The variation of productivity and its allocation along a tropical elevation gradient : A whole carbon budget perspective

Summary: Why do forest productivity and biomass decline with elevation? To address this question, research to date generally has focused on correlative approaches describing changes in woody growth and biomass with elevation. We present a novel, mechanistic approach to this question by quantifying the autotrophic carbon budget in 16 forest plots along a 3300 m elevation transect in Peru. Low growth rates at high elevations appear primarily driven by low gross primary productivity (GPP), with little shift in either carbon use efficiency (CUE) or allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) between wood, fine roots and canopy. The lack of trend in CUE implies that the proportion of photosynthate allocated to autotrophic respiration is not sensitive to temperature. Rather than a gradual linear decline in productivity, there is some limited but nonconclusive evidence of a sharp transition in NPP between submontane and montane forests, which may be caused by cloud immersion effects within the cloud forest zone. Leaf-level photosynthetic parameters do not decline with elevation, implying that nutrient limitation does not restrict photosynthesis at high elevations. Our data demonstrate the potential of whole carbon budget perspectives to provide a deeper understanding of controls on ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling.

Girardin, Cécile A JUniversity of Oxford (author)
Goldsmith, Gregory R.Paul Scherrer Institute (author)
Doughty, Christopher E.University of Oxford (author)
Salinas, NormaNational University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (author)
Metcalfe, Daniel B.Lund University,Lunds universitet,Institutionen för naturgeografi och ekosystemvetenskap,Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten,Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science,Faculty of Science(Swepub:lu)nate-dma (author)
Huaraca Huasco, WalterNational University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (author)
Silva Espejo, Javier E.National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (author)
del Aguilla-Pasquell, JhonInstituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP) (author)
Farfán Amézquita, FilioNational University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco (author)
Aragão, Luiz E O CBrazilian Institute for Space Research,University of Exeter (author)
Guerrieri, RossellaAutonomous University of Barcelona,University of Edinburgh (author)
Ishida, Françoise YokoJames Cook University (author)
Bahar, Nur H AAustralian National University (author)
Farfan-Rios, WilliamWake Forest University (author)
Phillips, Oliver L.University of Leeds (author)
Meir, PatrickUniversity of Edinburgh,Australian National University (author)
Silman, Miles R.Wake Forest University (author)
University of OxfordPaul Scherrer Institute (creator_code:org_t)

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NATURAL SCIENCES: NATURAL SCIENCES; and Earth and Relate ...; and Physical Geograp ...

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