scholarly journals Global variability of carbon use efficiency in terrestrial ecosystems

Author(s):  
Xiaolu Tang ◽  
Nuno Carvalhais ◽  
Catarina Moura ◽  
Bernhard Ahrens ◽  
Sujan Koirala ◽  
...  

Abstract. Vegetation carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a key measure of carbon (C) transfer from the atmosphere to terrestrial biomass, and indirectly reflects how much C is released through autotrophic respiration from the vegetation to the atmosphere. Diagnosing the variability of CUE with climate and other environmental factors is fundamental to understand its driving factors, and to further fill the current gaps in knowledge about the environmental controls on CUE. Thus, to study CUE variability and its driving factors, this study established a global database of site-year CUE based on observations from 188 field measurement sites for five ecosystem types – forest, grass, wetland, crop and tundra. The spatial pattern of CUE was predicted from global climate and soil variables using Random Forest, and compared with estimates from Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) from the TRENDY model ensemble. Globally, we found two prominent CUE gradients in ecosystem types and latitude, that is, CUE varied with ecosystem types, being the highest in wetlands and lowest in grassland, and CUE decreased with latitude with the lowest CUE in tropics, and the highest CUE in higher latitude regions. CUE varied greatly between data-derived CUE and TRENDY-CUE, but also among TRENDY models. Both data-derived and TRENDY-CUE challenged the constant value of 0.5 for CUE, independent of environmental controls. However, given the role of CUE in controlling the spatial and temporal variability of the terrestrial biosphere C cycle, these results emphasize the need to better understand the biotic and abiotic controls on CUE to reduce the uncertainties in prognostic land-process model simulations. Finally, this study proposed a new estimate of net primary production based on CUE and gross primary production, offering another benchmark for net primary production comparison for global carbon modelling.

2017 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
M. Cañizares ◽  
A. Moreno ◽  
S. Sánchez-Ruiz ◽  
M.A. Gilabert

<p>Carbon use efficiency (CUE) describes how efficiently plants incorporate the carbon fixed during photosynthesis into biomass gain and can be calculated as the ratio between net primary production (NPP) and gross primary production (GPP). In this work, annual CUE has been obtained from annual GPP and NPP MODIS products for the peninsular Spain study area throughout eight years. CUE is spatially and temporally analyzed in terms of the vegetation type and annual precipitation and annual average air temperature. Results show that dense vegetation areas with moderate to high levels of precipitation present lower CUE values, whereas more arid areas present the highest CUE values. However, the temperature effect on the spatial variation of CUE is not well characterized. On the other hand, inter-annual variations of CUE of different ecosystems are discussed in terms of inter-annual variations of temperature and precipitation. It is shown that CUE exhibited a positive correlation with precipitation and a negative correlation with temperature in most ecosystems. Thus, CUE decreases when the ecosystem conditions change towards aridity.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Joiner ◽  
Yasuko Yoshida ◽  
Yao Zhang ◽  
Gregory Duveiller ◽  
Martin Jung ◽  
...  

We estimate global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) based on models that use satellite data within a simplified light-use efficiency framework that does not rely upon other meteorological inputs. Satellite-based geometry-adjusted reflectances are from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and provide information about vegetation structure and chlorophyll content at both high temporal (daily to monthly) and spatial (∼1 km) resolution. We use satellite-derived solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) to identify regions of high productivity crops and also evaluate the use of downscaled SIF to estimate GPP. We calibrate a set of our satellite-based models with GPP estimates from a subset of distributed eddy covariance flux towers (FLUXNET 2015). The results of the trained models are evaluated using an independent subset of FLUXNET 2015 GPP data. We show that variations in light-use efficiency (LUE) with incident PAR are important and can be easily incorporated into the models. Unlike many LUE-based models, our satellite-based GPP estimates do not use an explicit parameterization of LUE that reduces its value from the potential maximum under limiting conditions such as temperature and water stress. Even without the parameterized downward regulation, our simplified models are shown to perform as well as or better than state-of-the-art satellite data-driven products that incorporate such parameterizations. A significant fraction of both spatial and temporal variability in GPP across plant functional types can be accounted for using our satellite-based models. Our results provide an annual GPP value of ∼140 Pg C year - 1 for 2007 that is within the range of a compilation of observation-based, model, and hybrid results, but is higher than some previous satellite observation-based estimates.


