Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1377-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1377-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Mar 2022
Research article |
| 07 Mar 2022
| 07 Mar 2022
MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields tree cover needs calibrating in tropical savannas
Rahayu Adzhar
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire,
UK
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Miami
University, Oxford, Ohio, USA
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Berkshire,
UK
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire,
UK
Ning Dong
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Berkshire,
UK
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North
Ryde, Australia
Charles George
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire,
UK
Mireia Torello Raventos
School of Earth and Environmental Science, James Cook University,
Cairns, Australia
Elmar Veenendaal
Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University & Research,
Wageningen, the Netherlands
Ted R. Feldpausch
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter,
Exeter, UK
Oliver L. Phillips
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Simon L. Lewis
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
Bonaventure Sonké
Plant Systematics and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology,
Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé,
Cameroon
Herman Taedoumg
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Bioversity International, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Beatriz Schwantes Marimon
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Mato Grosso State University, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Tomas Domingues
Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Luzmila Arroyo
Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Santa Cruz,
Bolivia
Gloria Djagbletey
Forest and Climate Change, Forestry Research Institute of
Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana
Gustavo Saiz
Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la
Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
France Gerard
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire,
UK
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2685, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2685, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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As Earth system models become more complex, rapid and comprehensive evaluation through comparison with observational data is necessary. The upcoming Assessment Fast Track for the Seventh Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP7) will require fast analysis. This paper describes a new Rapid Evaluation Framework (REF) that was developed for the Assessment Fast Track that will be run at the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) to inform the community about the performance of models.
Joao C. M. Teixeira, Chantelle Burton, Douglas I. Kelley, Gerd A. Folberth, Fiona M. O'Connor, Richard A. Betts, and Apostolos Voulgarakis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3066, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3066, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth System Dynamics (ESD).
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Burnt areas produced by wildfires around the world are decreasing, especially in tropical regions, but many climate models fail to show this trend. Our study looks at whether adding a measure of human development to a fire model could improve its representation of these processes. We found that including these factors helped the model better match observations in many regions. This shows that human activity plays a key role in shaping fire trends.
Maria Lucia Ferreira Barbosa, Douglas I. Kelley, Chantelle A. Burton, Igor J. M. Ferreira, Renata Moura da Veiga, Anna Bradley, Paulo Guilherme Molin, and Liana O. Anderson
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3533–3557, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3533-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3533-2025, 2025
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As fire seasons in Brazil become increasingly severe, confidently understanding the factors driving fires is more critical than ever. To address this challenge, we developed FLAME (Fire Landscape Analysis using Maximum Entropy), a new model designed to predict fires and to analyse the spatial influence of both environmental and human factors while accounting for uncertainties. By adapting the model to different regions, we can enhance fire management strategies, making FLAME a powerful tool for protecting landscapes in Brazil and beyond.
Ngoc Thi Nhu Do, Kengo Sudo, Akihiko Ito, Louisa K. Emmons, Vaishali Naik, Kostas Tsigaridis, Øyvind Seland, Gerd A. Folberth, and Douglas I. Kelley
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 2079–2109, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2079-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2079-2025, 2025
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Understanding historical isoprene emission changes is important for predicting future climate, but trends and their controlling factors remain uncertain. This study shows that long-term isoprene trends vary among Earth system models mainly due to partially incorporating CO2 effects and land cover changes rather than to climate. Future models that refine these factors’ effects on isoprene emissions, along with long-term observations, are essential for better understanding plant–climate interactions.
Inika Taylor, Douglas I. Kelley, Camilla Mathison, Karina E. Williams, Andrew J. Hartley, Richard A. Betts, and Chantelle Burton
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-720, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-720, 2025
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Climate change is reshaping fire seasons worldwide and, in many places, increasing fire weather risk. We use climate model simulations to project future changes in fire danger at different levels of global warming, focusing on Australia, Brazil, and the USA. Keeping warming below 2 °C significantly limits the increase in fire risk, but even at 1.5 °C, fire seasons lengthen, with more extreme conditions. However, low-fire weather periods remain, offering critical windows for fire management.
Matthew W. Jones, Douglas I. Kelley, Chantelle A. Burton, Francesca Di Giuseppe, Maria Lucia F. Barbosa, Esther Brambleby, Andrew J. Hartley, Anna Lombardi, Guilherme Mataveli, Joe R. McNorton, Fiona R. Spuler, Jakob B. Wessel, John T. Abatzoglou, Liana O. Anderson, Niels Andela, Sally Archibald, Dolors Armenteras, Eleanor Burke, Rachel Carmenta, Emilio Chuvieco, Hamish Clarke, Stefan H. Doerr, Paulo M. Fernandes, Louis Giglio, Douglas S. Hamilton, Stijn Hantson, Sarah Harris, Piyush Jain, Crystal A. Kolden, Tiina Kurvits, Seppe Lampe, Sarah Meier, Stacey New, Mark Parrington, Morgane M. G. Perron, Yuquan Qu, Natasha S. Ribeiro, Bambang H. Saharjo, Jesus San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Veerachai Tanpipat, Guido R. van der Werf, Sander Veraverbeke, and Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3601–3685, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3601-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3601-2024, 2024
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This inaugural State of Wildfires report catalogues extreme fires of the 2023–2024 fire season. For key events, we analyse their predictability and drivers and attribute them to climate change and land use. We provide a seasonal outlook and decadal projections. Key anomalies occurred in Canada, Greece, and western Amazonia, with other high-impact events catalogued worldwide. Climate change significantly increased the likelihood of extreme fires, and mitigation is required to lessen future risk.
