Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In a perfect-deficit approach (Yi, 2012), the daily maximum carbon storage capacity (CPC) of a given ecosystem for each year defines the perfect annual CPC curve. Deficits are the differences in the daily observational data for a given year against a perfect curve. The area between this curve and instantaneous canopy photosynthetic rates represents the potential productivity. Using an 11-year (2004 – 2014) eddy covariance flux and meteorological data, this perfect-deficit approach was used to examine the relationship between potential productivity and droughts occurring in 2005 and 2010 in a tropical rainforest of French Guiana, South America. Surprisingly, CPC deficits were only reduced by 24% (2005) and 19% (2010) from their respective perfect CPCs, indicating a subtle effect of drought to ecosystem productivity. Highest precipitation occurred in 2010 but precipitation deficits dropped drastically during this year (71% reduction from its perfect value) which reflects a drought condition. However, its deficits showed no correlation annually and seasonally. Soil water content (SWC) appeared to be the single driver for CPC deficits during long dry periods but is weakly correlated (r = 0.30; P <0.01 and r = 0.31; P <0.01, in 2005 and 2010, respectively). These results indicate that soil water is not a major limiting factor for productivity of this ecosystem during drought periods. In contrast, global radiation (Rg) corresponds to the peak of CPC deficits in 2010, but only 19% had been reduced from its ideal value. Yet, highest gross primary production (GPP) of 4106±231 gCm−2yr−1 occurred this year (mean 3753±231 gCm−2yr−1). Therefore, smaller deficits in Rg coupled with sufficient water may have induced higher productivity in 2010. Nevertheless, weaker correlations between potential productivity and climatic drivers may imply that other controlling aspects such as biological constraints may also have an effect to the dynamics of potential productivity during drought events, hence, must also be considered.
AGU Fall Meeting 2015
San Francisco, United States

hal-01269439
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01269439
PRODINRA : 338570

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Vegetation phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal events that are considered to be the result of adaptive responses to climate variations on short and long time scales. In the field of remote sensing of vegetation phenology, phenological metrics are derived from time series of optical data. For that purpose, considerable effort has been specifically focused on developing noise reduction and cloud-contaminated data removal techniques to improve the quality of remotely-sensed time series. Comparative studies between time series composed of satellite data acquired under clear and cloudy conditions and from radiometric data obtained with high accuracy from ground-based measurements constitute a direct and effective way to assess the operational use and limitations of remote sensing for predicting the main plant phenological events. In the present paper, we sought to explicitly evaluate the potential use of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensing data for monitoring the seasonal dynamics of different types of vegetation cover that are representative of the major terrestrial biomes, including temperate deciduous forests, evergreen forests, African savannah, and crops. After cloud screening and filtering, we compared the temporal patterns and phenological metrics derived from in situ NDVI time series and from MODIS daily and 16-composite products. We also evaluated the effects of residual noise and the influence of data gaps in MODIS NDVI time series on the identification of the most relevant metrics for vegetation phenology monitoring. The results show that the inflexion points of a model fitted to a MODIS NDVI time series allow accurate estimates of the onset of greenness in the spring and the onset of yellowing in the autumn in deciduous forests (RMSE <= one week). Phenological metrics identical to those provided with the MODIS Global Vegetation Phenology product (MDC12Q2) are less robust to data gaps, and they can be subject to large biases of approximately two weeks or more during the autumn phenological transitions. In the evergreen forests, in situ NDVI time series describe the phenology with high fidelity despite small temporal changes in the canopy foliage. However, MODIS is unable to provide consistent phenological patterns. In crops and savannah, MODIS NDVI time series reproduce the general temporal patterns of phenology, but significant discrepancies appear between MODIS and ground-based NDVI time series during very localized periods of time depending on the weather conditions and spatial heterogeneity within the MODIS pixel. In the rainforest, the temporal pattern exhibited by a MODIS 16-day composite NDVI time series is more likely due to a pattern of noise in the NDVI data structure according to both rainy and dry seasons rather than to phenological changes. More investigations are needed, but in all cases, this result leads us to conclude that MODIS time series in tropical rainforests should be interpreted with great caution. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0034-4257

hal-01032407
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032407
DOI : 10.1016/j.rse.2013.01.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : The allocation and cycling of carbon (C) within forests is an important component of the biospheric C cycle, but is particularly understudied within tropical forests. We synthesise reported and unpublished results from three lowland rainforest sites in Amazonia (in the regions of Manaus, Tapajos and Caxiuana), all major sites of the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Programme (LBA). We attempt a comprehensive synthesis of the C stocks, nutrient status and, particularly, the allocation and internal C dynamics of all three sites. The calculated net primary productivities (NPP) are 10.1 +/- 1.4 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (Manaus), 14.4 +/- 1.3 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (Tapajos) and 10.0 +/- 1.2 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) (Caxiuana). All errors bars report standard errors. Soil and leaf nutrient analyses indicate that Tapajos has significantly more plant-available phosphorus and calcium. Autotrophic respiration at all three sites (14.9-21.4 Mg C ha yr(-1)) is more challenging to measure, with the largest component and greatest source of uncertainty being leaf dark respiration. Comparison of measured soil respiration with that predicted from C cycling measurements provides an independent constraint. It shows general good agreement at all three sites, with perhaps some evidence for measured soil respiration being less than expected. Twenty to thirty percent of fixed C is allocated belowground. Comparison of gross primary productivity (GPP), derived from ecosystem flux measurements with that derived from component studies (NPP plus autotrophic respiration) provides an additional crosscheck. The two approaches are in good agreement, giving increased confidence in both approaches to estimating GPP. The ecosystem carbon-use efficiency (CUEs), the ratio of NPP to GPP, is similar at Manaus (0.34 +/- 0.10) and Caxiuana (0.32 +/- 0.07), but may be higher at Tapajos (0.49 +/- 0.16), although the difference is not significant. Old growth or infertile tropical forests may have low CUE compared with recently disturbed and/or fertile forests.
ISSN: 1354-1013

