Tropical montane cloud forests: state of knowledge and sustainability perspectives in a changing world

Bruijnzeel, L. A.; Kappelle, M.; Mulligan, Mark; Scatena, F. N.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511778384.074

Cited by 83 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 267 publications

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“…The amount of additional rainfall due to cloud precipitation (sometimes referred to as occult or horizontal precipitation) is unknown and difficult to quantify. Stadmüller (1987) reported relative values for cloud forest in the humid tropics ranging from 7 to 159% of annual rainfall while Bruijnzeel et al (2010) reports that throughfall exceeds annual rainfall in upper montane cloud forests by about 20% on average. The mean annual temperatures in the Taita Hills range from 16 to 18 o C, but temperatures are moderated by both altitude and aspect (Jaetzold and Schmidt 1983).…”

Section: The Study Area Forest Areas and Forest Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Except for the plots from the Irizi area we multiplied plot MAP values by 1.2 in order to include additional inputs of water via cloud precipitation. The value of 1.2 was based on the value suggested by Bruijnzeel et al (2010) for montane cloud forests. The Irizi area, which is in the rain shadow, does not receive significant amounts of cloud precipitation.…”

Section: Climate and Evapotranspirationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree biomass and soil carbon stocks in indigenous forests in comparison to plantations of exotic species in the Taita Hills of Kenya

Omoro¹,

Starr²,

Pellikka³

2013

Silva Fenn.

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Carbon (C) densities of the tree biomass and soil (0-50 cm) in indigenous forest and plantations of eucalyptus, cypress and pine in the Taita Hills, Kenya were determined and compared. The cypress and pine plantations were about 30-years-old and eucalyptus plantations about 50-years-old. Biomass C densities were estimated from breast height diameter and wood density using allometric functions developed for tropical species and an assumed C content of 50%. Belowground biomass C densities were estimated using root:shoot biomass ratios. Soil organic C (SOC) densities were calculated from measured organic carbon contents (0-20 and 20-50 cm layers) and modelled bulk density values. Mean total biomass C and SOC densities for indigenous forest were greater than those of the plantations, and the difference was significant (p < 0.05) in the cases of cypress and pine biomass and pine SOC. The correlation between biomass C and SOC densities was nearly significant in the case of indigenous forest, but negative. Biomass C densities were not significantly correlated with mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature or potential evapotranspiration, but pine biomass C densities were significantly correlated to actual evapotranspiration. SOC densities were more strongly correlated to mean annual precipitation than biomass C densities, but only significantly so in the case of pine. Neither biomass C nor SOC densities were correlated to plant available water capacity of the soil. Indigenous forest SOC densities were significantly correlated to soil clay contents, but negatively. Indigenous forests sequester more C in biomass and soil than do 30 to 50-year-old plantations of exotics, but it remains unclear if this is an intrinsic difference between indigenous forest and plantations of exotics or because of insufficient time for SOC levels in plantations to recover after clearance of original indigenous forest.

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Section: The Study Area Forest Areas and Forest Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Climate and Evapotranspirationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree biomass and soil carbon stocks in indigenous forests in comparison to plantations of exotic species in the Taita Hills of Kenya

Omoro¹,

Starr²,

Pellikka³

2013

Silva Fenn.

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“…This high global variability in CWI inputs, ET losses, and thus water yield underscores the fact that not all cloud forests are hydrologically similar and that sitespecific analyses are critical to accurately assess their water production services relative to other important ecosystem services (cf. Bruijnzeel et al 2010, Cingolani et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between payments for hydrologic services, landowner decisions, and ecohydrological consequences: synergies and disconnection in the cloud forest zone of central Veracruz, Mexico

Asbjornsen¹,

Manson²,

Scullion³

et al. 2017

E&S

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. 2017. Interactions between payments for hydrologic services, landowner decisions, and ecohydrological consequences: synergies and disconnection in the cloud forest zone of central Veracruz, Mexico. ABSTRACT. Payments for Hydrologic Services (PHS) programs are increasingly used as a policy tool to provide incentives for upstream landowners to adopt land use activities that favor sustainable provision of high-quality water to downstream areas. However, the effectiveness of PHS programs in achieving their objectives and the potential for unintended (often undesirable) consequences remain poorly understood. We integrate results from ecohydrological and socioeconomic research to explore the impact of Mexico's PHS program on the target hydrologic services and people's decisions, behavior, and knowledge regarding forest conservation and water. Using central Veracruz as our case study, we identify areas of both synchrony and disconnection between PHS goals and outcomes. Mature and regenerating cloud forests (targeted by PHS) were found to produce enhanced hydrologic services relative to areas converted to pasture, including reduced peak flows during large rain events and maintenance of dry-season base flows. However, unexpectedly, these hydrologic benefits from cloud forests were not necessarily greater than those from other vegetation types. Consequently, the location of forests in strategic watershed positions (e.g., where deforestation risk or hydrologic recharge are high) may be more critical than forest type in promoting hydrologic functions within watersheds and should be considered when targeting PHS payments. While our results suggest that participation in PHS improved the level of knowledge among watershed inhabitants about forest-water relationships, a mismatch existed between payment amounts and landowner opportunity costs, which may contribute to the modest success in targeting priority areas within watersheds. Combined, these findings underscore the complexity of factors that influence motivations for PHS participation and land use decisions and behavior, and the importance of integrating understanding of both ecohydrological and socioeconomic dynamics into PHS design and implementation. We conclude by identifying opportunities for improving the design of PHS programs and recommending priority areas for future research and monitoring, both in Mexico and globally.

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“…The higher elevations of TMFs result in changes to many important environmental variables including temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, incoming solar radiation, wind speed, nutrient inputs and soil type (Benner et al, 2010;Bruijnzeel et al, 2010). The impact of these environmental variables on biomass storage is not well known.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical montane forests are a larger than expected global carbon store

2014

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Abstract. Tropical montane forests (TMFs) are recognized for the provision of hydrological services and the protection of biodiversity, but their role in carbon storage is not well understood. We synthesized published observations (n = 94) of above-ground biomass (AGB) from forest inventory plots in TMFs (defined here as forests between 23.5 • N and 23.5 • S with elevations ≥ 1000 m a.s.l.). We found that mean (median) AGB in TMFs is 271 (254) t per hectare of land surface. We demonstrate that AGB declines moderately with both elevation and slope angle but that TMFs store substantial amounts of biomass, both at high elevations (up to 3500 m) and on steep slopes (slope angles of up to 40 • ). We combined remotely sensed data sets of forest cover with high resolution data of elevation to show that 75 % of the global planimetric (horizontal) area of TMF are on steep slopes (slope angles greater than 27 • ). We used our remote sensed data sets to demonstrate that this prevalence of steep slopes results in the global land surface area of TMF (1.22 million km 2 ) being 40 % greater than the planimetric area that is the usual basis for reporting global land surface areas and remotely sensed data. Our study suggests that TMFs are likely to be a greater store of carbon than previously thought, highlighting the need for conservation of the remaining montane forests.

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Tropical montane cloud forests: state of knowledge and sustainability perspectives in a changing world

Cited by 83 publications

References 267 publications

Tree biomass and soil carbon stocks in indigenous forests in comparison to plantations of exotic species in the Taita Hills of Kenya

Tree biomass and soil carbon stocks in indigenous forests in comparison to plantations of exotic species in the Taita Hills of Kenya

Interactions between payments for hydrologic services, landowner decisions, and ecohydrological consequences: synergies and disconnection in the cloud forest zone of central Veracruz, Mexico

Tropical montane forests are a larger than expected global carbon store

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