Ecophysiology of Atlantic Forests: a new process-based model

Abstract

This application is a proposal for a one-year FAPESP fellowship associated with the joint FAPESP-NERC ECOFOR project. The main goal of the ECOFOR project is to understand how the functioning of forest ecosystems change along a gradient of human-induced degradation, from complete deforestation, logged and fragmented forests to primary forest. The functions to be considered are biogeochemical cycling, vegetation dynamics and species and functional trait composition of trees and birds. The ECOFOR project focuses on two locations: Amazon forest (Santarem) and Atlantic forest (São Paulo). In each location a number of intensive research sites will be established to measure detailed carbon cycling of forests, tree and bird species composition and plant functional traits. These will be supplemented with broad sampling of the landscape to establish forest structure and species composition. One means to analyze and generalize the findings is with an individual-based forest model which parameterizes the spectrum of tree functioning via trait continua. While the model we propose has been used for the Amazon region it has not been parameterized for Atlantic forest systems which differ in many regards. For example, canopy height is lower in Atlantic forests, with trees displaying shorter heights for a given diameter compared to Amazonian trees. Given this difference, other key allometries, such as crown area, leaf mass, rooting depth may also vary. Further, plant types also vary between Amazon and Atlantic forests, with tree ferns and bamboos a key feature of Atlantic forests. In order to effectively utilize this model we therefore propose as central goal of the fellowship to set-up the individual based forest simulator for Atlantic forests. We propose two steps: firstly we will complement existing measurements with additional measurements needed to set up the model. We will then proceed to parameterize the model using all data. Additional data we propose to acquire are related to light absorption by trees, water transport and stem respiration. (AU)