A global approach to analyze the extent of the newly detected Tropical Lowland Cloud Forest (TLCF) based on a large-scale analysis of fog frequency and epiphyte growth, with a special focus on South America

基于对雾频率和附生植物生长的大规模分析，分析新发现的热带低地云林（TLCF）范围的全球方法，特别关注南美洲

• 批准号: 386051169
• 负责人: Professorin Dr. Maaike Bader
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Fachgebiet Klimageographie und Umweltmodellierung
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2017-12-31 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/386051169?language=en
• 关键词: global; approach; analyze; extent; newly

Tropical cloud forests, with their extraordinary biodiversity particularly of epiphytic plants, are generally associated with mountainous regions, where they are referred to as Tropical Montane Cloud Forests. Our previous work in the Guianas now suggests that in basins and valleys of the Tropical Lowland Rain Forest (at elevations <500 m a.s.l.), which is normally characterized by a significantly lower epiphyte abundance and diversity, another type of epiphyte-rich cloud forest type exists, referred to as Tropical Lowland Cloud Forest (TLCF). We hypothesize that this new forest type occurs globally in all natural tropical lowland forests where a sufficient moisture supply allows the development of nocturnal canopy fog in terrain depressions. The main aim of the project is to test this hypothesis with a combination of satellite data, field measurements, climate model data and mechanistic modeling of epiphyte growth. First, potentially suitable regions are spatially delineated by means of global ancillary big data on topography, natural forest cover and fog occurrence. Particularly canopy fog occurrence requires reprocessing of the globally available MODIS data set with a newly developed subpixel fog detection scheme for tropical lowlands. The relationship between fog occurrence and the high abundance of canopy epiphytes in the TLCF is examined by applying and validating a newly developed carbon-exchange model for mosses, liverworts and filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae).

热带云森林及其非凡的生物多样性，尤其是附生植物，通常与山区相关，在那里它们被称为热带山地云森林。我们以前在圭亚那的工作现在表明，在热带低地雨林的盆地和山谷中（高度<500 m a.s.l.），通常以明显较低的epiphyte丰度和多样性的较低的特征，另一种类型的富含epiphyte的云森林，称为热带低地云森林（Tlcf）。我们假设这种新的森林类型发生在所有天然热带低地森林中，在该森林中，足够的水分供应允许在地形凹陷中发展夜间冠层雾。该项目的主要目的是结合卫星数据，现场测量，气候模型数据和附生植物生长的机理建模来检验这一假设。首先，通过全球关于地形，天然森林覆盖和雾化的全球辅助大数据在空间上进行了潜在的区域。特别是树冠雾的发生，需要重新处理全球可用的MODIS数据集，并具有用于热带低地的新开发的子像素雾检测方案。通过将新近开发的碳 - 交换模型应用于苔藓，liverworts和胶片蕨（Hymenophyllaceae），检查了TLCF中雾的发生与TLCF中冠层附生植物的高丰度之间的关系。