hal-01032150
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032150
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01780.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé :  
Modeling soil water availability for tropical trees is a prerequisite to predicting the future impact of climate change on tropical forests. In this paper we develop a discrete-time deterministic water balance model adapted to tropical rainforest climates, and we validate it on a large dataset that includes micrometeorological and soil parameters along a topographic gradient in a lowland forest of French Guiana. The model computes daily water fluxes (rainfall interception, drainage, tree transpiration and soil plus understorey evapotranspiration) and soil water content using three input variables: daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and solar radiation. A novel statistical approach is employed that uses Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) soil moisture data to estimate water content at permanent wilting point and at field capacity, and root distribution. Inaccuracy of the TDR probes and other sources of uncertainty are taken into account by model calibration through a Bayesian framework. Model daily output includes relative extractable water, REW, i.e. the daily available water standardized by potential available water. The model succeeds in capturing temporal variations in REW regardless of topographic context. The low Root Mean Square Error of Predictions suggests that the model captures the most important drivers of soil water dynamics, i.e. water refilling and root water extraction. Our model thus provides a useful tool to explore the response of tropical forests to climate scenarios of changing rainfall regime and intensity.
ISSN: 0168-1923

hal-01032181
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032181
DOI : 10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.04.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : Coarse woody debris (CWD, dead wood sections a parts per thousand yen10 cm diameter) represents a large store of carbon in tropical forests; however, estimates of the flux of carbon from CWD in these forests remain poorly constrained. The objective of this study was to resolve the dry/wet season response of respiration in CWD (R (cwd)), and investigate the importance of biotic and abiotic factors for predicting the seasonal change of R (cwd) at the ecosystem level. This study presents a 4-month time series of R (cwd) measurements conducted on 42 dead trees (26 species) at the Paracou Research Station in French Guiana. R (cwd) measurements were repeated 13 times on each CWD sample from July to November 2011, spanning the transition from wet to dry season, and then from dry season to the following wet season. Seasonal drought caused monthly R (cwd) to drop by 20.5 +/- A 5.1% over the wet-dry transition. Changes in woody tissue moisture content explained 41.9% of the measured seasonal variability in R (cwd), but 60% of the seasonal variability in mean forest R (cwd) rates could be modelled using surface soil water content. We estimate that R (cwd) is approximately 5% of annual ecosystem respiration (R (eco)) and that seasonal variations in R (cwd) contribute appreciably to seasonal variations of R (eco), and should be included in functional models simulating the response of tropical rainforest ecosystems to current and future climate.
ISSN: 1432-9840

hal-01032431
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032431
DOI : 10.1007/s10021-013-9684-x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé :  
Distinct ecosystem level carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus (C : N : P) stoichiometries in forest foliage have been suggested to reflect ecosystem-scale selection for physiological strategies in plant nutrient use. Here, this hypothesis was explored in a nutrient-poor lowland rainforest in French Guiana. * Variation in C, N and P concentrations was evaluated in leaf litter and foliage from neighbour trees of 45 different species, and the litter concentrations of major C fractions were also measured. * Litter C ranged from 45.3 to 52.4%, litter N varied threefold (0.68-2.01%), and litter P varied seven-fold (0.009-0.062%) among species. Compared with foliage, mean litter N and P concentrations decreased by 30% and 65%, respectively. Accordingly, the range in mass-based N : P shifted from 14 to 55 in foliage to 26 to 105 in litter. Resorption proficiencies indicated maximum P withdrawal in most species, but with a substantial increase in variation in litter P compared with foliage. * These data suggest that constrained ecosystem-level C : N : P ratios do not preclude the evolution of highly diversified strategies of nutrient use and conservation among tropical rainforest tree species. The resulting large variation in litter quality will influence stoichiometric constraints within the decomposer food web, with potentially far-ranging consequences on nutrient dynamics and plant-soil feedbacks.
ISSN: 0028-646X

hal-01032108
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032108
DOI : 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02438.x

