scholarly journals Drivers of interannual variability in Net Ecosystem Exchange in a semi-arid savanna ecosystem, South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 3221-3266 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Archibald ◽  
A. Kirton ◽  
M. van der Merwe ◽  
R. J. Scholes ◽  
C. A. Williams ◽  
...  

Abstract. Inter-annual variability in primary production and ecosystem respiration was explored using eddy-covariance data at a semi-arid savanna site in the Kruger Park, South Africa. New methods of extrapolating night-time respiration to the entire day and filling gaps in eddy-covariance data in semi-arid systems were developed. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in these systems occurs as pulses associated with rainfall events, a pattern not well-represented in current standard gap-filling procedures developed primarily for temperate flux sites. They furthermore do not take into account the decrease in respiration at high soil temperatures. An artificial neural network (ANN) model incorporating these features predicted measured fluxes accurately (MAE 0.42 g C/m2/day), and was able to represent the seasonal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration at the site. The amount of green leaf area (indexed using satellite-derived estimates of fractional interception of photosynthetically active radiation fAPAR), and the timing and magnitude of rainfall events, were the two most important predictors used in the ANN model. These drivers were also identified by multiple linear models (MLR), with strong interactive effects. The annual integral of the filled NEE data was found to range from −138 to +155 g C/m2/y over the 5 year eddy covariance measurement period. When applied to a 25 year time series of meteorological data, the ANN model predicts an annual mean NEE of 75 (±105) g C/m2/y. The main correlates of this inter-annual variability were found to be variation in the amount of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), length of the growing season, and number of days in the year when moisture was available in the soil.

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Archibald ◽  
A. Kirton ◽  
M. R. van der Merwe ◽  
R. J. Scholes ◽  
C. A. Williams ◽  
...  

Abstract. Inter-annual variability in primary production and ecosystem respiration was explored using eddy-covariance data at a semi-arid savanna site in the Kruger Park, South Africa. New methods of extrapolating night-time respiration to the entire day and filling gaps in eddy-covariance data in semi-arid systems were developed. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in these systems occurs as pulses associated with rainfall events, a pattern not well-represented in current standard gap-filling procedures developed primarily for temperate flux sites. They furthermore do not take into account the decrease in respiration at high soil temperatures. An artificial neural network (ANN) model incorporating these features predicted measured fluxes accurately (MAE 0.42 gC/m2/day), and was able to represent the seasonal patterns of photosynthesis and respiration at the site. The amount of green leaf area (indexed using satellite-derived estimates of fractional interception of photosynthetically active radiation fAPAR), and the timing and magnitude of rainfall events, were the two most important predictors used in the ANN model. These drivers were also identified by multiple linear regressions (MLR), with strong interactive effects. The annual integral of the filled NEE data was found to range from −138 to +155 g C/m2/y over the 5 year eddy covariance measurement period. When applied to a 25 year time series of meteorological data, the ANN model predicts an annual mean NEE of 75(±105) g C/m2/y. The main correlates of this inter-annual variability were found to be variation in the amount of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), length of the growing season, and number of days in the year when moisture was available in the soil.


2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Papale ◽  
M. Reichstein ◽  
M. Aubinet ◽  
E. Canfora ◽  
C. Bernhofer ◽  
...  

Abstract. Eddy covariance technique to measure CO2, water and energy fluxes between biosphere and atmosphere is widely spread and used in various regional networks. Currently more than 250 eddy covariance sites are active around the world measuring carbon exchange at high temporal resolution for different biomes and climatic conditions. In this paper a new standardized set of corrections is introduced and the uncertainties associated with these corrections are assessed for eight different forest sites in Europe with a total of 12 yearly datasets. The uncertainties introduced on the two components GPP (Gross Primary Production) and TER (Terrestrial Ecosystem Respiration) are also discussed and a quantitative analysis presented. Through a factorial analysis we find that generally, uncertainties by different corrections are additive without interactions and that the heuristic u*-correction introduces the largest uncertainty. The results show that a standardized data processing is needed for an effective comparison across biomes and for underpinning inter-annual variability. The methodology presented in this paper has also been integrated in the European database of the eddy covariance measurements.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelio Guevara-Escobar ◽  
Enrique González-Sosa ◽  
Mónica Cervantes-Jiménez ◽  
Humberto Suzán-Azpiri ◽  
Mónica Elisa Queijeiro-Bolaños ◽  
...  

