Reduction In Gross Primary Productivity Research Articles

Spring enhancement and summer reduction in carbon uptake during the 2018 drought in northwestern Europe.

We analysed gross primary productivity (GPP), total ecosystem respiration (TER) and the resulting net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the terrestrial biosphere during the summer of 2018 through observed changes across the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) network, through biosphere and inverse modelling, and through remote sensing. Highly correlated yet independently-derived reductions in productivity from sun-induced fluorescence, vegetative near-infrared reflectance, and GPP simulated by the Simple Biosphere model version 4 (SiB4) suggest a 130–340 TgC GPP reduction in July–August–September (JAS) of 2018. This occurs over an area of 1.6 × 106 km2 with anomalously low precipitation in northwestern and central Europe. In this drought-affected area, reduced GPP, TER, NEE and soil moisture at ICOS ecosystem sites are reproduced satisfactorily by the SiB4 model. We found that, in contrast to the preceding 5 years, low soil moisture is the main stress factor across the affected area. SiB4’s NEE reduction by 57 TgC for JAS coincides with anomalously high atmospheric CO2 observations in 2018, and this is closely matched by the NEE anomaly derived by CarbonTracker Europe (52 to 83 TgC). Increased NEE during the spring (May–June) of 2018 (SiB4 −52 TgC; CTE −46 to −55 TgC) largely offset this loss, as ecosystems took advantage of favourable growth conditions.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale’.

Tracking Seasonal and Interannual Variability in Photosynthetic Downregulation in Response to Water Stress at a Temperate Deciduous Forest

AbstractThe understanding and modeling of photosynthetic dynamics affected by climate variability can be highly uncertain. In this paper, we examined a well‐characterized eddy covariance site in a drought‐prone temperate deciduous broadleaf forest combining tower measurements and satellite observations. We find that an increase in spring temperature usually leads to enhanced spring gross primary production (GPP), but a GPP reduction in late growing season due to water limitation. We evaluated how well a coupled fluorescence‐photosynthesis model (SCOPE) and satellite data sets track the interannual and seasonal variations of tower GPP from 2007 to 2016. In SCOPE, a simple stress factor scaling of Vcmax as a linear function of observed predawn leaf water potential (ψpd) shows a good agreement between modeled and measured interannual variations in both GPP and solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment‐2 (GOME‐2). The modeled and satellite‐observed changes in SIFyield are ~30% smaller than corresponding changes in light use efficiency (LUE) under severe stress, for which a common linear SIF to GPP scaling would underestimate the stress reduction in GPP. Overall, GOME‐2 SIF tracks interannual tower GPP variations better than satellite vegetations indices (VIs) representing canopy “greenness.” However, it is still challenging to attribute observed SIF variations unequivocally to greenness or physiological changes due to large GOME‐2 footprint. Higher‐resolution SIF data sets (e.g., TROPOMI) already show the potential to well capture the downregulation of late‐season GPP and could pave the way to better disentangle canopy structural and physiological changes in the future.

The effects of irrigation on carbon balance in an irrigated grazed pasture system in New Zealand

In New Zealand, increasing areas of dryland farming are being converted to irrigated farming, and there are conflicting findings whether this will lead to gains or losses of soil organic carbon (SOC). In this study, we used 2 years of eddy-covariance data from an irrigated, grazed dairy pasture in Canterbury, New Zealand and compared observed gas exchange fluxes to those from the process-based CenW model.CenW simulations agreed very well with observations for evapotranspiration, gross primary production, and ecosystem respiration rates with Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiencies ~0.8–0.9 for daily and weekly mean values. Model efficiency for net ecosystem productivity was ~0.7–0.8 for daily and weekly averages. The mean simulated net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) over the 2 year period was 0.6 t C ha−1 y−1 which was comparable to the measured NECB of 1.0 ± 0.3 t C ha−1 y−1.The model also highlighted some processes where current understanding is incomplete. We found that gross primary production (GPP) was substantially reduced after grazing. While some GPP reduction was expected due to reduced leaf area, measured rates were only about half (reduced by a further ~30 kg C ha−1 d−1) of that expected due to reduced leaf area alone. This probably resulted from the combined effect of trampling damage by cattle, a minor contribution of foliage coverage by dung pats, and some additional leaf physiological effect when previously shaded parts of the foliage were suddenly exposed to full sun to which they were not fully adapted. GPP then gradually recovered over the subsequent 2 weeks.CenW was then used to compare SOC levels after 50 years of irrigated dairy farming with those under a non-irrigated system. We found that SOC responses to irrigation interacted strongly with imposed grazing patterns. When we used the same grazing regime under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions, the application of irrigation resulted in a small increase of 4 ± 3 t C ha−1 (mean ± standard error) over the range of weather conditions typical for this site. However, with this grazing management, the non-irrigated system had very low productivity (<0.1 t C ha−1 y−1 in animal products). When dryland pasture was combined with a grazing regime typical for rain-fed systems, simulated long-term SOC stocks were increased by 13.9 ± 1.5 t C ha−1 under the irrigated system. This highlights the importance of considering the whole management system rather than looking at individual practices in isolation.

Marine deforestation leads to widespread loss of ecosystem function.

Trophic interactions can result in changes to the abundance and distribution of habitat-forming species that dramatically reduce ecosystem functioning. In the coastal zone of the Aleutian Archipelago, overgrazing by herbivorous sea urchins that began in the 1990s resulted in widespread deforestation of the region's kelp forests, which led to lower macroalgal abundances and higher benthic irradiances. We examined how this deforestation impacted ecosystem function by comparing patterns of net ecosystem production (NEP), gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), and the range between GPP and Re in remnant kelp forests, urchin barrens, and habitats that were in transition between the two habitat types at nine islands that spanned more than 1000 kilometers of the archipelago. Our results show that deforestation, on average, resulted in a 24% reduction in GPP, a 26% reduction in Re, and a 24% reduction in the range between GPP and Re. Further, the transition habitats were intermediate to the kelp forests and urchin barrens for these metrics. These opposing metabolic processes remained in balance; however, which resulted in little-to-no changes to NEP. These effects of deforestation on ecosystem productivity, however, were highly variable between years and among the study islands. In light of the worldwide declines in kelp forests observed in recent decades, our findings suggest that marine deforestation profoundly affects how coastal ecosystems function.

Increasing impacts of extreme droughts on vegetation productivity under climate change

Terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) is the basis of vegetation growth and food production globally1 and plays a critical role in regulating atmospheric CO2 through its impact on ecosystem carbon balance. Even though higher CO2 concentrations in future decades can increase GPP2, low soil water availability, heat stress and disturbances associated with droughts could reduce the benefits of such CO2 fertilization. Here we analysed outputs of 13 Earth system models to show an increasingly stronger impact on GPP by extreme droughts than by mild and moderate droughts over the twenty-first century. Due to a dramatic increase in the frequency of extreme droughts, the magnitude of globally averaged reductions in GPP associated with extreme droughts was projected to be nearly tripled by the last quarter of this century (2075–2099) relative to that of the historical period (1850–1999) under both high and intermediate GHG emission scenarios. By contrast, the magnitude of GPP reductions associated with mild and moderate droughts was not projected to increase substantially. Our analysis indicates a high risk of extreme droughts to the global carbon cycle with atmospheric warming; however, this risk can be potentially mitigated by positive anomalies of GPP associated with favourable environmental conditions. Terrestrial primary productivity will increase with CO2 fertilization, but water limitation will decrease this positive effect. Analyses of Earth system model projections show that extreme droughts will have a much stronger impact on future productivity than mild and moderate droughts.

Real‐time monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions with tall chambers reveals diurnal N2O variation and increased emissions of CO2 and N2O from Miscanthus following compost addition

AbstractMiscanthus x giganteus's efficacy as an energy crop relies on maintaining low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As demand for Miscanthus is expected to rise to meet bioenergy targets, fertilizers and composts may be employed to increase yields, but will also increase GHG emissions. Manipulation experiments are vital to investigate the consequences of any fertilizer additions, but there is currently no way to measure whole‐plant GHG fluxes from crops taller than 2.5 m, such as Miscanthus, at the experimental plot scale. We employed a unique combination of eddy covariance (EC), soil chambers and an entirely new automated chamber system, SkyBeam, to measure high frequency (ca. hourly) fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from a Miscanthus crop amended with green compost. Untreated controls were also monitored in a fully replicated experimental design. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 was partitioned into soil respiration (Rs), gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration, and the crop was harvested to determine the effect of compost on crop productivity. Compost increased NEE emissions by 100% (p &lt; .05), which was the result of a 20% increase of Rs (p &lt; .06) and a 32% reduction in GPP (p &lt; .05) and biomass of 37% (p &lt; .06). Methane fluxes were small and unaffected by compost addition. N2O emissions increased 34% under compost during an emission event; otherwise, fluxes were low and often negative, even under dry conditions. Diurnal variation in N2O fluxes, with uptake during the day and emission at night was observed. These fluxes displayed a negative relationship with soil temperature and a hitherto undescribed diurnal temperature hysteresis. We conclude that compost addition negatively affected the productivity and environmental effects of Miscanthus cultivation during the first year following application.

