Université de Guyane, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, CNRS, Inra, Université des Antilles, Cirad), Kourou, French Guiana; Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, CNRS, Inra, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane), Kourou, French Guiana; CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, Inra, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Cirad), Kourou, French Guiana; Cirad, UR Forests and Societies, Montpellier, France
Plinio Sist
Cirad, UR Forests and Societies, Montpellier, France
Lucas Mazzei
Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Belém, Brazil
Marielos Peña-Claros
Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
Francis E Putz
Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
Ervan Rutishauser
CarbonForExpert, Hermance, Switzerland
Alexander Shenkin
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Nataly Ascarrunz
Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Celso P de Azevedo
Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, Belém, Brazil
Christopher Baraloto
Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Botany, Florida International University, Miami, United States
When 2 Mha of Amazonian forests are disturbed by selective logging each year, more than 90 Tg of carbon (C) is emitted to the atmosphere. Emissions are then counterbalanced by forest regrowth. With an original modelling approach, calibrated on a network of 133 permanent forest plots (175 ha total) across Amazonia, we link regional differences in climate, soil and initial biomass with survivors’ and recruits’ C fluxes to provide Amazon-wide predictions of post-logging C recovery. We show that net aboveground C recovery over 10 years is higher in the Guiana Shield and in the west (21 [Formula: see text]3 Mg C ha[Formula: see text]) than in the south (12 [Formula: see text]3 Mg C ha[Formula: see text]) where environmental stress is high (low rainfall, high seasonality). We highlight the key role of survivors in the forest regrowth and elaborate a comprehensive map of post-disturbance C recovery potential in Amazonia.
