Patterns and controls on island‐wide aboveground biomass accumulation in second‐growth forests of Puerto Rico

Martinuzzi, Sebastián; Cook, Bruce D.; Helmer, Eileen H.; Keller, Michael; Locke, Dexter H.; Marcano‐Vega, Humfredo; Uriarte, María; Morton, Douglas C.

doi:10.1111/btp.13122

Patterns and controls on island‐wide aboveground biomass accumulation in second‐growth forests of Puerto Rico

Journal Article · Thu Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Biotropica

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13122· OSTI ID:1888595

^[1]; Cook, Bruce D. ^[2]; Helmer, Eileen H. ^[3]; Keller, Michael ^[4]; ^[5]; Marcano‐Vega, Humfredo ^[6]; ^[7]; Morton, Douglas C. ^[2]

SILVIS Lab Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison Wisconsin USA, Biospheric Sciences Laboratory NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt Maryland USA
Biospheric Sciences Laboratory NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt Maryland USA
USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry San Juan Puerto Rico USA
USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry San Juan Puerto Rico USA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena California USA
USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Baltimore Field Station Baltimore Maryland USA
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station Knoxville Tennessee USA
Department of Ecology, Evolution &, Environmental Biology Columbia University New York New York USA

Abstract

Understanding the heterogeneity of biomass accumulation in second‐growth tropical forests following land use abandonment is important for informing ecosystem carbon models and forest restoration efforts. There is an urgent need for a broad sample of second‐growth forests to enhance our knowledge of carbon accumulation in human‐dominated landscapes, especially for older forests. Puerto Rico has predominantly second‐growth forests, ranging in age from approximately 25 to more than 80 years. We used an island‐wide sample of airborne lidar from the NASA Goddard Lidar, Hyperspectral, and Thermal (G‐LiHT) Airborne Imager collected on March 2017, forest inventory data, and data on forest age, precipitation, soils, and land use to estimate aboveground biomass stocks in moist and wet, second‐growth tropical forests. Biomass accumulation rates in Puerto Rico were lower, on average, than in other Neotropical forests. Median biomass across >16,700 ha of older second‐growth forests was 105 Mg ha ⁻¹ , and sampled biomass rarely surpassed 250 Mg ha ⁻¹ . Differences in biomass by age were large and persistent across different substrates and land uses, with a plateau in the pattern of island‐wide biomass accumulation after about 33 years. A spatial regression model showed that multiple factors were related to biomass accumulation, including time since abandonment, geologic substrate, past land use as coffee or pasture, precipitation, topographic wetness index, and slope. Our findings have important consequences for the total carbon storage and expected climate mitigation benefits of large‐scale reforestation efforts, and highlight the value of airborne lidar for quantifying biomass variability in complex tropical landscapes.

Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

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Research Organization:: USDA Forest Service, Savannah River, New Ellenton, SC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); US Forest Service; USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89243018SSC000012; 89243018SSC000013

OSTI ID:: 1888595

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1888596
OSTI ID: 1980614

Journal Information:: Biotropica, Journal Name: Biotropica Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 54; ISSN 0006-3606

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Patterns and controls on island-wide aboveground biomass accumulation in second-growth forests of Puerto Rico

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
carbon
forest succession
lidar
restoration
tropical forests

Patterns and controls on island‐wide aboveground biomass accumulation in second‐growth forests of Puerto Rico

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