over areas of Secondary Vegetation or Forest an inversion will occur and may contribute to climate change.

Tropical forests may be vulnerable to climate change1–3 if photosynthetic carbon uptake currently operates near a high temperature limit4–6. Predicting tropical forest function requires understanding the relative contributions of two mechanisms of high-temperature photosynthetic declines: stomatal limitation (H1), an indirect response due to temperature-associated changes in atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD)7, and biochemical restrictions (H2), a direct temperature response8,9. Their relative control predicts different outcomes—H1 is expected to diminish with stomatal responses to future co-occurring elevated atmospheric [CO2], whereas H2 portends declining photosynthesis with increasing temperatures. Distinguishing the two mechanisms at high temperatures is therefore critical, but difficult because VPD is highly correlated with temperature in natural settings. We used a forest mesocosm to quantify the sensitivity of tropical gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) to future temperature regimes while constraining VPD by controlling humidity. We then analytically decoupled temperature and VPD effects under current climate with flux-tower-derived GEP trends in situ from four tropical forest sites. Both approaches showed consistent, negative sensitivity of GEP to VPD but little direct response to temperature. Importantly, in the mesocosm at low VPD, GEP persisted up to 38 °C, a temperature exceeding projections for tropical forests in 2100 (ref. 10). If elevated [CO2] mitigates VPD-induced stomatal limitation through enhanced water-use efficiency as hypothesized9,11, tropical forest photosynthesis may have a margin of resilience to future warming. Photosynthesis in tropical forests shows an apparent sensitivity to temperature. This Letter teases apart the effects of temperature and correlated atmospheric water demand on ecosystem productivity.

Sesquiterpenes (C15H24) are highly reactive biogenic volatile organic compounds playing an important role in atmospheric chemistry. Once emitted from the Earth’s surface, primarily by vegetation, they are rapidly oxidized to semivolatile oxygenated organic species that can lead to secondary organic aerosols (SOA) that influence climate. In the pristine Amazon rainforest environment oxidation of sesquiterpenes is initiated by OH and ozone.We measured sesquiterpenes in March 2018 (wet season) and November 2018 (dry season) from central Amazonia, at the remote field site ATTO (Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory), Brazil. Samples were collected on adsorbent filled tubes equipped with ozone scrubbers at different heights above the forest canopy ; every three hours for two weeks at 80m and 150m (wet season) and every hour for three days at 80m, 150m and 320m (dry season). Samples were then analysed in the laboratory with a TD-GC-TOF-MS (Thermodesorption-Gas Chromatographer-Time Of Flight-Mass Spectrometer, Markes International). Simultaneous measurements of ozone and meteorological parameters were made at the nearby INSTANT tower. Identification of the chromatographic peaks was achieved by injection of standard molecules and by matching literature mass spectra. Quantification of the chemical compounds was achieved by injection of a standard mixture containing terpenes.The most abundant sesquiterpene measured at ATTO is (-)-α-copaene. Its diel profile varies with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and temperature, suggesting the canopy to be the main emission source. Interestingly, other identified sesquiterpenes show a consistent mirrored cycle, with their concentration being higher by night than by day. These varied mostly with RH suggesting the soil to be the main source of the emissions. Air samples taken at the ground are qualitatively and quantitatively different to those collected at different altitudes from the tower. Sesquiterpenes show a common maximum at sunrise (5 :00-7 :00 local time, UTC-4h) coincident with a strong decrease in ozone concentration (>50% decrease on average during the dry season). The strongest effect is registered during the dry season, when sesquiterpenes and ozone concentrations are highest and ozone loss is largest. The atmospheric impact of the measured sesquiterpenes will be discussed including ozone reactivity contributions and OH generation.

The Wavelet and the Multiresolution analysis are applied to ten nocturnal hours of observations of 3-D wind velocity taken within and above a forest canopy in Central Amazonia. Data from the ATTO Project, consisting in 7 levels of turbulence observations along both 81 and 325-meter towers, are used. The presented night is dynamically rich presenting three distinct periods. In the first one the boundary layer is characterized by canopy waves and coherent structures generated at the canopy top. In the second period an intense orographic gravity wave generated at around 150 m strongly influences the boundary layer structure, both above and below the canopy. In the third period, a very stable stratification at the canopy top enables the development of a low-level jet that interferes and disrupts the vertical orographic wave. During the night the wavelet cospectra identified turbulent and non-turbulent structures with different length and time-scales that are generated at different levels above the canopy and propagated inside it. The contributions of the different temporal scales of the flow above and within the canopy were identified using Wavelet and Multiresolution two-point cospectra. The analysis showed how turbulent and wave-like structures propagates in different ways and, further, the ability of low-frequency processes to penetrate within the canopy and to influence the transport of energy and scalar in the roughness sublayer and within canopy.Keywords: Coherent structures, Canopy Waves, Gravity Waves, Stable Boundary Layer, Low-Level Jet, wave-turbulence interaction.

The rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration over the past century is unprecedented. It has unambiguously influenced Earth’s climate system and terrestrial ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2) have induced an increase in biomass and thus, a carbon sink in forests worldwide. It is assumed that eCO2 stimulates photosynthesis and plant productivity and enhances water-use efficiency – the so-called CO2-fertilization effect, which may provide an important buffering effect for plants during adverse climate conditions. For these reasons, current global climate simulations consistently predict that tropical forests will continue to sequester more carbon in aboveground biomass, partially compensating human emissions and decelerating climate change by acting as a carbon sink. In contrast to model simulations, several lines of evidence point towards a decreasing carbon sink strength of the Amazon rainforest. Reliable predictions of eCO2 effects in the Amazon rainforest are hindered by a lack of process-based information gained from ecosystem scale eCO2 experiments. Here we report on baseline measurements from the Amazon Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AmazonFACE) experiment and preliminary results from open-top chamber (OTC) experiments with eCO2. After three months of eCO2, we find that understory saplings increased carbon assimilation by 17% (under light saturated conditions) and water use efficiency by 39% in the OTC experiment. We present our main hypotheses for the FACE experiment, and discuss our expectations on the potential driving processes for limiting or stimulating the Amazon rainforest carbon sink under eCO2. We focus on possible effects of eCO2 on carbon uptake and allocation, nutrient cycling, water-use and plant-herbivore interactions, which need to be implemented in dynamic vegetation models to estimate future changes of the Amazon carbon sink.

Methane (CH4) is the second most important long-lived anthropogenic atmospheric greenhouse gas. Despite its importance, natural sources of methane, such as tropical wetlands, are still not well understood and a large source of uncertainty to the global CH4 budget. The Amazonian rain forest is estimated to hold 90-120 Pg of carbon, which is approximately 14-27% of the carbon stored in vegetation worldwide. The region is characterized by high precipitation rates and large wetlands, and it has been estimated that the Amazon basin emits 7% of the annual total CH4 emissions. Due to its remote location, micro-meteorological measurements are rare and absent for other gases than CO2.The 50 m high K34 tower (field site ZF2) is located in a pristine tropical forest region 60 km northwest of Manaus (Brazil), and is located next to a waterlogged valley, a possible location for anaerobic CH4 production. In October 2018, in addition to the existing EC CO2 system, a Relaxed Eddy Accumulation (REA) system was set up at this tower, connected to an in-situ FTIR-analyzer. This set up continually measures fluxes and concentration profiles of CO2, CO, CH4, N2O and δ13CO2. In addition, CH4, CO2, and N2O uptake and emission processes were studied by flux chamber measurements in the footprint of the REA tower, focusing on different possible sources (soil, stream, trees and termites). In this presentation, an overview of the measured CH4 and N2O forest concentrations and fluxes will be shown.

Amazon rainforests and soils contain large amounts of carbon, which is under pressure from ongoing climate and land use change in the Amazon basin. It is estimated that methane (CH4), an important greenhouse gas, is largely released from the flooded wetlands of the Amazon, but the trends and balances of CH4 in the Amazon rainforest are not yet well understood. In addition, the change in atmospheric CH4 concentration is strongly associated with a change in carbon monoxide (CO) concentration, often caused by the human-induced combustion of biomass that usually peaks during dry season. Understanding the long-term fluctuations in the fluxes of greenhouse gases in the Amazon rainforest is essential for improving our understanding of the carbon balance of the Amazon rainforest.Since March 2012, we have continuously measured atmospheric CO2/CH4/CO concentrations at five levels (79, 53, 38, 24, and 4 m a.g.l.) using two wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy analyzers (G1301 and G1302, Picarro Inc., USA), which are automatically calibrated on site every day. In addition, we measured the CO2 flux by the eddy covariance method at the same tower. We estimated the CO2/CH4/CO fluxes by combining the vertical profile of the CO2/CH4/CO concentrations with the flux gradient method. Our results generally show no major difference in CO2 flux between the wet and dry seasons except for year 2017, when an elevated CO2 uptake was documented during the dry season despite the lowest precipitation between 2014 and 2018. The CH4 flux showed the largest CH4 emission during the dry season in year 2016. Further results will be analyzed and discussed in the presentation.