No Proportional Increase of Terrestrial Gross Carbon Sequestration From the Greening Earth

AbstractTerrestrial vegetation, as the key component of the biosphere, has a greening trend since the beginning of this century. However, how this substantial greening translated to global gross carbon sequestration or gross primary production (GPP) is not clear. Here we investigated terrestrial GPP dynamics and the respective contributions of climate change and vegetation cover change (VCC) from 2000 to 2015. We adopted a remote sensing based data‐driven model, which was calibrated based on the global eddy flux data set (FLUXNET2015) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer vegetation index data (Collection 6). A series of simulation experiments were conducted to disaggregate the effects of climate and VCC. We found a much weaker increase in global GPP (0.08%/year; P = 0.07) when compared with the global greening rate (0.23%/year; P &lt; 0.001). The positive effect of VCC on GPP was reduced by 53% due to climate stress. Enhanced global GPP were largely contributed by nonforests, especially croplands. However, tropical forests, once a major driver of the global GPP increase, negatively contributed to global GPP trend due to warming‐induced moisture stress and deforestation. Given the limited potential of cropland carbon storage due to harvest and consumption, the contrasting GPP changes (i.e., cropland GPP increase vs. forest GPP reduction) may have shifted the distribution of the land carbon sink. Our study highlights the potential vulnerability of terrestrial gross carbon sequestration under climate and land use changes and has important implications in the global carbon cycle and climate warming mitigation.

The 2012 Flash Drought Threatened US Midwest Agroecosystems

In the summer of 2012, the US Midwest, the most productive agricultural region in the world, experienced the most intense and widespread drought on record for the past hundred years. The 2012 drought, characterized as ‘flash drought’, developed in May with a rapid intensification afterwards, and peaked in mid-July. ~76% of crop region and 60% of grassland and pasture regions have been under moderate to severe dry conditions. This study used multiple lines of evidences, i.e., in-situ AmeriFlux measurements, spatial satellite observations, and scaled ecosystem modeling, to provide independent and complementary analysis on the impact of 2012 flash drought on the US Midwest vegetation greenness and photosynthesis carbon uptake. Three datasets consistently showed that 1) phenological activities of all biomes advanced 1–2 weeks earlier in 2012 compared to the other years of 2010-2014; 2) the drought had a more severe impact on agroecosystems (crop and grassland) than on forests; 3) the growth of crop and grassland was suppressed from June with significant reduction of vegetation index, sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) and gross primary production (GPP), and did not recover until the end of growing season. The modeling results showed that regional total GPP in 2012 was the lowest (1.76 Pg C/yr) during 2010–2014, and decreased by 63 Tg C compared with the other-year mean. Agroecosystems, accounting for 84% of regional GPP assimilation, were the most impacted by 2012 drought with total GPP reduction of 9%, 7%, 6%, and 29% for maize, soybean, cropland, and grassland, respectively. The frequency and severity of droughts have been predicted to increase in future. The results imply the importance to investigate the influences of flash droughts on vegetation productivity and terrestrial carbon cycling.

Effects of Light Component and Water Stress on Photosynthesis of Amazon Rainforests During the 2015/2016 El Niño Drought

AbstractWhether enhanced sunshine increases photosynthesis in Amazon rainforests during drought is unclear. Here we used a light component‐based two‐leaf‐photosynthesis model, driven with climate data and satellite vegetation data, to inspect the controlling mechanisms among climate factors on gross primary production (GPP) during the 2015/2016 El Niño drought event. We found that simulated GPP and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer enhanced vegetation index indicated an Amazonian “browning” and not a “green up” during the 2015/2016 El Niño year relative to the 2011–2014 interval. The result shows that, along with intensified sunlight, diffuse sunlight and diffuse fraction as well as canopy light use efficiency decreased, which further produced a decreased potential GPP* (determined by light components and leaf area index of shaded and sunlit leaves). The decreased GPP* and drought‐induced water stress jointly reduced canopy photosynthesis of Amazon rainforests during the 2015/2016 drought. The light component variations caused a reduction in GPP but with a magnitude inferior to the GPP reduction from water stress. These findings suggest that intensified sunlight did not enhance photosynthesis of Amazon rainforests and highlight the important role of light components in interannual and seasonal variations of photosynthesis in Amazon rainforests.

