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Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1013-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1013-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
Research article
 | 
26 Feb 2020
Research article |  | 26 Feb 2020

Validation of demographic equilibrium theory against tree-size distributions and biomass density in Amazonia

Jonathan R. Moore, Arthur P. K. Argles, Kai Zhu, Chris Huntingford, and Peter M. Cox

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Latest update: 25 Aug 2025
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Short summary
The distribution of tree sizes across Amazonia can be fitted very well (for both trunk diameter and tree mass) by a simple equilibrium model assuming power law growth and size-independent mortality. We find tree growth to mirror some aspects of metabolic scaling theory and that there may be a trade-off between fast-growing, short-lived and longer-lived, slow-growing ones. Our Amazon mortality-to-growth ratio is very similar to US temperate forests, hinting at a universal property for trees.
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