TY - JOUR AU - Longo, M. AU - Saatchi, S. AU - Keller, M. AU - Bowman, K. AU - Ferraz, A. AU - Moorcroft, P.R. AU - Morton, D.C. AU - Bonal, D. AU - Brando, P. AU - Burban, B. AU - Derroire, G. AU - dos-Santos, M.N. AU - Meyer, V. AU - Saleska, S. AU - Trumbore, S. AU - Vincent, G. PY - 2020// TI - Impacts of Degradation on Water, Energy, and Carbon Cycling of the Amazon Tropical Forests T2 - J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci. JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences SP - e2020JG005677 VL - 125 IS - 8 PB - Blackwell Publishing Ltd KW - Amazon KW - drought KW - ecosystem modeling KW - evapotranspiration KW - forest degradation KW - remote sensing KW - carbon cycle KW - deforestation KW - dry season KW - hydrological cycle KW - logging (timber) KW - net primary production KW - sensible heat flux KW - tropical forest KW - understory KW - water stress KW - Amazon River N2 - Selective logging, fragmentation, and understory fires directly degrade forest structure and composition. However, studies addressing the effects of forest degradation on carbon, water, and energy cycles are scarce. Here, we integrate field observations and high-resolution remote sensing from airborne lidar to provide realistic initial conditions to the Ecosystem Demography Model (ED-2.2) and investigate how disturbances from forest degradation affect gross primary production (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET), and sensible heat flux (H). We used forest structural information retrieved from airborne lidar samples (13,500 ha) and calibrated with 817 inventory plots (0.25 ha) across precipitation and degradation gradients in the eastern Amazon as initial conditions to ED-2.2 model. Our results show that the magnitude and seasonality of fluxes were modulated by changes in forest structure caused by degradation. During the dry season and under typical conditions, severely degraded forests (biomass loss ≥66%) experienced water stress with declines in ET (up to 34%) and GPP (up to 35%) and increases of H (up to 43%) and daily mean ground temperatures (up to 6.5°C) relative to intact forests. In contrast, the relative impact of forest degradation on energy, water, and carbon cycles markedly diminishes under extreme, multiyear droughts, as a consequence of severe stress experienced by intact forests. Our results highlight that the water and energy cycles in the Amazon are driven by not only climate and deforestation but also the past disturbance and changes of forest structure from degradation, suggesting a much broader influence of human land use activities on the tropical ecosystems. ©2020. The Authors. SN - 21698953 (Issn) UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005677 N1 - exported from refbase (http://php.ecofog.gf/refbase/show.php?record=957), last updated on Mon, 08 Feb 2021 11:16:09 -0300 ID - Longo_etal2020 ER -