Résumé : La distribution actuelle des espèces d’arbres des forêts tropicales humides amazoniennes est le résultat de processus dynamiques sur lesquels les perturbations passées, d’origine climatique ou anthropique, peuvent avoir jouées un rôle majeur. Des outils génétiques actuels associés à des méthodes d’analyses puissantes permettent d’inférer et de dater l’empreinte génomique des évènements démographiques subits par les populations naturelles. Le but de cette thèse est de contribuer à une vision d’ensemble de l’évolution démographique de la forêt tropicale humide du plateau des Guyanes pendant le Quaternaire. J’ai d’abord étudié les propriétés des microsatellites (répétitions simple de séquences, SSR) et les limites de leurs applications en tant que marqueurs moléculaires en phylogéographie. Plusieurs allèles SSR contenu dans diverses populations de trois genres d’arbres différents ont été séquencés et le polymorphisme, porté par chaque partie des fragments ADN contenant des SSR, a été étudié. J’ai observé que la quantité de variation génétique était aussi importante dans les régions encadrant le microsatellite que dans le SSR lui-même. Ces régions ont contribué significativement à l’information phylogénétique et ont parfois été la principale source de différenciation entre les individus et les populations. Cette expérience m’a permis de choisir la meilleure stratégie à adopter pour traiter les données de variation génétique des SSR dans des modèles démographiques. J’ai ensuite utilisé ces marqueurs SSR et des méthodes ABC pour étudier l’impact local des occupations humaines précolombiennes sur les forêts en Guyane française. Les changements démographiques subis par des populations de quatre espèces d’arbres ont été comparés entre cinq sites occupés et quatre sites non perturbés. Les perturbations naturelles et induites par l’homme ont contribué à la mise en place de la diversité observée actuellement, comme le suggère des signatures d’effet fondateur détectées sur les sites perturbés ou non. Néanmoins, la taille des populations fondatrices semble être proportionnelle à l’impact humain estimé, indiquant que les perturbations anthropique ont induit un remplacement des populations plus important que les processus écologiques naturels. Pour terminer, j’ai mené une étude de démographie comparative d’espèces d’arbres tropicaux à l’échelle régionale de la Guyane française. Cinq scénarios démographiques ont été testés pour neuf populations de huit espèces en utilisant des microsatellites nucléaires et des séquences chloroplastiques. Les changements démographiques les plus récents détectés convergent vers une signature générale d’expansion de la forêt humide depuis probablement la dernière glaciation. Cela peut suggérer, soit que la composition des forêts du plateau des Guyanes était différente, ou que le couvert forestier était moins étendu. Ce résultat constitue le premier indice de changement passé, probablement d’origine climatique, subi par les communautés forestières du plateau des Guyanes ; qui n’avait jusque-là pas pu être testé avec des méthodes standards en raison d’un manque de fossiles. En conclusion, j’ai recueilli des preuves génétiques que les perturbations, à différents échelles de temps, ont marqué la structure et la composition génétique des forêts du plateau des Guyanes. L’application de ces méthodes à d’autres régions Néotropicales pourrait contribuer, à l’avenir, à reconstruire l’histoire écologique de la forêt amazonienne de façon détaillée.
The current tree species distribution in Amazonian tropical rainforests is the outcome of dynamic processes in which past perturbations, climatic or anthropogenic, may have played a major role. Currently available genetic tools associated with powerful analytical methods allow inferring and dating the genomic imprint of demographic events undergone by natural populations. The aim of my thesis is to contribute to an overview of the demographic evolution of the tropical rainforest in the Guiana shield during the Quaternary. I have first studied the properties of microsatellites or Simple sequence repeat (SSR) and the limits in their applications as molecular markers in phylogeography. Several SSR alleles in multiple populations of three divergent tree genera have been sequenced and the sources of polymorphisms, carried by each portion of SSR-containing DNA amplicons, have been broken apart. I have observed that the amount of variation was as large in flanking regions as in the SSR itself. The former contributed significantly to the phylogenetic information and sometimes was the main source of differentiation among individuals and populations. This experiment allowed me to choose the best strategy to treat SSR variation in demographic modeling. I have subsequently used SSR markers and ABC methods to study the impact of pre-Columbian human settlements at the local level on rainforests in French Guiana. Demographic changes undergone by populations of four tree species were compared between five settled and four undisturbed sites. Both natural turnover and human-induced disturbances appeared as shaping currently observed genetic diversity, with signatures of founder effect both at disturbed and undisturbed sites. Nevertheless, the size of founding populations appeared to be proportional to the estimated human impact, suggesting that human-made disturbance caused deeper population turnover than background ecological processes. Finally, I have conducted a comparative demography study of tropical tree species at the regional level across French Guiana. Five demographic scenarios have been tested for nine populations from eight species using both nuclear microsatellites and chloroplastic sequences. The most recent demographic signals detected converge on a global signature of expansion of the rainforest since probably the last glaciation. This finding can suggest either that the composition of the Guiana shield rainforests was different, or that its global extent was smaller, during earlier epochs of the Pleistocene than today. This result is the first firm indication of changes undergone by the forest communities of the Guiana shield in the distant climatic past – something which could not be tested with standard methods due to almost complete lack of fossil evidence. In conclusion, I have gathered genetic evidence that disturbances, both in historical and geological times, have marked the structure and composition of forests in the Guiana shield.The extensive application of these methods to other regions of the Neotropics maycontribute, in the future, to the detailed reconstruction of the ecological history ofAmazonian forests.