The 2015/2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was one of the most severe, as strong as in 1997/1998, and reached mainly the eastern Amazon. ENSO in the Amazon causes a decrease in precipitation and increase in temperature. Oil palm in dry conditions, low humidity, high temperatures and soil water deficit has its photosynthesis inhibited, decreased evapotranspiration and stomatal conductance and inflorescence abortion, for example. The objective of this study was to estimate the CO2 gas exchange in interspecific hybrid oil palm plantation (Elaeis guineensis Jacq x Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés), relating to the effects of the meteorological variables in the 2015 ENOS in the eastern Amazon. The study area was a 12-year-old oil palm plantation (01º51’43.2’’S, 048º36’52.2’’W) in the municipality of Moju, Pará, Brazil, where a micrometeorological observation tower was installed. Were quantified the meteorological variables such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and soil moisture. And the fluxes of CO2 and H2O for application of the eddy covariance method. Photosynthetic parameters were estimated using the light response curve (LCR) in the non-rectangular hyperbole model. The results were shown seasonally, the months of the wet season (December to June) presented precipitation greater than 150 mm/month and the dry season (July to November) with monthly precipitation less than 150 mm, being a threshold that influences the water deficit for the oil palm. The dry season presented a reduction of more than 57% in the precipitation, when compared to the climatological normal data of Belém. The daily average of net CO2 exchange was higher in the wet season of -22.50 (± 0.40) µmol m-² s-¹ at 11:00 am and -22.14 (± 0.68) µmol m-² s-¹ at 10:30 am (local hour) in the dry season. In the wet season the parameters of LCR were lower quantum efficiency (0.0479 ± 0.0039 μmol CO2 μmol-¹ photon absorbed), higher CO2 assimilation rate (35.82 ± 1.92 µmol m-² s-¹) and lower ecosystem respiration (6.11 ± 0.39 μmol m-² s-¹). The dry season exhibited a quantum efficiency of 0,0494 (± 0,0063) μmol CO2 μmol-¹ photon absorbed, CO2 assimilation rate of 31,02 (± 1,93) µmol m-² s-¹ and higher ecosystem respiration (6.61 ± 0.65 μmol m-² s-¹). PAR and VPD preconditioned to net CO2 exchange with a correlation coefficient of 0.75 and 0.72 and of determination of 0.56 and 0.52, in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. These results are important for a better understanding of oil palm behavior in the face of a severe weather event in eastern Amazonia.

Direct eddy covariance flux measurements of O3 in tropical forests are sparse and deposition velocities of O3 for tropical forest have large uncertainties in models. Therefore, we measured O3 fluxes at different heights ( 4 m, 12 m, 46 m and 81 m), which is 2 levels within canopy (below crown layer) and two levels above. At the same levels heat and CO2 fluxes were measured by eddy covariance to differentiate upper canopy fluxes from understory and soil fluxes and to infer stomatal conductance based on the inverted Penman-Monteith equation. Further measurements include the profiles of O3, NOx, CO2 and H2O which are used to calculate storage fluxes and reactions of O3 with NOx within the air volume. Additionally, leaf surface temperature and leaf wetness were measured in the upper canopy (26 m) to infer their influence on the non-stomatal deposition. The measurements took place at the ATTO (Amazon Tall Tower Observatory) site that is located about 150 km northeast of the city of Manaus in the Amazon rainforest. (02°08’38.8’’S, 58°59’59.5’’W). The climate in this region is characterized by a rainy (350 mm around March) and a dry season (ca. 80 mm in September). During the wet months, the air quality is close to pristine, while strong pollution from biomass burning is evident in the dry season. Therefore, we will present results from two intensive campaigns (3- 4 flux levels) for the rainy season (March to May) and the dry season (September to December) 2018. The focus of the analysis is the partitioning between a) the crown layer and understory and b) stomatal and non-stomatal deposition with a further analysis of the non-stomatal pathways. Non-stomatal deposition is analyzed by quantifying gas-phase reactions of O3 with NOx and an estimate of O3 reactivity by VOCs. Furthermore, the remaining (surface) deposition is analyzed according to its relations with leaf surface temperature and leaf wetness.

