Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few 'hyperdominant' species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest function is even more concentrated in a few species than is dominance of tree abundance, with only ≈1% of Amazon tree species responsible for 50% of carbon storage and productivity. Although those species that contribute most to biomass and productivity are often abundant, species maximum size is also influential, while the identity and ranking of dominant species varies by function and by region.
ISSN: 2041-1723

hal-01204225
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204225
DOI : 10.1038/ncomms7857
PRODINRA : 305614
PUBMED : 25919449

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Aim To examine variation in the phylogenetic diversity (PD) of tree communities across geographical and environmental gradients in Amazonia.Location Two hundred and eighty-three c.1ha forest inventory plots from across Amazonia.Methods We evaluated PD as the total phylogenetic branch length across species in each plot (PDss), the mean pairwise phylogenetic distance between species (MPD), the mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) and their equivalents standardized for species richness (ses.PDss, ses.MPD, ses.MNTD). We compared PD of tree communities growing (1) on substrates of varying geological age; and (2) in environments with varying ecophysiological barriers to growth and survival.Results PDss is strongly positively correlated with species richness (SR), whereas MNTD has a negative correlation. Communities on geologically young- and intermediate-aged substrates (western and central Amazonia respectively) have the highest SR, and therefore the highest PDss and the lowest MNTD. We find that the youngest and oldest substrates (the latter on the Brazilian and Guiana Shields) have the highest ses.PDss and ses.MNTD. MPD and ses.MPD are strongly correlated with how evenly taxa are distributed among the three principal angiosperm clades and are both highest in western Amazonia. Meanwhile, seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) and forests on white sands have low PD, as evaluated by any metric.Main conclusions High ses.PDss and ses.MNTD reflect greater lineage diversity in communities. We suggest that high ses.PDss and ses.MNTD in western Amazonia results from its favourable, easy-to-colonize environment, whereas high values in the Brazilian and Guianan Shields may be due to accumulation of lineages over a longer period of time. White-sand forests and SDTF are dominated by close relatives from fewer lineages, perhaps reflecting ecophysiological barriers that are difficult to surmount evolutionarily. Because MPD and ses.MPD do not reflect lineage diversity per se, we suggest that PDss, ses.PDss and ses.MNTD may be the most useful diversity metrics for setting large-scale conservation priorities.
ISSN: 1366-9516

hal-01557462
https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/hal-01557462
DOI : 10.1111/ddi.12357

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
As subducting plates reach the base of the upper mantle, some appear to flatten and stagnate, while others seemingly go through unimpeded. This variable resistance to slab sinking has been proposed to affect long-term thermal and chemical mantle circulation. A review of observational constraints and dynamic models highlights that neither the increase in viscosity between upper and lower mantle (likely by a factor 20–50) nor the coincident endothermic phase transition in the main mantle silicates (with a likely Clapeyron slope of –1 to –2 MPa/K) suffice to stagnate slabs. However, together the two provide enough resistance to temporarily stagnate subducting plates, if they subduct accompanied by significant trench retreat. Older, stronger plates are more capable of inducing trench retreat, explaining why backarc spreading and flat slabs tend to be associated with old-plate subduction. Slab viscosities that are ∼2 orders of magnitude higher than background mantle (effective yield stresses of 100–300 MPa) lead to similar styles of deformation as those revealed by seismic tomography and slab earthquakes. None of the current transition-zone slabs seem to have stagnated there more than 60 m.y. Since modeled slab destabilization takes more than 100 m.y., lower-mantle entry is apparently usually triggered (e.g., by changes in plate buoyancy). Many of the complex morphologies of lower-mantle slabs can be the result of sinking and subsequent deformation of originally stagnated slabs, which can retain flat morphologies in the top of the lower mantle, fold as they sink deeper, and eventually form bulky shapes in the deep mantle.
ISSN: 1553-040X

hal-01571965
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571965
DOI : 10.1130/GES01476.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Atmospheric carbon dioxide records indicate that the land surface has acted as a strong global carbon sink over recent decades, with a substantial fraction of this sink probably located in the tropics, particularly in the Amazon. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the terrestrial carbon sink will evolve as climate and atmospheric composition continue to change. Here we analyse the historical evolution of the biomass dynamics of the Amazon rainforest over three decades using a distributed network of 321 plots. While this analysis confirms that Amazon forests have acted as a long-term net biomass sink, we find a long-term decreasing trend of carbon accumulation. Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared to the 1990s. This is a consequence of growth rate increases levelling off recently, while biomass mortality persistently increased throughout, leading to a shortening of carbon residence times. Potential drivers for the mortality increase include greater climate variability, and feedbacks of faster growth on mortality, resulting in shortened tree longevity. The observed decline of the Amazon sink diverges markedly from the recent increase in terrestrial carbon uptake at the global scale, and is contrary to expectations based on models.
ISSN: 1476-4687

hal-01204223
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204223
DOI : 10.1038/nature14283
PRODINRA : 294797
PUBMED : 25788097

