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| Titel |
Tropical montane forests are a larger than expected global carbon store |
| VerfasserIn |
D. V. Spracklen, R. Righelato |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1726-4170
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 11, no. 10 ; Nr. 11, no. 10 (2014-05-23), S.2741-2754 |
| Datensatznummer |
250117421
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/bg-11-2741-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Tropical montane forests (TMFs) are recognized for the provision of
hydrological services and the protection of biodiversity, but their role in
carbon storage is not well understood. We synthesized published observations
(n = 94) of above-ground biomass (AGB) from forest inventory plots in TMFs
(defined here as forests between 23.5° N and 23.5° S with
elevations ≥ 1000 m a.s.l.). We found that mean (median) AGB in TMFs
is 271 (254) t per hectare of land surface. We demonstrate that AGB declines
moderately with both elevation and slope angle but that TMFs store substantial
amounts of biomass, both at high elevations (up to 3500 m) and on steep
slopes (slope angles of up to 40°). We combined remotely sensed
data sets of forest cover with high resolution data of elevation to show that
75% of the global planimetric (horizontal) area of TMF are
on steep slopes (slope angles greater than 27°). We used our remote
sensed data sets to demonstrate that this prevalence of steep slopes results
in the global land surface area of TMF (1.22 million km2) being
40% greater than the planimetric area that is the usual basis for
reporting global land surface areas and remotely sensed data. Our study
suggests that TMFs are likely to be a greater store of carbon than previously
thought, highlighting the need for conservation of the remaining montane forests. |
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