Species Matter: Wood Density Influences Tropical Forest Biomass at Multiple Scales.

ABSTRACT: The mass of carbon contained in trees is governed by the volume and density of their wood. This represents a challenge to most remote sensing technologies, which typically detect surface structure and parameters related to wood volume but not to its density. Since wood density is largely determined by taxonomic identity this challenge is greatest in tropical forests where there are tens of thousands of tree species. Here, using pan-tropical literature and new analyses in Amazonia with plots with reliable identifications we assess the impact that species-related variation in wood density has on biomass estimates of mature tropical forests. We find impacts of species on forest biomass due to wood density at all scales from the individual tree up to the whole biome: variation in tree species

SUBMITTER: Phillips OL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6647473 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature