Fig. 4.
Spatial distribution in time since last episodic succession-inducing disturbance (te) estimated from TRECOS at the end of a 2,000-y run (light pixels, old patches; dark pixels, young patches). The distribution of te ranging from 1 to >500 y is shown in the histogram. Median te for the 400-m2 cells was 51 y (mean, 73.9 y), which is less than the time required for a patch to approach steady-state conditions in terms of biomass or tree species composition, resulting in a highly dynamic old-growth Central Amazon forest mosaic. Maximum te (534 y) demonstrated that a significant number of patches at the tail of this distribution are at a mature state, and trees exceeding 500 y are found in these forests (45).