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Orogenic lherzolites exhibit a specific (although reproducible) platinum-group element signature characterized by slight positive deviations of Pd/Ir, Rh/Ir and Ru/Ir ratios from the canonical chondritic model. Such a signature was alternatively considered to be a compositional feature of the primitive upper mantle or resulting from sulfide melt addition by refertilisation reactions in the continental lithosphere. To shed additional light on this conundrum, the distribution of PGE in FON B 93, an unserpentinized, fertile (3.24% Al2O3) orogenic lherzolite (French Pyrenees) used as in-house standard by our group, has been studied to different scales, from the bulk rock to trace minerals. In addition to new ICPMS analyses after separation into Nis and Te coprecipitation, its whole-rock PGE concentrations were redetermined by three different laboratories using very precise ID-ICP-MS methods after digestion of the sample in Carius tube at T=250 degrees C and 320 degrees C or in high-pressure asher (HPA-S). The four methods produce reproducible Ru, Rh and Pd contents (7.1 +/- 0.18 ppb; 1.43 +/- 0.05 ppb; 7.1 +/- 0.30 ppb) whereas the non-ID NiS-fire assay method underestimates the Os and Ir concentrations by c.a. 10 and 15% compared to ID-ICP-MS analyses (4.40 +/- 0.07 and 4.00 +/- 0.17 ppb, respectively). Platinum was the most difficult to analyse. If performed on powder aliquots smaller than 3 g, the ID-ICP-MS analyses generate strong nugget effects while the non-ID NiS-fire assay method yields statistically lower (but highly reproducible) Pt concentrations (6.92 +/- 0.26 ppb). These features reflect the strong partitioning of Pt into trace phases that SEM and laser ablation-ICP-MS analyses on thin sections identify as both high-temperature Pt-Ir-Os alloys and Pt-(Pd) tellurides of likely subsolidus origin; ten to fifteen grains ranging in maximum dimension from a few micrometres to a few hundreds of nanometers, were identified by standard polished thin section. LA-ICP-MS data on base metal sulfides (25 grains analysed), coupled with the whole-rock S concentration (277 +/- 10 ppm) and modal composition of the BMS (90% pentlandite+accessory pyrite and secondary pyrrhotite + 10% chalcopyrite) allowed the contribution of the BMS phase to the PGE budget of FON B 93 to be estimated. Except Pt that exhibits a 95% deficit in the BMS phase, the PGE concentrations measured by ID-ICP-MS can be balanced by BMS while Al-spinel is a negligible contributor, accounting for less than 0.5% of the Ru budget. The occurrence of Pt in trace phases may bias the whole-rock Pt concentrations because 1) mechanical collection of Pt-rich trace phases remains problematic with the Nis button, and 2) Pt-Ir-Os alloys may be prone to digestion problems in conventional Carius tube procedures. Since they could be stable at mantle depth, such refractory alloys that contain Os and Ir may also have enhanced the heavy PGEs/light PGEs fractionation. Our observations likely pertain to orogenic lherzolites as a whole because BMS assemblages in these mantle rocks record evolution at low sulfur fugacity, which prevents Pt-Ir-Os alloy from entering the Mss in the mantle; moreover, at subsolidus temperature, pentlandite, the major BMS, cannot accommodate 0 valence state Pt.
ISSN: 0009-2541

hal-00411486
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00411486
DOI : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.06.030