Abstract. Vegetation fixes C in its biomass through photosynthesis or might release it into the atmosphere through respiration. Measurements of these fluxes would help us understand ecosystem functioning. The eddy covariance technique (EC) is widely used to measure the net ecosystem exchange of C (NEE) which is the balance between gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco). Orbital satellites such as MODIS can also provide estimates of GPP. In this study, we measured NEE with the EC in a scrub at Bernal in Mexico, and then partitioned into gross primary production (GPP-EC) and Reco using the recent R package Reddyproc. Measurements of GPP-EC were related to the estimates from the MODIS satellite provided in product MOD17A2H, which contains data of the gross primary productivity (GPP-MODIS). The Bernal site was a carbon sink despite it was an overgrazed site, the average NEE during fifteen months of 2017 and 2018 was −0.78 g C m−2 d−1 and the flux was negative in all measured months. The GPP-MODIS underestimated the ground data when representing the relation with a Theil-Sen regression: GPP-EC = 1.866 + 1.861 GPP-MODIS; an ordinary less squares regression had similar coefficients and the R2 was 0.6. Although cacti (CAM), legume shrubs (C3) and herbs (C3) had a similar vegetation index, the nighttime flux was characterized by positive NEE suggesting that the photosynthetic dark-cycle flux of cacti was lower than Reco. The discrepancy among the GPP flux estimates stresses the need to understand the limitations of EC and remote sensors, while incorporating complementary monitoring and modelling schemes of nighttime Reco, particularly in the presence of species with different photosynthetic cycles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (22) ◽  
pp. 6549-6559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A Niechayev ◽  
Alexander M Jones ◽  
David M Rosenthal ◽  
Sarah C Davis

Physiological responses to variation in photosynthetically active radiation, temperature, and water can be used to predict the growth of Agave americana L. in field conditions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 2165-2181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Chang ◽  
N. Viovy ◽  
N. Vuichard ◽  
P. Ciais ◽  
T. Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study describes how management of grasslands is included in the Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE) process-based ecosystem model designed for large-scale applications, and how management affects modeled grassland–atmosphere CO2 fluxes. The new model, ORCHIDEE-GM (grassland management) is enabled with a management module inspired from a grassland model (PaSim, version 5.0), with two grassland management practices being considered, cutting and grazing. The evaluation of the results from ORCHIDEE compared with those of ORCHIDEE-GM at 11 European sites, equipped with eddy covariance and biometric measurements, shows that ORCHIDEE-GM can realistically capture the cut-induced seasonal variation in biometric variables (LAI: leaf area index; AGB: aboveground biomass) and in CO2 fluxes (GPP: gross primary productivity; TER: total ecosystem respiration; and NEE: net ecosystem exchange). However, improvements at grazing sites are only marginal in ORCHIDEE-GM due to the difficulty in accounting for continuous grazing disturbance and its induced complex animal–vegetation interactions. Both NEE and GPP on monthly to annual timescales can be better simulated in ORCHIDEE-GM than in ORCHIDEE without management. For annual CO2 fluxes, the NEE bias and RMSE (root mean square error) in ORCHIDEE-GM are reduced by 53% and 20%, respectively, compared to ORCHIDEE. ORCHIDEE-GM is capable of modeling the net carbon balance (NBP) of managed temperate grasslands (37 ± 30 gC m−2 yr−1 (P < 0.01) over the 11 sites) because the management module contains provisions to simulate the carbon fluxes of forage yield, herbage consumption, animal respiration and methane emissions.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1765-1794 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Connolly ◽  
N. T. Roulet ◽  
J. W. Seaquist ◽  
N. M. Holden ◽  
P. M. Lafleur ◽  
...  