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1157-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVAN H. DeLUCIA ◽  
JOHN E. DRAKE ◽  
RICHARD B. THOMAS ◽  
MIQUEL GONZALEZ-MELER

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 3089-3108 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zanotelli ◽  
L. Montagnani ◽  
G. Manca ◽  
M. Tagliavini

Abstract. Carbon use efficiency (CUE), the ratio of net primary production (NPP) over gross primary production (GPP), is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global GPP estimates with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, NPP and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard, both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on a yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m−2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m−2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruit: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.12, was higher than the previously suggested constant values of 0.47–0.50. Low nitrogen investment in fruit, the limited root apparatus, and the optimal growth temperature and nutritional condition observed at the site are suggested to be explanatory variables for the high CUE observed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 4285-4321 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Wang ◽  
I. C. Prentice ◽  
J. Ni

Abstract. An extensive data set on net primary production (NPP) in China's forests is analysed with two semi-empirical models based on the light use efficiency (LUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) concepts, respectively. Results are shown to be broadly consistent with other data sets (grassland above-ground NPP; globally extrapolated gross primary production, GPP) and published analyses. But although both models describe the data about equally well, they predict notably different responses to [CO2] and temperature. These are illustrated by sensitivity tests in which [CO2] is kept constant or doubled, temperatures are kept constant or increased by 3.5 K, and precipitation is changed by ±10%. Precipitation changes elicit similar responses in both models. The [CO2] response of the WUE model is much larger but is probably an overestimate for dense vegetation as it assumes no increase in runoff; while the [CO2] response of the LUE model is probably too small for sparse vegetation as it assumes no increase in vegetation cover. In the LUE model warming reduces total NPP with the strongest effect in South China, where the growing season cannot be further extended. In the WUE model warming increases total NPP, again with the strongest effect in South China, where abundant water supply precludes stomatal closure. The qualitative differences between the two formulations illustrate potential causes of the large differences (even in sign) in the global NPP response of dynamic global vegetation models to [CO2] and climate change. As it is not clear which response is more realistic, the issue needs to be resolved by observation and experiment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Bond-Lamberty ◽  
J. P. Fisk ◽  
J. A. Holm ◽  
V. Bailey ◽  
G. Bohrer ◽  
...  

Abstract. Disturbance-induced tree mortality is a key factor regulating the carbon balance of a forest, but tree mortality and its subsequent effects are poorly represented processes in terrestrial ecosystem models. It is thus unclear whether models can robustly simulate moderate (non-catastrophic) disturbances, which tend to increase biological and structural complexity and are increasingly common in aging US forests. We tested whether three forest ecosystem models – Biome-BGC (BioGeochemical Cycles), a classic big-leaf model, and the ZELIG and ED (Ecosystem Demography) gap-oriented models – could reproduce the resilience to moderate disturbance observed in an experimentally manipulated forest (the Forest Accelerated Succession Experiment in northern Michigan, USA, in which 38% of canopy dominants were stem girdled and compared to control plots). Each model was parameterized, spun up, and disturbed following similar protocols and run for 5 years post-disturbance. The models replicated observed declines in aboveground biomass well. Biome-BGC captured the timing and rebound of observed leaf area index (LAI), while ZELIG and ED correctly estimated the magnitude of LAI decline. None of the models fully captured the observed post-disturbance C fluxes, in particular gross primary production or net primary production (NPP). Biome-BGC NPP was correctly resilient but for the wrong reasons, and could not match the absolute observational values. ZELIG and ED, in contrast, exhibited large, unobserved drops in NPP and net ecosystem production. The biological mechanisms proposed to explain the observed rapid resilience of the C cycle are typically not incorporated by these or other models. It is thus an open question whether most ecosystem models will simulate correctly the gradual and less extensive tree mortality characteristic of moderate disturbances.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuonan Wang ◽  
Hanqin Tian ◽  
Shufen Pan ◽  
Hao Shi ◽  
Jia Yang ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Tropical rainforests play an important role in sequestering carbon (C) and mitigating climate warming. Many terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) estimate productivity increase in tropical rainforests due to the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; fertilization effect. However, most TBMs neglect phosphorus (P) limitation on tropical rainforest productivity. Here, we used a process-based Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model with coupled C-N-P dynamics (DLEM-CNP) with varied V&lt;sub&gt;cmax&amp;#173;25 &lt;/sub&gt;to examine how P limitation has affected C fluxes of tropical rainforests to environmental and anthropogenic factors, including N deposition, land-use changes, climate variability, and atmospheric CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, during 1860-2018. The model results showed that consideration of the P cycle reduced the response of tropical rainforests gross primary production (GPP) by 25% and 39%, net primary production (NPP) by 25% and 43%, and net ecosystem production (NEP) by 21% and 41% to the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; fertilization effect relative to CN-only and C-only models. The DLEM-CNP estimated that the tropical rainforests had a GPP of 41.1 + 0.5 Pg C year&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, NPP of 19.7 + 0.3 Pg C year&lt;sup&gt;-1 &lt;/sup&gt;and NEP of 0.44 + 0.34 Pg C year&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; under 1860-2018 environmental conditions. Factorial experiments with DLEM-CNP suggested that deforestation has stronger impacts on GPP and NPP reduction compared to the enhanced GPP and NPP benefiting from the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; fertilization effect. Additionally, tropical rainforests NEP showed a continuously increasing trend owing to the CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; fertilization effect. Our study highlights the importance of P limitation on the C cycle and the weakened CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; fertilization effect due to nutrients limitation in the tropical rainforests.&lt;/p&gt;


