Leaf Area Index and Above-Ground Biomass of terra firme Rain Forest and Adjacent Clearings in Amazonia

1. Leaf area index (L*) and above-ground biomass were determined by destructive sampling for a 400-m2 area of terra firme amazonian rain forest and for an adjacent clearing. 2. While L* in the forest varied considerably with height through the canopy for four separately sampled 100-m2 subplots, the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Functional ecology 1993, Vol.7 (3), p.310-317
Main Authors:	A.-L. C. Mc William, Roberts, J. M., Cabral, O. M. R., M. V. B. R. Leitao, de Costa, A. C. L., Maitelli, G. T., C. A. G. P. Zamparoni
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Aboveground biomass Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Biological and medical sciences Biomass Forest canopy Forest ecology Forest ecosystems Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Leaf area Leaf area index Synecology Terrestrial ecosystems Trees Tropical forests Tropical rain forests
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Summary:	1. Leaf area index (L) and above-ground biomass were determined by destructive sampling for a 400-m2 area of terra firme amazonian rain forest and for an adjacent clearing. 2. While L in the forest varied considerably with height through the canopy for four separately sampled 100-m2 subplots, the cumulative L* was similar with a mean value of 5.7\pm 0.5. 3. The total above-ground dry biomass of the forest was 265\pm 95 t ha-1, while the leaf dry biomass was 6.3\pm 0.5 t ha-1. 4. The specific leaf area (SLA, cm2 g-1) was determined, and found to vary linearly with canopy depth rising from 65 cm2 g-1 at the canopy top, to 114 cm2 g-1 at 5 m above the forest floor. The average for the four subplots was 90 cm2 g-1. 5. The leaf area index of grass in the clearing (blade only) averaged 0.8\pm 0.4, and total green area index (blade+stem) averaged 1.2\pm 0.6. Total above-ground dry biomass (blade, stem) was 2.3\pm 0.6 t ha-1, while including dead plant material gave a total dry biomass of 5.6\pm 2.1 t ha-1. Specific leaf area of the grass was 79 cm2 g-1. 6. The results clearly demonstrate the profound change in leaf area and biomass which accompany amazonian deforestation.
ISSN:	0269-8463 1365-2435