Articles | Volume 18, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4445-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4445-2021
Research article
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29 Jul 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 29 Jul 2021

Drought effects on leaf fall, leaf flushing and stem growth in the Amazon forest: reconciling remote sensing data and field observations

Thomas Janssen, Ype van der Velde, Florian Hofhansl, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Kim Naudts, Bart Driessen, Katrin Fleischer, and Han Dolman

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Cited articles

Albert, L. P., Wu, J., Prohaska, N., de Camargo, P. B., Huxman, T. E., Tribuzy, E. S., Ivanov, V. Y., Oliveira, R. S., Garcia, S., Smith, M. N., Oliveira Junior, R. C., Restrepo-Coupe, N., da Silva, R., Stark, S. C., Martins, G. A., Penha, D. V., and Saleska, S. R.: Age-dependent leaf physiology and consequences for crown-scale carbon uptake during the dry season in an Amazon evergreen forest, New Phytol., 219, 870–884, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15056, 2018. 
Andela, N., Liu, Y. Y., M. Van Dijk, A. I. J., De Jeu, R. A. M., and McVicar, T. R.: Global changes in dryland vegetation dynamics (1988–2008) assessed by satellite remote sensing: Comparing a new passive microwave vegetation density record with reflective greenness data, Biogeosciences, 10, 6657–6676, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6657-2013, 2013. 
Anderson, L. O., Malhi, Y., Aragão, L. E. O. C., Ladle, R., Arai, E., Barbier, N., and Phillips, O.: Remote sensing detection of droughts in Amazonian forest canopies, New Phytol., 187, 733–750, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03355.x, 2010. 
Anderson, L. O., Neto, G. R., Cunha, A. P., Fonseca, M. G., De Moura, Y. M., Dalagnol, R., Wagner, F. H., and De Aragão, L. E. O. E. C.: Vulnerability of Amazonian forests to repeated droughts, Philos. T. R. Soc. B, 373, 20170411, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0411, 2018. 
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Satellite images show that the Amazon forest has greened up during past droughts. Measurements of tree stem growth and leaf litterfall upscaled using machine-learning algorithms show that leaf flushing at the onset of a drought results in canopy rejuvenation and green-up during drought while simultaneously trees excessively shed older leaves and tree stem growth declines. Canopy green-up during drought therefore does not necessarily point to enhanced tree growth and improved forest health.
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