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Science 16 October 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5388, pp. 439 - 442
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5388.439
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Reports

Changes in the Carbon Balance of Tropical Forests: Evidence from Long-Term Plots

Oliver L. Phillips, * Yadvinder Malhi, * Niro Higuchi, William F. Laurance, Percy V. Núñez, Rodolfo M. Vásquez, Susan G. Laurance, Leandro V. Ferreira, Margaret Stern, Sandra Brown, John Grace

The role of the world's forests as a "sink" for atmospheric carbon dioxide is the subject of active debate. Long-term monitoring of plots in mature humid tropical forests concentrated in South America revealed that biomass gain by tree growth exceeded losses from tree death in 38 of 50 Neotropical sites. These forest plots have accumulated 0.71 ton, plus or minus 0.34 ton, of carbon per hectare per year in recent decades. The data suggest that Neotropical forests may be a significant carbon sink, reducing the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

O. L. Phillips, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. Y. Malhi and J. Grace, Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JU, UK. N. Higuchi, Departamento de Silvicultura Tropical, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, C.P. 478, 69011-970 Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. W. F. Laurance, S. G. Laurance, L. V. Ferreira, Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, C.P. 478, 69011-970, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. P. V. Núñez, Umanchata 136, Biodiversidad Amazónica, Cusco, Peru. R. M. Vásquez, Missouri Botanical Garden-Proyecto Flora del Perú, Apartado 280, Iquitos, Peru. M. Stern, Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458, USA. S. Brown, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: O.Phillips{at}geog.leeds.ac.uk (O.L.P); YMalhi{at}ed.ac.uk (Y.M.)

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