A new publication in Science (https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6493/869) has revealed that over the long-term, temperature has the greatest effect on forest carbon stocks by reducing growth, with drought killing trees the second key factor. This study is the first to analyse long-term climate sensitivity based on direct observation of whole forests across the tropics, which included data collected from the KBFSC plots.
“Our analysis reveals that up to a certain point of heating tropical forests are surprisingly resistant to small temperature differences. If we limit climate change they can continue to store a large amount of carbon in a warmer world.
For further readings:
- Link to the publication: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6493/869
- Link to the University of Leeds’ article: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4598/tropical_forests_can_handle_the_heat_up_to_a_point