IUFRO Landscape Ecology in Tartu 24 - 28/08/2015

Ecosystem Services in French

Guiana old-growth rainforests
The geomorphological landscapes
are key-factors for predicting spatial
variation of ecosystem services in
undisturbed tropical rainforests

S.Guitet – IRD, UMR Amap, Montpellier (France) 1

1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

French Guiana : a part of Guiana Shield

covered by natural old-growth rainforest
with few recent anthropic disturbances …

V. Gond et al. (2011) Broad-scale spatial pattern of forest landscape types

… but high demographic rate and many
in the Guiana Shield. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and
Geoinformation, Volume 13, Issue 3, , 357–367.
conflictual issues regarding land-uses
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2011.01.004

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Moderate reliefs but a high

coastal plains
geomorphodiversity that shapes various
landscapes …

multi-concave
multiconvex
tablelands
mountains

S.Guitet al. (2013) Landforms and landscape mapping, French Guiana

(South America). Journal of Maps, Volume 9, 325-335.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2013.785371

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

… and that explains large scale patterns of forest composition

Variograms of floristic composition

Family : 36% of variance Taxa (mainly genus) : 33%

S.Guitet al. (2015) Geomorphological landscapes features explain floristic

patterns in French Guiana rainforest. Biodiversity and Conservation,
Volume 24, 1215:1237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-054-8

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Ecosystem Services :
Carbon regulation,
Timber production,
? Biodiversity ?

Geomorphological Forest composition

landscapes and diversity

Pedogenesis Soil filtering

(soil evolution and (niche effect, edaphic
transformation) and physical filter)
Soil-systems

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Estimating diversity of trees  29 botanical • 111 forestry

communities with rapid assessments at plots x 1 ha surveys (20m x 2-
(6,349 trees) 3km = 123,906 trees)
large scale (111 transects at 33 sites)

Accuracy Reliability
- family - per DBH
- genus
- per group
- species

Simulations of
floristic
composition
(Monte-Carlo)

Estimates for diversity Estimates for timber stocks

indices (σ/β, Fisher, Entropy…) (commercial, harvestable…)
0,08% <uncertainties< 11% 1% <uncertainties< 6%

S.Guitet al. (2014) Estimating tropical tree diversity indices from

forestry surveys: a method to integrate taxonomic uncertainty.
Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 328, 270:281.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.045

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Estimating carbon stock in above-ground  29 botanical • 111 forestry

biomass (AGB) with rapid assessments at plots x 1 ha surveys (20m x 2-
(6,349 trees) 3km = 123,906 trees)
large scale (111 transects)

Wood density Diameter

WSGplot=f(vernacular) DBHtree=f(DBHclass)
Monte-Carlo simulations Monte-Carlo simulations

Htree=f(DBH)
Exponential sub-
model

AGB = f (DBHtree, Htree, WSGplot)

Model 4 - Chave et al 2014
uncertainties< 11%

S.Guitet al. (in review) Spatial structure of above-ground biomass

limits accuracy of carbon mapping in rainforest but large scale
forest inventories can help to overcome

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Estimating soil organic carbon stock

(SOC) with rapid assessments at large  24 soil profiles  421 soil cores
(>1.5m depth) (1.2m depth)
scales (445 soil samplings)

Pedotransfer Random Forest

functions  models 
mean SOC by Spatial
WRB class distribution of
soil types (WRB)

Model of
spatial
distribution
for SOC

Soil Organic Carbon stocks

uncertainties≈25%

S.Guitet al. (in prep.)

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Potential (119 usable species DBH>55cm) Actual (13 commercial species DBH>55cm)

Number of trees per hectare

a a b c a ab c b

PROVISIONING SERVICES : highest timber stocks on tablelands

Effective (4 main harvested sp. DBH>55cm) Long-term (4 main harvested sp. DBH>20cm)
Number of trees per hectare

a ab c b a a b a

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Fisher Alpha Simpson diversity (Alpha Entropy order 2)

a b a a
a b a c

SUPPORTING SERVICES : Richness in mountains, originality in plains

Beta Entropy order 1 Beta Entropy order 2

a b ab c
a a a b

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

REGULATION SERVICES : Highest carbon stocks in old and stable landscapes

a b c d a a a b

Above-ground biomass spatial model

based on GLM and randomForest
Soil Organic Carbon spatial model

based on Kriging-regression

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS BETWEEN LANDSCAPES AT THE TRANSECT LEVEL

Positive correlations between local High local variability of SE but

diversity, carbon stock and production significant differences between
– Negative correlation with originality landscapes and reliefs

α diversity mountains

plains

β diversity
C stocks hills

timber production tablelands

Principal Component Analysis (normalized) : 48% of the variance of SE is explained by the

two first axes = 76% of the variance landscapes types (10 classes) – 37% by the reliefs
categories (4 classes)

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Most diverse or most original The most diverse communities stock

communities are less attractive for more carbon in soil and biomass
timber production (limitation effect)

originality
Local richness

Timber production

Beta-Entropie 1 for originality of composition , Correlation between Carbon stock indices and
Fisher-Alpha for local richness, density of Fisher-Alpha for the 33 sites (C total - F=13, df=31,
harvestable trees (DBH>55cm) in main p<0.001)
commercial species for timber production

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

High diversity and carbon stocks in mountain forests are not due to highest productivity

54 permanent sub-plots (1 – 1,56 ha) at 9 sites with periodic measurements on all trees with DBH>10cm for 4 to 13 years long
(GUYAFOR network - size of the points = duration)

Mortality rate effect : F=33,15 – Df=1 – p<0,001 Tree density effect : F= 20,40 – Df=1 – p<0,001
Landscape effect : F=4,89 – Df=3 – p<0,01 (ANOVA) Landscape effect : F=4,92 – Df=3 – p<0,01 (ANOVA)
Mountains effect : t=-2,915 – p<0,01 (LM) Mountains effect : t=-2,076 – p<0,05 (LM)

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

 There are important variations of Ecosystem Services at the regional scale in

hyper-diverse and old-growth rainforests
 CV 40 - 75% for production / 15 - 20% for carbon / 0 - 75% for diversity

 Most attractive communities for timber provisioning are neither the most
diverse nor the most original ones
 If correctly planned, harvesting may have low impact on regional trees
diversity

 There is a positive correlation between alpha-diversity and carbon stocks in old-

growth rainforest
 Not due to limited-competition but rather to long-term stability and
accumulation

 Geomorphological features are efficient indicators to predict these variations

 Because they are effective proxy for both inherent soil properties and long-
term dynamics

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1-Context 2-Hypothesis 3-Methods 4-Results 5-Conclusions

Many thanks for your attention !

Other contributors : P. Couteron, D. Sabatier,

B. Hérault, O. Brunaux

Fundings : European Union (PO-FEDER),

French Minister for Environment (ECOTROP)

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