Carbon accumulation rate peaks at 1,000-m elevation in tropical planted and regrowth forests

<h2>Summary</h2> Tropical planted and regrowth forests (TPRFs) are one of the most low-cost components for recovering biomass-stored carbon in the tropics. Nevertheless, challenges persist in pinpointing which elevational ranges exhibit the largest carbon accumulation rate (<mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math>) due to the highly inconsistent previous assessments. This prevents the selection of optimal locations for implementing large-scale reforestation in the tropics. Here, we proposed a refined approach that used a carbon accumulation threshold (<80% of the maximum value) to quantify <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> in TPRFs at various elevations. We find that <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> increases with elevations from 300 to 1,000 m and declines at elevations >1,000 m. TPRFs at elevations ∼1,000 m exhibit three times more <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> than lowland TPRFs. This optimal elevation, highly dependent on background temperatures, varies slightly but significantly across different mountains. These findings provide guidelines for policymakers to determine the optimal elevations from regional to continental scales when implementing reforestation initiatives in the tropics.

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Journal
One Earth
Published
2024-11-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.11.001
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Forest ecology and management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.45

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article

Carbon accumulation rate peaks at 1,000-m elevation in tropical planted and regrowth forests

Shengli Tao, Qinwei Ran, Yuemin Yue, Raffaele Lafortezza et al.
5 citations
One Earth
Forest ecology and management
3.45
article

Carbon accumulation rate peaks at 1,000-m elevation in tropical planted and regrowth forests

Shengli Tao, Qinwei Ran, Yuemin Yue, Raffaele Lafortezza, Feng Tian, Viola Heinrich, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, Yuanwei Qin, Zhen Yu, Alessandro Cescatti, Zhenzhong Zeng, Christopher E. Doughty, Jane Liu, Kai Yan, Dalei Hao, Yiqi Luo, Wenping Yuan, Philippe Ciais, Jiashun Ren, Jingming Chen, Yongguang Zhang, Jiali Shang, Susan C. Cook‐Patton, Lei Fan, Xueyan Li, Wenting Yan, Chaoqun Zhang, Xuhui Wang, Xiuzhi Chen, Yuanyuan Huang, Liyang Liu, Jérôme Chave, Xiaoping Liu, Yongxian Su, Yi Liu
article en
5 citations

Abstract

<h2>Summary</h2> Tropical planted and regrowth forests (TPRFs) are one of the most low-cost components for recovering biomass-stored carbon in the tropics. Nevertheless, challenges persist in pinpointing which elevational ranges exhibit the largest carbon accumulation rate (<mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math>) due to the highly inconsistent previous assessments. This prevents the selection of optimal locations for implementing large-scale reforestation in the tropics. Here, we proposed a refined approach that used a carbon accumulation threshold (<80% of the maximum value) to quantify <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> in TPRFs at various elevations. We find that <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> increases with elevations from 300 to 1,000 m and declines at elevations >1,000 m. TPRFs at elevations ∼1,000 m exhibit three times more <mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mi>a</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>i</mml:mi><mml:mi>d</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math> than lowland TPRFs. This optimal elevation, highly dependent on background temperatures, varies slightly but significantly across different mountains. These findings provide guidelines for policymakers to determine the optimal elevations from regional to continental scales when implementing reforestation initiatives in the tropics.

One EarthVol. 8(1)
The Nature Conservancy (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Leeds (GB), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (CA), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Southwest University (CN), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), University of Toronto (CA), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (CN), Peking University (CN), Northern Arizona University (US), Cornell University (US), Beijing Normal University (CN), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), Wuhan University (CN), Guangdong Academy of Sciences (CN), Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (CN), Joint Research Centre (IT), State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying Mapping and Remote Sensing (CN), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (CN), Guangzhou Institute of Geography (CN), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CN), GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (DE), Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (CN), State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science (CN), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Ottawa Research and Development Centre, University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), University of Oklahoma (US), Nanjing University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Forest ecology and management
3.45
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