Quantifying and modelling the seasonality of pantropical forest net primary production using field observations and remote sensing data

• Grant number: 13/14520-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragão
• Grantee: Fabien Hubert Wagner
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Climate models predict a range of changes in the tropical forest regions, including increased frequency of extreme climatic events, increased temperatures and reduced rainfall intensity. These changes are directly related to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration due to human activity and can directly influence the functioning of tropical forests. Therefore, assessing tree growth response to climate is fundamental for understanding critical thresholds and alterations on forest productivity. This is relevant because wood production is the main way carbon is fixed in forest ecosystems to constitute the biomass stock. The response of tropical tree growth to changing climate could drive a change in the direction of the carbon fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere transforming tropical forest ecosystems into a source of carbon. To refine our understanding on the impacts of global climate change on tropical forests, the general objectives of this project are to: (i) improve the knowledge of seasonal dynamic of net primary production in tropical forests, (ii) produce the first map of seasonal NPP at a pantropical scale as a function of site and climate characteristics and finally (iii) assess net primary production responses to climate change. This will be achieved by conducting a metanalysis combining information on intrannual tree growth measurements for 27 pantropical forest sites with their correspondent monthly climate data and satellite derived vegetation indices to calibrate, parameterize and validate a pantropical model of biomass production. Specifically, we aim to (i) analyze if there is a coherence between the biological mechanisms observed from field and from satellite measurements, (ii) determine the relative contribution of climate and environmental site characteristics on the seasonal biomass production and (iii) quantify changes in tropical forest functioning, in terms of the responses of carbon fluxes to climate change using the CMIP5 climate scenarios. The results of this project will provide a novel pantropical description of the carbon cycle in tropical forest ecosystems at a seasonal time scale as a function of site and climate characteristics and will contributed to determining the consequences of climate change on biomass stocks and fluxes in tropical forested regions. These results are likely to be of great importance for future reports of the Intergovernamental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the Brazilian Panel for Climate Change, as well as for supporting environmental planning in tropical regions aiming to mitigate climate impacts, maintain carbon stocks and protect biodiversity and ecosystems services.

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AGUILOS, MARICAR; HERAULT, BRUNO; BURBAN, BENOIT; WAGNER, FABIEN `; BONAL, DAMIEN. What drives long-term variations in carbon flux and balance in a tropical rainforest in French Guiana?. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, v. 253, p. 114-123, MAY 1 2018. (13/14520-6)

MAEDA, EDUARDO EIJI; MOURA, YHASMIN MENDES; WAGNER, FABIEN; HILKER, THOMAS; LYAPUSTIN, ALEXEI I.; WANG, YUJIE; CHAVE, JEROME; MOTTUS, MATTI; ARAGAO, LUIZ E. O. C.; SHIMABUKURO, YOSIO. Consistency of vegetation index seasonality across the Amazon rainforest. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATION AND GEOINFORMATION, v. 52, p. 12-pg., 2016-10-01. (13/14520-6)

MAEDA, EDUARDO EIJI; MOURA, YHASMIN MENDES; WAGNER, FABIEN; HILKER, THOMAS; LYAPUSTIN, ALEXEI I.; WANG, YUJIE; CHAVE, JEROME; MOTTUS, MATTI; ARAGAO, LUIZ E. O. C.; SHIMABUKURO, YOSIO. Consistency of vegetation index seasonality across the Amazon rainforest. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, v. 52, p. 42-53, OCT 2016. (13/14520-6)

BERTANI, GABRIEL; WAGNER, FABIEN H.; ANDERSON, LIANA O.; ARAGAO, LUIZ E. O. C.. Chlorophyll Fluorescence Data Reveals Climate-Related Photosynthesis Seasonality in Amazonian Forests. REMOTE SENSING, v. 9, n. 12, DEC 2017. (16/17652-9, 13/50533-5, 15/50484-0, 13/14520-6)

WAGNER, FABIEN; ROSSI, VIVIEN; AUBRY-KIENTZ, MELAINE; BONAL, DAMIEN; DALITZ, HELMUT; GLINIARS, ROBERT; STAHL, CLEMENT; TRABUCCO, ANTONIO; HERAULT, BRUNO. Pan-Tropical Analysis of Climate Effects on Seasonal Tree Growth. PLoS One, v. 9, n. 3, MAR 26 2014. (13/14520-6)

WAGNER, FABIEN HUBERT; HERAULT, BRUNO; ROSSI, VIVIEN; HILKER, THOMAS; MAEDA, EDUARDO EIJI; SANCHEZ, ALBER; LYAPUSTIN, ALEXEI I.; GALVAO, LENIO SOARES; WANG, YUJIE; ARAGAO, LUIZ E. O. C.. Climate drivers of the Amazon forest greening. PLoS One, v. 12, n. 7, JUL 14 2017. (16/17652-9, 16/03397-7, 13/14520-6, 15/50484-0)

WAGNER, F.; ROSSI, V.; STAHL, C.; BONAL, D.; HERAULT, B.. Asynchronism in leaf and wood production in tropical forests: a study combining satellite and ground-based measurements. BIOGEOSCIENCES, v. 10, n. 11, p. 7307-7321, 2013. (13/14520-6)

WAGNER, FABIEN H.; HERAULT, BRUNO; BONAL, DAMIEN; STAHL, CLEMENT; ANDERSON, LIANA O.; BAKER, TIMOTHY R.; BECKER, GABRIEL SEBASTIAN; BEECKMAN, HANS; SOUZA, DANILO BOANERGES; BOTOSSO, PAULO CESAR; et al. Climate seasonality limits leaf carbon assimilation and wood productivity in tropical forests. BIOGEOSCIENCES, v. 13, n. 8, p. 2537-2562, 2016. (13/14520-6)

BONAL, DAMIEN; BURBAN, BENOIT; STAHL, CLEMENT; WAGNER, FABIEN; HERAULT, BRUNO. The response of tropical rainforests to drought-lessons from recent research and future prospects. ANNALS OF FOREST SCIENCE, v. 73, n. 1, p. 27-44, MAR 2016. (13/14520-6)