Differences in carbon stocks along an elevational gradient in tropical mountain forests of Colombia

Tropical mountain forests provide an exceptional opportunity to evaluate the patterns of variation of carbon stocks along elevational gradients that correspond to well-defined temperature gradients. We predicted that carbon stored in live aboveground biomass, aboveground necromass, and soil components of forests on the eastern flank of the Colombian Andes would change with elevation along this gradient extending from 750 to 2800 m above sea level. The rationale was that the corresponding change in temperature (14°C to 26°C) would influence tree growth and decomposition of organic matter. To address this hypothesis, we examined the carbon stored in these three components using data from 20 0.25-ha plots located along this elevational gradient. The mean total carbon stock found in the study region was 241.3±37.5 Mg C/ha. Aboveground carbon stocks decreased with elevation (p =0.001), as did necromass carbon stocks (p =0.016). Although soil organic carbon stocks did not differ significantly...

热带山地森林为探究沿海拔梯度的碳储量变化模式提供了绝佳契机，此类海拔梯度与明确的温度梯度一一对应。我们预测，在海拔750至2800米的梯度范围内，哥伦比亚安第斯山脉东坡森林的地上活生物量、地上枯残生物量及土壤组分中的碳储量，会随海拔变化而改变。其理论依据为：对应海拔梯度的温度变化（14℃至26℃）会影响树木生长与有机质分解过程。为验证该假说，我们依托沿该海拔梯度布设的20个0.25公顷样地的调查数据，对上述三类组分中的碳储量展开了测算。本研究区域的总碳储量均值为241.3±37.5 Mg C/ha。地上碳储量随海拔升高呈显著下降趋势（p=0.001），枯残生物量碳储量亦呈现相同变化趋势（p=0.016）。尽管土壤有机碳储量未呈现显著差异……