Linking tree physiological constraints with predictions of carbon and water fluxes at an old‐growth coniferous forest

AbstractOld‐growth coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest are among the most productive temperate ecosystems and have the capacity to store large amounts of carbon for multiple centuries. To date, there are considerable gaps in modeling ecosystem fluxes and their responses to physiological constraints in these old‐growth forests. These model shortcomings limit our ability to understand and project how the old‐growth forests of the Pacific Northwest will respond to global climate change. This study applies the cohort‐based Ecosystem Demography Model 2 (ED2) to the Wind River Experimental Forest (Washington, USA), a well‐studied old‐growth Douglas‐fir–western hemlock ecosystem. ED2 is calibrated and validated using an extensive suite of forest inventory, eddy covariance, and biophysical observations. ED2 is able to reproduce observed forest composition and canopy structure, and carbon, water, and energy fluxes at the site. In the simulations, the effect of limited water supply on ecosystem carbon fluxes is mediated primarily by the forest's gross primary productivity (GPP) response, rather than its heterotrophic respiration response. The simulation indicates that stomatal conductance is mainly determined by soil moisture during periods of low vapor pressure deficit (VPD). However, when VPD is high, stomatal conductance is greatly reduced regardless of soil moisture status. During summer droughts, reduced soil moisture and increased VPD result in considerable stomatal closure and GPP reduction, which in turn decreases net carbon uptake. Cohort‐based scheme integrates all canopy layers (species) that have distinct sensitivity to microclimate and respond distinctly to drought. This study is an initial first step to explore the potential importance of cohort‐based model in simulating forest with complex structure, and to lay the foundation for applying cohort‐based model at regional scales across the Pacific Northwest.

Geographical adaptation prevails over species-specific determinism in trees' vulnerability to climate change at Mediterranean rear-edge forests.

Climate change may reduce forest growth and increase forest mortality, which is connected to high carbon costs through reductions in gross primary production and net ecosystem exchange. Yet, the spatiotemporal patterns of vulnerability to both short-term extreme events and gradual environmental changes are quite uncertain across the species' limits of tolerance to dryness. Such information is fundamental for defining ecologically relevant upper limits of species tolerance to drought and, hence, to predict the risk of increased forest mortality and shifts in species composition. We investigate here to what extent the impact of short- and long-term environmental changes determines vulnerability to climate change of three evergreen conifers (Scots pine, silver fir, Norway spruce) and two deciduous hardwoods (European beech, sessile oak) tree species at their southernmost limits of distribution in the Mediterranean Basin. Finally, we simulated future forest growth under RCP 2.6 and 8.5 emission scenarios using a multispecies generalized linear mixed model. Our analysis provides four key insights into the patterns of species' vulnerability to climate change. First, site climatic marginality was significantly linked to the growth trends: increasing growth was related to less climatically limited sites. Second, estimated species-specific vulnerability did not match their a priori rank in drought tolerance: Scots pine and beech seem to be the most vulnerable species among those studied despite their contrasting physiologies. Third, adaptation to site conditions prevails over species-specific determinism in forest response to climate change. And fourth, regional differences in forests vulnerability to climate change across the Mediterranean Basin are linked to the influence of summer atmospheric circulation patterns, which are not correctly represented in global climate models. Thus, projections of forest performance should reconsider the traditional classification of tree species in functional types and critically evaluate the fine-scale limitations of the climate data generated by global climate models.

Simulating International Drought Experiment field observations using the Community Land Model

Anthropogenic climate change will alter regional hydrologic cycles around the world, in part by increasing the frequency or duration of droughts in some areas. The International Drought Experiment (IDE) is investigating the impact of severe drought on terrestrial vegetation by experimentally reducing precipitation at dozens of sites. Here we implement the IDE precipitation reduction protocol using the Community Land Model (CLM). Though many model results suggest that carbon fertilization will outpace drought-caused reduction of terrestrial carbon uptake, uncertainty is large. We therefore configure CLM to consider carbon cycling impacts of reduced moisture availability without intertwining the effects of carbon fertilization or phenological changes. California hosts a number of IDE sites and a wide range of topography, climate, and biomes. CMIP5 predictions suggest 21st century California will experience droughts in excess of the 1000-year climatological record for both frequency and magnitude. CLM suggests that some regions, including much of Northern California, may experience a steeper decline in gross primary productivity (GPP) during 21st century severe droughts than during 20th century severe droughts. Vegetation in Northern California experiences virtually all of this GPP reduction during the dry season, with little wet season GPP reduction even during severe drought. Southern California vegetation experiences soil moisture GPP limitation at virtually all times, increasing substantially with drought severity. Southern California should experience a more pronounced shift in GPP seasonality and decline in magnitude relative to Northern California during droughts. Some parts of every vegetated continent see changes to drought response and seasonality similar to Southern California. Our CLM results provide drought impacts that forthcoming IDE field observations may test, can help to spatially upscale site-based IDE observations of drought impact, and provide CLM's prediction of reduced precipitation impacts per unit leaf area index.

Fire air pollution reduces global terrestrial productivity

Fire emissions generate air pollutants ozone (O3) and aerosols that influence the land carbon cycle. Surface O3 damages vegetation photosynthesis through stomatal uptake, while aerosols influence photosynthesis by increasing diffuse radiation. Here we combine several state-of-the-art models and multiple measurement datasets to assess the net impacts of fire-induced O3 damage and the aerosol diffuse fertilization effect on gross primary productivity (GPP) for the 2002–2011 period. With all emissions except fires, O3 decreases global GPP by 4.0 ± 1.9 Pg C yr−1 while aerosols increase GPP by 1.0 ± 0.2 Pg C yr−1 with contrasting spatial impacts. Inclusion of fire pollution causes a further GPP reduction of 0.86 ± 0.74 Pg C yr−1 during 2002–2011, resulting from a reduction of 0.91 ± 0.44 Pg C yr−1 by O3 and an increase of 0.05 ± 0.30 Pg C yr−1 by aerosols. The net negative impact of fire pollution poses an increasing threat to ecosystem productivity in a warming future world.

Arctic browning: Impacts of extreme climatic events on heathland ecosystem CO2 fluxes.

Extreme climatic events are among the drivers of recent declines in plant biomass and productivity observed across Arctic ecosystems, known as “Arctic browning.” These events can cause landscape‐scale vegetation damage and so are likely to have major impacts on ecosystem CO2 balance. However, there is little understanding of the impacts on CO2 fluxes, especially across the growing season. Furthermore, while widespread shoot mortality is commonly observed with browning events, recent observations show that shoot stress responses are also common, and manifest as high levels of persistent anthocyanin pigmentation. Whether or how this response impacts ecosystem CO2 fluxes is not known. To address these research needs, a growing season assessment of browning impacts following frost drought and extreme winter warming (both extreme climatic events) on the key ecosystem CO2 fluxes Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R eco) and soil respiration (R soil) was carried out in widespread sub‐Arctic dwarf shrub heathland, incorporating both mortality and stress responses. Browning (mortality and stress responses combined) caused considerable site‐level reductions in GPP and NEE (of up to 44%), with greatest impacts occurring at early and late season. Furthermore, impacts on CO2 fluxes associated with stress often equalled or exceeded those resulting from vegetation mortality. This demonstrates that extreme events can have major impacts on ecosystem CO2 balance, considerably reducing the carbon sink capacity of the ecosystem, even where vegetation is not killed. Structural Equation Modelling and additional measurements, including decomposition rates and leaf respiration, provided further insight into mechanisms underlying impacts of mortality and stress on CO2 fluxes. The scale of reductions in ecosystem CO2 uptake highlights the need for a process‐based understanding of Arctic browning in order to predict how vegetation and CO2 balance will respond to continuing climate change.

Water table fluctuations control CO2 exchange in wet and dry bogs through different mechanisms

