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Biomass and Net Primary Production of Central Amazonian Floodplain Forests

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Amazonian Floodplain Forests

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 210))

Abstract

In this chapter the existing knowledge on biomass in floodplain forests and the compounds that contribute to their net primary production (NPP) are presented and discussed in comparison with data from non-flooded upland (terra firme) forests. Fine litterfall in old-growth floodplain forests are similar to litterfall data from terra firme forests. The few existing estimates of root biomass in nutrient-rich white-water floodplain forests (várzea) indicate lower belowground biomasses in floodplain forests than in terra firme forests due to regular flooding which limits the development of deep roots. Along the chronosequence, C-storage in the aboveground coarse live wood biomass (AGWB) of várzea forests indicates a strong increase during the first 50–80 years of successional development, but afterwards no increase in AGWB can be observed. On the other hand C-sequestration in the AGWB of várzea forests declines more than threefold along the successional gradient. In comparison to terra firme forest, the várzea forests have lower C-stocks, but a higher C-sequestration in the AGWB. The estimated aboveground NPP in young successional stages of the central Amazonian várzea is among the highest NPP known for tropical forests, while the NPP of the late succession in the várzea is in the upper range of the NPP of old-growth forests in the terra firme. The available database for nutrient-poor floodplain forests (igapó) is insufficient to estimate their NPP. Climate-growth relationships of tree-ring chronologies of species from central Amazonian terra firme and floodplain forests indicate opposing signals during El Niño years. During these events large areas of terra firme forests release carbon to the atmosphere due to the warmer and drier climate conditions, while the weakened flood-pulse favours tree growth in the floodplain forests which might therefore sequester parts of the climate-induced carbon emissions of terra firme forests.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by the SHIFT Program ENV-29/2 (CNPq-BMBF) and the INPA/Max-Planck Project. We acknowledge Celso Rabelo Costa and Jackson de Castro for technical assistance during the field work and thank Eberhard F. Bruenig for his careful review and valuable comments on this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

    Jochen Schöngart

  2. Department for Crop Sciences, The University of Göttingen, Institute for Agronomy in the Tropics, Göttingen, Germany

    Florian Wittmann

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  1. Jochen Schöngart
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Correspondence to Jochen Schöngart .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. MPI für Limnologie, August-Thienemann-Str. 2, Plön, 24306, Germany

    Wolfgang J. Junk

  2. Amazonia (INPA), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

    Maria T. F. Piedade

  3. MPI für Chemie, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 27, Mainz, 55128, Germany

    Florian Wittmann

  4. Abt. Chemie der Atmosphäre, MPI für Chemie, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 27, Mainz, 55128, Germany

    Jochen Schöngart

  5. FB Biologie, Biozentrum Klein Flottbek, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststr. 18, Hamburg, 22609, Germany

    Pia Parolin

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Schöngart, J., Wittmann, F. (2010). Biomass and Net Primary Production of Central Amazonian Floodplain Forests. In: Junk, W., Piedade, M., Wittmann, F., Schöngart, J., Parolin, P. (eds) Amazonian Floodplain Forests. Ecological Studies, vol 210. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8725-6_18

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