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Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling.

Sophie Fauset¹, Michelle O Johnson¹, Manuel Gloor¹

¹School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.

Nature Communications

|April 29, 2015

Summary

Amazonian forests concentrate carbon storage and productivity in a few hyperdominant tree species. These key species, though few, significantly impact the global carbon cycle more than their abundance suggests.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Forestry
Carbon Cycle Research

Background:

Amazonian forests exhibit high tree diversity but are dominated by a small number of hyperdominant species.
Amazonian trees play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, storing and cycling vast amounts of carbon.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if carbon storage and production functions are concentrated in a few tree species.
To determine if abundant species also dominate carbon cycling.
To identify functional traits characterizing dominant tree species in the Amazon.

Main Methods:

Analysis of a unique dataset comprising 530 Amazonian forest plots.
Quantification of woody carbon storage and productivity across species.
Statistical analysis to link species abundance, functional traits, and carbon cycling dominance.

Main Results:

Forest carbon functions (storage and productivity) are more concentrated than tree abundance, with ~1% of species responsible for 50% of these functions.
While abundant species often contribute most to biomass and productivity, maximum species size is also a significant factor.
The identity and ranking of dominant species differ across functions and geographic regions within the Amazon.

Conclusions:

A small fraction of Amazonian tree species disproportionately drives ecosystem carbon dynamics.
Species traits, particularly maximum size, alongside abundance, determine dominance in carbon cycling.
Understanding these dominant species is critical for effective conservation and carbon management in the Amazon.