Restoring tropical landscapes with resilient forests in the context of climate change mitigation

在减缓气候变化的背景下利用有复原力的森林恢复热带景观

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-03898
• 负责人: Potvin, Catherine
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745853
• 关键词: Restoring; tropical; landscapes; resilient; forests

Tropical forests are critical in the face of climate change. They hold over 40% of terrestrial carbon, occupy 12% of terrestrial surface and harbour more than half of terrestrial diversity. While avoiding deforestation is one way to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, reforestation and forest restoration offer an opportunity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. With a climate mitigation potential estimated at >11 PgCO2e yr-1 up until 2030, tropical landscapes are at the forefront of climate action. In this context, my NSERC Discovery Grant focuses on tropical forests' resilience to the changing climate. It has been suggested that climate-related increases in temperature and drought could globally shift tropical forests from a carbon sink to source. The potential of forests to serve as climate solutions rests on their long-term resilience and ability to withstand chronic effects of climate change and other anthropogenic drivers of degradation. I therefore propose to combine research on an experimental forest, established to study the relationship between tree diversity and ecosystem function, and on the attributes of climate resilience in forested landscapes. In 2001, I planted an experimental forest in Central Panama with monoculture plots and mixture plots. Since then, it has experienced one extreme wet event, one extreme wet dry spell over three consecutive years and one tropical storm. Long-term monitoring of tree growth and other ecosystem functions, such as the production of leaf litter and of coarse woody debris, offers a unique opportunity to unravel the mechanism that makes mixture plots more resilient to extreme climate events. In addition, I will advance the understanding of climate resilience by measuring a number of functional traits related to drought resistance in canopy trees and saplings of both moist and tropical dry planted forests. The hypothesis being tested is that, as the climate is becoming drier, saplings harbouring traits related to drought tolerance will increase in abundance, thereby enhancing forest resilience. I will also examine landscape connectivity as a key element of landscape resilience, comparing saplings and canopy tree diversity and functional traits in intact and fragmented landscapes. My research will advance our understanding of the climate resilience of tropical forests at a time of worldwide concern over the fate of the Amazonian forests. Furthermore, under the leadership of Germany, a number of countries have joined the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. My Discovery Grant research holds the potential of having a major real-world impact by providing guidance on how to enhance the climate resilience of reforestation and forest restoration projects.

面对气候变化，热带森林至关重要。它们拥有超过40%的陆地碳，占据了12%的陆地表面，拥有超过一半的陆地多样性。虽然避免砍伐森林是减少全球温室气体排放的一种方法，但重新造林和森林恢复提供了从大气中去除二氧化碳的机会。据估计，到2030年，每年的气候缓解潜力为110亿吨二氧化碳当量，热带景观处于气候行动的前沿。在这种背景下，我的NSERC发现基金关注的是热带森林对气候变化的适应能力。有人认为，与气候相关的温度升高和干旱可能会在全球范围内将热带森林从碳汇转变为碳源。森林作为气候解决方案的潜力取决于其长期复原力和抵御气候变化和其他人为退化驱动因素的长期影响的能力。因此，我建议将研究树木多样性与生态系统功能之间关系的实验森林与研究森林景观的气候适应能力属性结合起来。2001年，我在巴拿马中部种植了一片试验林，用的是单一栽培地和混合栽培地。从那以后，它经历了一次极端潮湿事件，一次连续三年的极端干湿天气和一次热带风暴。长期监测树木生长和其他生态系统功能，如凋落叶和粗木屑的产生，提供了一个独特的机会来揭示使混合地块更能适应极端气候事件的机制。此外，我将通过测量湿润和热带干燥人工林的冠层树木和树苗的一些与抗旱性相关的功能性状来促进对气候适应能力的理解。正在测试的假设是，随着气候变得越来越干燥，具有耐旱特性的树苗数量将会增加，从而增强森林的复原力。我还将研究景观连通性作为景观恢复力的关键要素，比较完整和破碎景观中的树苗和树冠的多样性和功能特征。在全世界都在关注亚马逊森林命运的时候，我的研究将促进我们对热带森林气候适应能力的理解。此外，在德国的领导下，一些国家加入了波恩挑战，这是一项全球努力，到2020年恢复1.5亿公顷的森林砍伐和退化土地，到2030年恢复3.5亿公顷。我的“发现基金”研究为如何提高再造林和森林恢复项目的气候适应能力提供指导，有可能对现实世界产生重大影响。