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No simple relationship between above-ground tree growth and fine-litter production in tropical forests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2008

Luke P. Shoo  and
Jeremy VanDerWal
Luke P. Shoo*
Affiliation:
Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
Jeremy VanDerWal
Affiliation:
Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Extract

An important deficiency of the tropical forest data set on above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) is the paucity of studies where requisite components of forest productivity have been measured at the same location. Missing data on above-ground biomass increment (ABI, which refers to the incremental growth of trees) and fine-litter production (leaves, fruit, flowers, small twigs, but excluding coarse woody debris) is particularly problematic as these are the two major components of ANPP. The fragmentary nature of the data is reflected by the fact that only 13 of 39 (33%) plots reviewed by Clark et al. (2001) and 8 of 104 (8%) plots reviewed by Malhi et al. (2004) had data on both major components of productivity. In an attempt to retain the geographic coverage and replication of data in analyses, researchers have proposed ways to infer missing data. Typically ratios or (more recently) fitted relationships between ABI and litter production have been used for this purpose (Bray & Gorham 1964, Clark et al. 2001, Murphy 1975).

Keywords

carbonforest productivitynet primary productivitytropical forest
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , May 2008 , pp. 347 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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References

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