TY - JOUR
T1 - The biogeochemical heterogeneity of tropical forests
AU - Townsend, Alan R.
AU - Asner, Gregory P.
AU - Cleveland, Cory C.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank S. Reed, W. Wieder, C. Bern, N. Ascarrunz, S. Porder, P. Vitousek, D. Knapp, T. Kennedy-Bowdoin and R. Martin for contributions to the ideas and data presented here. This work was supported by the NSF Ecosystems Program (grants DEB-0089447 and DEB-0136957), the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the NASA Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Program (grant NNG-06-GI-87G). The Carnegie Airborne Observatory is supported by the W.M. Keck Foundation and William Hearst III.
PY - 2008/8
Y1 - 2008/8
N2 - Tropical forests are renowned for their biological diversity, but also harbor variable combinations of soil age, chemistry and susceptibility to erosion or tectonic uplift. Here we contend that the combined effects of this biotic and abiotic diversity promote exceptional biogeochemical heterogeneity at multiple scales. At local levels, high plant diversity creates variation in chemical and structural traits that affect plant production, decomposition and nutrient cycling. At regional levels, myriad combinations of soil age, soil chemistry and landscape dynamics create variation and uncertainty in limiting nutrients that do not exist at higher latitudes. The effects of such heterogeneity are not well captured in large-scale estimates of tropical ecosystem function, but we suggest new developments in remote sensing can help bridge the gap.
AB - Tropical forests are renowned for their biological diversity, but also harbor variable combinations of soil age, chemistry and susceptibility to erosion or tectonic uplift. Here we contend that the combined effects of this biotic and abiotic diversity promote exceptional biogeochemical heterogeneity at multiple scales. At local levels, high plant diversity creates variation in chemical and structural traits that affect plant production, decomposition and nutrient cycling. At regional levels, myriad combinations of soil age, soil chemistry and landscape dynamics create variation and uncertainty in limiting nutrients that do not exist at higher latitudes. The effects of such heterogeneity are not well captured in large-scale estimates of tropical ecosystem function, but we suggest new developments in remote sensing can help bridge the gap.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tree.2008.04.009
DO - 10.1016/j.tree.2008.04.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 18582987
AN - SCOPUS:47049122192
SN - 0169-5347
VL - 23
SP - 424
EP - 431
JO - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
JF - Trends in Ecology and Evolution
IS - 8
ER -