Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert; Oliver L. Phillips; Roel J.W. Brienen; Sophie Fauset; Martin J.P. Sullivan; Timothy R. Baker; Kuo Jung Chao; Ted R. Feldpausch; Emanuel Gloor; Niro Higuchi; Jeanne Houwing-Duistermaat; Jon Lloyd; Haiyan Liu; Yadvinder Malhi; Beatriz Marimon; Ben Hur Marimon Junior; Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza; Lourens Poorter; Marcos Silveira; Emilio Vilanova Torre; Esteban Alvarez Dávila; Jhon del Aguila Pasquel; Everton Almeida; Patricia Alvarez Loayza; Ana Andrade; Luiz E.O.C. Aragão; Alejandro Araujo-Murakami; Eric Arets; Luzmila Arroyo; Gerardo A. Aymard C; Michel Baisie; Christopher Baraloto; Plínio Barbosa Camargo; Jorcely Barroso; Lilian Blanc; Damien Bonal; Frans Bongers; René Boot; Foster Brown; Benoit Burban; José Luís Camargo; Wendeson Castro; Victor Chama Moscoso; Jerome Chave; James Comiskey; Fernando Cornejo Valverde; Antonio Lola da Costa; Nallaret Davila Cardozo; Anthony Di Fiore; Aurélie Dourdain; Terry Erwin; Gerardo Flores Llampazo; Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira; Rafael Herrera; Eurídice Honorio Coronado; Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco; Eliana Jimenez-Rojas; Timothy Killeen; Susan Laurance; William Laurance; Aurora Levesley; Simon L. Lewis; Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaço Ladvocat; Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez; Thomas Lovejoy; Patrick Meir; Casimiro Mendoza; Paulo Morandi; David Neill; Adriano José Nogueira Lima; Percy Nuñez Vargas; Edmar Almeida de Oliveira; Nadir Pallqui Camacho; Guido Pardo; Julie Peacock; Marielos Peña-Claros; Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora; Georgia Pickavance; John Pipoly; Nigel Pitman; Adriana Prieto; Thomas A.M. Pugh; Carlos Quesada; Hirma Ramirez-Angulo; Simone Matias de Almeida Reis; Maxime Rejou-Machain; Zorayda Restrepo Correa; Lily Rodriguez Bayona; Agustín Rudas; Rafael Salomão; Julio Serrano; Javier Silva Espejo; Natalino Silva; James Singh; Clement Stahl; Juliana Stropp; Varun Swamy; Joey Talbot; Hans ter Steege; John Terborgh; Raquel Thomas; Marisol Toledo; Armando Torres-Lezama; Luis Valenzuela Gamarra; Geertje van der Heijden; Peter van der Meer; Peter van der Hout; Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez; Simone Aparecida Vieira; Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo; Vincent Vos; Roderick Zagt; Pieter Zuidema; David Galbraith

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3

Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert^*
, Oliver L. Phillips
, Roel J.W. Brienen
, Sophie Fauset
, Martin J.P. Sullivan
, Timothy R. Baker
, Kuo Jung Chao
, Ted R. Feldpausch
, Emanuel Gloor
, Niro Higuchi
, Jeanne Houwing-Duistermaat
, Jon Lloyd
, Haiyan Liu
, Yadvinder Malhi
, Beatriz Marimon
, Ben Hur Marimon Junior
, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza
, Lourens Poorter
, Marcos Silveira
, Emilio Vilanova Torre

