https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00056303https://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dbt_derivate_00059371/s00442-021-04860-8.pdfhttps://www.db-thueringen.de/rsc/thumbnail/dbt_mods_00056303.png text article Climate implications on forest above- and belowground carbon allocation patterns along a tropical elevation gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) article Sierra Cornejo, Natalia Sierra Cornejo Natalia Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Albrecht Von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg August University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany aut Author 0000-0003-0851-3292 Leuschner, Christoph Leuschner Christoph Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Albrecht Von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg August University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany aut Author Becker, Joscha N. Becker Joscha N. Institute of Soil Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany aut Author Hemp, Andreas Hemp Andreas Department of Plant Physiology, Bayreuth University, Bayreuth, Germany aut Author urn:nbn:de:gbv:27-dbt-20230325-022448-008 Schellenberger Costa, David Schellenberger Costa David Institute for Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena aut Author 117860313X 0000-0003-1747-1506 Hertel, Dietrich Hertel Dietrich Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Albrecht Von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg August University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany aut Author 10.1007/s00442-021-04860-8 2021-03 195 3 797 812 continuingjournal journal Oecologia 0029-8549 1432-1939 Springer 1968 Berlin text en 590 Tropical forests represent the largest store of terrestrial biomass carbon (C) on earth and contribute over-proportionally to global terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP). How climate change is affecting NPP and C allocation to tree components in forests is not well understood. This is true for tropical forests, but particularly for African tropical forests. Studying forest ecosystems along elevation and related temperature and moisture gradients is one possible approach to address this question. However, the inclusion of belowground productivity data in such studies is scarce. On Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), we studied aboveground (wood increment, litter fall) and belowground (fine and coarse root) NPP along three elevation transects (c. 1800–3900 m a.s.l.) across four tropical montane forest types to derive C allocation to the major tree components. Total NPP declined continuously with elevation from 8.5 to 2.8 Mg C ha −1 year −1 due to significant decline in aboveground NPP, while fine root productivity (sequential coring approach) remained unvaried with around 2 Mg C ha −1 year −1 , indicating a marked shift in C allocation to belowground components with elevation. The C and N fluxes to the soil via root litter were far more important than leaf litter inputs in the subalpine Erica forest. Thus, the shift of C allocation to belowground organs with elevation at Mt. Kilimanjaro and other tropical forests suggests increasing nitrogen limitation of aboveground tree growth at higher elevations. Our results show that studying fine root productivity is crucial to understand climate effects on the carbon cycle in tropical forests. Africa Carbon cycle Fine roots Net primary production Tropical montane forest en 550 16 Seiten his Host institution Zweitveröffentlichung dbt_mods_00056303https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00056303