http://www.theses.fr/2012AGUY0568/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : Climate models for the coming century predict rainfall reduction in the Amazonian region, including change in water availability for tropical rainforests. Here, we test the extent to which climate variables related to water regime, temperature and irradiance shape the growth trajectories of neotropical trees. . We developed a diameter growth model explicitly designed to work with asynchronous climate and growth data. Growth trajectories of 205 individual trees from 54 neotropical species censused every 2 months over a 4-year period were used to rank 9 climate variables and find the best predictive model. . About 9% of the individual variation in tree growth was imputable to the seasonal variation of climate. Relative extractable water was the main predictor and alone explained more than 60% of the climate effect on tree growth, i.e. 5.4% of the individual variation in tree growth. Furthermore, the global annual tree growth was more dependent on the diameter increment at the onset of the rain season than on the duration of dry season. . The best predictive model included 3 climate variables: relative extractable water, minimum temperature and irradiance. The root mean squared error of prediction (0.035 mm.d(-1)) was slightly above the mean value of the growth (0.026 mm.d(-1)). . Amongst climate variables, we highlight the predominant role of water availability in determining seasonal variation in tree growth of neotropical forest trees and the need to include these relationships in forest simulators to test, in silico, the impact of different climate scenarios on the future dynamics of the rainforest.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01268350
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01268350
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0034074
PRODINRA : 215438
PUBMED : 22506012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Tank bromeliads form a conspicuous, yet neglected freshwater habitat in Neotropical forests. Recent studies driven by interests in medical entomology, fundamental aspects of bromeliad ecology and experimental research on food webs have, however, prompted increasing interest in bromeliad aquatic ecosystems. As yet, there is nothing in the literature about the life histories and environmental drivers of invertebrate population dynamics in tank bromeliads. Based on fortnightly samples taken over oneyear, size frequency plots and individual dry masses allowed us to establish the life cycles and growth rates of the dominant aquatic invertebrates in a common bromeliad species of French Guiana. Linear mixed-effect models and Mantel tests were used to predict changes in density, biomass, and growth rates in relation to temperature, rainfall, humidity and detrital resources. Annual variations in invertebrate densities and biomasses could be described according to three types of distribution: unimodal, bimodal or almost constant. Despite seasonal variations, precipitation, temperature, relative humidity and detritus concentration accounted significantly for changes in density and biomass, but we found no significant responses in growth rates of most invertebrate species. Species rather displayed non-seasonal life cycles with overlapping cohorts throughout the year. There was also a trend for delayed abundance peaks among congeneric species sharing similar functional traits, suggesting temporal partitioning of available resources. Beyond novel knowledge, quantitative information on life histories is important to predict food-web dynamics under the influence of external forcing and self-organisation. Our results suggest that changes in species distribution that will affect population dynamics through biotic interactions in space and/or time could have greater effects on food webs and ecosystem functioning than changes in environmental factors per se.
ISSN: 0046-5070

hal-01607779
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01607779
DOI : 10.1111/fwb.12862
PRODINRA : 407311

Résumé : En 2013, Le Groupe d'experts Intergouvernemental sur l'Evolution du Climat (GIEC) publie son cinquième rapport concernant les changements climatiques. Il y est souligné que le réchauffement climatique est sans équivoque, et que de nouvelles émissions de gaz à effet de serre impliqueront une poursuite du réchauffement et des changements affectant toutes les composantes du système climatique. En région tropicale, une hausse de la température, ainsi qu'une intensification des événements de sécheresse et de pluviométrie extrêmes sont à prévoir. C'est dans ce contexte que s'inscrit ce travail, dont le but est d'étudier la réponse de la forêt tropicale à ces changements climatiques prédits en Guyane Française. Pour ce faire, j'ai utilisé les données du dispositif de suivi forestier de Paracou pour construire un modèle de dynamique individuel basé sur les traits fonctionnels des arbres. Un modèle de mortalité a d'abord été réalisé puis couplé à un modèle de croissance.Le modèle couplé ainsi construit permet de modéliser la croissance et la mortalité des arbres sur un pas de temps de 2 ans tout en tenant compte de leur ontogénie et de leurs traits fonctionnels. Ce modèle a d'abord été appliqué aux essences commerciales de Guyane Française en forêt naturelle et exploitée en y ajoutant un indice de stress hydrique. Ceci permet de montrer que le stress hydrique fait baisser la croissance et augmenter la mortalité, tandis que l'exploitation a l'effet inverse. Malgré le signal commun, différentes réponses sont observées selon les espèces. Le modèle a ensuite été appliqué à la communauté en forêt naturelle pour identifier les drivers climatiques et les processus impactés. Il ressort que la croissance est impactée par le stress hydrique et la température, et que la mortalité est impactée par le stress hydrique et la pluviométrie totale.Ces résultats ont enfin permis de construire un modèle complet de dynamique forestière climat dépendant, et de simuler l'évolution d'une communauté pendant un siècle selon différents scénarios correspondant aux prédictions du GIEC. Les simulations mettent en évidence une très forte diminution de la croissance, ainsi qu'une plus faible diminution de la mortalité. Ceci entraine une diminution notable de la surface terrière, du diamètre quadratique et de la biomasse fraiche. Une analyse de sensibilité montre que ces changements sont principalement dus à l'augmentation sévère des températures prédites pour le siècle à venir. Des pistes de réflexion sur les enjeux de modélisation et les échelles considérées sont proposées en discussion de ce travail.
In 2013 the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) publishes its fifth report. This report underlines that an increase of temperature and a strengthening of drought and extreme rainfall are expected in tropical regions. This work was made in this context of climate changes, and aimed to study the response of the rainforest to predicted climate changes. To do this, i used the data from the study site of Paracou French Guiana to build an individual based dynamics model based on the functional traits of trees. This model was first applied to species with a commercial interest in French Guiana, in natural and logged forest and adding a water stress index as predictor. Water stress decreases growth and increases mortality, while logging had the opposite effect. The model was then applied to the community in natural forest for identifying potential climate drivers and impacted processes. Growth is impacted by the water stress and temperature and mortality is imp acted by the water stress and the total rainfall. These results allowed us to build a climate dependent model of forest dynamics and to run simulations of the evolution of a community under different scenarios for the next century. Simulations showed a decrease of growth and a small decrease of mortality. This resulted in a substantial decrease of basal area, squared diameter and fresh biomass.

