Global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height

Shengli Tao; Qinghua Guo; Chao Li; Zhiheng Wang; Jingyun Fang

doi:10.1002/ecy.1580

journal article Dec 01, 2016

Global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height

Shengli Tao

Ecology Vol. 97 No. 12 pp. 3265-3270 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/ecy.1580

Abstract

AbstractForest canopy height is an important indicator of forest biomass, species diversity, and other ecosystem functions; however, the climatic determinants that underlie its global patterns have not been fully explored. Using satellite LiDAR‐derived forest canopy heights and field measurements of the world's giant trees, combined with climate indices, we evaluated the global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height. The mean canopy height was highest in tropical regions, but tall forests (>50 m) occur at various latitudes. Water availability, quantified by the difference between annual precipitation and annual potential evapotranspiration (P−PET), was the best predictor of global forest canopy height, which supports the hydraulic limitation hypothesis. However, in striking contrast with previous studies, the canopy height exhibited a hump‐shaped curve along a gradient of P−PET: it initially increased, then peaked at approximately 680 mm of P−PET, and finally declined, which suggests that excessive water supply negatively affects the canopy height. This trend held true across continents and forest types, and it was also validated using forest inventory data from China and the United States. Our findings provide new insights into the climatic controls of the world's giant trees and have important implications for forest management and improvement of forest growth models.

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References

Details

Published: Dec 01, 2016
Vol/Issue: 97(12)
Pages: 3265-3270
License: View

Authors

S

Shengli Tao

Department of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing 100871 China

Q

Qinghua Guo

State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100093 China

C

Chao Li

Department of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing 100871 China

Z

Zhiheng Wang

Department of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing 100871 China

J

Jingyun Fang

Department of Ecology College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing 100871 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China Award: 31321061

Cite This Article

Shengli Tao, Qinghua Guo, Chao Li, et al. (2016). Global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height. Ecology, 97(12), 3265-3270. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1580

Global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height

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