Author(s): Holm, JA; Knox, RG; Zhu, Q; Fisher, RA; Koven, CD; Nogueira Lima, AJ; Riley, WJ; Longo, M; Negron-Juarez, RI; de Araujo, AC; Kueppers, LM; Moorcroft, PR; Higuchi, N; Chambers, JQ | Abstract: There is large uncertainty whether Amazon forests will remain a carbon sink as atmospheric CO2 increases. Hence, we simulated an old-growth tropical forest using six versions of four terrestrial models differing in scale of vegetation structure and representation of biogeochemical (BGC) cycling, all driven with CO2 forcing from the preindustrial period to 2100. The models were benchmarked against tree inventory and eddy covariance data from a Brazilian site for present-day predictions. All models predicted positive vegetation growth that outpaced mortality, leading to continual increases in present-day biomass accumulation. Notably, the two vegetation demographic models (VDMs) (ED2 and ELM-FATES) always predicted positive stem diameter growth in all size classes. The field data, however, indicated that a quarter of canopy trees didn't grow over the 15-year period, and while high interannual variation existed, biomass change was near neutral. With a doubling of CO2, three of the four models predicted an appreciable biomass sink (0.77 to 1.24 Mg ha−1 year−1). ELMv1-ECA, the only model used here that includes phosphorus constraints, predicted the lowest biomass sink relative to initial biomass stocks (+21%), lower than the other BGC model, CLM5 (+48%). Models projections differed primarily through variations in nutrient constraints, then carbon allocation, initial biomass, and density-dependent mortality. The VDM's performance was similar or better than the BGC models run in carbon-only mode, suggesting that nutrient competition in VDMs will improve predictions. We demonstrate that VDMs are comparable to nondemographic (i.e., “big-leaf”) models but also include finer scale demography and competition that can be evaluated against field observations.

This study evaluated soil properties and their relation to root production and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization of grasses. Soil samples were collected from surface layers to determine the volume, total length, specific length, diameter and dry mass of roots, and grain size and chemical properties of the soil. Sampled roots were used to evaluate mycorrhizal colonization and 50 g of soil to extract spores. A second sampling was conducted to measure soil penetration resistance, macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity and bulk density. Of the morphological traits of the roots, only specific length and diameter were significantly related to soil physical attributes. Root volume was positively related with P, Ca, Mg and organic matter. Almost all of the mycorrhizal variables had no correlation with the physical properties of the soil; only total colonization was positively related to soil penetration resistance (to 0.10 m). AMF had a negative correlation between root colonization and total length of the roots, while the number of spores was inversely related to roots finer than 0.5 mm in diameter and positively related to roots larger than 0.5 mm in diameter. The data were highly variable, indicating the influence of environmental heterogeneity on the investigated characteristics.

The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest source of reactive volatile isoprenoids to the atmosphere. It is generally assumed that these emissions are products of photosynthetically driven secondary metabolism and released from the rainforest canopy from where they influence the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. However, recent measurements indicate that further sources of volatiles are present. Here we show that soil microorganisms are a strong, unaccounted source of highly reactive and previously unreported sesquiterpenes (C15H24; SQT). The emission rate and chemical speciation of soil SQTs were determined as a function of soil moisture, oxygen, and rRNA transcript abundance in the laboratory. Based on these results, a model was developed to predict soil–atmosphere SQT fluxes. It was found SQT emissions from a Terra Firme soil in the dry season were in comparable magnitude to current global model canopy emissions, establishing an important ecological connection between soil microbes and atmospherically relevant SQTs., Recent measurements in the Amazon rainforest indicate missing sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here the authors show that soil microorganisms are a strong, unaccounted source of highly reactive sesquiterpenes, a class of VOCs that can regulate ozone chemistry within the forest canopy.

