Tropical Montane Cloud Forests

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Tropical Montane Cloud Forests
Ecophysiological processes along an Andean
elevation gradient Cécile Girardin Dr. Yadvinder
Malhi Prof. Rob Whittaker Oxford University
Centre for the Environment
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Agenda

• Context
• Aim Approach
• Hypotheses
• Research plan
• Timetable
• Scientific contributions

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Context

• Tropical Montane Cloud Forests (TMCF)
• Biodiversity hotspots
• Particularly sensitive to Climate Change

Koshnipata Manu National Park, Peru
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Aim Approach

• Aim effects of mean annual temperature and
  seasonality on forest ecophysiology and carbon
  dynamics.
• Approach monitoring key forest processes along
  an elevational gradient in an Andean TMCF.

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Hypotheses (1)

• H1 Aboveground net primary productivity (NPP)
  declines with elevation this decline is
  primarily driven by temperature and not light or
  rainfall.
• H2 Belowground NPP increases with elevation
  this is primarily driven by temperature.
• H3 The decrease in aboveground NPP is offset by
  an increase in belowground NPP, thus opposite
  trends result in no overall change in total
  ecosystem NPP with elevation.

Koshnipata Manu National Park, Peru
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Background
Borneo (Kitayama et al.,2002)
Jamaica (Tanner et al.,1980)
Hawaii (Raich et al.,1997)
Puerto Rico (Waide et al, 1998)
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Background
Borneo (Kitayama et al.,2002)
A
b
o
v
e
g
r
o
u
n
d

N
P
P
B
e
l
o
w
g
r
o
u
n
d

N
P
P
Ecuadorian Andes (Roderstein et al., 2005)
S
O
M
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Hypotheses (2)

• H4 The components of carbon cycle vary linearly
  with elevation, regardless of the dominance of
  new functional groups at different elevations.
• H5 Seasonality of light and rainfall affects
  carbon dynamics.

Koshnipata Manu National Park, Peru
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Research Plan overview
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13 3 52.55 S, 71 39 23.11 W
Koshnipata Valley, Manu National Park,
Peru Source Dr. Roman-Cuesta (2006)
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13 3 52.55 S, 71 39 23.11 W
LOWLAND RAINFORESTS
Plot 9 210m 26.4 ºC
SUBMONTANE FORESTS
Plot 10 194m 26.5 ºC
LOW MONTANE FORESTS
Plot 7 2038m 17.4 ºC
CLOUD FORESTS
Plot 3 3033m 12.4ºC
PUNA
Plot 5 2540m 14.9ºC
13 10 22.70 S, 71 31 19.02 W
Koshnipata Valley, Manu National Park,
Peru Source Dr. Roman-Cuesta (2006)
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Experimental Design Above Ground Productivity
Long lived C pool
Short lived C pool
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Experimental Design Below Ground Productivity (1)
Rhizotron
Root ingrowth core
Source Jarmo Karvonen, Finnish Forest Research
Institute
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Experimental Design Below Ground Productivity (2)
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Experimental Design

• Aim
• ANPP/BNPP variations along elevation gradients.
• Nutrient Cycling variations along elevation
  gradients.
• Method
• Original compilation of published data.
• Statistical analysis on existing data.

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Experimental Design Soil Plant Atmosphere
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Timetable
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Scientific contributions

• First study comparing ANPP and BNPP variations
  along an elevational gradient
• Help understand processes affecting NPP variation
  in TMCFs
• Identify gaps in research
• Provide a new direction for further studies