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 14091-14143 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zanotelli ◽  
L. Montagnani ◽  
G. Manca ◽  
M. Tagliavini

Abstract. Carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global estimates of gross primary production with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, net primary production (NPP) and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a~measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross-check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m−2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m−2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruits: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.09, was higher than the previously suggested constant values of 0.47–0.50. Low nitrogen investment in fruits, the limited root-apparatus, and the optimal growth temperature and nutritional condition observed at the site are suggested to be explanatory variables for the high CUE observed.


Author(s):  
Richard T. Corlett

This chapter deals with the ecology of Tropical East Asia from the perspective of water, energy, and matter flows through ecosystems, particularly forests. Data from the network of eddy flux covariance towers is revealing general patterns in gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem production, and exchange. There is also new information on the patterns of net primary production and biomass within the region. In contrast, our understanding of the role of soil nutrients in tropical forest ecology still relies mostly on work done in the Neotropics, with just enough data from Asia to suggest that the major patterns may be pantropical. Nitrogen and phosphorus have received most attention regionally, followed by calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and there has been very little study of the role of micronutrients and potentially toxic concentrations of aluminium, manganese, and hydrogen ions. Animal nutrition has also been neglected.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6855-6869 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rambal ◽  
M. Lempereur ◽  
J. M. Limousin ◽  
N. K. Martin-StPaul ◽  
J. M. Ourcival ◽  
...  

Abstract. The partitioning of photosynthates toward biomass compartments plays a crucial role in the carbon (C) sink function of forests. Few studies have examined how carbon is allocated toward plant compartments in drought-prone forests. We analyzed the fate of gross primary production (GPP) in relation to yearly water deficit in an old evergreen Mediterranean Quercus ilex coppice severely affected by water limitations. Carbon fluxes between the ecosystem and the atmosphere were measured with an eddy covariance flux tower running continuously since 2001. Discrete measurements of litterfall, stem growth and fAPAR allowed us to derive annual productions of leaves, wood, flowers and acorns, and an isometric relationship between stem and belowground biomass has been used to estimate perennial belowground growth. By combining eddy covariance fluxes with annual net primary productions (NPP), we managed to close a C budget and derive values of autotrophic, heterotrophic respirations and carbon-use efficiency (CUE; the ratio between NPP and GPP). Average values of yearly net ecosystem production (NEP), GPP and Reco were 282, 1259 and 977 g C m−2. The corresponding aboveground net primary production (ANPP) components were 142.5, 26.4 and 69.6 g C m−2 for leaves, reproductive effort (flowers and fruits) and stems, respectively. NEP, GPP and Reco were affected by annual water deficit. Partitioning to the different plant compartments was also impacted by drought, with a hierarchy of responses going from the most affected – the stem growth – to the least affected – the leaf production. The average CUE was 0.40, which is well in the range for Mediterranean-type forest ecosystems. CUE tended to decrease less drastically in response to drought than GPP and NPP did, probably due to drought acclimation of autotrophic respiration. Overall, our results provide a baseline for modeling the inter-annual variations of carbon fluxes and allocation in this widespread Mediterranean ecosystem, and they highlight the value of maintaining continuous experimental measurements over the long term.


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