@article{db6e46c7ca484869a4e2254cad52f31f,
title = "Carbon declines along tropical forest edges correspond to heterogeneous effects on canopy structure and function",
abstract = "Nearly 20% of tropical forests are within 100 m of a nonforest edge, a consequence of rapid deforestation for agriculture. Despite widespread conversion, roughly 1.2 billion ha of tropical forest remain, constituting the largest terrestrial component of the global carbon budget. Effects of deforestation on carbon dynamics in remnant forests, and spatial variation in underlying changes in structure and function at the plant scale, remain highly uncertain. Using airborne imaging spectroscopy and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, we mapped and quantified changes in forest structure and foliar characteristics along forest/oil palm boundaries in Malaysian Borneo to understand spatial and temporal variation in the influence of edges on aboveground carbon and associated changes in ecosystem structure and function. We uncovered declines in aboveground carbon averaging 22% along edges that extended over 100 m into the forest. Aboveground carbon losses were correlated with significant reductions in canopy height and leaf mass per area and increased foliar phosphorus, three plant traits related to light capture and growth. Carbon declines amplified with edge age. Our results indicate that carbon losses along forest edges can arise from multiple, distinct effects on canopy structure and function that vary with edge age and environmental conditions, pointing to a need for consideration of differences in ecosystem sensitivity when developing land-use and conservation strategies. Our findings reveal that, although edge effects on ecosystem structure and function vary, forests neighboring agricultural plantations are consistently vulnerable to long-lasting negative effects on fundamental ecosystem characteristics controlling primary productivity and carbon storage.",
keywords = "Borneo, Carbon conservation, Deforestation, Forest edge effects, Leaf traits",
author = "Ordway, {Elsa M.} and Asner, {Gregory P.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank N. Vaughn, P. Brodrick, R. Martin, U. Jami, I. Karolus, and others in the Arizona State University field team for supporting underpinning aspects of this work. We thank our partners from the Sabah Forestry Department, South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Partners of Community Organizations in Sabah (PACOS) Trust, Layang Layang Aerospace, and other organizations within Malaysia for their support of this study. Airborne mapping, processing, and analysis were funded by the United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility, Avatar Alliance Foundation, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Morgan Family Foundation, and Rainforest Trust. E.M.O. was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Grant 2012118590) and by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Harvard University Center for the Environment. The Global Airborne Observatory has been made possible by grants and donations to G.P.A. from the Avatar Alliance Foundation; Margaret A. Cargill Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment; W. M. Keck Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Andrew Mellon Foundation; Mary Anne Nyburg Baker and G. Leonard Baker Jr.; and William R. Hearst III. Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank N. Vaughn, P. Brodrick, R. Martin, U. Jami, I. Karolus, and others in the Arizona State University field team for supporting underpinning aspects of this work. We thank our partners from the Sabah Forestry Department, South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Partners of Community Organizations in Sabah (PACOS) Trust, Layang Layang Aerospace, and other organizations within Malaysia for their support of this study. Airborne mapping, processing, and analysis were funded by the United Nations Development Programme Global Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = apr,
day = "7",
doi = "10.1073/pnas.1914420117",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "117",
pages = "7863--7870",
journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
issn = "0027-8424",
publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",
number = "14",
}