The Experts below are selected from a list of 143010 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

James A. Comiskey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • increasing Carbon Storage in intact african tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, James A. Comiskey, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Gabriela Lopezgonzalez, Kofi Affumbaffoe, Timothy R Baker, Lee White
    Abstract:

    Tropical forests store and process large amounts of Carbon, affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hence the rate and magnitude of climate change. The extent of the contribution of tropical forests in this role is uncertain, largely because of a lack of monitoring. An international collaboration has now collected and analysed data from a ten-country network of 79 long-term monitoring plots across the largest tropical continent - Africa. Their findings reveal that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 tonnes of Carbon per hectare per year between 1968 and 2007. Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 340 million tonnes a year. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide1,2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive3,4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades5,6,7, but the response of one-third of the world’s tropical forests in Africa8 is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks9,10. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22–0.94; mean interval, 1987–96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.15–0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area6,7, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia5,6,11 together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29–0.66; mean interval, 1987–97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.8–1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2,10,15 predict.

  • Increasing Carbon Storage in intact African tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, G. Lopez-gonzalez, Kofi Affum-baffoe, Lucas O. Ojo, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Timothy R Baker, Lee White, James A. Comiskey
    Abstract:

    The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.

Simon L Lewis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • increasing Carbon Storage in intact african tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, James A. Comiskey, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Gabriela Lopezgonzalez, Kofi Affumbaffoe, Timothy R Baker, Lee White
    Abstract:

    Tropical forests store and process large amounts of Carbon, affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hence the rate and magnitude of climate change. The extent of the contribution of tropical forests in this role is uncertain, largely because of a lack of monitoring. An international collaboration has now collected and analysed data from a ten-country network of 79 long-term monitoring plots across the largest tropical continent - Africa. Their findings reveal that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 tonnes of Carbon per hectare per year between 1968 and 2007. Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 340 million tonnes a year. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide1,2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive3,4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades5,6,7, but the response of one-third of the world’s tropical forests in Africa8 is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks9,10. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22–0.94; mean interval, 1987–96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.15–0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area6,7, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia5,6,11 together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29–0.66; mean interval, 1987–97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.8–1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2,10,15 predict.

  • Increasing Carbon Storage in intact African tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, G. Lopez-gonzalez, Kofi Affum-baffoe, Lucas O. Ojo, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Timothy R Baker, Lee White, James A. Comiskey
    Abstract:

    The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.

O. L. Phillips - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • increasing Carbon Storage in intact african tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, James A. Comiskey, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Gabriela Lopezgonzalez, Kofi Affumbaffoe, Timothy R Baker, Lee White
    Abstract:

    Tropical forests store and process large amounts of Carbon, affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hence the rate and magnitude of climate change. The extent of the contribution of tropical forests in this role is uncertain, largely because of a lack of monitoring. An international collaboration has now collected and analysed data from a ten-country network of 79 long-term monitoring plots across the largest tropical continent - Africa. Their findings reveal that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 tonnes of Carbon per hectare per year between 1968 and 2007. Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 340 million tonnes a year. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide1,2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive3,4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades5,6,7, but the response of one-third of the world’s tropical forests in Africa8 is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks9,10. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22–0.94; mean interval, 1987–96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.15–0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area6,7, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia5,6,11 together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29–0.66; mean interval, 1987–97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.8–1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2,10,15 predict.

  • Increasing Carbon Storage in intact African tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, G. Lopez-gonzalez, Kofi Affum-baffoe, Lucas O. Ojo, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Timothy R Baker, Lee White, James A. Comiskey
    Abstract:

    The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.

  • Species loss and aboveground Carbon Storage in a tropical forest.
    Science, 2005
    Co-Authors: Daniel E. Bunker, O. L. Phillips, Fabrice Declerck, Jason C. Bradford, Robert K. Colwell, Ivette Perfecto, Mahesh Sankaran, Shahid Naeem
    Abstract:

    Tropical forest biodiversity is declining, but the resulting effects on key ecosystem services, such as Carbon Storage and sequestration, remain unknown. We assessed the influence of the loss of tropical tree species on Carbon Storage by simulating 18 possible extinction scenarios within a well-studied 50-hectare tropical forest plot in Panama, which contains 227 tree species. Among extinction scenarios, aboveground Carbon stocks varied by more than 600%, and biological insurance varied by more than 400%. These results indicate that future Carbon Storage in tropical forests will be influenced strongly by future species composition.

Justin M Reitsma - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • increasing Carbon Storage in intact african tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, James A. Comiskey, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Gabriela Lopezgonzalez, Kofi Affumbaffoe, Timothy R Baker, Lee White
    Abstract:

    Tropical forests store and process large amounts of Carbon, affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hence the rate and magnitude of climate change. The extent of the contribution of tropical forests in this role is uncertain, largely because of a lack of monitoring. An international collaboration has now collected and analysed data from a ten-country network of 79 long-term monitoring plots across the largest tropical continent - Africa. Their findings reveal that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 tonnes of Carbon per hectare per year between 1968 and 2007. Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 340 million tonnes a year. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide1,2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive3,4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades5,6,7, but the response of one-third of the world’s tropical forests in Africa8 is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks9,10. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22–0.94; mean interval, 1987–96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.15–0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area6,7, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia5,6,11 together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29–0.66; mean interval, 1987–97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.8–1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2,10,15 predict.

  • Increasing Carbon Storage in intact African tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, G. Lopez-gonzalez, Kofi Affum-baffoe, Lucas O. Ojo, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Timothy R Baker, Lee White, James A. Comiskey
    Abstract:

    The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.

Lee White - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • increasing Carbon Storage in intact african tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, James A. Comiskey, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Gabriela Lopezgonzalez, Kofi Affumbaffoe, Timothy R Baker, Lee White
    Abstract:

    Tropical forests store and process large amounts of Carbon, affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and hence the rate and magnitude of climate change. The extent of the contribution of tropical forests in this role is uncertain, largely because of a lack of monitoring. An international collaboration has now collected and analysed data from a ten-country network of 79 long-term monitoring plots across the largest tropical continent - Africa. Their findings reveal that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 tonnes of Carbon per hectare per year between 1968 and 2007. Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 340 million tonnes a year. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide1,2. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive3,4. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades5,6,7, but the response of one-third of the world’s tropical forests in Africa8 is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks9,10. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22–0.94; mean interval, 1987–96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.15–0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area6,7, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia5,6,11 together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29–0.66; mean interval, 1987–97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr-1 (CI, 0.8–1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data12 suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks13, as some theory14 and models2,10,15 predict.

  • Increasing Carbon Storage in intact African tropical forests
    Nature, 2009
    Co-Authors: Simon L Lewis, O. L. Phillips, G. Lopez-gonzalez, Kofi Affum-baffoe, Lucas O. Ojo, Bonaventure Sonké, Justin M Reitsma, Timothy R Baker, Lee White, James A. Comiskey
    Abstract:

    The response of terrestrial vegetation to a globally changing environment is central to predictions of future levels of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. The role of tropical forests is critical because they are Carbon-dense and highly productive. Inventory plots across Amazonia show that old-growth forests have increased in Carbon Storage over recent decades, but the response of one-third of the world's tropical forests in Africa is largely unknown owing to an absence of spatially extensive observation networks. Here we report data from a ten-country network of long-term monitoring plots in African tropical forests. We find that across 79 plots (163 ha) above-ground Carbon Storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) between 1968 and 2007 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.94; mean interval, 1987-96). Extrapolation to unmeasured forest components (live roots, small trees, necromass) and scaling to the continent implies a total increase in Carbon Storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.15-0.43). These reported changes in Carbon Storage are similar to those reported for Amazonian forests per unit area, providing evidence that increasing Carbon Storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon. Indeed, combining all standardized inventory data from this study and from tropical America and Asia together yields a comparable figure of 0.49 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (n = 156; 562 ha; CI, 0.29-0.66; mean interval, 1987-97). This indicates a Carbon sink of 1.3 Pg C yr(-1) (CI, 0.8-1.6) across all tropical forests during recent decades. Taxon-specific analyses of African inventory and other data suggest that widespread changes in resource availability, such as increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentrations, may be the cause of the increase in Carbon stocks, as some theory and models predict.