How Do Forests Work? Primary Production, Energy and Forest Growth

The amount of new biomass produced in an ecosystem per unit of time is termed primary production. The study of the factors that shape primary production is central to understanding key ecosystem processes, such as the ecological consequences of increased temperature and CO₂ concentration on primary production itself, the interface between the transfer of matter and energy through food webs, the rate of forest growth, changes in plant succession, the relationship between diversity and ecosystem production, the expression of plant phenology, and the biological influences on climate regulation. The primary objective of this chapter is to discuss the main factors that determine primary production, and their implications to improve the management and conservation of ecosystems. This analysis is focused on the Tropics because it is in tropical latitudes where interactions between the biosphere and the climate are more dynamic. In the Tropics the richness of biological interactions determines subtle changes in the transfer of matter and energy, which are mediated through food web processes. Tropical regions encompass areas with extreme variation 18in light distribution and water availability, including systems that show fine adaptations to increase carbon gain in the face of spatial and temporal variation in water and light. Analyzing the impacts of global warming on the primary production of tropical regions will help to answer not only basic questions in biogeochemistry but will support tropical countries to adapt to the fast progression of climate change.