This work investigates the diurnal and seasonal behavior of the energy balance residual ( E ) that results from the observed difference between available energy and the turbulent fluxes of sensible heat ( H ) and latent heat ( LE ) at the FLUXNET BR-Ma2 site located in the Brazilian central Amazon rainforest. The behavior of E is analyzed by extending the eddy covariance averaging length from 30 min to 4 h and by applying an Information Flow Dynamical Process Network to diagnose processes and conditions affecting E across different seasons. Results show that the seasonal turbulent flux dynamics and the Bowen ratio are primarily driven by net radiation ( R n ), with substantial sub-seasonal variability. The Bowen ratio increased from 0.25 in April to 0.4 at the end of September. Extension of the averaging length from 0.5 (94.6% closure) to 4 h and thus inclusion of longer timescale eddies and mesoscale processes closes the energy balance and lead to an increase in the Bowen ratio, thus highlighting the importance of additional H to E. Information flow analysis reveals that the components of the energy balance explain between 25 and 40% of the total Shannon entropy with higher values during the wet season than the dry season. Dry season information flow from the buoyancy flux to E are 30–50% larger than that from H , indicating the potential importance of buoyancy fluxes to closing E . While the low closure highlights additional sources not captured in the flux data and random measurement errors contributing to E , the findings of the information flow and averaging length analysis are consistent with the impact of mesoscale circulations, which tend to transport more H than LE , on the lack of closure.

Nocturnal turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and fluxes of energy, CO2 and O3 between the Amazon forest and the atmosphere are evaluated for a 20-day campaign at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site. The distinction of these quantities between fully turbulent (weakly stable) and intermittent (very stable) nights is discussed. Spectral analysis indicates that low-frequency, nonturbulent fluctuations are responsible for a large portion of the variability observed on intermittent nights. In these conditions, the low-frequency exchange may dominate over the turbulent transfer. In particular, we show that within the canopy most of the exchange of CO2 and H2O happens on temporal scales longer than 100 s. At 80 m, on the other hand, the turbulent fluxes are almost absent in such very stable conditions, suggesting a boundary layer shallower than 80 m. The relationship between TKE and mean winds shows that the stable boundary layer switches from the very stable to the weakly stable regime during intermittent bursts of turbulence. In general, fluxes estimated with long temporal windows that account for low-frequency effects are more dependent on the stability over a deeper layer above the forest than they are on the stability between the top of the canopy and its interior, suggesting that low-frequency processes are controlled over a deeper layer above the forest. Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-19T00:37:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 OliveiraACP2018.pdf: 2710275 bytes, checksum: 065c833d026306778501730602111723 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-18

We investigated the role of turbulent coherent structures (CS), gravity waves (GW) and low-level jet (LLJ) propagation in the flow dynamics of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer (NBL) within and above a forest canopy at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), in Central Amazon. Seven levels of wind velocity and temperature measurements allowed the study of the flow structure below and above the surface layer. We analyzed one dynamically rich night in 2015, which includes three distinct periods. In the first one, the NBL is characterized by CS generated at the canopy top. In the second period, the change in wind direction triggers the onset of a orographic GW above the roughness sublayer. The wave, suppressing the propagation of CS, strongly influences the boundary layer structure, both above and below the canopy. In the third period, low turbulence intensity at the canopy top enables the development of a LLJ. As the jet shear layer propagates upward, it disrupts the wave oscillations, while LLJ dominates the flow dynamics. The wavelet analyses identified i) turbulent and non-turbulent structures with different length and time-scales; ii) coupling of the flow at different levels and the vertical propagation of turbulent and wave motions; and iii) the ability of turbulent and low frequency processes associated with the orographic GW to penetrate within the canopy. Further, scalar measurements of methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide identified the LLJ nose as upward limit for how far scalars can be transported.

The failure of the Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST) in the roughness sublayer is a major problem for the estimation of fluxes over tall forests, whenever indirect methods that rely on MOST, such as flux-gradient or the variance method, are involved. While much research focuses on micrometeorological measurements over temperate-climate forests, very few studies deal with such measurements over tropical forests. In this paper, we show evidence that some similarity functions over the Amazon forest are somewhat different from temperate forests. Comparison of the nondimensional scalar gradients canonical values for the inertial sublayer with our measurements in the roughness sublayer showed smaller deviations than what is usually reported for temperate forests. Although the fluxes of water vapor and CO2 derived from mean profiles show considerable scatter when compared with the eddy covariance measurements, using calibrated dimensionless gradients it is possible to estimate their mean daily cycle during the period of measurement (36 days in May and June, transition between rainy and dry season). Moreover, since mean ozone profiles were available, although without the corresponding eddy covariance measurements, mean daily ozone fluxes were calculated with the flux-gradient method, yielding a nighttime value of −0.05 and a daily peak of −0.45 μg m−2 s−1 (−1.04 and −9.37 nmol m−2 s−1, respectively). These values are comparable to previously measured fluxes in the literature for the Amazon forest.