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
Measurements of branch xylem density, D_x, were made for 1466 trees representing 503 species, sampled from 80 sites across the Amazon basin. Measured values ranged from 240 kg m^?3 for a Brosimum parinarioides from Tapajos in West Pará, Brazil to 1130 kg m^?3 for an Aiouea sp. from Caxiuana, Central Pará, Brazil. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in average D_x across the sample plots as well as significant differences between families, genera and species. A partitioning of the total variance in the dataset showed that geographic location and plot accounted for 33% of the variation with species identity accounting for an additional 27%; the remaining "residual" 40% of the variance accounted for by tree to tree (within species) variation. Variations in plot means, were, however, hardly accountable at all by differences in species composition. Rather, it would seem that variations of xylem density at plot level must be explained by the effects of soils and/or climate. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the xylem density of the more widely distributed species varied systematically from plot to plot. Thus, as well as having a genetic component branch xylem density is a plastic trait that, for any given species, varies according to where the tree is growing and in a predictable manner. Exceptions to this general rule may be some pioneers belonging to Pourouma and Miconia and some species within the genera Brosimum, Rinorea and Trichillia which seem to be more constrained in terms of this plasticity than most species sampled as part of this study.
ISSN: 1810-6277

hal-00298004
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004/file/bgd-5-2003-2008.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
We predict the IR-TO, IR-LO and Raman modes (wave numbers and intensities) of magnesite (MgCO3) up to 50 GPa, at T = 0 K, using the density-functional perturbation theory up to a third order perturbation, under the harmonic assumption. The predicted IR-TO and Raman mode wave numbers, the mode Grüneisen parameters and the Davydov splittings are systematically compared with experimental data for all modes up to the pressures of 10-30 GPa and for some modes up to 50 GPa. Existing experiments allow extending this comparison only to IR-LO wave numbers of the E u (ν3) asymmetric-stretch mode, confirming the odd experimental behavior of this mode at very high pressures. Predicted IR-TO, IR-LO and Raman intensities up to 50 GPa are just tabulated, but data are missing for their comparison with precise experiments. However, the generally good agreement observed between numerical results and experimental data, when their comparison is possible, suggests that first-principles methods are a major help to predict the entire spectrum up to very high pressures.
ISSN: 0342-1791

hal-00527834
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00527834
DOI : 10.1007/s00269-010-0395-y

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Highly siderophile element concentrations (HSE: Re and platinum-group elements (PGE)) are presented for gabbros, gabbroic eclogites and basaltic eclogites from the high-pressure Zermatt-Saas ophiolite terrain, Switzerland. Rhenium and PGE (Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) abundances in gabbro- and eclogite-hosted sulphides, and Re-Os isotopes and elemental concentrations in silicate phases are also reported. This work, therefore, provides whole rock and mineral-scale insights into the PGE budget of gabbroic oceanic crust and the effects of subduction metamorphism on gabbroic and basaltic crust. Chondrite-normalised PGE patterns for the gabbros are similar to published mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), but show less inter-element fractionation. Mean Pt and Pd contents of 360 and 530 pg/g, respectively, are broadly comparable to MORB, but gabbros have somewhat higher abundances of Os, Ir and Ru (mean: 64, 57 and 108 pg/g). Transformation to eclogite has not significantly changed the concentrations of the PGE, except Pd which is severely depleted in gabbroic eclogites relative to gabbros (similar to 75% loss). In contrast, basaltic eclogites display significant depletion of Pt (>= 60%), Pd (>85%) and Re (50-60%) compared with published MORB, while Os, Ir and Ru abundances are broadly comparable. Thus, these data suggest that only Pt, Pd and Re, and not Os, Ir and Ru, may be significantly fluxed into the mantle wedge from mafic oceanic crust. Re-Os model ages for gabbroic and gabbroic eclogite minerals are close to age estimates for igneous crystallisation and high-pressure metamorphism, respectively, hence the HSE budgets can be related to both igneous and metamorphic behaviour. The gabbroic budget of Os, Ir, Ru and Pd (but not Pt) is dominated by sulphide, which typically hosts >90% of the Os, whereas silicates account for most of the Re (with up to 75% in plagioclase alone). Sulphides in gabbroic eclogites tend to host a smaller proportion of the total Os (10-90%) while silicates are important hosts, probably reflecting Os inheritance from precursor phases. Garnet contains very high Re concentrations and may account for >50% of Re in some samples. The depletion of Pd in gabbroic eclogites appears linked, at least in part, to the loss of Ni-rich sulphide. Both basaltic and gabbroic oceanic crust have elevated Pt/Os ratios, but Pt/Re ratios are not sufficiently high to generate the coupled Os-186-Os-187 enrichments observed in some mantle melts, even without Pt loss from basaltic crust. However, the apparent mobility of Pt and Re in slab fluids provides an alternative mechanism for the generation of Pt- and Re-rich mantle material, recently proposed as a potential source of Os-187-Os-186 enrichment.
ISSN: 0016-7037

hal-00420072
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420072
DOI : 10.1016/j.gca.2008.11.036

