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Heterogeneous climatic controls on tropical-forest biomass

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Why This Matters

This collection of research highlights the complex factors influencing tropical forest biomass, including climate variability, water availability, and human activities. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for predicting how tropical forests will respond to climate change and for developing effective conservation strategies. These insights directly impact efforts to manage forest resources, carbon storage, and biodiversity preservation in the face of global environmental change.

Key Takeaways

Fauset, S. et al. Drought-induced shifts in the floristic and functional composition of tropical forests in Ghana. Ecol. Lett. 15, 1120–1129 (2012).

Lewis, S. L. et al. Above-ground biomass and structure of 260 African tropical forests. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B 368, 20120295 (2013).

Álvarez-Dávila, E. et al. Forest biomass density across large climate gradients in northern South America is related to water availability but not with temperature. PLoS ONE 12, e0171072 (2017).

Sullivan, M. J. P. et al. Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth’s tropical forests. Science 368, 869–874 (2020).

Muller-Landau, H. C. et al. Patterns and mechanisms of spatial variation in tropical forest productivity, woody residence time, and biomass. New Phytol. 229, 3065–3087 (2021).

Shenkin, A. et al. The world’s tallest tropical tree in three dimensions. Front. For. Glob. Change 2, 32 (2019).

Borges de Lima, R. B. et al. Mapping the density of giant trees in the Amazon. New Phytol. 249, 152–168 (2026).

Erb, K.-H. et al. Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass. Nature 553, 73–76 (2018).

Johnson, M. O. et al. Variation in stem mortality rates determines patterns of above-ground biomass in Amazonian forests: implications for dynamic global vegetation models. Glob. Change Biol. 22, 3996–4013 (2016).

Saatchi, S. S. et al. Benchmark map of forest carbon stocks in tropical regions across three continents. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 9899–9904 (2011).

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