Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/I02982X/1
Assessing the impacts of the 2010 drought on Amazon zone of transition
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor OL Phillips, University of Leeds, Sch of Geography
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor TR Feldpausch, University of Exeter, Geography
- Grant held at:
- University of Leeds, Sch of Geography
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- In 2010 the Amazon Basin experienced unusually dry conditions, a second major drought in 5 years, a pattern which is remarkably similar to some predictions of the future climate of the region. This is because most climate models predict an increase in dry season intensity, and all an increase in temperature in the coming century as a consequence of global climate change. Whether or not long-term climate change is already involved the current event can help us evaluate how humid forest, deciduous forests and savanna ecosystems and species respond to drying, so helping assess the potential scale of impacts as the Amazon climate dries. Our team has a large network of on-the-ground sample plots in the region, and because these are standardised they represent an excellent opportunity to measure the actual impacts of drought. We already did this with the severe 2005 drought (described then as 'the drought of the century' but surpassed in extent this year). In this proposal we focus on our sites at the southern fringes of Amazonia, an area very strongly affected by the 2010 drought. This large area is a 'zone of tension' between Amazon moist forest species, deciduous species, and savanna, with the various vegetation types sometimes adjacent in the same sites. Here we have 30 permanent plots available so we are able for the first time to measure the on-the-ground impacts on different species and vegetation formations at this forest/savanna mixing zone. This is important because it is expected that within these zones of ecological tension that long-term vegetation changes will first be observed, and these areas of high diversity and high carbon storage could significantly affect regional carbon emissions. We plan to do the following: 1) Recensus 30 southern Amazon plots to record tree growth and vegetation productivity. 2) Remeasure nearly 500 trees where we have pre-drought measures of details of their structure, to assess if drought has changed them. 3) Install high-precision measurement tools ("dendrometers") on trees of key species, to enable better monitoring of future droughts 4) Analyse data collected from (1) & (2) to test our hypotheses: 1. The 2010 drought caused biomass carbon loss from forest but not savanna. We expect savanna to prove more resilient than forest, and for forest responses to mirror those of 2005. 2. The 2010 drought accelerated tree death and reduced growth in the forest but not the savanna. We expect forest species to be more sensitive than savanna species when faced with the same degree of drying. 3. Forest & savanna plots that had the greatest biomass loss and/or mortality are those with shallowest soils. We expect soil depth to affect the drought response, with shallower soils having fewer moisture reserves. 4. Within each stand, species which also occur in drier areas were more drought-resistant than those already at the dry end of their range. We expect that the risk a tree faces from drought is related to its geographic distribution, so that species that are typically found in moister climates will be more drought-sensitive than their neighbours. 5. Species differences in drought sensitivity are related to variation in structural traits. We expect the more drought-resistant evergreen trees will have a more conservative hydraulic structure, such as denser wood. The expected outcomes of this research are: 1) Improved quantification of the sensitivity of transitional Amazon forest to drought. 2) A first assessment of the differential sensitivity of forest and savanna trees to drought conditions. 3) By integrating (1) & (2), understand better the chances of savanna replacing forest in the "zone of tension", and even into core Amazon forests, as the climate dries. 4) Improved understanding of the physiological basis of drought-resistance and the importance of soil conditions. 5) The infrastructure installed to allow local collaborators to evaluate effects during future droughts.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/I02982X/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £52,777
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £12,303 | £8,515 | £13,077 | £3,291 | £15,404 | £186 |
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