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Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador pp 117–139Cite as

The Carbon Balance of Tropical Mountain Forests Along an Altitudinal Transect

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Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 221))

Abstract

Not much is known about the role of tropical mountain forests in the global carbon cycle. This chapter summarises a decade of research on C pools and C fluxes in Andean mountain forests of the San Francisco region along an elevation transect from 1,000 m to 3,000 m a.s.l. based on measurements in 5 (3) intensively studied stands at five elevations and supplementary data collected in additional 54 forest plots at three elevations covering different topographic positions at these altitudes. With ecosystem C pools in the range of 320–370 Mg C ha−1, these forests store equally large, or even larger, amounts of C than neotropical lowland forests, despite the decrease in aboveground biomass with elevation. Gross and net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production all decrease largely with elevation while fine root production seems to increase. Our results show that tropical mountain forests are playing an important, yet underestimated, role as C stores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Ecology, Albrecht von Haller Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Christoph Leuschner, Alexandra Zach, Gerald Moser, Jürgen Homeier, Sophie Graefe, Dietrich Hertel, Bärbel Wittich, Marina Röderstein & Viviana Horna

  2. Plant Ecology, University of Gießen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Gießen, Germany

    Gerald Moser

  3. Tropical Silviculture, Burckhardt Institute, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Sophie Graefe

  4. Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Grimmer Str. 88, 17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Nathalie Soethe

  5. Institute for World Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Hamburg, Leuschnerstr. 91, 21031, Hamburg, Germany

    Susanne Iost

  6. Soil Science and Forest Nutrition, Büsgen Institute, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Katrin Wolf

Authors
  1. Christoph Leuschner
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  2. Alexandra Zach
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  3. Gerald Moser
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  4. Jürgen Homeier
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  5. Sophie Graefe
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  6. Dietrich Hertel
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  7. Bärbel Wittich
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  8. Nathalie Soethe
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  9. Susanne Iost
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  10. Marina Röderstein
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  11. Viviana Horna
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  12. Katrin Wolf
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Correspondence to Christoph Leuschner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Geography, Philipps University Marburg, Deutschhausstr. 10, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Jörg Bendix

  2. , Department of Plant Physiology and Bayre, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, Bayreuth, 95440, Germany

    Erwin Beck

  3. , Institute of Geography, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Kochstr. 4/4, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Achim Bräuning

  4. , Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecolo, Technical University of Dresden, Piennerstr. 19, Tharandt, 01737, Germany

    Franz Makeschin

  5. , Institute of Silviculture, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 13, Freising, 85354, Germany

    Reinhard Mosandl

  6. , J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and, Georg August University Göttingen, Berliner Str. 28, Göttingen, 37073, Germany

    Stefan Scheu

  7. , Geographic Institute of the University o, University of Bern, Hallerstr. 12, Bern, 3012, Switzerland

    Wolfgang Wilcke

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Leuschner, C. et al. (2013). The Carbon Balance of Tropical Mountain Forests Along an Altitudinal Transect. In: Bendix, J., et al. Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador. Ecological Studies, vol 221. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38137-9_10

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