title: Amazon forest carbon dynamics predicted by profiles of canopy leaf area and light environment.
abstract: Tropical forest structural variation across heterogeneous landscapes may control above-ground carbon dynamics. We tested the hypothesis that canopy structure (leaf area and light availability) - remotely estimated from LiDAR - control variation in above-ground coarse wood production (biomass growth). Using a statistical model, these factors predicted biomass growth across tree size classes in forest near Manaus, Brazil. The same statistical model, with no parameterisation change but driven by different observed canopy structure, predicted the higher productivity of a site 500 km east. Gap fraction and a metric of vegetation vertical extent and evenness also predicted biomass gains and losses for one-hectare plots. Despite significant site differences in canopy structure and carbon dynamics, the relation between biomass growth and light fell on a unifying curve. This supported our hypothesis, suggesting that knowledge of canopy structure can explain variation in biomass growth over tropical landscapes and improve understanding of ecosystem function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. scott.c.stark@gmail.com
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Leitold
authors.forename: Jin L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Maria O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Carolina V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: de Castilho
authors.forename: Flávia R C
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.forename: Geoffrey G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Mônica Takako
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Shimabukuro
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lefsky
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Luciana F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schietti
authors.forename: Yosio Edemir
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Shimabukuro
authors.forename: Diego O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Tara K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Woodcock
authors.forename: Niro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Plinio B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: de Camargo
authors.forename: Raimundo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Scott R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Saleska
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chave
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D004777:Environment; D008027:Light; D008954:Models, Biological; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D014197:Trees / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon