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Carbon allocation in a Bornean tropical rainforest without dry seasons

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Abstract

To clarify characteristics of carbon (C) allocation in a Bornean tropical rainforest without dry seasons, gross primary production (GPP) and C allocation, i.e., above-ground net primary production (ANPP), aboveground plant respiration (APR), and total below-ground carbon flux (TBCF) for the forest were examined and compared with those from Amazonian tropical rainforests with dry seasons. GPP (30.61 MgC ha−1 year−1, eddy covariance measurements; 34.40 MgC ha−1 year−1, biometric measurements) was comparable to those for Amazonian rainforests. ANPP (6.76 MgC ha−1 year−1) was comparable to, and APR (8.01 MgC ha−1 year−1) was slightly lower than, their respective values for Amazonian rainforests, even though aboveground biomass was greater at our site. TBCF (19.63 MgC ha−1 year−1) was higher than those for Amazonian forests. The comparable ANPP and higher TBCF were unexpected, since higher water availability would suggest less fine root competition for water, giving higher ANPP and lower TBCF to GPP. Low nutrient availability may explain the comparable ANPP and higher TBCF. These data show that there are variations in C allocation patterns among mature tropical rainforests, and the variations cannot be explained solely by differences in soil water availability.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by CREST (Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Global COE Program (Center of Excellence for Asian Conservation Ecology as a Basis of Human-Nature Mutualism, representative: T. Yahara), MEXT, Japan. We thank the Forest Department of Sarawak and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation for permission and kind management of the research in Lambir Hills National Park, and Dr. Tohru Nakashizuka, Tohoku University, for his cooperation with our work in Lambir. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kasuya Research Forest, Kyushu University, Sasaguri, Fukuoka, 811-2415, Japan

    Ayumi Katayama, Hikaru Komatsu & Kyoichi Otsuki

  2. School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106-17, Taiwan

    Tomonori Kume

  3. The Hakubi Research Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8302, Japan

    Hikaru Komatsu

  4. River Basin Research Center, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Taku M. Saitoh

  5. School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Himeji, Hyogo, 670-0092, Japan

    Mizue Ohashi

  6. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Michiko Nakagawa

  7. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Masakazu Suzuki

  8. Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Tomo’omi Kumagai

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  1. Ayumi Katayama
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  2. Tomonori Kume
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Correspondence to Ayumi Katayama.

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Katayama, A., Kume, T., Komatsu, H. et al. Carbon allocation in a Bornean tropical rainforest without dry seasons. J Plant Res 126, 505–515 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-012-0544-0

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