Esteban Alvarez Dávila, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, Everton Almeida, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Ana Andrade, Luiz E.O.C. Aragão, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Gerardo A. Aymard C, Michel Baisie, Christopher Baraloto, Plínio Barbosa Camargo, Jorcely Barroso, Lilian Blanc, Damien Bonal, Frans Bongers, René Boot, Foster Brown, Benoit Burban, José Luís Camargo, Wendeson Castro, Victor Chama Moscoso, Jerome Chave, James Comiskey, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Antonio Lola da Costa, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Anthony Di Fiore, Aurélie Dourdain, Terry Erwin, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Rafael Herrera, Eurídice Honorio Coronado, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Timothy Killeen, Susan Laurance, William Laurance, Aurora Levesley, Simon L. Lewis, Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaço Ladvocat, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Thomas Lovejoy, Patrick Meir, Casimiro Mendoza, Paulo Morandi, David Neill, Adriano José Nogueira Lima, Percy Nuñez Vargas, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Guido Pardo, Julie Peacock, Marielos Peña-Claros, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Georgia Pickavance, John Pipoly, Nigel Pitman, Adriana Prieto, Thomas A.M. Pugh, Carlos Quesada, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Simone Matias de Almeida Reis, Maxime Rejou-Machain, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Agustín Rudas, Rafael Salomão, Julio Serrano, Javier Silva Espejo, Natalino Silva, James Singh, Clement Stahl, Juliana Stropp, Varun Swamy, Joey Talbot, Hans ter Steege, John Terborgh, Raquel Thomas, Marisol Toledo, Armando Torres-Lezama, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Geertje van der Heijden, Peter van der Meer, Peter van der Hout, Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo, Vincent Vos, Roderick Zagt, Pieter Zuidema, David Galbraith

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

128 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted—modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth–survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality.

Original language	English
Article number	5515
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3
Publication status	Published - Dec 2020

Access to Document

10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3Licence: CC BY

https://edepot.wur.nl/535475Licence: CC BY

Author Correction: Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests
Esquivel-Muelbert, A., Phillips, O. L., Brienen, R. J. W., Fauset, S., Sullivan, M. J. P., Baker, T. R., Chao, K. J., Feldpausch, T. R., Gloor, E., Higuchi, N., Houwing-Duistermaat, J., Lloyd, J., Liu, H., Malhi, Y., Marimon, B., Marimon Junior, B. H., Monteagudo-Mendoza, A., Poorter, L., Silveira, M. & Torre, E. V. & 94 others, Dávila, E. A., del Aguila Pasquel, J., Almeida, E., Loayza, P. A., Andrade, A., Aragão, L. E. O. C., Araujo-Murakami, A., Arets, E., Arroyo, L., Aymard C, G. A., Baisie, M., Baraloto, C., Camargo, P. B., Barroso, J., Blanc, L., Bonal, D., Bongers, F., Boot, R., Brown, F., Burban, B., Camargo, J. L., Castro, W., Moscoso, V. C., Chave, J., Comiskey, J., Valverde, F. C., da Costa, A. L., Cardozo, N. D., Di Fiore, A., Dourdain, A., Erwin, T., Llampazo, G. F., Vieira, I. C. G., Herrera, R., Honorio Coronado, E., Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I., Jimenez-Rojas, E., Killeen, T., Laurance, S., Laurance, W., Levesley, A., Lewis, S. L., Ladvocat, K. L. L. M., Lopez-Gonzalez, G., Lovejoy, T., Meir, P., Mendoza, C., Morandi, P., Neill, D., Nogueira Lima, A. J., Vargas, P. N., de Oliveira, E. A., Camacho, N. P., Pardo, G., Peacock, J., Peña-Claros, M., Peñuela-Mora, M. C., Pickavance, G., Pipoly, J., Pitman, N., Prieto, A., Pugh, T. A. M., Quesada, C., Ramirez-Angulo, H., de Almeida Reis, S. M., Rejou-Machain, M., Correa, Z. R., Bayona, L. R., Rudas, A., Salomão, R., Serrano, J., Espejo, J. S., Silva, N., Singh, J., Stahl, C., Stropp, J., Swamy, V., Talbot, J., ter Steege, H., Terborgh, J., Thomas, R., Toledo, M., Torres-Lezama, A., Gamarra, L. V., van der Heijden, G., van der Meer, P., van der Hout, P., Martinez, R. V., Vieira, S. A., Cayo, J. V., Vos, V., Zagt, R., Zuidema, P. & Galbraith, D., 4 Jan 2021, In: Nature Communications. 12, 1, 209.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/Letter to the editor › Academic