The Amazon forest is integral to the global climate system in part because of the high rate of rainfall recycling through tree transpiration and biodiversity (size and species composition). However, the partitioning of precipitation into evaporation, transpiration and runoff, has been quantified at only a few sites. At our study site in the central Amazon, annual rainfall in 2013 was 2302 mm and latent heat flux measurements made using eddy covariance revealed that 1360 mm (59%) was returned to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration. Runoff accounted for 41% of the net ecosystem water loss. Combining annual xylem sap flux estimates with total stand sap wood area, we estimated annual stand transpiration rate to be 851 mm (36% of annual rainfall). Emergent canopy trees (diameter >30 cm; average height of 28 m) were responsible for the majority (71%) of the transpired water flux, recycling potentially 26% of the rainfall back to the atmosphere. By difference, we estimate that 510 mm of intercepted rainwater (22% of rainfall) was evaporated directly back to atmosphere from the canopy. Highest stand transpiration rates occurred during the dryer months due to both increased water vapor pressure deficit and the onset of new leaf flush. This study provides further evidence for convergent water use characteristics of tropical trees and highlights the importance of large trees in tropical moist forests. Large trees have been demonstrated to be vulnerable to drought-related mortality, and thus potentially will make up a critical component of the response of tropical forests to climate change.

Author(s): Negron-Juarez, R; Ferreira, SJF; Mota, MC; Faybishenko, B; Monteiro, MTF; Candido, LA; Ribeiro, RP; de Oliveira, RC; de Araujo, AC; Warren, JM; Newman, BD; Gimenez, BO; Varadharajan, C; Agarwal, D; Borma, L; Tomasella, J; Higuchi, N; Chambers, JQ | Abstract: Soil moisture plays a key role in hydrological, biogeochemical, and energy budgets of terrestrial ecosystems. Accurate soil moisture measurements in remote ecosystems such as the Amazon are difficult and limited because of logistical constraints. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors are widely used to monitor soil moisture and require calibration to convert the TDR's dielectric permittivity measurement (Ka) to volumetric water content (θv). In this study, our objectives were to develop a field-based calibration of TDR sensors in an old-growth upland forest in the central Amazon, to evaluate the performance of the calibration, and then to apply the calibration to determine the dynamics of soil moisture content within a 14.2-m-deep vertical soil profile. Depth-specific TDR calibration using local soils in a controlled laboratory setting yielded a novel Ka–θv third-degree polynomial calibration. The sensors were later installed to their specific calibration depth in a 14.2-m pit. The widely used Ka–θv relationship (Topp model) underestimated the site-specific θv by 22–42%, indicating significant error in the model when applied to these well-structured, clay-rich tropical forest soils. The calibrated wet- and dry-season θv data showed a variety of depth and temporal variations highlighting the importance of soil textural differentiation, root uptake depths, as well as event to seasonal precipitation effects. Data such as these are greatly needed for improving our understanding of ecohydrological processes within tropical forests and for improving models of these systems in the face of changing environmental conditions.

Forest disturbance and regrowth are key processes in forest dynamics but detailed information of these processes is difficult to obtain in remote forests as the Amazon. We used chronosequences of Landsat satellite imagery to determine the sensitivity of surface reflectance from all spectral bands to windthrow, clearcutting, and burning and their successional pathways of forest regrowth in the Central Amazon. We also assess whether the forest demography model Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES) implemented in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) Land Model (ELM), ELM-FATES, accurately represents the changes for windthrow and clearcut. The results show that all spectral bands from Landsat satellite were sensitive to the disturbances but after 3 to 6 years only the Near Infrared (NIR) band had significant changes associated with the successional pathways of forest regrowth for all the disturbances considered. In general, the NIR decreased immediately after disturbance, increased to maximum values with the establishment of pioneers and early-successional tree species, and then decreased slowly and almost linearly to pre-disturbance conditions with the dynamics of forest succession. Statistical methods predict that NIR will return to pre-disturbance values in about 39 years (consistent with observational data of biomass regrowth following windthrows), and 36 and 56 years for clearcut and burning. The NIR captured the observed successional pathways of forest regrowth after clearcut and burning that diverge through time. ELM-FATES predicted higher peaks of initial forest responses (e.g., biomass, stem density) after clearcuts than after windthrows, similar to the changes in NIR. However, ELM-FATES predicted a faster recovery of forest structure and canopy-coverage back to pre-disturbance conditions for windthrows compared to clearcuts. The similarity of ELM-FATES predictions of regrowth patterns after windthrow and clearcut to those of the NIR results suggest that the dynamics of forest regrowth for these disturbances are represented with appropriate fidelity within ELM-FATES and useful as a benchmarking tool.

