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Resistance of African tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly

2021; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 118; Issue: 21 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.2003169118

1091-6490

Amy C. Bennett, Greta C. Dargie, Aida Cuní‐Sanchez, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Wannes Hubau, Jacques Mukinzi, Oliver L. Phillips, Yadvinder Malhi, Martin J. P. Sullivan, Declan L. M. Cooper, Stephen Adu‐Bredu, Kofi Affum‐Baffoe, Christian Amani, Lindsay F. Banin, Hans Beeckman, Serge K. Begne, Yannick E. Bocko, Pascal Boeckx, Jan Bogaert, Terry Brncic, Éric Chézeaux, Connie J. Clark, Armandu K. Daniels, Thalès de Haulleville, Marie-Noël Djuikouo Kamdem, Jean‐Louis Doucet, Fidèle Evouna Ondo, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Ted R. Feldpausch, Ernest G. Foli, Christelle Gonmadje, Jefferson S. Hall, Olivier J. Hardy, David J. Harris, Suspense Averti Ifo, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Elizabeth Kearsley, Miguel E. Leal, Aurora Levesley, Jean‐Remy Makana, Faustin Mbayu Lukasu, Vincent P. Medjibe, Vianet Mihindu, Sam Moore, Natacha Nssi Begone, Georgia Pickavance, John R. Poulsen, Jan Reitsma, Bonaventure Sonké, Trey Sunderland, Hermann Taedoumg, Joey Talbot, Darlington Tuagben, Peter M. Umunay, Hans Verbeeck, Jason Vleminckx, Lee White, Hannsjoerg Woell, John T. Woods, Lise Zemagho, Simon L. Lewis,

Forest ecology and management

Significance The responses of tropical forests to heat and drought are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The 2015–2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation across the tropics, including in the very poorly studied African tropical forest region. We assess African forest ENSO responses using on-the-ground measurements. Across 100 long-term plots, record high temperatures did not significantly reduce carbon gains from tree growth or significantly increase carbon losses from tree mortality. Overall, despite the climate anomaly, forests continued to gain live biomass over the ENSO period. Our analyses, while limited to African tropical forests, suggest that they may be more resistant to climate extremes than Amazonian and Asian forests.