Abstract. We used satellite remote sensing data; fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by vegetation (fPAR) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in combination with tower eddy covariance and meteorological measurements to characterise the light use efficiency parameter (ε) variability and the maximum ε (εmax) for two contrasting Canadian peatlands. Eight-day MODIS fPAR data were acquired for the Mer Bleue (2000 to 2003) and Western Peatland (2004). Flux tower eddy covariance and meteorological measurements were integrated to the same eight-day time stamps as the MODIS fPAR data. A light use efficiency model: GPP=ε * APAR (where GPP is Gross Primary Productivity and APAR is absorbed photosynthetically active radiation) was used to calculated ε. The εmax value for each year (2000 to 2003) at the Mer Bleue bog ranged from 0.58 g C MJ−1 to 0.78 g C MJ−1 and was 0.91 g C MJ−1 in 2004, for the Western Peatland. The average growing season ε for the Mer Bleue bog for the four year period was 0.35 g C MJ−1 and for the Western Peatland in 2004 was 0.57 g C MJ−1. The average snow free period ε for the Mer Bleue bog over the four year period was 0.27 g C MJ−1 and for the Western Peatland in 2004 was 0.39 g C MJ−1. Using the light use efficiency method we calculated the εmax and the annual variability in ε for two Canadian peatlands. We determined that temperature was a growth-limiting factor at both sites Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) however was not. MODIS fPAR is a useful tool for the characterization of ε at flux tower sites.


HortScience ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.H. Morsil ◽  
A.D. Matthias ◽  
J.L. Stroehlein

The effects of trellising on absorption of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400- to 700-nm wavelength) by foliage and fruits, on fruit composition, and yield were studied in 1988 under semi-arid conditions using field-grown Vitis vinifera L. `Petite Sirah' grapevines in a mature vineyard. A vertical inclination was obtained by attaching shoots to a vertically arranged three-wire trellis; 60° shoot inclination from horizontal was obtained by attaching shoots to a “V-type” Tatura trellis; a standard two-wire trellis (control) was used in which shoots attached to the upper wire were permitted to orient downward to the vineyard floor. PAR absorption by foliage during mid-morning to mid-afternoon periods was highest in the standard trellis and lowest in the Tatura trellis. PAR available for absorption by fruits was lowest in the standard trellis and highest in the Tatura trellis. Analysis of fruit composition at harvest revealed that total dissolved solids (°Brix) was significantly higher for berries from the Tatura trellis than for the vertical trellis or the control. The Tatura trellis resulted in the highest alcohol content of wine. Per-vine yields did not differ significantly among the three trellis systems.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 2297-2312 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Stoy ◽  
A. D. Richardson ◽  
D. D. Baldocchi ◽  
G. G. Katul ◽  
J. Stanovick ◽  
...  

Abstract. The net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) varies at time scales from seconds to years and longer via the response of its components, gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (RE), to physical and biological drivers. Quantifying the relationship between flux and climate at multiple time scales is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the role of climate in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Orthonormal wavelet transformation (OWT) can quantify the strength of the interactions between gappy eddy covariance flux and micrometeorological measurements at multiple frequencies while expressing time series variance in few energetic wavelet coefficients, offering a low-dimensional view of the response of terrestrial carbon flux to climatic variability. The variability of NEE, GEP and RE, and their co-variability with dominant climatic drivers, are explored with nearly one thousand site-years of data from the FLUXNET global dataset consisting of 253 eddy covariance research sites. The NEE and GEP wavelet spectra were similar among plant functional types (PFT) at weekly and shorter time scales, but significant divergence appeared among PFT at the biweekly and longer time scales, at which NEE and GEP were relatively less variable than climate. The RE spectra rarely differed among PFT across time scales as expected. On average, RE spectra had greater low frequency (monthly to interannual) variability than NEE, GEP and climate. CANOAK ecosystem model simulations demonstrate that "multi-annual" spectral peaks in flux may emerge at low (4+ years) time scales. Biological responses to climate and other internal system dynamics, rather than direct ecosystem response to climate, provide the likely explanation for observed multi-annual variability, but data records must be lengthened and measurements of ecosystem state must be made, and made available, to disentangle the mechanisms responsible for low frequency patterns in ecosystem CO2 exchange.


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