Institute of Botany
Sect. Plant Ecology
| Title | Through enhanced tree dynamics carbon dioxide enrichment may cause tropical forests to lose carbon |
| Author/s | Christian Körner |
| Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Phil Trans R Soc Lond Ser B-Biol Sci 359:493-498 |
| Abstract | The fixation and storage of C by tropical forests, which contain close to half of the globe's biomass C, may be affected by elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Classical theoretical approaches assume a uniform stimulation of photosynthesis and growth across taxa. Direct assessments of the C balance either by flux studies or by repeated forest inventories also suggest a current net uptake, although magnitudes sometimes exceed those missing required to balance the global C cycle. Reasons for such discrepancies may lie in the nature of forest dynamics and in differential responses of taxa or plant functional types. In this contribution I argue that CO₂ enrichment may cause forests to become more dynamic and that faster tree turnover may in fact convert a stimulatory effect of elevated CO₂ on photosynthesis and growth into a long-term net biomass C loss by favouring shorter-lived trees of lower wood density. At the least, this is a scenario that deserves inclusion into long-term projections of the C relations of tropical forests. Species and plant functional type specific responses ('biodiversity effects') and forest dynamics need to be accounted for in projections of future C storage and cycling in tropical forests. |
| Keywords | carbon sequestration · biodiversity · elevated CO₂ · lianas · tropics |
| Contact | Christian Körner: email | webpage | list of publications |