scholarly journals Responses of Forest Carbon Cycle to Drought and Elevated CO2

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Jun-Lan Xiao ◽  
Feng Zeng ◽  
Qiu-Lan He ◽  
Yu-Xia Yao ◽  
Xiao Han ◽  
...  

Forests play a pivotal role in mitigating global warming as an important carbon sink. Recent global greening trends reflect a positive influence of elevated atmospheric CO2 on terrestrial carbon uptake. However, increasingly frequent and intense drought events endanger the carbon sequestration function of forests. This review integrates previous studies across scales to identify potential global trends in forest responses to drought and elevated CO2 as well as to identify data needs in this important research field. The inconsistent responses of ecosystem respiration to drought contributes to the change of forest net CO2 exchange, which depends on the balance of opposite effects of warming and water stress on respiration. Whether CO2 fertilization can offset the effects of drought remains controversial, however, we found a potential overestimation of global CO2 fertilization effects because of increasing water stress and other limitations such as light and nutrients (N, P) as well as the possibility of photosynthetic acclimation.

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 10279-10309 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kwon ◽  
J. Kim ◽  
J. Hong

Abstract. Considering the feedback loops in radiation, temperature, and soil moisture with alterations in rainfall patterns, the influence of the changing monsoon on net ecosystem CO2 exchange can be critical to the estimation of carbon balance in Asia. In this paper, we examined the eddy covariance CO2 fluxes observed from 2004 to 2008 in two major plant functional types in KoFlux, i.e., the Gwangneung deciduous forest (GDK) site and the Haenam farmland (HFK) site. The objectives of the study were to (1) quantify the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (RE), and gross primary production (GPP), (2) examine their interannual patterns, and (3) assess the mechanism for the coupling of carbon and water exchange associated with the summer monsoon. The GDK site, which had a maximum leaf area index (LAI) of ~5, was on average a relatively weak carbon sink with NEE of −84 gC m−2 y−1, RE of 1028 gC m−2 y−1, and GPP of 1113 gC m−2 y−1. Despite about 20% larger GPP (of 1321 gC m−2 y−1) in comparison with the GDK site, the HFK site (with the maximum LAI of 3 to 4) was a weaker carbon sink with NEE of −58 gC m−2 y−1 because of greater RE of 1263 gC m−2 y−1. In both sites, the annual patterns of NEE and GPP had a striking "mid-season depression" each year with two distinctive peaks of different timing and magnitude, whereas RE did not. The mid-season depression at the GDK site occurred typically from early June to late August, coinciding with the season of summer monsoon when the solar radiation decreased substantially due to frequent rainfalls and cloudiness. At the HFK site, the mid-season depression began earlier in May and continued until the end of July due to land use management (e.g., crop rotation) in addition to such disturbances as summer monsoon and typhoons. Other flux observation sites in East Asia also show a decline in radiation but with a lesser degree during the monsoon season, resulting in less pronounced depression in NEE. In our study, however, the observed depression in NEE changed the forest and farmland from a carbon sink to a source in the middle of the growing season. Consequently, the annually integrated values of NEE lies on the low end of the range reported in the literature. Such a delicate coupling between carbon and water cycles may turn these ecosystems into a stronger carbon sink with the projected trends of less frequent but more intensive rainfalls in this region.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 2189-2226 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hommeltenberg ◽  
H. P. Schmid ◽  
M. Droesler ◽  
P. Werle

Abstract. This study compares the CO2 exchange of a natural bog forest, and of a bog drained for forestry in the pre-alpine region of southern Germany. The sites are separated by only ten kilometers, they share the same formation history and are exposed to the same climate and weather conditions. In contrast, they differ in land use history: at the Schechenfilz site a natural bog-pine forest (Pinus mugo rotundata) grows on an undisturbed, about 5 m thick peat layer; at Mooseurach a planted spruce forest (Picea abies) grows on drained and degraded peat (3.4 m). The net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) at both sites has been investigated for two years (July 2010 to June 2012), using the eddy covariance technique. Our results indicate that the drained, forested bog at Mooseurach is a much stronger carbon dioxide sink (−130 ± 31 and −300 ± 66 g C m−2 a−1 in the first and second year respectively) than the natural bog forest at Schechenfilz (−53 ± 28 and −73±38 g C m−2 a−1). The strong net CO2 uptake can be explained by the high gross primary productivity of the spruces that over-compensates the two times stronger ecosystem respiration at the drained site. The larger productivity of the spruces can be clearly attributed to the larger LAI of the spruce site. However, even though current flux measurements indicate strong CO2 uptake of the drained spruce forest, the site is a strong net CO2 source, if the whole life-cycle, since forest planting is considered. We determined the difference between carbon fixation by the spruces and the carbon loss from the peat due to drainage since forest planting. The estimate resulted in a strong carbon release of +156 t C ha−1 within the last 44 yr, means the spruces would need to grow for another 100 yr, at the current rate, to compensate the peat loss of the former years. In contrast, the natural bog-pine ecosystem has likely been a small but consistent carbon sink for decades, which our results suggest is very robust regarding short-term changes of environmental factors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce R Van Dam ◽  
Pierre Polsenaere ◽  
Aylin Barreras-Apodaca ◽  
Christian Lopes ◽  
Zulia Mayari Sanchez-Mejia ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana López-Ballesteros ◽  
Cecilio Oyonarte ◽  
Andrew S. Kowalski ◽  
Penélope Serrano-Ortiz ◽  
Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete ◽  
...  

