Data from: Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests

Land-use change occurs nowhere more rapidly than in the tropics, where the imbalance between deforestation and forest regrowth has large consequences for the global carbon cycle1. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the rate of biomass recovery in secondary forests, and how these rates are influenced by climate, landscape, and prior land use2, 3, 4. Here we analyse aboveground biomass recovery during secondary succession in 45 forest sites and about 1,500 forest plots covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics. The studied secondary forests are highly productive and resilient. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years was on average 122 megagrams per hectare (Mg ha−1), corresponding to a net carbon uptake of 3.05 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, 11 times the uptake rate of old-growth forests. Aboveground biomass stocks took a median time of 66 years to recover to 90% of old-growth values. Aboveground biomass recovery after 20 years varied 11.3-fold (from 20 to 225 Mg ha−1) across sites, and this recovery increased with water availability (higher local rainfall and lower climatic water deficit). We present a biomass recovery map of Latin America, which illustrates geographical and climatic variation in carbon sequestration potential during forest regrowth. The map will support policies to minimize forest loss in areas where biomass resilience is naturally low (such as seasonally dry forest regions) and promote forest regeneration and restoration in humid tropical lowland areas with high biomass resilience.

热带地区是土地利用变化最为剧烈的区域，森林砍伐与森林再生之间的失衡对全球碳循环造成显著影响¹。然而，当前对于次生森林的生物量恢复速率，以及气候、景观和既往土地利用如何影响该速率，仍存在相当大的不确定性²,³,⁴。本研究对新热带区45个森林样地及约1500个覆盖主要环境梯度的森林样地中的次生演替过程地上生物量恢复情况进行分析。本次研究的次生森林具备极高的生产力与恢复力。次生林在20年后的地上生物量恢复量平均为122兆克每公顷（Mg·ha⁻¹），对应净碳固存速率为3.05 Mg C·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹，是原始森林固碳速率的11倍。地上生物量储量恢复至原始森林90%水平的中位时长为66年。不同样地的20年地上生物量恢复量差异可达11.3倍（范围为20至225 Mg·ha⁻¹），且恢复量随水分可获得性提升而增加，即当地降雨量更高、气候水分亏缺更低。本研究绘制了拉丁美洲生物量恢复图谱，该图谱展示了森林再生过程中碳固存潜力的地理与气候变异特征。该图谱可为相关政策制定提供支撑：在生物量恢复力天然较低的区域（如季节性干旱森林区域）尽量减少森林砍伐，并在生物量恢复力较高的湿润热带低地地区促进森林更新与修复。