Oliver L. Phillips

Bio: Oliver L. Phillips is an academic researcher from University of Leeds. The author has contributed to research in topics: Biodiversity & Amazon rainforest. The author has an hindex of 98, co-authored 336 publications receiving 50569 citations. Previous affiliations of Oliver L. Phillips include University of York & University of Brasília.

Long-term carbon sink in Borneo’s forests halted by drought and vulnerable to edge effects

Abstract: Less than half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere. While carbon balance models imply large carbon uptake in tropical forests, direct on-the-ground observations are still lacking in Southeast Asia. Here, using long-term plot monitoring records of up to half a century, we find that intact forests in Borneo gained 0.43 Mg C ha−1 per year (95% CI 0.14–0.72, mean period 1988–2010) above-ground live biomass. These results closely match those from African and Amazonian plot networks, suggesting that the world’s remaining intact tropical forests are now en masse out-of-equilibrium. Although both pan-tropical and long-term, the sink in remaining intact forests appears vulnerable to climate and land use changes. Across Borneo the 1997–1998 El Nino drought temporarily halted the carbon sink by increasing tree mortality, while fragmentation persistently offset the sink and turned many edge-affected forests into a carbon source to the atmosphere.

Variation in potential for isoprene emissions among Neotropical forest sites

Abstract: As part of the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), we have developed a bottom-up approach for estimating canopy-scale fluxes of isoprene. Estimating isoprene fluxes for a given forest ecosystem requires knowledge of foliar biomass, segregated by species, and the isoprene emission characteristics of the individual tree species comprising the forest. In this study, approximately 38% of 125 tree species examined at six sites in the Brazilian Amazon emitted isoprene. Given logistical difficulties and extremely high species diversity, it was possible to screen only a small percentage of tree species, and we propose a protocol for estimating the emission capacity of unmeasured taxa using a taxonomic approach, in which we assign to an unmeasured genus a value based on the percentage of genera within its plant family which have been shown to emit isoprene. Combining this information with data obtained from 14 tree censuses at four Neotropical forest sites, we have estimated the percentage of isoprene-emitting biomass at each site. The relative contribution of each genus of tree is estimated as the basal area of all trees of that genus divided by the total basal area of the plot. Using this technique, the percentage of isoprene-emitting biomass varied from 20% to 42% (mean 5 31%; SD 5 8%). Responses of isoprene emission to varying light and temperature, measured on a sun- adapted leaf of mango (Mangifera indica L.), suggest that existing algorithms developed for temperate species are adequate for tropical species as well. Incorporating these algorithms, estimates of isoprene-emitting biomass, isoprene emission capacity, and site foliar biomass into a canopy flux model, canopy-scale fluxes of isoprene were predicted and compared with the above-canopy fluxes measured at two sites. Our bottom-up approach overestimates fluxes by about 50%, but variations in measured fluxes between the two sites are largely explained by observed variation in the amount of isoprene- emitting biomass.

Liana infestation impacts tree growth in a lowland tropical moist forest

Abstract: . Ecosystem-level estimates of the effect of lianas on tree growth in mature tropical forests are needed to evaluate the functional impact of lianas and their potential to affect the ability of tropical forests to sequester carbon, but these are currently lacking. Using data collected on tree growth rates, local growing conditions and liana competition in five permanent sampling plots in Amazonian Peru, we present the first ecosystem-level estimates of the effect of lianas on above-ground productivity of trees. By first constructing a multi-level linear mixed effect model to predict individual-tree diameter growth model using individual-tree growth conditions, we were able to then estimate stand-level above-ground biomass (AGB) increment in the absence of lianas. We show that lianas, mainly by competing above-ground with trees, reduce tree annual above-ground stand-level biomass increment by ~10%, equivalent to 0.51 Mg dry weight ha−1 yr−1 or 0.25 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. AGB increment of lianas themselves was estimated to be 0.15 Mg dry weight ha−1 yr−1 or 0.07 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, thus only compensating ~29% of the liana-induced reduction in ecosystem AGB increment. Increasing liana pressure on tropical forests will therefore not only tend to reduce their carbon storage capacity, by indirectly promoting tree species with low-density wood, but also their rate of carbon uptake, with potential consequences for the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The variation of productivity and its allocation along a tropical elevation gradient: a whole carbon budget perspective

