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Forest-savanna tran...
Forest-savanna transitions: Understanding adaptation and resilience of the tropical forest ecosystems using remote sensing
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- Singh, Chandrakant (author)
- Stockholms universitet,Stockholm Resilience Centre
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- Fetzer, Ingo (thesis advisor)
- Stockholms universitet,Stockholm Resilience Centre
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- Wang-Erlandsson, Lan (thesis advisor)
- Stockholms universitet,Stockholm Resilience Centre
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- van der Ent, Ruud (thesis advisor)
- Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
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- Manzoni, Stefano (opponent)
- Stockholms universitet,Institutionen för naturgeografi
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- Sanga, Udita (opponent)
- Stockholms universitet,Stockholm Resilience Centre
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- Ribeiro, Vivian (opponent)
- Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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(creator_code:org_t)
- Stockholm : Stockholm University, 2022
- English.
- Related links:
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https://urn.kb.se/re...
Abstract
Subject headings
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- Climate and deforestation-induced changes in precipitation drive tropical forest-savanna transitions. However, precipitation alone provides a superficial understanding of the underlying mechanism behind these transitions. This is because our knowledge of how vegetation responds to changes in hydroclimate is fragmented. Under a rapidly changing climate, it is increasingly important to understand forest adaptation to predict future forest-savanna transition risks. However, there are two major bottlenecks to achieving this: (i) there is no universal metric that represents forest adaptation, and (ii) at continental scale, empirical evidence to ecosystem response under changing climate is still lacking. This thesis uses remote sensing-derived root zone storage capacity – a novel metric representing the vegetation's capacity to utilise subsoil moisture storage - and above-ground tree cover structure to provide empirical evidence to ecosystems’ response under changing hydroclimate and the influence of hydroclimatic adaptation on the resilience of tropical forests. The results reveal a non-linear relationship between ecosystem’s above-ground structure and subsoil moisture storage capacity. Furthermore, the ecosystem’s capacity to utilise subsoil moisture is much more dynamic and reflective of their transient conditions under changing precipitation than above-ground structure; thereby highlighting its application as an early warning signal. Ignoring this adaptive capacity can undermine forest resilience. The result from this thesis also emphasises the applicability of remote sensing in inferring and assessing ecosystem adaptation under rapid hydroclimatic change and can assist in strengthening management and conservation efforts across the continents.
Subject headings
- LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Skogsvetenskap (hsv//swe)
- AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Forest Science (hsv//eng)
- NATURVETENSKAP -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser (hsv//swe)
- NATURAL SCIENCES -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources (hsv//eng)
Keyword
- Environmental Sciences
- miljövetenskap
- Ecology and Evolution
- ekologi och evolution
- Hydrology
- hydrologi
Publication and Content Type
- vet (subject category)
- lic (subject category)
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