High water tables (WT) stabilise peatland carbon (C) through regulation of biogeochemical processes. The impact of peatland WT on ecosystem function, including C exchange, alters over time, and the factors that cause some peatlands to display resilience and others to undergo degradation are poorly understood. Here we use CO2 flux measurements, measured by eddy covariance, to compare ecosystem function between two raised bogs; one drainage-affected, with a deep and fluctuating water table and the other near-natural, with a shallow and stable water table. The drainage-affected bog was found to be a moderate sink for CO2 (69 g C m−2 yr−1), which was 134 g C m−2 yr−1 less than the near-natural bog (203 g C m−2 yr−1). Greater ecosystem productivity has allowed the drainage-impacted bog to act as a CO2 sink despite higher ecosystem respiration; most likely due to an increase in photosynthetic capacity caused by expansion of ericaceous shrub cover. The tolerance of the vegetation community, particularly the main peat former Empodisma robustum (Restionaceae), to low and fluctuating WT appears to have been key in allowing the site to remain a sink. Despite the current resilience of the ecosystem CO2 sink, we found gross primary production to be limited under both high and low water tables, even in a year with typical rainfall. This is best explained by the limited physiological ability of ericaceous shrubs to tolerate a fluctuating WT. As such we hypothesise that if the WT continues to drop and become even more unstable, then without further vegetation change, a reduction in gross primary production is likely which may in turn cause the site to become a source for CO2.

Changes in surface hydrology, soil moisture and gross primary production in the Amazon during the 2015/2016 El Niño.

The 2015/2016 El Niño event caused severe changes in precipitation across the tropics. This impacted surface hydrology, such as river run-off and soil moisture availability, thereby triggering reductions in gross primary production (GPP). Many biosphere models lack the detailed hydrological component required to accurately quantify anomalies in surface hydrology and GPP during droughts in tropical regions. Here, we take the novel approach of coupling the biosphere model SiBCASA with the advanced hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB to attempt such a quantification across the Amazon basin during the drought in 2015/2016. We calculate 30–40% reduced river discharge in the Amazon starting in October 2015, lagging behind the precipitation anomaly by approximately one month and in good agreement with river gauge observations. Soil moisture shows distinctly asymmetrical spatial anomalies with large reductions across the north-eastern part of the basin, which persisted into the following dry season. This added to drought stress in vegetation, already present owing to vapour pressure deficits at the leaf, resulting in a loss of GPP of 0.95 (0.69 to 1.20) PgC between October 2015 and March 2016 compared with the 2007–2014 average. Only 11% (10–12%) of the reduction in GPP was found in the (wetter) north-western part of the basin, whereas the north-eastern and southern regions were affected more strongly, with 56% (54–56%) and 33% (31–33%) of the total, respectively. Uncertainty on this anomaly mostly reflects the unknown rooting depths of vegetation.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications’.

Development of a New TRIPLEX-Insect Model for Simulating the Effect of Spruce Budworm on Forest Carbon Dynamics

The spruce budworm (SBW) defoliates and kills conifer trees, consequently affecting carbon (C) exchanges between the land and atmosphere. Here, we developed a new TRIPLEX-Insect sub-model to quantify the impacts of insect outbreaks on forest C fluxes. We modeled annual defoliation (AD), cumulative defoliation (CD), and tree mortality. The model was validated against observed and published data at the stand level in the North Shore region of Québec and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The results suggest that TRIPLEX-Insect performs very well in capturing tree mortality following SBW outbreaks and slightly underestimates current annual volume increment (CAI). In both mature and immature forests, the simulation model suggests a larger reduction in gross primary productivity (GPP) than in autotrophic respiration (Ra) at the same defoliation level when tree mortality was low. After an SBW outbreak, the growth release of surviving trees contributes to the recovery of annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) based on forest age if mortality is not excessive. Overall, the TRIPLEX-Insect model is capable of simulating C dynamics of balsam fir following SBW disturbances and can be used as an efficient tool in forest insect management.

Interactive effects of seasonal drought and nitrogen deposition on carbon fluxes in a subtropical evergreen coniferous forest in the East Asian monsoon region

Subtropical forests in the East Asian monsoon region function as considerable carbon sinks in the Northern Hemisphere. Forest ecosystems in this region have experienced intensified seasonal drought that has limited their carbon sequestration capacity, but increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition has contrarily enhanced their capacity to act as carbon sinks. Understanding and quantifying the interactive effects of seasonal drought and nitrogen deposition on the carbon sequestration of subtropical forests is of great significance for accurately predicting future changes to the terrestrial carbon cycle. In this study, we used the Community Land Model Version 4.5 (CLM4.5) to investigate how carbon fluxes, i.e. gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP), respond to seasonal drought and nitrogen deposition in an evergreen coniferous forest in southern China. Our results showed that reduced GPP during the drought in the summers of 2003 and 2007 weakened the forest’s carbon sequestration capacity. The reduction in GPP mainly occurred at the sunlit canopy due to its higher sensitivity to soil water stress, and non-stomatal limitations played an important role in limiting leaf photosynthesis. The enhanced NEP by nitrogen deposition was attributed to increased plant growth, which could, in turn, be attributed to increases in leaf area. Interactions of seasonal drought and nitrogen deposition varied with drought severity. Interactive effects of the two drivers on GPP, Re, and NEP were additive under mild and moderate drought conditions but non-additive under severe drought. Their net effects on NEP shifted from +29% under mild and moderate drought conditions to -56% under severe drought. Our study highlights the importance of accounting for the interactive effects of seasonal drought and nitrogen deposition in assessing the carbon sequestration of subtropical forest ecosystems in the East Asian monsoon region.