http://www.theses.fr/2014AGUY0802/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé :   Diplôme : DEA
il s'agit d'un type de produit dont les métadonnées ne correspondent pas aux métadonnées attendues dans les autres types de produit : DISSERTATION
Tropical rainforests are complex ecosystems, rarely investigated from ground-level. The canopy, highest part of the cover, can on the other hand be studied by several remote sensing tools. The aim of this study is to assess in what way the canopy is related to the forest structure below and the forest dynamic. We looked for correlation between the canopy texture (crown size) observed from aerial photographs and various parameters of the forest (spatial and demographic structure, forest dynamic, floristic structure). We worked on the Paracou experimental device, in French Guiana, at two different scales. 1- At a local scale (6.5 ha ; scale of the photographs 1: 4 000), we demarcated six sub-plots with big crowns in the canopy and six with small crowns. 2- At a forest scale (approximately one hundred ha ; scale of the photograph 1: 25 000), we compared 2 forest plots: one with a rough canopy texture and one with a smooth canopy texture. We found that the size of the crowns in the canopy do not express the same characteristics of the fore according to the scale of study : at the local scale, difference in crown size means a difference in basal area but not in density, while at the forest scale it is the opposite. Several hypotheses related to the sylvigenetic cycle, the floristic structure or the nature of the substratum are suggested to explain these results.
Les forêts tropicales humides (FTH) sont des écosystèmes complexes difficiles à étudier depuis le sol. Leur canopée, partie supérieure du couvert, est en revanche abordable par divers outils de télédétection. Cette étude vise à déterminer en quoi la structure de la canopée est le reflet de la structure forestière sous-jacente et de la dynamique spatio-temporelle qui s'y exerce. Nous avons donc recherché des corrélations, entre la texture de canopée (taille des couronnes) vue sur des photographies aériennes, et différents paramètres de la forêt sous-jacente (structure spatiale et démographique, dynamique forestière, structure floristique). Ce travail a été abordé sur le dispositif expérimental forestier de Paracou, en Guyane Française, à 2 échelles différentes. 1- A l'échelle de la parcelle (6,5 ha ; photographies au 1: 4 000), nous avons délimité des placettes à grosses couronnes en canopée et des placettes à petites couronnes. 2- A l'échelle du massif forestier (une centaine d'ha ; photographies IGN au 1: 25 000) nous comparons une parcelle de texture de canopée, grossière et une parcelle de texture fine. Le résultat principal de notre étude est que la taille des couronnes en canopée ne reflète pas les mêmes caractéristiques du couvert selon l'échelle de l’étude : à l'échelle de la parcelle, des différences de taille de couronnes traduisent des différences de surface terrière mais pas de densité, tandis qu'à l'échelle du massif forestier c'est l'inverse. Plusieurs hypothèses, invoquant des différences dans le stade sylvigénétique, la composition floristique ou la nature du substrat des placettes ou parcelles comparées, sont proposées pour expliquer ces résultats.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01189180

hal-01189180
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01189180
PRODINRA : 12184