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : While attention on logging in the tropics has been increasing, studies on the long-term effects of silviculture on forest dynamics and ecology remain scare and spatially limited. Indeed, most of our knowledge on tropical forests arises from studies carried out in undisturbed tropical forests. This bias is problematic given that logged and disturbed tropical forests are now covering a larger area than the so-called primary forests. A new network of permanent sample plots in logged forests, the Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO), aims to fill this gap by providing unprecedented opportunities to examine long-term data on the resilience of logged tropical forests at regional and global scales. TmFO currently includes 24 experimental sites distributed across three tropical regions, with a total of 490 permanent plots and 921ha of forest inventories.
ISSN: 1402-2001

hal-01204230
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204230
DOI : 10.1111/avsc.12125
PRODINRA : 323838

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Recent global kinematic studies reveal that most of the trenches roll back but a significant number of them advance toward the upper plate. Those advancing trenches are mostly located in the Western Pacific and correspond to the subduction of very old, Mesozoic oceanic lithosphere. While retreating trenches are commonly explained by the slab pull action of the descending lithosphere, the origin of advancing trenches is still debated. Since this relationship is dependent upon the adopted reference frame, we select region where geological studies show the variability of trench migration style with time. The Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) region represents a key example. The detailed reconstruction of the trench migration of the IBM subducting system reveals that after a long episode of asymmetric rollback, the IBM trench recently started advancing. We propose that this change from retreating to advancing trench mode results from the subduction of progressively older and stiffer lithospheric material. We test this hypothesis by means of two-dimensional (2-D) numerical models, reproducing the effects of the lithospheric aging during subduction. The result of our numerical tests shows that the entrance of old and stiff lithosphere forces the trench to advance because the increasing stiffness of the slab prevents the slab to unbend once it has subducted. We adapt this physical result to the IBM evolution, showing that the switch from trench retreat to trench advance can reconcile the shape of IBM slab as previously suggested. Finally we discuss the possibility that the subduction of the Cretaceous lithosphere might have triggered the change of the motion of the Pacific plate around 5 Ma.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00455988
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00455988
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2009.09.042

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Serpentinization of olivine-rich troctolite from core 227, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hole U1309D ranges from 10 to 90. Two episodes of serpentinization are recognized. The first, dominant in weakly serpentinized samples, is an approximately isochemical (except for water) replacement of olivine (Fo(8485)) by a mixture of serpentine (antigorite, Mg-number 92) and brucite (amakinite-rich; Mg-number 65). The compositions of the minerals in type 1 veins are a reflection of FeMg exchange between olivine and the brucite serpentine formed during early serpentinization. The early serpentinite veins (type 1) are thin ( 005 mm), irregular, and exploit pre-existing cracks in olivine. The presence of antigorite suggests that early serpentinization occurred at T 300C. Type 1 veins reflect rock-dominated serpentinization, became isolated early in their history, and persist as relicts in all but the most altered samples. The main episode of serpentinization is manifested by through-going lizardite (average Mg-number 96)magnetite veins (type 2). Type 2 veins define an anastomosing foliation, may be several millimeters in width and appear to exploit pre-existing, favorably oriented type 1 veins. Type 2 veins reflect open-system serpentinization. Magnetite in these veins formed by oxidation of the Fe in brucite and serpentine, whereas addition of silica to the system converted the Mg-component of the brucite to serpentine. Magnetite forms one or more distinct bands in the interior of the vein and is never in direct contact with relict olivine. A bruciteserpentine mixture, similar to that found in type 1 veins, but with lizardite instead of antigorite, is commonly present at the margins of type 2 veins (i.e. where they are in reaction contact with relict olivine). We interpret type 2 veins as a steady-state system where brucite continually forms at the olivinevein contact and then reacts out in the interior of the vein. This continual formation and destruction of brucite imposes an exceptionally low a(SiO2) on the system. Magnetite and olivine are never in contact in type 2 veins (or anywhere else) because the olivine-out reaction yields ferroan brucite and not magnetite. The desilication of serpentine in the type 2 veins is a reflection of the inherent instability of Fe-rich serpentine with respect to magnetite at low silica activity. Thus, the composition of serpentine in equilibrium with magnetite in serpentinites is a function of serpentinemagnetite and not serpentineolivine equilbria.
ISSN: 0022-3530

hal-00420931
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420931
DOI : 10.1093/petrology/egp004