ABSTRACT
With current observations and future projections of more intense and frequent droughts in the tropics, understanding the impact that extensive dry periods may have on tree and ecosystem-level transpiration and concurrent carbon uptake has become increasingly important. Here, we investigate paired soil and tree water extraction dynamics in an old-growth upland forest in central Amazonia during the 2018 dry season. Tree water use was assessed via radial patterns of sap flow in eight dominant canopy trees, each a different species with a range in diameter, height, and wood density. Paired multi-sensor soil moisture probes used to quantify volumetric water content dynamics and soil water extraction within the upper 100 cm were installed adjacent to six of those trees. To link depth-specific water extraction patterns to root distribution, fine root biomass was assessed through the soil profile to 235 cm. To scale tree water use to the plot level (stand transpiration), basal area was measured for all trees within a 5 m radius around each soil moisture probe. The sensitivity of tree transpiration to reduced precipitation varied by tree, with some increasing and some decreasing in water use during the dry period. Tree-level water use scaled with sapwood area, from 11 to 190 L per day. Stand level water use, based on multiple plots encompassing sap flow and adjacent trees, varied from â¼1.7 to 3.3 mm per day, increasing linearly with plot basal area. Soil water extraction was dependent on root biomass, which was dense at the surface (i.e., 45% in the upper 5 cm) and declined dramatically with depth. As the dry season progressed and the upper soil dried, soil water extraction shifted to deeper levels and model projections suggest that much of the water used during the month-long dry-down could be extracted from the upper 2-3 m. Results indicate variation in rates of soil water extraction across the research area and, temporally, through the soil profile. These results provide key information on whole-tree contributions to transpiration by canopy trees as water availability changes. In addition, information on simultaneous stand level dynamics of soil water extraction that can inform mechanistic models that project tropical forest response to drought.
ABSTRACT
Na Amazônia, o fogo é ainda o principal trato cultural utilizado no preparo de solo para agricultura e pecuária, tanto pelos pequenos como pelos grandes fazendeiros. Combinando à baixa fertilidade do solo e ao baixo preço da terra, assim que as fontes naturais de nutrientes são exauridas, as áreas são abandonadas e novas florestas primárias são derrubadas e queimadas. Por conta disso, grandes extensões de área da Amazônia são cobertas por florestas secundárias originadas de áreas abandonadas pela agricultura ou pastagem. Este estudo foi conduzido em uma área experimental usada em uma pesquisa sobre eficiência de combustão e emissão de gás carbônico da floresta amazônica, localizada aproximadamente 50 km ao norte de Manaus. A vegetação da área experimental foi derrubada e queimada em 1991, simulando as condições em que o pequeno agricultor prepara o solo para plantios de subsistência. Dez anos após a queimada, a floresta secundária ainda é bastante diferente da floresta original. As espécies vegetais dominantes são, principalmente, das famílias botânicas Annonaceae, Arecaceae, Burseraceae, Cecropiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lecythidaceae, Melastomataceae, Mimosaceae, Sapindaceae e Sterculiaceae. O estoque de biomassa recuperado, dez anos após a formação da capoeira estudada, é de aproximadamente 16 por cento, ou seja, a capoeira apresenta um estoque médio de 56,2 t.ha-1 ± 12 (IC 95 por cento), enquanto que o estoque da floresta primária é de 339,7 t.ha-1 ± 66,7 (IC 95 por cento).
In Amazonia, fire is widely used for soil preparation in the agriculture and cattle ranching, either by small or big farmers. The combination of low fertility of the soil and low price of the land usually leads to typical shift cultivation as soon as the natural sources of nutrients are exhausted, when new primary forests are felled and burned. Due to that, secondary forests originated from abandoned agriculture or pasture activity projects cover huge areas in the Brazilian Amazônia. This study was carried out in the Tropical Forestry Experimental Station (EEST/INPA), around 50 kilometers north of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas State. A secondary forest ("capoeira"), 10 years old, was selected for this study; its land use history includes clear cutting followed by fire. Two different samples of primary forests were included as control plots for the "capoeira". All individuals with diameter at breast height (DBH) greater than 5 cm were measured and recorded in a single area of 0,4 ha for each treatment. Ten years after burning, the secondary forest is still very different in comparison with primary forest, in terms of important parameters of the vegetation structure, such as floristic composition, abundance, frequency, dominance, index of value of importance (IVI) and the diameter distribution. In "capoeira" studied the dominant species are mainly of the following botanical families: Annonaceae, Arecaceae, Burseraceae, Cecropiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lecythidaceae, Melastomataceae, Mimosaceae, Sapindaceae and Sterculiaceae. The estimates of dry biomass were 56.2 t. ha-1 ± 12 (CI 95 percent) and 339.7 t.ha-1 ± 66.7 (CI 95 percent) for "capoeira" and primary forest, respectively.
Subject(s)
Biomass , FiresABSTRACT
Os fatores que envolvem os processos da dinâmica da floresta influenciam a sua biodiversidade e, portanto, a qualidade da floresta. A definição de estratégias que envolve a proteção e o uso adequado da floresta manejada e a recuperação de áreas já degradadas tornam-se possível com o estudo da estrutura e dinâmica da floresta primária por meio de informações como a mortalidade, o recrutamento e a permanência das árvores no sistema florestal. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a dinâmica de uma floresta não perturbada e fazer projeções da dinâmica florestal usando a matriz de transição probabilística (Cadeia de Markov). As taxas de recrutamento, mortalidade e incremento foram determinadas a partir de inventários florestais realizados em dois transectos, nos sentidos Norte-Sul e Leste-Oeste (20 x 2500 m cada, totalizando 10 ha), localizados no km 50 da BR 174, na estrada vicinal ZF-2, Manaus/AM, nos anos de 2000 e 2004. A floresta acumulou 8,34 t.ha-1.ano-1 de biomassa fresca acima do solo. De acordo com projeção para 2008, o número total de árvores diminuirá em 2,67 por cento (de 5987 indivíduos (2004) para 5827 (2008)) e a mortalidade será 15 por cento maior (de 264 (2004) para 311 (2008)). O teste Qui-quadrado mostrou que não há diferença significativa (1 por cento de probabilidade) entre as informações coletadas e projetadas. Esses resultados permitem concluir que a Cadeia de Markov é um eficiente instrumento para projetar a dinâmica da floresta natural, contribuindo para o planejamento em curto prazo das atividades que utilizam os recursos florestais.
To combine protection and utilization of forest resources in the tropics, the understanding of forest dynamics is essential. It is also important in the definition of strategies for rehabilitation of degraded areas. In Forestry, forest dynamics could be translated as the understanding of recruitment, mortality and biomass increment rates over time. For this study, these rates were estimated based on measurements carried out in 2000 and 2004 over two transects measuring 20 by 2500 m (5 hectares) each, in Manaus region. This paper deals with forest dynamics of a pristine forest based on the probabilistic transition matrix (the first-order Markov Chain) approach. The main objective is to report 4-year (2000 to 2004) changes in the forest structure. Diameter distribution and tree mortality will be projected ahead to 2008 (t+2), based upon a 4-year period of observations completed in 2004 (t+1) and its immediate past in 2000 (t). In terms of fresh aboveground biomass, this site accumulated 8.34 t.ha-1.ano-1. The chi ² test has shown no statistical difference (p = 0.01) between observed diameter frequency and the expected projected by Markov Chain. This result indicates that the Markov Chain approach is a reliable tool to project the forest dynamics on a short-term basis. In 2008, the total number of individuals will have a decrease of 2.7 percent, and the mortality rate will 15 percent higher than in 2004.