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Montpellier : CIRAD
Résumé : This article presents the effects of logging on the dynamics of above-ground biomass from the results of the post-logging study within two forests: Cikel in Eastern Para, Brazil and Paracou in French Guiana. The main objective is to compare the impact of commercial logging on the regeneration of the above-ground biomass in these forests whose characteristics differ in terms of structure and growth. In both sites, the intensity of exploitation is a key factor in determining the loss of biomass and the time required for its regeneration. In Paracou, the regeneration of biomass lost during conventional logging of 10 trees per hectare takes 45 years and more than 100 years when operating with higher intensity (21 trees/ha). In Cikei the forest biomass regenerates after 49 years harvesting 6 trees/ha and that takes 87 years after removal of 8 trees/ha. This regeneration needs similar time on both sites but with lower logging intensity at Cikel, in which felled trees are larger with a greater biomass than those of Paracou. This post-logging study has established a direct correlation of the dynamics of the biomass with the initial structure of the forest, as well as with the parameters of forest dynamics: mortality, growth and recruitment. The accumulation of biomass by the tree growth of the two remaining stands is a key parameter for the net carbon storage, while the contribution of recruitment in Paracou becomes significant only after 10 years after felling. Therefore in view to improve the growth of residual trees, it is compulsory to apply adequate silvicultural treatments such as selective thinning or removal of vines. While the two forests are geographically close enough, their regenerative abilities differ and because of the significant difference in size of the trees, the forest could tolerate more intensive harvesting in French Guiana
ISSN: 0006-579X

hal-01032427
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032427

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : We characterised the among species variability in leaf gas exchange and morphological traits under controlled conditions of seedlings of 22 tropical rainforest canopy species to understand the origin of the variability in leaf carbon isotope discrimination (Delta) among species with different growth and dynamic characteristics (successional gradient). Our results first suggest that these species pursue a consistent strategy in terms of (Delta) throughout their ontogeny (juveniles grown here versus canopy adult trees from the natural forest). Second, leaf (Delta) was negatively correlated with WUE and N, and positively correlated with gs, but among species differences in (Delta) were mainly explained by differences in WUE. Finally, species belonging to different successional groups display distinct leaf functional and morphological traits. We confirmed that fast growing early successional species maximise carbon assimilation with high stomatal conductance. In contrast, fast and slow growing late successional species are both characterised by low carbon assimilation values, but by distinct stomatal conductance and leaf morphological features. Along the successional gradient, these differences result in much lower (Delta) for the intermediate species (i.e. fast growing late successional) as compared to the two other groups.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-01032038
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032038
DOI : 10.1051/forest:2006101

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01260289
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01260289
PRODINRA : 342930
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0141488

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Context and aim : This study aimed to examine the effect of the tension wood G‐layer on the viscoelastic properties of wood. Methods : Tension wood and opposite wood samples were obtained from six French Guianese tropical rainforest species (Sextonia rubra, Ocotea guyanensis, Inga alba, Tachigali melinoni, Iyranthera sagotiana and Virola michelii); the tension wood of the former three of these species had a Glayer, whilst the tension wood from the latter three had no Glayer. Tensile dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was performed on green never dried wood samples in the longitudinal direction with samples submerged in a water bath at a temperature (30°C) and frequency (1 Hz) representative of the conditions experienced by wood within a living tree. Then, DMA was repeated with samples conditioned to an air-dried state. Finally, samples were oven-dried to measure longitudinal shrinkage. Results : Tension wood did not always have a higher longitudinal storage (elastic) modulus than opposite wood from the same tree regardless of the presence or absence of a G‐layer. For the species containing a G‐layer, tension wood had a higher damping coefficient and experienced a greater longitudinal shrinkage upon drying than opposite wood from the same species. No difference was found in damping coefficients between tension wood and opposite wood for the species that had no G‐layer. Conclusion : It is proposed that the different molecular composition of the G-layer matrix has an influence on the viscoelasticity of wood, even if a biomechanical gain is not yet clear. This study shows that rheological properties and longitudinal shrinkage can be used to detect the presence of a G‐layer in tension wood.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-00677460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00677460/file/Clair2.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s13595-011-0164-1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Radial trends of vibrational properties, including the specific dynamic modulus (E'/r) and damping coefficient (tand), were investigated for 3 tropical rainforest hardwood species, Simarouba amara, Carapa procera and Symphonia globulifera by free-free flexural vibration test. The microfibril angle (MFA) was estimated through X-Ray diffraction. Consistent patterns of radial variations were observed for all studied properties. E'/r was found to decrease from pith to bark, which is strongly related to the increasing pith-bark trend of MFA. The variation of tand along the radius can be partly explained by MFA, and partly by the gradient of extractives due to heartwood formation. The coupling effect of MFA and extractives could be separated through the analysis of log(tand) - log(E'/r) diagram. For the studied species, the extractive content putatively associated to heartwood formation generally tends to decrease the wood damping coefficient. However, this weakening effect of extractives was not observed for inner part of the heartwood, suggesting the mechanical action of extractives was reduced during their chemical ageing.
ISSN: 1435-0211

hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/file/Radial_variations_vibrational_Zhang_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Tropical forests are a biodiversity hotspot, with the coexistence of numerous species until a fine spatial scale. Particularly, 16.000 tree species coexist in Amazonia, 1.800 in Frenche Guiana and between 120 and more than 200 tree species per hectare. However, there are some uncertainties in maintaining diversity in regard to global changes. Hence before predicting the diversity evolution face of global changes, fundamental studies are needed to understand which assembly processes are involved in the maintenance of diversity. These fundamental studies still relevant given the lack of consensus on the relative importance of assembly processes. This thesis is a continuation of these fundamental studies, using innovative integrative approach, at multi-scale, to address three types of diversity: taxonomic diversity, functional and phylogenetic. Our results challenge the importance of environmental filtering for hydrological and chemical properties of soils, versus the importance of biotic interactions on community assembly. Furthermore, our results suggest that species distributions could be affected by forest dynamics related to falling trees and therefore by light availability. Finally, we have highlighted the importance of dispersal limitation on community assembly.
Les forêts tropicales représentent un ‘hotspot’ de diversité avec un nombre considérable d’espèces qui coexistent jusqu’à une échelle locale fine. Plus particulièrement, 16 000 espèces d’arbres coexistent en Amazonie, 1 800 en Guyane française et entre 120 et plus de 200 espèces d’arbres par hectare. Cependant, le maintien de cette diversité face aux changements globaux actuels et à venir (qu’ils soient anthropiques ou climatiques…) est incertain. Avant de pouvoir prédire l’évolution de la diversité face aux changements globaux, un travail fondamental est nécessaire afin de comprendre les processus d’assemblage des communautés, processus qui maintiennent cette diversité. Ce travail est réalisé depuis de nombreuses années en écologie et reste d’actualité vu l’absence de consensus quant à l’importance relative des processus d’assemblage. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans la continuité de ce travail fondamental en utilisant une approche intégrative innovante, qui aborde de manière multi-échelle trois types de diversité : diversité taxonomique, fonctionnelle et phylogénétique. Nos résultats questionnent sur l'importance du filtrage environnemental quant aux propriétés hydrologiques et chimiques des sols, et sur celle des interactions biotiques dans l’assemblage de la communauté étudiée. Par ailleurs, nos résultats suggèrent que les distributions d’espèces puissent être influencées par la dynamique forestière en lien avec les chutes d’arbres et donc avec la disponibilité en lumière. Enfin, nous avons mis en évidence l’importance de la limitation de dispersion.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447

NNT : 2016YANE0003
tel-01418447
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447/file/these.pdf

Résumé : La forêt tropicale humide guyanaise est située dans le grand ensemble Amazonien, qui est un point chaud des enjeux sur la biodiversité et la conservation des forêts tropicales. Une connaissance de l’âge et des taux d’accroissement des arbres est primordiale pour comprendre la dynamique de ces écosystèmes Cependant, l’absence de conditions hivernales sous les tropiques rend difficile la lecture de l’histoire dans les bois de ces forêts. En se plaçant dans le champ de l’anatomie fonctionnelle, cette thèse à caractère exploratoire avait pour but, à travers différentes approches, i) de suivre l’activité cambiale de quatre espèces ligneuses durant deux ans par prélèvements de micro-carottes, ii) de faire une étude dendrochronologique sur une espèce guyanaise, iii) d’utiliser la variation de la signature isotopique comme marqueur de croissance (ou d’histoire) et iv) de tester la pollution aérienne consécutive aux lancements de la fusée Ariane comme marqueurs de la croissance. L’examen bi-mensuel de l’activité cambiale a montré que tous les arbres présentent des alternances de quasi repos et de forte activité du cambium durant les deux années. Ces périodes de ralentissement ont été plus marquées chez Parkia nitida (décidue), Parkia velutina (décidue) et Schefflera morototoni (sempervirente). On observe donc des périodes de ralentissement de l’activité du cambium aussi bien chez deux espèces décidues que chez une espèce sempervirente. Il n’y a pas de patron universel de liaisons deux à deux entre pluviométrie intra-annuelle, phénologie de la feuillaison et activité cambiale même si des analogies fortes existent au cas par cas entre deux espèces pour une relation donnée. L’étude dendrochronologique chez Parkia nitida a mis en évidence la présence de cernes de croissance bien distincts et annuels. La limite de cerne se caractérise par une fine bande de parenchyme marginal renfermant de nombreux cristaux d’oxalate de calcium. A l’échelle de l’arbre, la croissance secondaire est homogène et elle est relativement synchrone au sein d’individus de cette espèce dans le même lieu. Cependant, l’influence des paramètres climatiques testés, comme la température et les précipitations, sur la croissance radiale annuelle est faible sur la période considérée. Ces deux premières études montrent que, dans le contexte de la Guyane française, la saisonnalité annuelle très marquée de la pluviométrie ne se traduit pas par un signal suffisamment fort pour synchroniser l’ensemble du fonctionnement des arbres. Néanmoins, elle influence clairement, au cas par cas soit la feuillaison, soit la floraison, soit la croissance cambiale. Les autres méthodes de marquage de la croissance (i.e. isotopie et chimie) entreprises demandent à être approfondies. Les bois des espèces de forêt tropicale humide se caractérisant en moyenne par un pourcentage élevé du plan ligneux occupé par les parenchymes axiaux, il serait important d’entreprendre une étude approfondie de leur rôle en tant qu’accumulateurs de substances potentiellement utiles pour la défense du bois dans l’arbre contre les xylophages. L’évolution dans le temps (périodicité, vieillissement chimique) des solutions de défense mises en place dans le bois est une piste intéressante pour la dendrochronologie
The rainforest of French Guiana is located in the Amazonian region, which is a hotspot of biodiversity, thus leading to several issues about conservation in tropical forests. Knowledge of the age and growth rate of trees is essential to understand the dynamics of these ecosystems. However, due to the lack of winter conditions it is difficult to read the story in the wood of these tropical forests. In the topic of functional anatomy, this thesis intends through different approaches i) to monitor the cambial activity of four tree species during two years sampling micro-cores, ii) to make a dendrochronological study on a Guyanese species iii) to use the variation of the isotopic signature as a marker of growth (or history) and iv) to test air pollution following launches of the Ariane rocket as markers of growth. The bi-monthly review of cambial activity showed that all trees have almost alternating rest and high activity of cambium in both years. These downturns have been more pronounced in Parkia nitida (deciduous), Parkia velutina (deciduous) and Schefflera morototoni (evergreen). We observe periods of cambial activity downturn in two deciduous species as well as in an evergreen species. There is no universal pattern of connections in pairs between rainfall intra-annual phenology of leafing and cambial activity although strong similarities exist in each case between two species for a given association. The dendrochronological study in Parkia nitida highlights the presence of distinct annual growth rings. The limit is characterized by a thin band of marginal parenchyma containing numerous crystals of calcium oxalate. At tree scale, secondary growth is homogeneous and relatively synchronous within individuals of this species in the same location. However, the influence of tested climatic parameters, such as temperature and precipitation on the annual radial growth, is low over the considered period. The first two studies showed that, in the environment of French Guiana, marked annual seasonality of rainfall does not affect in a strong way the behavior of the trees. Nevertheless, those rainfalls have an influence either on leafing, flowering or cambial growth. Other methods of marking growth (i.e. isotopic and chemical) intended require further investigations. Axial parenchyma represents a high average percentage in the wood of rainforest species: it could be important to investigate more precisely its role as accumulators of potentially useful substances involved in wood defense against borers. The evolution throughout time (periodicity, chemical aging) of defense mechanisms in woods is an interesting way for dendrochronology.