Climatic anomaly and its impact on vegetation phenology, carbon sequestration and water-use efficiency at a humid temperate forest

Changing climate, especially extreme weather event, is exerting considerable impacts on the hydrological and biogeochemical processes in forests worldwide. A deep understanding of climate change–terrestrial feedbacks is essential to predict future regional/global carbon and water budgets, which can be used to develop potential strategies for forest management. In this study, totally 11 years of eddy covariance tower measurements of CO2 and H2O fluxes, as well as the relevant environmental variables were analyzed to reveal the effects of climate anomalies on vegetation phenology, carbon sequestration and ecosystem water-use efficiency (WUE) dynamics in a humid temperate deciduous forest. Warmer spring temperatures altered the phenological phases with the green-up date advanced approximately 3.5 days per °C, and the extended growing season of about 3 days per °C, reaching the peak in 2012. Because of spring temperature anomaly, the shift from carbon source to sink occurred nearly 40 days earlier than usual. But the abnormal carbon dynamics happened during the peak growth period. Correlation analyses indicated that the amount of precipitation dominantly controlled the capacity of forest carbon sequestration (NEP) in this area. Therefore, the subsequent water scarcity owing to the extremely dry summer together with heatwave severely decreased the forest NEP by about 64.1%. Further analyses implied that the sharp reduction in gross primary production (GPP) rather than ecosystem respiration (Re) resulted to the decrease in NEP. Both GPP and evatranspiration (ET) were larger during the springtime in 2012 than those at adjacent years. But severe summer drought reduced the ecosystem WUE and yielded the lowest GPP and ET. Further work must focus on improving the recognition of forest feedback to climate systems.

Large but decreasing effect of ozone on the European carbon sink

Abstract. The capacity of the terrestrial biosphere to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change is governed by the ability of vegetation to remove emissions of CO2 through photosynthesis. Tropospheric O3, a globally abundant and potent greenhouse gas, is, however, known to damage plants, causing reductions in primary productivity. Despite emission control policies across Europe, background concentrations of tropospheric O3 have risen significantly over the last decades due to hemispheric-scale increases in O3 and its precursors. Therefore, plants are exposed to increasing background concentrations, at levels currently causing chronic damage. Studying the impact of O3 on European vegetation at the regional scale is important for gaining greater understanding of the impact of O3 on the land carbon sink at large spatial scales. In this work we take a regional approach and update the JULES land surface model using new measurements specifically for European vegetation. Given the importance of stomatal conductance in determining the flux of O3 into plants, we implement an alternative stomatal closure parameterisation and account for diurnal variations in O3 concentration in our simulations. We conduct our analysis specifically for the European region to quantify the impact of the interactive effects of tropospheric O3 and CO2 on gross primary productivity (GPP) and land carbon storage across Europe. A factorial set of model experiments showed that tropospheric O3 can suppress terrestrial carbon uptake across Europe over the period 1901 to 2050. By 2050, simulated GPP was reduced by 4 to 9 % due to plant O3 damage and land carbon storage was reduced by 3 to 7 %. The combined physiological effects of elevated future CO2 (acting to reduce stomatal opening) and reductions in O3 concentrations resulted in reduced O3 damage in the future. This alleviation of O3 damage by CO2-induced stomatal closure was around 1 to 2 % for both land carbon and GPP, depending on plant sensitivity to O3. Reduced land carbon storage resulted from diminished soil carbon stocks consistent with the reduction in GPP. Regional variations are identified with larger impacts shown for temperate Europe (GPP reduced by 10 to 20 %) compared to boreal regions (GPP reduced by 2 to 8 %). These results highlight that O3 damage needs to be considered when predicting GPP and land carbon, and that the effects of O3 on plant physiology need to be considered in regional land carbon cycle assessments.