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Negrón-Juárez et al. and Their Pioneering Study on Amazon Windthrows2 min read

by Marilyn Saarni on March 14, 2017

Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions Program Domain Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Climate Sciences Department Research Highlight
Study area. (a) Landsat scene (P231R062) of our study area—a 3.4 × 104 km2 region in Central Amazon; (b) climatology (base period 1971–2000) of rainfall and temperature over our study area. The climatology was obtained using rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Climatological Centre and temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit (Fig 1 of paper)

Study area. (a) Landsat scene (P231R062) of our study area—a 3.4 × 104 km2 region in Central Amazon; (b) climatology (base period 1971–2000) of rainfall and temperature over our study area. The climatology was obtained using rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Climatological Centre and temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit (Fig 1 of paper)

Robinson Negrón-Juárez and his co-authors have now published the first study on windthrow variability, focusing on Central Amazonia. Windthrows destroy large swaths of trees, play a significant role in forest structures and dynamics, and affect carbon storage. In this study the co-authors present the seasonal and interannual variability of windthrows, and discuss the potential meteorological factors associated with this variability.

Negrón-Juárez, R.I., H. S. Jenkins, C. F. M. Raupp, W. J. Riley, L. M. Kueppers, D. Magnabosco Marra, G. H. P. Ribeiro, M. T. Monterio, L. A. Candido, J. Q. Chambers, N. Higuch (2017). Windthrow Variability in Central Amazonia. Atmosphere 8(2), 28, doi:10.3390/atmos8020028

They used Landsat images for the 1998–2010 time period to detect windthrows, which were identified based on their spectral characteristics and shape. Meteorological data were used to investigate the causes of windthrows. They found that windthrows occurred every year throughout Central Amazonia, but were more frequent from September through February. Organized convective activity associated with multicell storms embedded in mesoscale convective systems, such as northerly squall lines (which move from northeast to southwest) and southerly squall lines (which move from southwest to northeast), can cause windthrows. They also found that southerly squall lines occurred more frequently than the previously reported ~50 year interval. At the interannual scale, they did not find an association between ENSO and windthrows.

Given that windthrow-related tree mortality is not currently represented in Earth System Models (ESMs), this study shows that inclusion of windthrows in ESMs could reduce the uncertainties of climate prediction.

This research was supported as part of the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments-Tropics and the Regional and Global Climate Modeling, both funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Windthrow photos are credited to Ms. Raquel Araujo, who used an unmanned aerial system to photograph. This windthow (2.88S, 60.28W) occurred in 2015 close to the city of Taruma in Central Amazonia. One of the “dots” below is author Robinson Negrón-Juárez.

Photos cr. Ms.Raquel Araujo, using a drone. This windthow (2.88S, 60.28W) occurred in 2015 close to the city of Taruma in Central Amazonia.

 

News & Events

Daniel Stolper Selected by DOE’s Early Career Research Program2 min read

June 22, 2022

Daniel Stolper is among five Berkeley Lab researchers to receive funding through the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program (ECRP), and is one of just 83 nationwide to be selected this year by the DOE for this prestigious award. Stolper is an EESA faculty scientist with a joint appointment at UC Berkeley, where he…

Wageningen Students Visit Ecology Department Team2 min read

On May 31, a delegation of students from Wageningen University & Research Center (WUR) Microbiology and Systems Biology Groups in the Netherlands came to visit EESA’s Ecology department. WUR is a highly esteemed world-class Dutch university that trains specialists in a variety of life sciences disciplines. WUR’s research and teaching activities range from sustainable agriculture…

Strengthening Wildland Fire Science and Scientific Collaboration through New Data Management Platform3 min read

June 13, 2022

  Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency worldwide. A new report called Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires indicates that wildfires are responsible for significant economic, environmental, and sociopolitical damage (UNEP, GRID-Arendal, 2021). They also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions – thereby further fueling climate change.  Researchers need to…

Bhavna Arora Describes Agricultural Managed Aquifer Recharge5 min read

June 7, 2022

Managed Aquifer Recharge is a water management strategy used to store excess surface water underground and thereby replenish groundwater basins when and where possible. This strategy enables communities to use depleted groundwater basins as natural water storage to augment water supplies and prevent land subsidence. In coastal regions, MAR can be implemented to act as…

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