If we understand how trees are constructed we could explain why tree growth rate is higher in the west Amazon
Sandra
Pati�o, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, spatino@bgc-jena.mpg.de
(Presenting)
Timothy
R.
Baker, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, t.baker@geog.leeds.ac.uk
Lina
Maria
Mercado, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, lmercado@bgc-jena.mpg.de
Romilda
Maria
Quintino, INPA, romilda@inpa.gov.br
Carlos
Alberto
Quesada, Universidade Nacional de Brasilia, quesada@unb.br
Oliver
L.
Phillips, University of Leeds, o.phillips@geog.leeds.ac.uk
Yadvinder
Singh
Malhi, Oxford University, ymalhi@ed.ac.uk
Jonathan
James
Lloyd, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, jon.lloyd@bgc-jena.mpg.de
It is known that tree hydraulic architecture limits transpiration, carbon gain, tree size and tree growth and that high plant hydraulic conductance is necessary for high productivity in forest tress. Recent results coming from data of a network of 1 ha permanent sample plots across the Amazon basin suggest that tree growth rates are higher in the Western part of the Amazon than in the Eastern part. In this study we hypothesised that differences in the tree growth rates across the basin are mostly due to the hydraulic construction of the tree species adapted to each Amazonian formation.
We sampled more than a thousand trees across the basin, studied few hydraulic properties and explored some theoretical relationships between plant hydraulic, tree size and tree performance to scale from branch to tree and from tree to the whole canopy the productivity of each plot formation and extrapolated it to the region.
We found that indeed tree hydraulics could be one of the main causes of the differences in tree growth across the basin with significant correlations between hydraulics and nutrient uptake, wood characteristics and performance of each species within different Amazonian formation.
Submetido por Sandra Pati�o em 18-MAR-2004
Tema Cient�fico do LBA: CD (Armazenamento e Trocas de Carbono)