Small Landscape Elements Double Connectivity in Highly Fragmented Areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
2021
Authors
Flávia Freire Siqueira, Dulcineia de Carvalho, Jonathan Rhodes, Carla L. Archibald, Vanessa Leite Rezende and Eduardo van den Berg
Abstract
It is largely unknown how South America’s Andean forests affect the global carbon cycle, and thus regulate climate change. Here, we measure aboveground carbon dynamics over the past two decades in 119 monitoring plots spanning a range of >3000 m elevation across the subtropical and tropical Andes. Our results show that Andean forests act as strong sinks for aboveground carbon (0.67 ± 0.08 Mg C ha−1 y−1) and have a high potential to serve as future carbon refuges. Aboveground carbon dynamics of Andean forests are driven by abiotic and biotic factors, such as climate and size-dependent mortality of trees. The increasing aboveground carbon stocks offset the estimated C emissions due to deforestation between 2003 and 2014, resulting in a net total uptake of 0.027 Pg C y−1. Reducing deforestation will increase Andean aboveground carbon stocks, facilitate upward species migrations, and allow for recovery of biomass losses due to climate change.
Figure 5. Example of land use maps for five landscapes identified by the characters in the center. The first frame represents the study area with the characters corresponding to the location of the 20 landscapes.
