Variation in wood density across South American tropical forests

Author(s):Show less -

Sullivan, Martin J. P. ; Phillips, Oliver L. ; Galbraith, David ; Almeida, Everton ; de Oliveira, Edmar Almeida ; Almeida, Jarcilene ; Alvarez Davila, Esteban ; Alves, Luciana F. ; Andrade, Ana ; Aragao, Luiz ; Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro ; Arets, Eric ; Arroyo, Luzmila ; Melo Cruz, Omar Aurelio ; Baccaro, Fabricio ; Baker, Timothy R. ; Banki, Olaf ; Baraloto, Christopher ; Barlow, Jos ; Barroso, Jorcely ; Berenguer, Erika ; Blanc, Lilian ; Blundo, Cecilia ; Bonal, Damien ; Bongers, Frans ; Bordin, Kauane Maiara ; Brienen, Roel J. W. ; Broggio, Igor S. ; Burban, Benoit ; Cabral, George ; Camargo, Jose Luis ; Cardoso, Domingos ; Carniello, Maria Antonia ; Castro, Wendeson ; de Lima, Haroldo Cavalcante ; Cavalheiro, Larissa ; Ribeiro, Sabina Cerruto ; Palacios Ramos, Sonia Cesarina ; Chama Moscoso, Victor ; Chave, Jerome ; Coelho, Fernanda ; Comiskey, James A. ; Cornejo Valverde, Fernando ; Costa, Flavia ; Cotta Coutinho, Italo Antonio ; Lola da Costa, Antonio Carlos ; Brilhante de Medeiros, Marcelo ; del Aguila Pasquel, Jhon ; Derroire, Geraldine ; Dexter, Kyle G. ; Disney, Mat ; do Espirito Santo, Mario M. ; Domingues, Tomas F. ; Dourdain, Aurelie ; Duque, Alvaro ; Rangel, Cristabel Duran ; Elias, Fernando ; Esquivel-Muelbert, Adriane ; Farfan-Rios, William ; Fauset, Sophie ; Feldpausch, Ted ; Wilson Fernandes, G. ; Ferreira, Joice ; Ferreira Nunes, Yule Roberta ; Gomes Figueiredo, Joao Carlos ; Cabreara, Karina Garcia ; Gonzalez, Roy ; Hernandez, Lionel ; Herrera, Rafael ; Coronado, Euridice N. Honorio ; Huasco, Walter Huaraca ; Iguatemy, Mariana ; Joly, Carlos A. ; Kalamandeen, Michelle ; Killeen, Timothy ; Klipel, Joice ; Klitgaard, Bente ; Laurance, Susan G. ; Laurance, William F. ; Levesley, Aurora ; Lewis, Simon L. ; Dan, Mauricio Lima ; Lopez-Gonzalez, Gabriela ; Magnusson, William ; Malhi, Yadvinder ; Malizia, Lucio ; Malizia, Augustina ; Manzatto, Angelo Gilberto ; Marcelo Pena, Jose Luis ; Marimon, Beatriz S. ; Marimon Junior, Ben Hur ; Martinez-Villa, Johanna Andrea ; Reis, Simone Matias ; Metzker, Thiago ; Milliken, William ; Monteagudo-Mendoza, Abel ; Moonlight, Peter ; Morandi, Paulo S. ; Moser, Pamela ; Mueller, Sandra C. ; Nascimento, Marcelo ; Negreiros, Daniel ; Lima, Adriano Nogueira ; Vargas, Percy Nunez ; Oliveira, Washington L. ; Palacios, Walter ; Pallqui Camacho, Nadir C. ; Parada Gutierrez, Alexander ; Pardo Molina, Guido ; Pedra de Abreu, Karla Maria ; Pena-Claros, Marielos ; Francisco Pena Rodrigues, Pablo Jose ; Toby Pennington, R. ; Pickavance, Georgia C. ; Pipoly, John ; Pitman, Nigel C. A. ; Playfair, Maureen ; Pontes-Lopes, Aline ; Poorter, Lourens ; Candida dos Santos Prestes, Nayane Cristina ; Ramirez-Angulo, Hirma ; Rejou-Mechain, Maxime ; Reynel Rodriguez, Carlos ; Rivas-Torres, Gonzalo ; Rodrigues, Priscyla M. S. ; de Jesus Rodrigues, Domingos ; de Sousa, Thaiane Rodrigues ; Rodrigues Pinto, Jose Roberto ; Rodriguez M., Gina M. ; Roucoux, Katherine ; Ruokolainen, Kalle ; Ryan, Casey M. ; Salinas Revilla, Norma ; Salomao, Rafael ; Santos, Rubens M. ; Sarkinen, Tiina ; Scabin, Andressa ; Bergamin, Rodrigo Scarton ; Schietti, Juliana ; de Meira Junior, Milton Serpa ; Serrano, Julio ; Silman, Miles ; Silva, Richarlly C. ; Silva, Camila V. J. ; Silva, Jhonathan Oliveria ; Silveira, Marcos ; Simon, Marcelo F. ; Soto-Shareva, Yahn Carlos ; Souza, Priscila ; Souza, Rodolfo ; Sposito, Tereza ; Talbot, Joey ; ter Steege, Hans ; Terborgh, John ; Thomas, Raquel ; Toledo, Marisol ; Torres-Lezama, Armando ; Trujillo, William ; van der Hout, Peter ; Magalhes Veloso, Maria das Dores ; Vieira, Simone A. ; Vilanova, Emilio ; Villalobos Cayo, Jeanneth M. ; Villela, Dora M. ; Jessica Viscarra, Laura ; Vos, Vincent A. ; Wortel, Verginia ; Ishida, Francoise Yoko ; Zuidema, Pieter A. ; Zwerts, Joeri A.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS; v. 16, n. 1, p. 12-pg., 2025-03-10.

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 naive 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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 03/12595-7 - Floristic composition, structure and functioning of the Dense Rainforest nuclei of Picinguaba and Santa Virgínia of Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, State of São Paulo, Brazil
• Grantee: Carlos Alfredo Joly
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/15001-6 - ARBOLES: a trait-based understanding of LATAM forest biodiversity and resilience
• Grantee: Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragão
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/21043-8 - Airborne LiDAR for quantifying changes in biomass stocks and structural dynamics in fire-damaged forests in Central Amazon
• Grantee: Aline Pontes Lopes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 12/51872-5 - ECOFOR: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in degraded and recovering Amazonian and Atlantic Forests
• Grantee: Carlos Alfredo Joly
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/50488-5 - Nordeste: new science for a neglected biome
• Grantee: Jonathan James Lloyd
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - SPEC Program