Open Access

Data and R-code from 'Mode of death and mortality risk factors in Amazon trees'. Nature communications. 2020
Esquivel-Muelbert, A. (Creator), Phillips, O. L. (Creator), Brienen, R. J. W. (Creator), Fauset, S. (Creator), Sullivan, M. J. P. (Creator), Baker, T. R. (Creator), Chao, K. J. (Creator), Feldpausch, T. R. (Creator), Gloor, E. (Creator), Higuchi, N. (Creator), Houwing-Duistermaat, J. (Creator), Lloyd, J. (Creator), Liu, H. (Creator), Malhi, Y. (Creator), Marimon, B. (Creator), Marimon Junior, B. H. (Creator), Monteagudo-Mendoza, A. (Creator), Poorter, L. (Creator), Silveira, M. (Creator), Torre, E. V. (Creator), Dávila, E. A. (Creator), del Aguila Pasquel, J. (Creator), Almeida, E. (Creator), Loayza, P. A. (Creator), Andrade, A. (Creator), Aragão, L. E. O. C. (Creator), Araujo-Murakami, A. (Creator), Arets, E. (Creator), Arroyo, L. (Creator), Aymard C, G. A. (Creator), Baisie, M. (Creator), Baraloto, C. (Creator), Camargo, P. B. (Creator), Barroso, J. (Creator), Blanc, L. (Creator), Bonal, D. (Creator), Bongers, F. (Creator), Boot, R. (Creator), Brown, F. (Creator), Burban, B. (Creator), Camargo, J. L. (Creator), Castro, W. (Creator), Moscoso, V. C. (Creator), Chave, J. (Creator), Comiskey, J. (Creator), Valverde, F. C. (Creator), da Costa, A. L. (Creator), Cardozo, N. D. (Creator), Di Fiore, A. (Creator), Dourdain, A. (Creator), Erwin, T. (Creator), Llampazo, G. F. (Creator), Vieira, I. C. G. (Creator), Herrera, R. (Creator), Honorio Coronado, E. (Creator), Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I. (Creator), Jimenez-Rojas, E. (Creator), Killeen, T. (Creator), Laurance, S. (Creator), Laurance, W. (Creator), Levesley, A. (Creator), Lewis, S. L. (Creator), Ladvocat, K. L. L. M. (Creator), Lopez-Gonzalez, G. (Creator), Lovejoy, T. (Creator), Meir, P. (Creator), Mendoza, C. (Creator), Morandi, P. (Creator), Neill, D. (Creator), Nogueira Lima, A. J. (Creator), Vargas, P. N. (Creator), de Oliveira, E. A. (Creator), Camacho, N. P. (Creator), Pardo, G. (Creator), Peacock, J. (Creator), Peña-Claros, M. (Creator), Peñuela-Mora, M. C. (Creator), Pickavance, G. (Creator), Pipoly, J. (Creator), Pitman, N. (Creator), Prieto, A. (Creator), Pugh, T. A. M. (Creator), Quesada, C. (Creator), Ramirez-Angulo, H. (Creator), de Almeida Reis, S. M. (Creator), Rejou-Machain, M. (Creator), Correa, Z. R. (Creator), Bayona, L. R. (Creator), Rudas, A. (Creator), Salomão, R. (Creator), Serrano, J. (Creator), Espejo, J. S. (Creator), Silva, N. (Creator), Singh, J. (Creator), Stahl, C. (Creator), Stropp, J. (Creator), Swamy, V. (Creator), Talbot, J. (Creator), ter Steege, H. (Creator), Terborgh, J. (Creator), Thomas, R. (Creator), Toledo, M. (Creator), Torres-Lezama, A. (Creator), Gamarra, L. V. (Creator), van der Heijden, G. (Creator), van der Meer, P. (Creator), van der Hout, P. (Creator), Martinez, R. V. (Creator), Vieira, S. A. (Creator), Cayo, J. V. (Creator), Vos, V. (Creator), Zagt, R. (Creator), Zuidema, P. (Creator) & Galbraith, D. (Creator), University of Birmingham, 2020
DOI: 10.5521/forestplots.net/2020_6
Dataset

