Increasing net ecosystem biomass production of Canada's boreal and temperate forests despite decline in dry climates

Abstract

AbstractRepeated measurements of tree biomass at field plots describe recovery from disturbances, sampling artifacts, and potential effects of environmental change on forest ecosystems. Challenges in differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic sources of variation, both in theory and in practice, continue to confound claims of an anthropogenic carbon sink in forest biomass. Here we analyzed observations at 10,307 plots across southern ecozones of Canada to investigate temporal trends in stand‐level biomass growth (G), biomass loss due to mortality (M), and net ecosystem biomass production (NEBP) of intact stands. Net extrinsic forcing (Fex) was expressed by the collective dependence of biomass fluxes on climate anomalies, nitrogen deposition (N), and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (C). Inferences drawn directly from linear mixed‐effects model coefficients only reflect the static behavior of the model specifically at field plot locations. We, therefore, defined a dynamic landscape‐scale net extrinsic forcing (Fex′), which additionally accounted for potential negative feedback responses to anthropogenic growth enhancement. Simulations were performed over 1501–2012 to estimate Fex′. Overall, Fex′ was positive, suggesting that environmental changes drove a 90% increase in NEBP. The increase in NEBP was confined to wet regions, while the biomass sink in dry regions decreased, suggesting that large expanses of northern forests, historically located near the boundary between wet and dry climates, may be at high risk of decline under continued increases in evaporative demand. These results have important implications for the greenhouse gas balance of Canada's forest sector.