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Demography and biomass change in monodominant and mixed old-growth forest of the Congo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2011

Jean-Remy Makana ,
Corneille N. Ewango ,
Sean M. McMahon ,
Sean C. Thomas ,
Terese B. Hart  and
Richard Condit
Jean-Remy Makana
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Society – DRC Program, Kinshasa, DR Congo
Corneille N. Ewango
Affiliation:
Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Conservation Forestiere (CEFRECOF), Wildlife Conservation Society, Kinshasa, DR Congo
Sean M. McMahon
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute & Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
Sean C. Thomas
Affiliation:
Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Terese B. Hart
Affiliation:
Project TL2, Kinshasa, DR Congo
Richard Condit*
Affiliation:
Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama MRC 0580-12, Unit 9100 Box 0948, DPO AA 34002USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: conditr@gmail.com
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Abstract:

Mbau forest covers much of the Congo, and shifts in its composition could have a large impact on the African tropics. The Ituri forest in east Congo is near a boundary between the monodominant mbau type and non-mbau mixed forest, and two 20-ha censuses of trees ≥ 1 cm diameter were carried out over 12 y to monitor forest change. Based on published diameter allometry, mbau forest had 535 Mg ha−1 biomass above ground and gained 1.1 Mg ha−1 y−1. Mixed forest had 399 Mg ha−1 and gained 3 Mg ha−1 y−1. The mbau tree (Gilbertiodendron dewevrei) increased its share of biomass from 4.1% to 4.4% in mixed forest; other common species also increased. Sapling density declined at both sites, likely because increased biomass meant shadier understorey, but the mbau tree increased in sapling density, suggesting it will become more important in the future. Tree mortality and growth rates were low relative to other tropical forests, especially in the mbau plots. Shifting toward G. dewevrei would represent a large gain in carbon in the mixed forest, but mbau is presently more important as a high-carbon stock: biomass lost during forest harvest could not recuperate for centuries due to slow community dynamics.

Keywords

AfricaCongomortalitybiomasspopulation dynamicstree growthtropical rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 447 - 461
Creative Commons
This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011. This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.

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References

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