NDLI: Hydrological Networks and Associated Topographic Variation as Templates for the Spatial Organization of Tropical Forest Vegetation

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Matteo, Detto Muller-landau, Helene C. Mascaro, Joseph Asner, Gregory P.
Editor	Bohrer, Gil
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	An understanding of the spatial variability in tropical forest structure and biomass, and the mechanisms that underpin this variability, is critical for designing, interpreting, and upscaling field studies for regional carbon inventories. We investigated the spatial structure of tropical forest vegetation and its relationship to the hydrological network and associated topographic structure across spatial scales of 10–1000 m using high-resolution maps of LiDAR-derived mean canopy profile height (MCH) and elevation for 4930 ha of tropical forest in central Panama. MCH was strongly associated with the hydrological network: canopy height was highest in areas of positive convexity (valleys, depressions) close to channels draining 1 ha or more. Average MCH declined strongly with decreasing convexity (transition to ridges, hilltops) and increasing distance from the nearest channel. Spectral analysis, performed with wavelet decomposition, showed that the variance in MCH had fractal similarity at scales of ∼30–600 m, and was strongly associated with variation in elevation, with peak correlations at scales of ∼250 m. Whereas previous studies of topographic correlates of tropical forest structure conducted analyses at just one or a few spatial grains, our study found that correlations were strongly scale-dependent. Multi-scale analyses of correlations of MCH with slope, aspect, curvature, and Laplacian convexity found that MCH was most strongly related to convexity measured at scales of 20–300 m, a topographic variable that is a good proxy for position with respect to the hydrological network. Overall, our results support the idea that, even in these mesic forests, hydrological networks and associated topographical variation serve as templates upon which vegetation is organized over specific ranges of scales. These findings constitute an important step towards a mechanistic understanding of these patterns, and can guide upscaling and downscaling.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076296
Starting Page	76296
File Format	PDF
ISSN	19326203
e-ISSN	19326203
Journal	PLoS ONE
Issue Number	10
Volume Number	8
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2013-10-18
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Multidisciplinary

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Spatial and temporal variation in the canopy cover in a tropical semi-deciduous forest

Topographic and bioclimatic determinants of the occurrence of forest and grassland in tropical montane forest-grassland mosaics of the Western Ghats, India

Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?

Spatial distribution and temporal variation of tropical mountaintop vegetation through images obtained by drones

Maximum entropy production, carbon assimilation, and the spatial organization of vegetation in river basins

Multiple Factors Influence Seasonal and Interannual Litterfall Production in a Tropical Dry Forest in Mexico

Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?

Vegetation Monitoring for Mountainous Regions Using a New Integrated Topographic Correction (ITC) of the SCS + C Correction and the Shadow-Eliminated Vegetation Index

Topographic Effects on the Spatial Species Associations in Diverse Heterogeneous Tropical Evergreen Forests

Hydrological Networks and Associated Topographic Variation as Templates for the Spatial Organization of Tropical Forest Vegetation

Similar Documents

Spatial and temporal variation in the canopy cover in a tropical semi-deciduous forest

Topographic and bioclimatic determinants of the occurrence of forest and grassland in tropical montane forest-grassland mosaics of the Western Ghats, India

Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?

Spatial distribution and temporal variation of tropical mountaintop vegetation through images obtained by drones

Maximum entropy production, carbon assimilation, and the spatial organization of vegetation in river basins

Multiple Factors Influence Seasonal and Interannual Litterfall Production in a Tropical Dry Forest in Mexico

Does spatial distribution of tree size account for spatial variation in soil respiration in a tropical forest?

Vegetation Monitoring for Mountainous Regions Using a New Integrated Topographic Correction (ITC) of the SCS + C Correction and the Shadow-Eliminated Vegetation Index

Topographic Effects on the Spatial Species Associations in Diverse Heterogeneous Tropical Evergreen Forests

Hydrological Networks and Associated Topographic Variation as Templates for the Spatial Organization of Tropical Forest Vegetation