TreeMort: Redefining the carbon sink capacity of global forests: The driving role of tree mortality
1/02/18 → 31/07/23
Project: EU research project
AMAZALERT: Raising the alert about critical feedbacks between climate and long-term land use change in the Amazon
1/09/11 → 30/11/14
Project: EU research project

Cite this

Esquivel-Muelbert, A., Phillips, O. L., Brienen, R. J. W., Fauset, S., Sullivan, M. J. P., Baker, T. R., Chao, K. J., Feldpausch, T. R., Gloor, E., Higuchi, N., Houwing-Duistermaat, J., Lloyd, J., Liu, H., Malhi, Y., Marimon, B., Marimon Junior, B. H., Monteagudo-Mendoza, A., Poorter, L., Silveira, M., ... Galbraith, D. (2020). Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests. Nature Communications, 11(1), Article 5515. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3

@article{d3a68524a31f4e9bb11bc31a9aeb3d7f,

title = "Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests",

abstract = "The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted—modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth–survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality.",

author = "Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert and Phillips, \{Oliver L.\} and Brienen, \{Roel J.W.\} and Sophie Fauset and Sullivan, \{Martin J.P.\} and Baker, \{Timothy R.\} and Chao, \{Kuo Jung\} and Feldpausch, \{Ted R.\} and Emanuel Gloor and Niro Higuchi and Jeanne Houwing-Duistermaat and Jon Lloyd and Haiyan Liu and Yadvinder Malhi and Beatriz Marimon and \{Marimon Junior\}, \{Ben Hur\} and Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza and Lourens Poorter and Marcos Silveira and Torre, \{Emilio Vilanova\} and D{\'a}vila, \{Esteban Alvarez\} and \{del Aguila Pasquel\}, Jhon and Everton Almeida and Loayza, \{Patricia Alvarez\} and Ana Andrade and Arag{\~a}o, \{Luiz E.O.C.\} and Alejandro Araujo-Murakami and Eric Arets and Luzmila Arroyo and \{Aymard C\}, \{Gerardo A.\} and Michel Baisie and Christopher Baraloto and Camargo, \{Pl{\'i}nio Barbosa\} and Jorcely Barroso and Lilian Blanc and Damien Bonal and Frans Bongers and Ren{\'e} Boot and Foster Brown and Benoit Burban and Camargo, \{Jos{\'e} Lu{\'i}s\} and Wendeson Castro and Moscoso, \{Victor Chama\} and Jerome Chave and James Comiskey and Valverde, \{Fernando Cornejo\} and \{da Costa\}, \{Antonio Lola\} and Cardozo, \{Nallaret Davila\} and \{Di Fiore\}, Anthony and Aur{\'e}lie Dourdain and Terry Erwin and Llampazo, \{Gerardo Flores\} and Vieira, \{Ima C{\'e}lia Guimar{\~a}es\} and Rafael Herrera and \{Honorio Coronado\}, Eur{\'i}dice and Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco and Eliana Jimenez-Rojas and Timothy Killeen and Susan Laurance and William Laurance and Aurora Levesley and Lewis, \{Simon L.\} and Ladvocat, \{Karina Liana Lisboa Melga{\c c}o\} and Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez and Thomas Lovejoy and Patrick Meir and Casimiro Mendoza and Paulo Morandi and David Neill and \{Nogueira Lima\}, \{Adriano Jos{\'e}\} and Vargas, \{Percy Nu{\~n}ez\} and \{de Oliveira\}, \{Edmar Almeida\} and Camacho, \{Nadir Pallqui\} and Guido Pardo and Julie Peacock and Marielos Pe{\~n}a-Claros and Pe{\~n}uela-Mora, \{Maria Cristina\} and Georgia Pickavance and John Pipoly and Nigel Pitman and Adriana Prieto and Pugh, \{Thomas A.M.\} and Carlos Quesada and Hirma Ramirez-Angulo and \{de Almeida Reis\}, \{Simone Matias\} and Maxime Rejou-Machain and Correa, \{Zorayda Restrepo\} and Bayona, \{Lily Rodriguez\} and Agust{\'i}n Rudas and Rafael Salom{\~a}o and Julio Serrano and Espejo, \{Javier Silva\} and Natalino Silva and James Singh and Clement Stahl and Juliana Stropp and Varun Swamy and Joey Talbot and \{ter Steege\}, Hans and John Terborgh and Raquel Thomas and Marisol Toledo and Armando Torres-Lezama and Gamarra, \{Luis Valenzuela\} and \{van der Heijden\}, Geertje and \{van der Meer\}, Peter and \{van der Hout\}, Peter and Martinez, \{Rodolfo Vasquez\} and Vieira, \{Simone Aparecida\} and Cayo, \{Jeanneth Villalobos\} and Vincent Vos and Roderick Zagt and Pieter Zuidema and David Galbraith",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature",

