Amy Bennett

Map of Amazonia showing how the functional composition of forests varies west-east across Amazonia

West-east gradient across Amazonia in fast-slow life history strategies of forests beautifully illustrated by new ATDN paper; forests are 'fast' in the west and 'slow' in the northeast of Amazonia doi.org/10.1038/s420...

Live scribe illustration of a talk on South American Tropical Forests by Amy Bennett

We’re talking all things trees 🌲 🌳 🌴 today with @leedsleaf.bsky.social!

Here’s @amybenno.bsky.social presentation on climate anomalies impact on South American trees - fascinating!

We are officially tree nerds now 🤓

Long-term survival of Congo’s biodiversity threatened by lack of local scientists | Science https://www.science.org/content/article/long-term-survival-congo-biodiversity-threatened-lack-local-scientists

"Trees are one of our biggest carbon hopes. Supporting the scientists studying them should be a much higher priority." https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02182-0

Spanish👉https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01777-3

🌳 Over 100 researchers tracked trees for 30+ years in South American forests

🌲 The 2015-16 El Niño caused the carbon sink to cease, impacting drier forests the most

🌎We're proud that our Research Briefing is available in Portuguese and...

#TropicalForests

https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/the-vulnerability-of-south-american-tropical-forests-to-climate-change

🌳 New blog! Dive into the world of South American tropical forests and their role in combating climate change. Discover how the 2015-16 El Niño event reshaped the carbon dynamics in these vital ecosystems. 🌍🌱 #ClimateChange #ElNino...

Tropical forests 'switched off' during hottest year on record https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/04/tropical-forests-switched-off-during-hottest-year-on-record-19444636/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.twitter via @MetroUK

@NatureClimate @NaturePortfolio @ForestPlots @UniversityLeeds @SoGLeeds

There is also an accompanying Research Briefing https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01777-3

It takes many people to measure a tree and a community to measure a forest. Work like ours is only possible with long-term investment in on-the-ground forest monitoring and the huge collaborative effort this takes.

Let's protect these critical ecosystems to safeguard our planet's future! 🌎🌿

🌍 South American tropical forests have demonstrated resilience to current and past climate extremes, but they are sensitive to temperature increases and face challenges ahead. 🌡️🌳

🌿 The impact of climate anomalies varied depending on pre-existing climate conditions, with drier forests being more vulnerable to carbon losses.

🔍 The El Niño led to increased carbon losses from tree mortality, reducing the long-term biomass carbon sink in these forests.

📊 We measured trees in 123 long-term monitoring plots in South American forests, including Amazonian and Atlantic forests, to assess the El Niño's impact on carbon dynamics.

🗺️ The Amazonian forests, once a major carbon sink, have shown a decline since the 1990s.
🌧️🌡️The 2015-2016 El Niño brought record heat and drought to South America, offering a unique opportunity to study climate impacts on tropical forests.

🌪️ Uncertainty in vegetation and climate-carbon cycle models makes this a critical issue.
🌴 South America houses extensive and diverse tropical forests, making it a key region for understanding ecosystem-climate relationships.

🌳Intact tropical forests are vital for our planet, storing and sequestering large amounts of carbon, playing a crucial role in mitigating climate change
🌡️Climate-driven changes could impact tropical forests' ability to store carbon, and the evolution of climate change itself.

More than 100 researchers tracked trees for up to 30 years in forest plots across South America, to estimate the impacts of record temperatures and drought on forest carbon dynamics. 🌳📈

The impact of El Niño on South American forests 🌎

Delighted to share our Article published in Nature Climate Change today https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01776-4

Detecting the resistance of African tropical forests to extreme climate conditions was only possible because of the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network and long-term investment into on-the-ground monitoring of forests and the huge collaborative effort this takes

Resistance of African forests to heat and drought might be due to their structure, with fewer larger trees, the species present, or that they are not as hot nor warming as fast as tropical forests on other continents

The El Niño significantly decreased the net carbon sink uptake into live biomass by a third, but African forests were still a net carbon sink despite the record heat and drought

The drought decreased net carbon uptake, but the record temperatures did not reduce carbon gains from tree growth or increase carbon losses from tree mortality

2015-2016 was the hottest and driest El Niño on record for African tropical forests

We re-measured 46,000 trees in six countries to capture the impacts of the 2015-2016 El Niño on African tropical forests

Are African tropical forests more vulnerable to climate change because they exist in relatively dry conditions compared to forests across much of Amazonia and Southeast Asia? Or less vulnerable with an abundance of drought-adapted tree species?

Out today: our paper on the Resistance of African tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/21/e2003169118
@PNASNews @UniversityLeeds @SoGLeeds
Here's a quick summary👇