Abstract

The estimation of annual Net Primary Productivity (NPP) provides information on the amount of atmospheric carbon sequestered by plants and biomass accumulation during a period of time. This is an important issue to understand the response of ecosystems (e.g. FOREST SYSTEMS-FS) to CLIMATE CHANGE across different landscape levels (e.g. regional).The objectives were to investigate the interannual variation from 2000 through 2014 of NPP in FS across Argentina country, and determine if NPP variations among time periods within levels was similar. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) annual/30-arcsecNPP(MOD17) across 14-year dataset to calculate average productivity of each level. In this study, two analyses were performed: (i)forest regions (FR), and (ii) conservation categories of Territorial Planning of Native Forests (TPNF) made by provincial governments (National Law 26,331/07). Tree cover inside of each level were separated from other covers (e.g. water or grasslands)using Global FOREST CHANGE (GFC) data (Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA). Datasets of NPP, FR, TPNF and GFC were combined into a GIS platform, and subsequently data were analyzed using analysis of variance among different categories. The greatest NPP contribution to argentine FS from 2000 to 2014 was Selva Tucumano Boliviana, with value (mean ± SE) of 1,247±100.22gr.m².yr, followed by Selva Misionera (1,190±147.25gr.m².yr), while the smallest was Espinal (483±67.1gr.m².yr). Results showed greater NPP changes in both analyses from 2000 to 2014. Tendency graph showed NPP relationships when FR types were considered among the administrative provinces (R² = 0.50), where a general decrease (10% less compared to 2000) of NPP was detected along the country. When TPNF was analyzed, the highest NPP values were presented in Category I, followed by Category II and III, which no significant regional differences were found (p=0. 060).Implications of the analyses for recognizing argentine forest vulnerability to climate change impacts and conservation strategies at different LANDSCAPE levels were also discussed.