number = "1",

}

Esquivel-Muelbert, A, Phillips, OL, Brienen, RJW, Fauset, S, Sullivan, MJP, Baker, TR, Chao, KJ, Feldpausch, TR, Gloor, E, Higuchi, N, Houwing-Duistermaat, J, Lloyd, J, Liu, H, Malhi, Y, Marimon, B, Marimon Junior, BH, Monteagudo-Mendoza, A, Poorter, L, Silveira, M, Torre, EV, Dávila, EA, del Aguila Pasquel, J, Almeida, E, Loayza, PA, Andrade, A, Aragão, LEOC, Araujo-Murakami, A, Arets, E, Arroyo, L, Aymard C, GA, Baisie, M, Baraloto, C, Camargo, PB, Barroso, J, Blanc, L, Bonal, D, Bongers, F, Boot, R, Brown, F, Burban, B, Camargo, JL, Castro, W, Moscoso, VC, Chave, J, Comiskey, J, Valverde, FC, da Costa, AL, Cardozo, ND, Di Fiore, A, Dourdain, A, Erwin, T, Llampazo, GF, Vieira, ICG, Herrera, R, Honorio Coronado, E, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I, Jimenez-Rojas, E, Killeen, T, Laurance, S, Laurance, W, Levesley, A, Lewis, SL, Ladvocat, KLLM, Lopez-Gonzalez, G, Lovejoy, T, Meir, P, Mendoza, C, Morandi, P, Neill, D, Nogueira Lima, AJ, Vargas, PN, de Oliveira, EA, Camacho, NP, Pardo, G, Peacock, J, Peña-Claros, M, Peñuela-Mora, MC, Pickavance, G, Pipoly, J, Pitman, N, Prieto, A, Pugh, TAM, Quesada, C, Ramirez-Angulo, H, de Almeida Reis, SM, Rejou-Machain, M, Correa, ZR, Bayona, LR, Rudas, A, Salomão, R, Serrano, J, Espejo, JS, Silva, N, Singh, J, Stahl, C, Stropp, J, Swamy, V, Talbot, J, ter Steege, H, Terborgh, J, Thomas, R, Toledo, M, Torres-Lezama, A, Gamarra, LV, van der Heijden, G, van der Meer, P, van der Hout, P, Martinez, RV, Vieira, SA, Cayo, JV, Vos, V, Zagt, R, Zuidema, P & Galbraith, D 2020, 'Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests', Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 5515. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3

TY - JOUR

T1 - Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

AU - Esquivel-Muelbert, Adriane

AU - Phillips, Oliver L.

AU - Brienen, Roel J.W.

AU - Fauset, Sophie

AU - Sullivan, Martin J.P.

AU - Baker, Timothy R.

AU - Chao, Kuo Jung

AU - Feldpausch, Ted R.

AU - Gloor, Emanuel

AU - Higuchi, Niro

AU - Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanne

AU - Lloyd, Jon

AU - Liu, Haiyan

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Marimon, Beatriz

AU - Marimon Junior, Ben Hur

AU - Monteagudo-Mendoza, Abel

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Silveira, Marcos

AU - Torre, Emilio Vilanova

AU - Dávila, Esteban Alvarez

AU - del Aguila Pasquel, Jhon

AU - Almeida, Everton

AU - Loayza, Patricia Alvarez

AU - Andrade, Ana

AU - Aragão, Luiz E.O.C.