Abstract: Summary: Why do forest productivity and biomass decline with elevation? To address this question, research to date generally has focused on correlative approaches describing changes in woody growth and biomass with elevation. We present a novel, mechanistic approach to this question by quantifying the autotrophic carbon budget in 16 forest plots along a 3300 m elevation transect in Peru. Low growth rates at high elevations appear primarily driven by low gross primary productivity (GPP), with little shift in either carbon use efficiency (CUE) or allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) between wood, fine roots and canopy. The lack of trend in CUE implies that the proportion of photosynthate allocated to autotrophic respiration is not sensitive to temperature. Rather than a gradual linear decline in productivity, there is some limited but nonconclusive evidence of a sharp transition in NPP between submontane and montane forests, which may be caused by cloud immersion effects within the cloud forest zone. Leaf-level photosynthetic parameters do not decline with elevation, implying that nutrient limitation does not restrict photosynthesis at high elevations. Our data demonstrate the potential of whole carbon budget perspectives to provide a deeper understanding of controls on ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling. (Less)

Recent Amazon climate as background for possible ongoing and future changes of Amazon humid forests

Abstract: Recent analyses of Amazon runoff and gridded precipitation data suggest an intensification of the hydrological cycle over the past few decades in the following sense: wet-season precipitation and peak river runoff (since ∼ 1980) as well as annual-mean precipitation (since ∼ 1990) have increased while dry-season precipitation and minimum runoff have slightly decreased. There has also been an increase in the frequency of anomalously severe floods and droughts. Here we extend and expand these analyses to characterize recent climate state and change, as a background for possible ongoing and future changes of these forests. The contrasting recent changes in wet and dry season precipitation have continued and are generally consistent with changes in catchment-level peak and minimum river runoff as well as a positive trend of water vapour inflow into the basin. Consistent with the river records the increased vapour inflow is concentrated to the wet season. Temperature has been rising by 0.7∘C since 1980 with more pronounced warming during dry months. Suggestions for the cause of the observed changes of the hydrological cycle come from patterns in tropical sea surface temperatures (SST's). Tropical and North Atlantic SST's have increased rapidly and steadily since 1990, while Pacific SST's have shifted from a negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) phase (approximately pre 1990) with warm eastern Pacific temperatures to a positive phase with cold eastern Pacific temperatures. These SST conditions have been shown to be associated with an increase in precipitation over most of the Amazon except the south and south-west. If ongoing changes continue we expect these to be generally beneficial for forests in those regions where there is an increase in precipitation with the exception of floodplain forests. An increase in flood-pulse height and duration could lead to increased mortality at higher levels of the floodplain and, over the long term, to a lateral shift of the zonally stratified floodplain forest communities. Negative effects on forests are mainly expected in the south-west and south, which have become slightly drier and hotter, consistent with tree mortality trends observed at the RAINFOR forest plot census network.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

Novel methods improve prediction of species' distributions from occurrence data

Abstract: Prediction of species' distributions is central to diverse applications in ecology, evolution and conservation science. There is increasing electronic access to vast sets of occurrence records in museums and herbaria, yet little effective guidance on how best to use this information in the context of numerous approaches for modelling distributions. To meet this need, we compared 16 modelling methods over 226 species from 6 regions of the world, creating the most comprehensive set of model comparisons to date. We used presence-only data to fit models, and independent presence-absence data to evaluate the predictions. Along with well-established modelling methods such as generalised additive models and GARP and BIOCLIM, we explored methods that either have been developed recently or have rarely been applied to modelling species' distributions. These include machine-learning methods and community models, both of which have features that may make them particularly well suited to noisy or sparse information, as is typical of species' occurrence data. Presence-only data were effective for modelling species' distributions for many species and regions. The novel methods consistently outperformed more established methods. The results of our analysis are promising for the use of data from museums and herbaria, especially as methods suited to the noise inherent in such data improve.

Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet

Abstract: The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system. Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the boundaries now have a two-tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross-scale interactions and the regional-level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the boundaries. Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.