Climate science: 1% of Amazon tree
species store 50% of carbon *IMAGES*
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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
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Climate sciences
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& Ecology
Embargo
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London: Tuesday 28 April 2015 16:00 (BST)
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New York: Tuesday 28 April 2015 11:00 (EDT)
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Tokyo: Wednesday 29 April 2015 00:00 (JST)
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Sydney: Wednesday 29 April 2015 01:00 (AEST)
Approximately 1% of all tree species are responsible for half of the carbon storage and
productivity of the Amazon rainforest, reports a study published in Nature Communications. This
emphasis on relatively few individual tree species, within the world’s biggest tropical forest,
raises concerns regarding the resilience of these species to climate change.
The Amazon rainforest is an extremely important carbon sink, accounting for 17% of the carbon
stocks contained within global terrestrial vegetation. It is also the largest and most diverse
tropical forest in the world, hosting an estimated 16,000 different tree species. Despite this huge
diversity, a relatively small minority of species are extremely common, with half of all Amazonian
trees accounted for by as few as 227 hyperdominant species. The effect that this phenomenon of
hyperdominance has on the Amazon’s carbon storage remains unknown.
Sophie Fauset and colleagues analyse a unique dataset of 530 forest plots, containing
information on species abundance, tree diameter, wood density and biomass for more than
200,000 individual trees from 3,458 species. Through the statistical analysis of these data, the
authors reveal that of the estimated 16,000 species within the Amazon, biomass and productivity
are concentrated into as few as 147 and 167 individual tree species, respectively, and that these
species are generally characterised by large size.
While the authors’ findings indicate that a small fraction of Amazon tree species contribute
disproportionately to carbon storage and cycling, this does not necessarily indicate that high
diversity levels are irrelevant for the long-term survival and health of tropical forests.
Article and author details
1. Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling
Corresponding Author
Sophie Fauset, Leeds
University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Email: s.fauset@leeds.ac.uk, Tel: +44 1133431437
DOI
10.1038/ncomms7857
Online paper*
http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ncomms7857
* Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).
Geographical listings of authors
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Australia
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, Bolivia
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, Brazil
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, Colombia
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, Ecuador
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, Finland
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, France
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, Guyana
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, Italy
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, Netherlands
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, Peru
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, United Kingdom
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, United States
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& Venezuela
Image 1
Large tree species store and grow more biomass and than small species. Credit: Roel Brienen.
Image 2
Large tree species store and grow more biomass and than small species. Credit: Roel Brienen.
Image 3
Measuring the size of large trees often requires a ladder in order to reach over buttresses. Credit: Maxime RéjouMéchain.
Image 4
Trees of the species Bertholletia excelsa (more commonly known as the Brazil nut) contribute high biomass
storage and growth despite representing less than one in a thousand stems. Credit: Rafael Salamão.
Image 5
Pod and seeds of the species Bertholletia excelsa, recognizable as Brazil nuts. Credit: Roel Brienen.