Resistance of African tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

The responses of tropical forests to environmental change are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The positive phase of the 2015–2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation in the tropics with substantial impacts on th...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 118; no. 21; pp. 1 - 12
Main Authors:	Bennett, Amy C., Dargie, Greta C., Cuni-Sanchez, Aida, Mukendi, John Tshibamba, Hubau, Wannes, Mukinzi, Jacques M., Phillips, Oliver L., Malhi, Yadvinder, Sullivan, Martin J. P., Cooper, Declan L. M., Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Affum-Baffoe, Kofi, Amani, Christian A., Banin, Lindsay F., Beeckman, Hans, Begne, Serge K., Bocko, Yannick E., Boeckx, Pascal, Bogaert, Jan, Brncic, Terry, Chezeaux, Eric, Clark, Connie J., Daniels, Armandu K., de Haulleville, Thales, Kamdem, Marie-Noël Djuikouo, Doucet, Jean-Louis, Ondo, Fidèle Evouna, Ewango, Corneille E. N., Feldpausch, Ted R., Foli, Ernest G., Gonmadje, Christelle, Hall, Jefferson S., Hardy, Olivier J., Harris, David J., Ifo, Suspense A., Jeffery, Kathryn J., Kearsley, Elizabeth, Leal, Miguel, Levesley, Aurora, Makana, Jean-Remy, Lukasu, Faustin Mbayu, Medjibe, Vincent P., Mihindu, Vianet, Moore, Sam, Begone, Natacha Nssi, Pickavance, Georgia C., Poulsen, John R., Reitsma, Jan, Sonké, Bonaventure, Sunderland, Terry C. H., Taedoumg, Hermann, Talbot, Joey, Tuagben, Darlington S., Umunay, Peter M., Verbeeck, Hans, Vleminckx, Jason, White, Lee J. T., Woell, Hannsjoerg, Woods, John T., Zemagho, Lise, Lewis, Simon L.
Format:	Journal Article Web Resource
Language:	English
Published:	United States National Academy of Sciences 25-05-2021
Subjects:	Anomalies Biological Sciences Biologie végétale (sciences végétales, sylviculture, mycologie...) Biomass Carbon Carbon Cycle Carbon sinks Climate Change Drought Droughts El Nino El Nino-Southern Oscillation El Niño ENSO Environmental changes Environmental conditions Environmental impact Environmental sciences & ecology Forest biomass Forests Hot Temperature Humans Impact prediction Life sciences Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...) Rainfall Rainforest Rainforests Sciences de l’environnement & écologie Sciences du vivant Seasons Southern Oscillation Temperature Trees - growth & development Tropical Climate Tropical environments Tropical forests temperature El Niño carbon cycle ENSO drought
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	The responses of tropical forests to environmental change are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The positive phase of the 2015–2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation in the tropics with substantial impacts on the global carbon cycle. The role of African tropical forests is uncertain as their responses to short-term drought and temperature anomalies have yet to be determined using on-the-ground measurements. African tropical forests may be particularly sensitive because they exist in relatively dry conditions compared with Amazonian or Asian forests, or they may be more resistant because of an abundance of drought-adapted species. Here, we report responses of structurally intact old-growth lowland tropical forests inventoried within the African Tropical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON). We use 100 long-term inventory plots from six countries each measured at least twice prior to and once following the 2015–2016 El Niño event. These plots experienced the highest temperatures and driest conditions on record. The record temperature did not significantly reduce carbon gains from tree growth or significantly increase carbon losses from tree mortality, but the record drought did significantly decrease net carbon uptake. Overall, the long-term biomass increase of these forests was reduced due to the El Niño event, but these plots remained a live biomass carbon sink (0.51 ± 0.40 Mg C ha−1 y−1) despite extreme environmental conditions. Our analyses, while limited to African tropical forests, suggest they may be more resistant to climatic extremes than Amazonian and Asian forests.
Bibliography:	scopus-id:2-s2.0-85106346828 Author contributions: A.C.B., O.L.P., and S.L.L. designed research; A.C.B., G.C.D., A.C.-S., J.T.M., W.H., J.M.M., O.L.P., Y.M., M.J.P.S., D.L.M.C., S.A.-B., K.A.-B., C.A.A., L.F.B., H.B., S.K.B., Y.E.B., P.B., J.B., T.B., E.C., C.J.C., A.K.D., T.d.H., M.-N.D.K., J.-L.D., F.E.O., C.E.N.E., T.R.F., E.G.F., C.G., J.S.H., O.J.H., D.J.H., S.A.I., K.J.J., E.K., M.L., J.-R.M., F.M.L., V.P.M., V.M., S.M., N.N.B., J.R.P., J.R., B.S., T.C.H.S., H.T., J.T., D.S.T., P.M.U., H.V., J.V., L.J.T.W., H.W., J.T.W., L.Z., and S.L.L. performed research; M.J.P.S., A.L., and G.C.P. contributed new analytic tools; S.L.L. conceived and managed the AfriTRON forest plot recensus programme; A.C.B. analyzed data; and A.C.B. and S.L.L. wrote the paper. Edited by Jerome Chave, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Toulouse, France, and accepted by Editorial Board Member Ruth DeFries February 1, 2021 (received for review March 8, 2020)
ISSN:	0027-8424 1091-6490 1091-6490
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.2003169118