Foliar and ecosystem respiration in an old-growth tropical rain forest

82Citations
Citations of this article
127Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Foliar respiration is a major component of ecosystem respiration, yet extrapolations are often uncertain in tropical forests because of indirect estimates of leaf area index (LAI). A portable tower was used to directly measure LAI and night-time foliar respiration from 52 vertical transects throughout an old-growth tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. In this study, we (1) explored the effects of structural, functional and environmental variables on foliar respiration; (2) extrapolated foliar respiration to the ecosystem; and (3) estimated ecosystem respiration. Foliar respiration temperature response was constant within plant functional group, and foliar morphology drove much of the within-canopy variability in respiration and foliar nutrients. Foliar respiration per unit ground area was 3.5 ± 0.2 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1, and ecosystem respiration was 9.4 ± 0.5 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1 [soil = 41%; foliage = 37%; woody = 14%; coarse woody debris (CWD) = 7%]. When modelled with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) year temperatures, foliar respiration was 9% greater than when modelled with temperatures from a normal year, which is in the range of carbon sink versus source behaviour for this forest. Our ecosystem respiration estimate from component fluxes was 33% greater than night-time net ecosystem exchange for the same forest, suggesting that studies reporting a large carbon sink for tropical rain forests based solely on eddy flux measurements may be in error.

References Powered by Scopus

The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

7370Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

On the temperature dependence of soil respiration

3323Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model

3179Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Comprehensive assessment of carbon productivity, allocation and storage in three Amazonian forests

271Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Annual wood production in a tropical rain forest in NE Costa Rica linked to climatic variation but not to increasing CO<inf>2</inf>

215Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

The future of tropical forests

203Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Cavaleri, M. A., Oberbauer, S. F., & Ryan, M. G. (2008). Foliar and ecosystem respiration in an old-growth tropical rain forest. Plant, Cell and Environment, 31(4), 473–483. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2008.01775.x

Readers over time

‘09‘10‘11‘12‘13‘14‘15‘16‘17‘18‘19‘20‘21‘22‘23‘2405101520

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 50

52%

Researcher 25

26%

Professor / Associate Prof. 20

21%

Lecturer / Post doc 2

2%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 49

51%

Environmental Science 36

38%

Earth and Planetary Sciences 9

9%

Engineering 2

2%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free
0