Hydrological networks and associated topographic variation as templates for the spatial organization of tropical forest vegetation.

ABSTRACT: An understanding of the spatial variability in tropical forest structure and biomass, and the mechanisms that underpin this variability, is critical for designing, interpreting, and upscaling field studies for regional carbon inventories. We investigated the spatial structure of tropical forest vegetation and its relationship to the hydrological network and associated topographic structure across spatial scales of 10-1000 m using high-resolution maps of LiDAR-derived mean canopy profile height (MCH) and elevation for 4930 ha of tropical forest in central Panama. MCH was strongly associated with the hydrological network: canopy height was highest in areas of positive convexity (valleys, depressions) close to channels draining 1 ha or more. Average MCH declined strongly with decreasing conve

SUBMITTER: Detto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3799763 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature