Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies
Andean tropical montane forests (TMF) are hotspots of biodiversity that provide fundamental hydrological services as well as carbon sequestration and storage. Agroforestry systems occupy large areas in the Andes but climatic pressures, market volatility and diseases may result inagroforest abandonme...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421002468 |
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| author | Susan Aragón Norma Salinas Alex Nina-Quispe Vicky Huaman Qquellon Gloria Rayme Paucar Wilfredo Huaman Percy Chambi Porroa Juliana C. Olarte Rudi Cruz Julia G. Muñiz Carlos Salas Yupayccana Tatiana E. Boza Espinoza Richard Tito Eric G. Cosio Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta |
| author_facet | Susan Aragón Norma Salinas Alex Nina-Quispe Vicky Huaman Qquellon Gloria Rayme Paucar Wilfredo Huaman Percy Chambi Porroa Juliana C. Olarte Rudi Cruz Julia G. Muñiz Carlos Salas Yupayccana Tatiana E. Boza Espinoza Richard Tito Eric G. Cosio Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta |
| author_sort | Susan Aragón |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Andean tropical montane forests (TMF) are hotspots of biodiversity that provide fundamental hydrological services as well as carbon sequestration and storage. Agroforestry systems occupy large areas in the Andes but climatic pressures, market volatility and diseases may result inagroforest abandonment, promoting secondary succession. Secondary forests are well-adapted and efficient carbon sinks whose conservation is vital to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to support biodiversity. Little is known, however, about how secondary TMF recover their aboveground biomass (AGB) and composition after abandonment. We established a 1.5 ha plot at 1780 masl on a 30-year old abandoned agroforest and compared it against two control forest plots at similar elevations. Agroforestry legacies influenced AGB leading to far lower stocks (42.3 ± 5.4–59.6 ± 7.9 Mg ha−1 using allometric equations) than those expected after 30 years (106 ± 33 Mg ha−1) based on IPCC standard growth rates for secondary montane forests. This suggests a regional overestimation of mitigation potentials when using IPCC standards. Satellite-derived AGB largely overestimated our plot values (179 ± 27.3 Mg ha−1). Secondary growth rates (1.41–2.0 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for DBH ≥ 10 cm) indicate recovery times of ca. 69 to 97 years to reach average control AGB values (137 ± 12.3 Mg ha−1). This is 26 years above the average residence time of montane forests at our elevation (71 ± 1.91 years) suggesting a non-recovery or far slower recovery to control AGB values. Three variables appear to define this outcome compared to the control plots: lower DBH (15.8 ± 5.9 cm vs 19.8 ± 11.0 cm), lower basal area (12.67 ± 0.7 vs 28.03 ± 1.5 m2 ha−1) and higher abundance of lighter-wood tree genera (0.46 ± 0.10 vs 0.57 ± 0.11 gr cm3) such as Inga, a common shade-tree in Andean agroforests. With 3.2 million hectares committed to restoration, Peru needs to target currently neglected TMF recovery schemes to support biodiversity, water and carbon storage and fulfill its international commitments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:53:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c846fcc742fc4b5e91ea2f1b9f3df563 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:53:36Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-c846fcc742fc4b5e91ea2f1b9f3df5632022-12-21T21:34:40ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942021-08-0128e01696Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legaciesSusan Aragón0Norma Salinas1Alex Nina-Quispe2Vicky Huaman Qquellon3Gloria Rayme Paucar4Wilfredo Huaman5Percy Chambi Porroa6Juliana C. Olarte7Rudi Cruz8Julia G. Muñiz9Carlos Salas Yupayccana10Tatiana E. Boza Espinoza11Richard Tito12Eric G. Cosio13Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta14Institute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, Peru; Corresponding author.Institute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruEscuela de Biología, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Av. de la Cultura s/n, Cuzco 08003, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruInstitute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE) Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Av. Universitaria 1801, Lima 15088, PeruDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Laboratory of Geoinformation Science and Remote Sensing, University of Wageningen, P.O. Box 476700AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), P.O. Box 0113 BOCBD, Bogor 16000, IndonesiaAndean tropical montane forests (TMF) are hotspots of biodiversity that provide fundamental hydrological services as well as carbon sequestration and storage. Agroforestry systems occupy large areas in the Andes but climatic pressures, market volatility and diseases may result inagroforest abandonment, promoting secondary succession. Secondary forests are well-adapted and efficient carbon sinks whose conservation is vital to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to support biodiversity. Little is known, however, about how secondary TMF recover their aboveground biomass (AGB) and composition after abandonment. We established a 1.5 ha plot at 1780 masl on a 30-year old abandoned agroforest and compared it against two control forest plots at similar elevations. Agroforestry legacies influenced AGB leading to far lower stocks (42.3 ± 5.4–59.6 ± 7.9 Mg ha−1 using allometric equations) than those expected after 30 years (106 ± 33 Mg ha−1) based on IPCC standard growth rates for secondary montane forests. This suggests a regional overestimation of mitigation potentials when using IPCC standards. Satellite-derived AGB largely overestimated our plot values (179 ± 27.3 Mg ha−1). Secondary growth rates (1.41–2.0 Mg ha−1 yr−1 for DBH ≥ 10 cm) indicate recovery times of ca. 69 to 97 years to reach average control AGB values (137 ± 12.3 Mg ha−1). This is 26 years above the average residence time of montane forests at our elevation (71 ± 1.91 years) suggesting a non-recovery or far slower recovery to control AGB values. Three variables appear to define this outcome compared to the control plots: lower DBH (15.8 ± 5.9 cm vs 19.8 ± 11.0 cm), lower basal area (12.67 ± 0.7 vs 28.03 ± 1.5 m2 ha−1) and higher abundance of lighter-wood tree genera (0.46 ± 0.10 vs 0.57 ± 0.11 gr cm3) such as Inga, a common shade-tree in Andean agroforests. With 3.2 million hectares committed to restoration, Peru needs to target currently neglected TMF recovery schemes to support biodiversity, water and carbon storage and fulfill its international commitments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421002468AgroforestryBiomassClimate change mitigationLand use legacyNature based solutionsTropical secondary forests |
| spellingShingle | Susan Aragón Norma Salinas Alex Nina-Quispe Vicky Huaman Qquellon Gloria Rayme Paucar Wilfredo Huaman Percy Chambi Porroa Juliana C. Olarte Rudi Cruz Julia G. Muñiz Carlos Salas Yupayccana Tatiana E. Boza Espinoza Richard Tito Eric G. Cosio Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies Global Ecology and Conservation Agroforestry Biomass Climate change mitigation Land use legacy Nature based solutions Tropical secondary forests |
| title | Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| title_full | Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| title_fullStr | Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| title_short | Aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in Peru: Slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| title_sort | aboveground biomass in secondary montane forests in peru slow carbon recovery in agroforestry legacies |
| topic | Agroforestry Biomass Climate change mitigation Land use legacy Nature based solutions Tropical secondary forests |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421002468 |
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