Abstract. Currently, drylands occupy more than one-third of the global terrestrial surface and are recognized as areas vulnerable to land degradation. The concept of land degradation stems from the loss of an ecosystem's biological productivity due to long-term loss of natural vegetation or depletion of soil nutrients. Drylands' key role in the global carbon (C) balance has been recently demonstrated, but the effects of land degradation on C sequestration by these ecosystems still need to be investigated. In the present study, we compared net C and water vapor fluxes, together with satellite, meteorological and vadose zone (CO2, water content and temperature) measurements, between two nearby (∼ 23 km) experimental sites representing “natural” (i.e., site of reference) and “degraded” grazed semiarid grasslands. We utilized data acquired over 6 years from two eddy covariance stations located in southeastern Spain with highly variable precipitation magnitude and distribution. Results show a striking difference in the annual C balances with an average net CO2 exchange of 196 ± 40 (C release) and −23 ± 2 g C m−2 yr−1 (C fixation) for the degraded and natural sites, respectively. At the seasonal scale, differing patterns in net CO2 fluxes were detected over both growing and dry seasons. As expected, during the growing seasons, greater net C uptake over longer periods was observed at the natural site. However, a much greater net C release, probably derived from subterranean ventilation, was measured at the degraded site during drought periods. After subtracting the nonbiological CO2 flux from net CO2 exchange, flux partitioning results point out that, during the 6 years of study, gross primary production, ecosystem respiration and water use efficiency were, on average, 9, 2 and 10 times higher, respectively, at the natural site versus the degraded site. We also tested differences in all monitored meteorological and soil variables and CO2 at 1.50 m belowground was the variable showing the greatest intersite difference, with ∼ 1000 ppm higher at the degraded site. Thus, we believe that subterranean ventilation of this vadose zone CO2, previously observed at both sites, partly drives the differences in C dynamics between them, especially during the dry season. It may be due to enhanced subsoil–atmosphere interconnectivity at the degraded site.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1595-1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Thomas ◽  
Y. Malhi ◽  
K. M. Fenn ◽  
J. B. Fisher ◽  
M. D. Morecroft ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present results from a study of canopy-atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide from 2007 to 2009 above a site in Wytham Woods, an ancient temperate broadleaved deciduous forest in southern England. Gap-filled net ecosystem exchange (NEE) data were partitioned into gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re) and analysed on daily, monthly and annual timescales. Over the continuous 24 month study period annual GPP was estimated to be 21.1 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 and Re to be 19.8 Mg C ha−1 yr−1; net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was 1.2 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. These estimates were compared with independent bottom-up estimates derived from net primary productivity (NPP) and flux chamber measurements recorded at a plot within the flux footprint in 2008 (GPP = 26.5 ± 6.8 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, Re = 24.8 ± 6.8 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, biomass increment = ~1.7 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). Over the two years the difference in seasonal NEP was predominantly caused by changes in ecosystem respiration, whereas GPP remained similar for equivalent months in different years. Although solar radiation was the largest influence on daily values of CO2 fluxes (R2 = 0.53 for the summer months for a linear regression), variation in Re appeared to be driven by temperature. Our findings suggest that this ancient woodland site is currently a substantial sink for carbon, resulting from continued growth that is probably a legacy of past management practices abandoned over 40 years ago. Our GPP and Re values are generally higher than other broadleaved temperate deciduous woodlands and may represent the influence of the UK's maritime climate, or the particular species composition of this site. The carbon sink value of Wytham Woods supports the protection and management of temperate deciduous woodlands (including those managed for conservation rather than silvicultural objectives) as a strategy to mitigate atmospheric carbon dioxide increases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 3203-3218 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lohila ◽  
K. Minkkinen ◽  
M. Aurela ◽  
J.-P. Tuovinen ◽  
T. Penttilä ◽  
...  

Abstract. Drainage for forestry purposes increases the depth of the oxic peat layer and leads to increased growth of shrubs and trees. Concurrently, the production and uptake of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) change: due to the accelerated decomposition of peat in the presence of oxygen, drained peatlands are generally considered to lose peat carbon (C). We measured CO2 exchange with the eddy covariance (EC) method above a drained nutrient-poor peatland forest in southern Finland for 16 months in 2004–2005. The site, classified as a dwarf-shrub pine bog, had been ditched about 35 years earlier. CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured at 2–5-week intervals with the chamber technique. Drainage had resulted in a relatively little change in the water table level, being on average 40 cm below the ground in 2005. The annual net ecosystem exchange was −870 ± 100 g CO2 m−2 yr−1 in the calendar year 2005, indicating net CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. The site was a small sink of CH4 (−0.12 g CH4 m−2 yr−1) and a small source of N2O (0.10 g N2O m−2 yr−1). Photosynthesis was detected throughout the year when the air temperature exceeded −3 °C. As the annual accumulation of C in the above and below ground tree biomass (175 ± 35 g C m−2) was significantly lower than the accumulation observed by the flux measurement (240 ± 30 g C m−2), about 65 g C m−2 yr−1 was likely to have accumulated as organic matter into the peat soil. This is a higher average accumulation rate than previously reported for natural northern peatlands, and the first time C accumulation has been shown by EC measurements to occur in a forestry-drained peatland. Our results suggest that forestry-drainage may significantly increase the CO2 uptake rate of nutrient-poor peatland ecosystems.


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