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The paper presents a new scientonomic account of question dynamics. To explain the process of question acceptance and rejection, we begin by introducing the notion of epistemic presupposition and show how it's different from the notion of logical presupposition. With the notion of epistemic presupposition at hand, we formulate the law of question acceptance, a new scientonomic axiom, which states that a question becomes accepted only if all of its epistemic presuppositions are accepted, and it is accepted that the question is answerable. We then show how the process of question rejection can be explained by means of the question rejection theorem, which states that a question becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the question become accepted. To deduce this theorem in the usual scientonomic fashion (from the first law and the compatibility corollary), we first ascertain that the notion of compatibility/incompatibility is applicable to questions and show that one can legitimately speak of both question-theory and question-question incompatibility. We conclude by providing a quick illustration of the historical applicability of this new framework and suggest a number of questions for future research. Suggested Modifications [Sciento-2021-0001]: Accept the following definitions of logical presupposition and epistemic presupposition: Logical Presupposition ≡ a theory is said to be a logical presupposition of a question, iff the theory is logically entailed by any direct answer to the question. Epistemic Presupposition ≡ a theory is said to be an epistemic presupposition of a question for some agent, iff the agent accepts that accepting any direct answer to the question will necessitate accepting the theory. [Sciento-2021-0002]: Accept the law of question acceptance as a new scientonomic axiom: The Law of Question Acceptance: a question becomes accepted only if all of its epistemic presuppositions are accepted, and it is accepted that the question is answerable. Accept the question rejection theorem as a deductive consequence of the first law and the compatibility corollary: Question Rejection Theorem: a question become rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the question become accepted. Also accept the following questions as legitimate topics of scientonomic inquiry: Role of sociocultural factors in question acceptance: what is the role of sociocultural factors, such as economics or politics, in the process of question acceptance? Role of employed methods in question acceptance: is the process of question acceptance affected by employed methods?

This is the final version. Available from the National Academy of Sciences via the DOI in this record. ; The input data and R code are available on ForestPlots (https://doi.org/10.5521/forestplots.net/2021_4). ; The responses of tropical forests to environmental change are critical uncertainties in predicting the future impacts of climate change. The positive phase of the 2015-2016 El Niño Southern Oscillation resulted in unprecedented heat and low precipitation in the tropics with substantial impacts on the global carbon cycle. The role of African tropical forests is uncertain as their responses to short-term drought and temperature anomalies have yet to be determined using on-the-ground measurements. African tropical forests may be particularly sensitive because they exist in relatively dry conditions compared with Amazonian or Asian forests, or they may be more resistant because of an abundance of drought-adapted species. Here, we report responses of structurally intact old-growth lowland tropical forests inventoried within the African Tropical Rainforest Observatory Network (AfriTRON). We use 100 long-term inventory plots from six countries each measured at least twice prior to and once following the 2015-2016 El Niño event. These plots experienced the highest temperatures and driest conditions on record. The record temperature did not significantly reduce carbon gains from tree growth or significantly increase carbon losses from tree mortality, but the record drought did significantly decrease net carbon uptake. Overall, the long-term biomass increase of these forests was reduced due to the El Niño event, but these plots remained a live biomass carbon sink (0.51 ± 0.40 Mg C ha-1 y-1) despite extreme environmental conditions. Our analyses, while limited to African tropical forests, suggest they may be more resistant to climatic extremes than Amazonian and Asian forests. ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; European Research Council (ERC) ; The Royal Society ; Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) ; Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) ; Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) ; Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) ; Flemish Interuniversity Council VLIR-UOS ; Flemish Interuniversity Council VLIR-UOS ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation ; European Union ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; Gabon's National Parks Agency ; Leverhulme Trust ; The David and Lucile Packard Foundation ; CIFOR