marginally significantP = 0.07
Carbon gains from tree growth and the recruitment of new trees were 4.4% lower in the interval spanning the 2015–2016 El Niño (mean 2014.3 to 2017.1) compared with the pre-El Niño censuses (mean 2008.4 to 2014.3), a marginally significant difference (2.59 ± 0.15 to 2.48 ± 0.14 Mg C ha −1 y −1 ; paired t test, P = 0.07) ( Fig. 4 A ).