Data from: Soil is the main predictor of secondary rain forest estimated aboveground biomass across a neotropical landscape

We studied the relative effects of landscape configuration, environmental
variables, forest age and spatial variables on estimated aboveground
biomass (AGB) in Costa Rican secondary rain forests patches. We measured
trees > 5 cm dbh in 24, 0.25 ha plots and estimated AGB for trees
5-24.9 cm dbh and for trees > 25 cm dbh using two allometric
equations based on multispecies models using tree dbh and wood specific
gravity. AGB averaged 87.3 Mg/ha for the 24 plots (not including remnant
trees) and 123.4 Mg/ha including remnant trees (20 plots). There was no
effect of forest age on AGB. Variation partitioning analysis showed that
soils, climate, landscape configuration and space together explained 61%
of tree AGB variance. When controlling for the effects of the other three
variables, only soils remained significant. Soil properties, specifically
K and Cu, had the strongest independent effect on AGB (variation
partitioning, R2=0.17, p=0.0310), indicating that in this landscape, AGB
variation in secondary forest patches is influenced by soil chemical
properties. Elucidating the relative influence of soils in AGB variation
is critical for understanding changes associated to land cover
modification across neotropical landscapes, as it could have important
consequences for land use planning since secondary forests are considered
carbon sinks.