Phenology and Seasonal Ecosystem Productivity in an Amazonian Floodplain Forest

Author(s)

Fonseca, Leticia D. M. ^[1] ; Dalagnol, Ricardo ^[2] ; Malhi, Yadvinder ^[3] ; Rifai, Sami W. ^[3] ; Costa, Gabriel B. ^[4] ; Silva, Thiago S. F. ^[5] ; Da Rocha, Humberto R. ^[6] ; Tavares, Iane B. ^[1] ; Borma, Laura S. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Natl Inst Space Res INPE, Earth Syst Sci, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[2] INPE, Remote Sensing Div, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Oxford, Environm Change Inst, Sch Geog & Environm, Oxford OX1 3QY - England

^[4] Fed Univ Western Para, BR-68040260 Santarem, PA - Brazil

^[5] Univ Stirling, Fac Nat Sci, Biol & Environm Sci, Stirling FK9 4LA - Scotland

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Atmospher Sci IAG, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: REMOTE SENSING; v. 11, n. 13 JUL 1 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Several studies have explored the linkages between phenology and ecosystem productivity across the Amazon basin. However, few studies have focused on flooded forests, which correspond to c.a. 14% of the basin. In this study, we assessed the seasonality of ecosystem productivity (gross primary productivity, GPP) from eddy covariance measurements, environmental drivers and phenological patterns obtained from the field (leaf litter mass) and satellite measurements (enhanced vegetation index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/multi-angle implementation correction (MODIS/MAIAC)) in an Amazonian floodplain forest. We found that ecosystem productivity is limited by soil moisture in two different ways. During the flooded period, the excess of water limits GPP (Spearman's correlation; rho = -0.22), while during non-flooded months, GPP is positively associated with soil moisture (rho = 0.34). However, GPP is maximized when cumulative water deficit (CWD) increases (rho = 0.81), indicating that GPP is dependent on the amount of water available. EVI was positively associated with leaf litter mass (Pearson's correlation; r = 0.55) and with GPP (r = 0.50), suggesting a coupling between new leaf production and the phenology of photosynthetic capacity, decreasing both at the peak of the flooded period and at the end of the dry season. EVI was able to describe the inter-annual variations on forest responses to environmental drivers, which have changed during an observed El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) year (2015/2016). (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/58120-3 - Carbon tracker and water availability controls of land use and climate changes
• Grantee: Humberto Ribeiro da Rocha
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50531-2 - Ecophysiological controls on Amazonian precipitation seasonality and variability
• Grantee: Laura de Simone Borma
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Regular Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/22987-7 - Assessment of climate change impacts on the biomass and carbon dynamics in the Amazon
• Grantee: Ricardo Dal'Agnol da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate