Reciprocal Interactions between Carbon Storage Function and Plant Species Diversity in a Tropical Peat Swamp Forest

Abstract

Although carbon storage in ecosystems and biological diversity have been central issues of environmental and ecological sciences for a decade, a reciprocal relationship between diversity and productivity of ecosystems is still unknown. To reveal such the reciprocal relationship, we measured the microtopography around some tree groups, estimated flows and stocks of organic matters in soils in the form of litters and roots under three kinds of microtopographic conditions, measured decomposition rates, and detected the shift of distribution patterns of dominant species among growing stages in relation to locations of tree groups creating specific microtopographic conditions in a tropical peat swamp forest. The results suggest that heterogeneity of peat accumulation rate results in undulating peat surface. Such undulating peat surface contributes to habitat differentiation of tree species, because subtle difference in peat surface elevation determines the degree of flooding, which affects survival rates of plants differently according to species. Such the distribution of plant species formed through the above process determines local regime of organic matter dynamics that determines peat surface conditions of near futures. Thus, in tropical peat swamp forests diversity and productivity were closely interdependent to each other, although the diversity has attracted less attention than carbon storage function.