Mature Andean forests as globally important carbon sinks and future carbon refuges
| Autor: | Kenneth J. Feeley, Alvaro Duque, Ricardo Grau, Yadvinder Malhi, Peter G. Kennedy, Leslie Cayola, Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa, Miles R. Silman, Andrea Terán-Valdez, Lucio R. Malizia, Manuel Peralvo, Jonathan Myers, Francisco Cuesta, Alfredo F. Fuentes, María I. Loza-Rivera, Marco Calderón-Loor, Cecilia Blundo, Jürgen Homeier, Sassan Saatchi, Oliver L. Phillips, William Farfan-Rios, J. Sebastián Tello, Sebastián González-Caro, Esteban Pinto, Julieta Carilla, Oriana Osinaga-Acosta, Agustina Malizia, Miguel A. Peña |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Carbon Sequestration Conservation of Natural Resources 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Science Climate Change Ecosystem ecology General Physics and Astronomy chemistry.chemical_element Climate change Subtropics Forests 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article Carbon cycle Trees Deforestation Biomass Author Correction 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Abiotic component Biomass (ecology) Tropical Climate Multidisciplinary Agroforestry Carbon sink General Chemistry South America Carbon chemistry Environmental science |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications Nature Communications, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | It is largely unknown how South America’s Andean forests affect the global carbon cycle, and thus regulate climate change. Here, we measure aboveground carbon dynamics over the past two decades in 119 monitoring plots spanning a range of >3000 m elevation across the subtropical and tropical Andes. Our results show that Andean forests act as strong sinks for aboveground carbon (0.67 ± 0.08 Mg C ha−1 y−1) and have a high potential to serve as future carbon refuges. Aboveground carbon dynamics of Andean forests are driven by abiotic and biotic factors, such as climate and size-dependent mortality of trees. The increasing aboveground carbon stocks offset the estimated C emissions due to deforestation between 2003 and 2014, resulting in a net total uptake of 0.027 Pg C y−1. Reducing deforestation will increase Andean aboveground carbon stocks, facilitate upward species migrations, and allow for recovery of biomass losses due to climate change. Here, the authors investigate the aboveground carbon sink efficiency of Andean forests. The study shows the high potential of these forests to serve as future carbon refuges, and urges to reduce deforestation and increase restoration. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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