Sensitivity of a mechanistic photosynthesis model  to tropical Andean species and environments

González-Caro, Sebastián; Dusenge, Mirindi Eric; Restrepo, Zorayda; Cox, Andrew J. F.; Hartley, Ian P.; Meir, Patrick; Sánchez, Adriana; Ruiz-Carrascal, Daniel; Mercado, Lina M.

doi:10.5194/bg-23-3347-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3347-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3347-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 10

Research article

|

20 May 2026

Research article |

| 20 May 2026

Sensitivity of a mechanistic photosynthesis model to tropical Andean species and environments

Sebastián González-Caro, Mirindi Eric Dusenge, Zorayda Restrepo, Andrew J. F. Cox, Ian P. Hartley, Patrick Meir, Adriana Sánchez, Daniel Ruiz-Carrascal, and Lina M. Mercado

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3347-2026-supplement

Data sets

Dataset for the paper: "Unexpected large photosynthetic thermal plasticity of montane Andean trees'' Mirindi Eric Dusenge https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29084276.v1

A-Ci, photosynthetic capacity and dark respiration data along an elevation/temperature gradient in the Colombian Andes, 2019 Andrew J. F. Cox https://doi.org/10.5285/60dd0b8f-f0c3-4e30-841b-1c2067052974

Leaf structural traits and allometry of juvenile trees across temperature treatments in an experimental plantation in the Colombian Andes, 2019-2022 Zorayda Restrepo and Lina M. Mercado https://doi.org/10.5285/c7ce1610-aba3-4a09-bf7c-1b6c774d597a

Model code and software

Sensitivity of a mechanistic photosynthesis model to tropical Andean species and environments. In Biogeoscience Sebastian Gonzalez-Caro https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20138234

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Short summary

Andean tropical montane forests are highly biodiverse and store carbon at levels comparable to lowland forests, yet their response to climate change remains uncertain. Using a leaf-level photosynthesis model and a transplant experiment across three elevations (14, 22 and 26 °C) in the tropical Andes, we show that intraspecific variability in key photosynthetic parameters is essential to accurately model photosynthesis and avoid underestimating montane forest carbon uptake.