Environmental correlates of tree biomass, basal area, wood specific gravity and stem density gradients in Borneo's tropical forests |
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| Authors: | J W F Slik Shin-Ichiro Aiba Francis Q Brearley Chuck H Cannon Olle Forshed Kanehiro Kitayama Hidetoshi Nagamasu Reuben Nilus John Payne Gary Paoli Axel D Poulsen Niels Raes Douglas Sheil Kade Sidiyasa Eizi Suzuki Johan L C H van Valkenburg |
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| Institution: | Key Laboratory in Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan 666303, China,;Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8580, Japan,;Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK,;Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3131, USA,;Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183 Umea, Sweden,;Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu 520-2113, Japan,;Department of Botany, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan,;Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia,;World Wide Fund for Nature–Malaysia, 88800 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia,;Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA,;Indonesian Resource Institute, Bogor 16113, Indonesia,;Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK,;Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands,;Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, PO BOX 1410, Kabale, Uganda,;Wanariset-Samboja Herbarium, KM38 Samboja, Indonesia,;Plant Protection Service, 6700 HC Wageningen, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Aim Tropical forests have been recognized as important global carbon sinks and sources. However, many uncertainties about the spatial distribution of live tree above‐ground biomass (AGB) remain, mostly due to limited availability of AGB field data. Recent studies in the Amazon have already shown the importance of large sample size for accurate AGB gradient analysis. Here we use a large stem density, basal area, community wood density and AGB dataset to study and explain their spatial patterns in an Asian tropical forest. Location Borneo, Southeast Asia. Methods We combined stem density, basal area, community wood density and AGB data from 83 locations in Borneo with an environmental database containing elevation, climate and soil variables. The Akaike information criterion was used to select models and environmental variables that best explained the observed values of stem density, basal area, community wood density and AGB. These models were used to extrapolate these parameters across Borneo. Results We found that wood density, stem density, basal area and AGB respond significantly, but differentially, to the environment. AGB was only correlated with basal area, but not with stem density and community wood specific gravity. Main conclusions Unlike results from Amazonian forests, soil fertility was an important positive correlate for AGB in Borneo while community wood density, which is a main driver of AGB in the Neotropics, did not correlate with AGB in Borneo. Also, Borneo's average AGB of 457.1 Mg ha?1 was c. 60% higher than the Amazonian average of 288.6 Mg ha?1. We find evidence that this difference might be partly explained by the high density of large wind‐dispersed Dipterocarpaceae in Borneo, which need to be tall and emergent to disperse their seeds. Our results emphasize the importance of Bornean forests as carbon sinks and sources due to their high carbon storage capacity. |
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| Keywords: | Above ground biomass basal area Borneo carbon storage REDD stem density tropical forest wood density |
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