AU - Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro

AU - Arets, Eric

AU - Arroyo, Luzmila

AU - Aymard C, Gerardo A.

AU - Baisie, Michel

AU - Baraloto, Christopher

AU - Camargo, Plínio Barbosa

AU - Barroso, Jorcely

AU - Blanc, Lilian

AU - Bonal, Damien

AU - Bongers, Frans

AU - Boot, René

AU - Brown, Foster

AU - Burban, Benoit

AU - Camargo, José Luís

AU - Castro, Wendeson

AU - Moscoso, Victor Chama

AU - Chave, Jerome

AU - Comiskey, James

AU - Valverde, Fernando Cornejo

AU - da Costa, Antonio Lola

AU - Cardozo, Nallaret Davila

AU - Di Fiore, Anthony

AU - Dourdain, Aurélie

AU - Erwin, Terry

AU - Llampazo, Gerardo Flores

AU - Vieira, Ima Célia Guimarães

AU - Herrera, Rafael

AU - Honorio Coronado, Eurídice

AU - Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Isau

AU - Jimenez-Rojas, Eliana

AU - Killeen, Timothy

AU - Laurance, Susan

AU - Laurance, William

AU - Levesley, Aurora

AU - Lewis, Simon L.

AU - Ladvocat, Karina Liana Lisboa Melgaço

AU - Lopez-Gonzalez, Gabriela

AU - Lovejoy, Thomas

AU - Meir, Patrick

AU - Mendoza, Casimiro

AU - Morandi, Paulo

AU - Neill, David

AU - Nogueira Lima, Adriano José

AU - Vargas, Percy Nuñez

AU - de Oliveira, Edmar Almeida

AU - Camacho, Nadir Pallqui

AU - Pardo, Guido

AU - Peacock, Julie

AU - Peña-Claros, Marielos

AU - Peñuela-Mora, Maria Cristina

AU - Pickavance, Georgia

AU - Pipoly, John

AU - Pitman, Nigel

AU - Prieto, Adriana

AU - Pugh, Thomas A.M.

AU - Quesada, Carlos

AU - Ramirez-Angulo, Hirma

AU - de Almeida Reis, Simone Matias

AU - Rejou-Machain, Maxime

AU - Correa, Zorayda Restrepo

AU - Bayona, Lily Rodriguez

AU - Rudas, Agustín

AU - Salomão, Rafael

AU - Serrano, Julio

AU - Espejo, Javier Silva

AU - Silva, Natalino

AU - Singh, James

AU - Stahl, Clement

AU - Stropp, Juliana

AU - Swamy, Varun

AU - Talbot, Joey

AU - ter Steege, Hans

AU - Terborgh, John

AU - Thomas, Raquel

AU - Toledo, Marisol

AU - Torres-Lezama, Armando

AU - Gamarra, Luis Valenzuela

AU - van der Heijden, Geertje

AU - van der Meer, Peter

AU - van der Hout, Peter

AU - Martinez, Rodolfo Vasquez

AU - Vieira, Simone Aparecida

AU - Cayo, Jeanneth Villalobos

AU - Vos, Vincent

AU - Zagt, Roderick

AU - Zuidema, Pieter

AU - Galbraith, David

PY - 2020/12

Y1 - 2020/12

N2 - The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted—modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth–survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality.

AB - The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted—modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth–survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality.

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3

DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3

M3 - Article

C2 - 33168823

AN - SCOPUS:85095701315

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 11

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 5515

ER -

Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Abstract

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Research output

Author Correction: Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests

Datasets

Data and R-code from 'Mode of death and mortality risk factors in Amazon trees'. Nature communications. 2020

Projects

TreeMort: Redefining the carbon sink capacity of global forests: The driving role of tree mortality

AMAZALERT: Raising the alert about critical feedbacks between climate and long-term land use change in the Amazon

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