http://www.theses.fr/2013AGUY0605/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : The extent of gene dispersal is a fundamental factor of the population and evolutionary dynamics of tropical tree species, but directly monitoring seed and pollen movement is a difficult task. However, indirect estimates of historical gene dispersal can be obtained from the fine-scale spatial genetic structure of populations at drift-dispersal equilibrium. Using an approach that is based on the slope of the regression of pairwise kinship coefficients on spatial distance and estimates of the effective population density, we compare indirect gene dispersal estimates of sympatric populations of 10 tropical tree species. We re-analysed 26 data sets consisting of mapped allozyme, SSR (simple sequence repeat), RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) or AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) genotypes from two rainforest sites in French Guiana. Gene dispersal estimates were obtained for at least one marker in each species, although the estimation procedure failed under insufficient marker polymorphism, limited sample size, or inappropriate sampling area. Estimates generally suffered low precision and were affected by assumptions regarding the effective population density. Averaging estimates over data sets, the extent of gene dispersal ranged from 150 m to 1200 m according to species. Smaller gene dispersal estimates were obtained in species with heavy diaspores, which are presumably not well dispersed, and in populations with high local adult density. We suggest that limited seed dispersal could indirectly limit effective pollen dispersal by creating higher local tree densities, thereby increasing the positive correlation between pollen and seed dispersal distances. We discuss the potential and limitations of our indirect estimation procedure and suggest guidelines for future studies
ISSN: 0962-1083

hal-01031603
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01031603
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02785.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Gravitropism is necessary for plants to control the orientation of their axes while they grow in height. In woody plants, stem re-orientations are costly because they are achieved through diameter growth. The functional diversity of gravitropism was studied to check if the mechanisms involved and their efficiency may contribute to the differentiation of height growth strategies between forest tree species at the seedling stage. Seedlings of eight tropical species were grown tilted in a greenhouse, and their up-righting movement and diameter growth were measured during three months. Morphological, anatomical and biomechanical traits were measured at the end of the survey. Curvature analysis was used to analyse the up-righting response along the stems. Variations in stem curvature depend on diameter growth, size effects, the increase in self-weight, and the efficiency of the gravitropic reaction. A biomechanical model was used to separate these contributions. Results showed that (1) gravitropic movements were based on a common mechanism associated to similar dynamic patterns, (2) clear differences in efficiency (defined as the change in curvature achieved during an elementary diameter increment for a given stem diameter) existed between species, (3) the equilibrium angle of the stem and the anatomical characters associated to the efficiency of the reaction also differed between species, (4) the differences in gravitropic reaction were related to the light requirements: heliophilic species, compared to more shade-tolerant species, had a larger efficiency and an equilibrium angle closer to vertical. This suggests that traits determining the gravitropic reaction are related to the strategy of light interception and may contribute to the differentiation of ecological strategies promoting the maintenance of biodiversity in tropical rain forests.
ISSN: 0022-0957

hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/file/Functional_diversity_gravitropic_Almeras_al.pdf