CONTEXT The increasing world demand for palm oil led to the expansion of oil palm plantations, especially in the new lands in Southeast Asia, the main producing region in the world. The expansion of oil palm plantations has also occurred in Latin American countries, such as Brazil. Roughly 400 million hectares in Brazil are suitable for the planting of oil palm, but most of this area is currently covered by forest, mainly by the Amazon Rainforest. Climate change has reduced the extent of land suitable for oil palm cultivation in Brazil since under unfavorable climatic conditions, crop yields are reduced. To reconcile the increase in oil palm production in Brazil with the preservation of forests, modeling has been used as a tool to define the best suitable areas for planting expansion, as well as for the assessment of management techniques that aim to increase the yield. OBJECTIVE Thus, the object of this study was to implement the oil palm crop sub-model in the ECOSMOS integrated simulator and to evaluate its performance to simulate oil palm energy and carbon balance and the crop yield. METHODS The carbon allocation scheme for oil palm is quite different from the other crops of ECOSMOS. So, we use the sub-PFT (plant functional type) approach, where each phytomer in the plant evolves simultaneously, but individually. RESULTS AND Conclusions The results showed that the model was able to simulate net radiation (Rn), latent heat flux (LE), and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) with good accuracy. In contrast, the sensible heat flux (H) was not well simulated due to the lack of information on the soil's physical-hydric properties. The model simulated accurately the annual yield for plants aged between 12 and 25 years, whereas the yield was overestimated for plants aged outside this range. Also, the model better simulated the yield of genetic varieties with seasonal yield, compared to varieties with more uniform yield over the months. SIGNIFICANCE The robust and consistent results presented for most of the evaluated processes, especially for energy and carbon fluxes, make the oil palm sub-model described here suitable for improve the oil palm production in Brazil. For future studies, efforts should be directed to consider key factors for oil palm, such as the ratio between male and female inflorescences and the abortion rate of inflorescences, which affect crop yield, for a better understanding of the oil palm growth and production.

Gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) in tropical forests varies both with the environment and with biotic changes in photosynthetic infrastructure, but our understanding of the relative effects of these factors across timescales is limited. Here, we used a statistical model to partition the variability of seven years of eddy covariance-derived GEP in a central Amazon evergreen forest into two main causes: variation in environmental drivers (solar radiation, diffuse light fraction, and vapor pressure deficit) that interact with model parameters that govern photosynthesis and biotic variation in canopy photosynthetic light-use efficiency associated with changes in the parameters themselves. Our fitted model was able to explain most of the variability in GEP at hourly (R2 = 0.77) to interannual (R2 = 0.80) timescales. At hourly timescales, we found that 75% of observed GEP variability could be attributed to environmental variability. When aggregating GEP to the longer timescales (daily, monthly, and yearly), however, environmental variation explained progressively less GEP variability: At monthly timescales, it explained only 3%, much less than biotic variation in canopy photosynthetic light-use efficiency, which accounted for 63%. These results challenge modeling approaches that assume GEP is primarily controlled by the environment at both short and long timescales. Our approach distinguishing biotic from environmental variability can help to resolve debates about environmental limitations to tropical forest photosynthesis. For example, we found that biotically regulated canopy photosynthetic light-use efficiency (associated with leaf phenology) increased with sunlight during dry seasons (consistent with light but not water limitation of canopy development) but that realized GEP was nonetheless lower relative to its potential efficiency during dry than wet seasons (consistent with water limitation of photosynthesis in given assemblages of leaves). This work highlights the importance of accounting for differential regulation of GEP at different timescales and of identifying the underlying feedbacks and adaptive mechanisms.