Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity
Abstract Stand structure influences the distribution of light and water and thus affects the functioning of forest ecosystems. However, information on stand structure capturing both horizontal and vertical structures of forest canopies simultaneously is lacking. Here we use principal component analy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01984-6 |
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| _version_ | 1841559042944663552 |
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| author | Wenmin Zhang Yanbiao Xi Martin Brandt Chunying Ren Jialing Bai Qin Ma Rasmus Fensholt |
| author_facet | Wenmin Zhang Yanbiao Xi Martin Brandt Chunying Ren Jialing Bai Qin Ma Rasmus Fensholt |
| author_sort | Wenmin Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Stand structure influences the distribution of light and water and thus affects the functioning of forest ecosystems. However, information on stand structure capturing both horizontal and vertical structures of forest canopies simultaneously is lacking. Here we use principal component analysis to derive a stand structural indicator (SSI) index based on four structural metrics derived from GEDI covering tropical forests and upscale the GEDI footprint-level SSI to a spatially continuous distribution using Sentinel-1&2 imagery. The majority of high SSI values representing higher forest height, density and diversity of canopy height, is found for all tropical forest areas in moist regions, natural forests, and regions with less fire activity. We show that SSI is positively correlated with primary productivity and that the sensitivity of productivity to SSI is larger in natural forests than in managed forests. Our results highlight synthesized stand structure information to support sustainable forest management and conservation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13fc213d43e445fd877fdf2680e9dd89 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-13fc213d43e445fd877fdf2680e9dd892025-01-05T12:47:33ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352024-12-01511910.1038/s43247-024-01984-6Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivityWenmin Zhang0Yanbiao Xi1Martin Brandt2Chunying Ren3Jialing Bai4Qin Ma5Rasmus Fensholt6Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Geography, Nanjing Normal UniversityDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenAbstract Stand structure influences the distribution of light and water and thus affects the functioning of forest ecosystems. However, information on stand structure capturing both horizontal and vertical structures of forest canopies simultaneously is lacking. Here we use principal component analysis to derive a stand structural indicator (SSI) index based on four structural metrics derived from GEDI covering tropical forests and upscale the GEDI footprint-level SSI to a spatially continuous distribution using Sentinel-1&2 imagery. The majority of high SSI values representing higher forest height, density and diversity of canopy height, is found for all tropical forest areas in moist regions, natural forests, and regions with less fire activity. We show that SSI is positively correlated with primary productivity and that the sensitivity of productivity to SSI is larger in natural forests than in managed forests. Our results highlight synthesized stand structure information to support sustainable forest management and conservation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01984-6 |
| spellingShingle | Wenmin Zhang Yanbiao Xi Martin Brandt Chunying Ren Jialing Bai Qin Ma Rasmus Fensholt Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| title_full | Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| title_fullStr | Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| title_short | Stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| title_sort | stand structure of tropical forests is strongly associated with primary productivity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01984-6 |
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