Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026
08:09
Measuring and Mapping Patterns of Soil Erosion and Deposition Related to Soil Carbonate Concentrations Under Agricultural Management
Published on: September 12, 2017
Total carbon accumulation in a tropical forest landscape.
Carlos A Sierra1, Jorge I Del Valle, Hector I Restrepo
1Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str, 10, Jena, 07745, Germany. csierra@bgc-jena.mpg.de.
Carbon Balance and Management
|December 20, 2012
Summary
Tropical forests regrowing worldwide sequester carbon, but accumulation rates vary. This study in Colombia found soil carbon did not recover, impacting total carbon stocks (TCS) predictions and highlighting the need to consider land-use legacies and landscape age.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Science
- Forestry
Background:
- Regrowing tropical forests are crucial for carbon sequestration and mitigating emissions from deforestation.
- Significant uncertainties exist regarding carbon accumulation rates in secondary forests post-abandonment.
- This study investigates total carbon stocks (TCS) accumulation in a chronosequence of Andean secondary forests.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify carbon accumulation rates in secondary tropical forests.
- To develop and validate a model for predicting total carbon stocks (TCS) over time.
- To evaluate common assumptions in large-scale carbon budget calculations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of total carbon stocks (TCS) in a chronosequence of secondary forests (900-1200 m asl) in the Colombian Andes.
- Development of an empirical model to predict TCS accumulation based on observed data.
- Validation of the model using independent chronosequence data from the Americas.
Main Results:
- Positive carbon accumulation was observed in all ecosystem pools except soil carbon, which showed no recovery after 36 years.
- The developed model accurately predicted TCS accumulation across different chronosequences (RMSE < 40 Mg C ha-1).
- Simulations revealed that carbon release from regrowing forests can occur, influenced by carbon legacies and landscape age.
Conclusions:
- Soil carbon recovery is slow in secondary Andean forests, impacting overall carbon sequestration potential.
- The model highlights the critical role of land-use legacies and landscape age in determining net carbon accumulation.
- Standard carbon budget assumptions, such as using aboveground biomass alone or ignoring landscape age, may overestimate accumulation rates in the Americas.
Related Concept Videos
01:14The Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.
00:46Trophic Efficiency
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
01:27C4 Pathway and CAM
Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
01:28Carbon-dioxide Fixation
Carbon dioxide fixation in prokaryotes enables the assimilation of inorganic carbon into organic molecules, supporting biosynthetic pathways, sustaining ecosystems, and contributing to the global carbon cycle. It also has industrial applications in carbon capture and bioproduct synthesis. Autotrophic organisms rely on this process to utilize CO₂ as a carbon source in diverse environments.The Calvin CycleThe Calvin cycle is the most widespread carbon fixation mechanism, primarily used by...
00:54What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
The most common elements in organic molecules, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, are only available in the ecosystem in limited amounts. Therefore, these nutrients must be recycled through both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, in processes generally called biogeochemical cycles.
01:40The Calvin Cycle
OverviewOxygenic photosynthesis plays a central role in the global carbon and oxygen cycles. The carbohydrates produced support nearly all food webs, while the oxygen by‑product enables aerobic life.Light‑dependent and light‑independent reactionsPhotosynthesis occurs in two main stages, each in a different part of the chloroplast: light‑dependent reactions and light‑independent reactions, also called the Calvin‑Benson cycle or simply the Calvin cycle.Light‑dependent reactions take place in the...