Variation in wood density across South American tropical forests
Abstract
Abstract Wood density is a critical control on tree biomass, so poor understanding of its spatial variation can lead to large and systematic errors in forest biomass estimates and carbon maps. The need to understand how and why wood density varies is especially critical in tropical America where forests have exceptional species diversity and spatial turnover in composition. As tree identity and forest composition are challenging to estimate remotely, ground surveys are essential to know the wood density of trees, whether measured directly or inferred from their identity. Here, we assemble an extensive dataset of variation in wood density across the most forested and tree-diverse continent, examine how it relates to spatial and environmental variables, and use these relationships to predict spatial variation in wood density over tropical and sub-tropical South America. Our analysis refines previously identified east-west Amazon gradients in wood density, improves them by revealing fine-scale variation, and extends predictions into Andean, dry, and Atlantic forests. The results halve biomass prediction errors compared to a naïve scenario with no knowledge of spatial variation in wood density. Our findings will help improve remote sensing-based estimates of aboveground biomass carbon stocks across tropical South America.
Article Details
Authors (170)
Martin J. P. Sullivan
Oliver L. Phillips
David Galbraith
Everton Almeida
Edmar Almeida de Oliveira
Jarcilene Almeida
Esteban Alvarez Davila
Luciana F. Alves
Ana Andrade
Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Luiz Aragao
Alejandro Araujo-Murakami
Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno
Eric Arets
Luzmila Arroyo
Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno
Omar Aurelio Melo Cruz
Fabrício Baccaro
Timothy R. Baker
Olaf Banki
Christopher Baraloto
Jos Barlow
Jorcely Barroso
Erika Berenguer
Lilian Blanc
Cecilia Blundo
Damien Bonal
Frans Bongers
Kauane Maiara Bordin
Roel J. W. Brienen
Igor S. Broggio
Benoit Burban
George Cabral
José Luís Camargo
Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Domingos Cardoso
Maria Antonia Carniello
Wendeson Castro
Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima
Larissa Cavalheiro
Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro
Sonia Cesarina Palacios Ramos
Victor Chama Moscoso
Jérôme Chave
Fernanda Coelho
James A. Comiskey
Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service
Fernando Cornejo Valverde
Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program
Flávia Costa
Italo Antônio Cotta Coutinho
Antonio Carlos Lola da Costa
Marcelo Brilhante de Medeiros
Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Parque Estação Biológica, Prédio da Botânica e Ecologia
Jhon del Aguila Pasquel
Géraldine Derroire
Kyle G. Dexter
Mat Disney
Mário M. do Espírito Santo
Tomas F. Domingues
Aurelie Dourdain
Alvaro Duque
Cristabel Durán Rangel
Fernando Elias
Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert
William Farfan-Rios
Herbario Vargas, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco
Sophie Fauset
Ted Feldpausch
G. Wilson Fernandes
Joice Ferreira
Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes
João Carlos Gomes Figueiredo
Karina Garcia Cabreara
Roy Gonzalez
Lionel Hernández
Rafael Herrera
Euridice N. Honorio Coronado
Department for Accelerated Taxonomy, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Walter Huaraca Huasco
Mariana Iguatemy
Carlos A. Joly
Michelle Kalamandeen
Timothy Killeen
Joice Klipel
Bente Klitgaard
Susan G. Laurance
William F. Laurance
Aurora Levesley
Simon L. Lewis
Maurício Lima Dan
Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez
William Magnusson
Yadvinder Malhi
Lucio Malizia
Augustina Malizia
Angelo Gilberto Manzatto
José Luis Marcelo Pena
Laboratorio de Plantas Vasculares y Herbario ISV, Universidad Nacional de Jaén
Beatriz S. Marimon
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso
Ben Hur Marimon Junior
Johanna Andrea Martínez-Villa
Simone Matias Reis
Thiago Metzker
William Milliken
Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza
Peter Moonlight
Paulo S. Morandi
Pamela Moser
Sandra C. Müller
Marcelo Nascimento
Daniel Negreiros
Adriano Nogueira Lima
Percy Núñez Vargas
Herbario Vargas, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco
Washington L. Oliveira
Walter Palacios
Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho
Alexander Parada Gutierrez
Guido Pardo Molina
Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales de la Amazonía, Universidad Autónoma del Beni José Ballivián
Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu
Marielos Peña-Claros
Pablo José Francisco Pena Rodrigues
R. Toby Pennington
Georgia C. Pickavance
John Pipoly
Nigel C. A. Pitman
Collections, Conservation and Research, The Field Museum
Maureen Playfair
Aline Pontes-Lopes
Lourens Poorter
Nayane Cristina Candida dos Santos Prestes
Hirma Ramirez-Angulo
Maxime Réjou-Méchain
Carlos Reynel Rodriguez
Gonzalo Rivas-Torres
Priscyla M. S. Rodrigues
Domingos de Jesus Rodrigues
Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Humanas e Sociais, Federal University of Mato Grosso
Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa
José Roberto Rodrigues Pinto
Gina M. Rodriguez M.
Katherine Roucoux
Kalle Ruokolainen
Casey M. Ryan
Norma Salinas Revilla
Rafael Salomao
Rubens M. Santos
Tiina Sarkinen
Andressa Scabin
Rodrigo Scarton Bergamin
Juliana Schietti
Milton Serpa de Meira Junior
Julio Serrano
Miles Silman
Richarlly C. Silva
Camila V. J. Silva
Jhonathan Oliveria Silva
Marcos Silveira
Marcelo F. Simon
Yahn Carlos Soto-Shareva
Priscila Souza
Rodolfo Souza
Tereza Spósito
Joey Talbot
Hans ter Steege
John Terborgh
Department of Biology and Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
Raquel Thomas
Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development
Marisol Toledo
Armando Torres-Lezama
William Trujillo
Peter van der Hout
Maria das Dores Magalhães Veloso
Simone A. Vieira
Emilio Vilanova
Jeanneth M. Villalobos Cayo
Dora M. Villela
Laura Jessica Viscarra
Vincent A. Vos
Verginia Wortel
Francoise Yoko Ishida
Pieter A. Zuidema
Joeri A. Zwerts