Renata Moura da Veiga, Celso von Randow, Chantelle Burton, Douglas Kelley, Manoel Cardoso, and Fabiano Morelli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2348, 2024
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We systematically reviewed 69 papers on fire emissions from the Brazilian Cerrado biome to provide insights into its placement in the atmospheric carbon budget and support future improved estimation. We find that estimating fire emissions in the Cerrado requires a comprehensive approach, combining quantitative and qualitative aspects of fire. A pathway towards this is the inclusion of fire management representation in land surface models and the integration of observational and modelling data.
Simone Matias Reis, Yadvinder Malhi, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Beatriz S. Marimon, Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng, Renata Freitag, Cécile A. J. Girardin, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Karine da Silva Peixoto, Luciana Januário de Souza, Ediméia Laura Souza da Silva, Eduarda Bernardes Santos, Kamila Parreira da Silva, Maélly Dállet Alves Gonçalves, Cecilia A. L. Dahlsjö, Oliver L. Phillips, and Imma Oliveras Menor
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2118, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2118, 2024
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The 2015–2016 El Niño caused severe droughts in tropical forests, but its impact on the Cerrado, largest savanna, was unclear. Our study tracked the productivity of two key Cerrado vegetation types over five years. Before El Niño, productivity was higher in the transitional forest-savanna, but it dropped sharply during the event. Meanwhile, the savanna showed minor changes. These findings suggest that transitional ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to drought and climate change.
Lee de Mora, Ranjini Swaminathan, Richard P. Allan, Jerry C. Blackford, Douglas I. Kelley, Phil Harris, Chris D. Jones, Colin G. Jones, Spencer Liddicoat, Robert J. Parker, Tristan Quaife, Jeremy Walton, and Andrew Yool
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 1295–1315, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1295-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1295-2023, 2023
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We investigate the flux of carbon from the atmosphere into the land surface and ocean for multiple models and over a range of future scenarios. We did this by comparing simulations after the same change in the global-mean near-surface temperature. Using this method, we show that the choice of scenario can impact the carbon allocation to the land, ocean, and atmosphere. Scenarios with higher emissions reach the same warming levels sooner, but also with relatively more carbon in the atmosphere.
Joao Carlos Martins Teixeira, Chantelle Burton, Douglas I. Kelly, Gerd A. Folberth, Fiona M. O'Connor, Richard A. Betts, and Apostolos Voulgarakis
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-136, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-136, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Representing socio-economic impacts on fires is crucial to underpin the confidence in global fire models. Introducing these into INFERNO, reduces biases and improves the modelled burnt area (BA) trends when compared to observations. Including socio-economic factors in the representation of fires in Earth System Models is important for realistically simulating BA, quantifying trends in the recent past, and for understanding the main drivers of those at regional scales.
Camilla Mathison, Eleanor Burke, Andrew J. Hartley, Douglas I. Kelley, Chantelle Burton, Eddy Robertson, Nicola Gedney, Karina Williams, Andy Wiltshire, Richard J. Ellis, Alistair A. Sellar, and Chris D. Jones
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4249–4264, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4249-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4249-2023, 2023
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This paper describes and evaluates a new modelling methodology to quantify the impacts of climate change on water, biomes and the carbon cycle. We have created a new configuration and set-up for the JULES-ES land surface model, driven by bias-corrected historical and future climate model output provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impacts Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP). This allows us to compare projections of the impacts of climate change across multiple impact models and multiple sectors.
Jane P. Mulcahy, Colin G. Jones, Steven T. Rumbold, Till Kuhlbrodt, Andrea J. Dittus, Edward W. Blockley, Andrew Yool, Jeremy Walton, Catherine Hardacre, Timothy Andrews, Alejandro Bodas-Salcedo, Marc Stringer, Lee de Mora, Phil Harris, Richard Hill, Doug Kelley, Eddy Robertson, and Yongming Tang
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 1569–1600, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1569-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1569-2023, 2023
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Recent global climate models simulate historical global mean surface temperatures which are too cold, possibly to due to excessive aerosol cooling. This raises questions about the models' ability to simulate important climate processes and reduces confidence in future climate predictions. We present a new version of the UK Earth System Model, which has an improved aerosols simulation and a historical temperature record. Interestingly, the long-term response to CO2 remains largely unchanged.
Jing M. Chen, Rong Wang, Yihong Liu, Liming He, Holly Croft, Xiangzhong Luo, Han Wang, Nicholas G. Smith, Trevor F. Keenan, I. Colin Prentice, Yongguang Zhang, Weimin Ju, and Ning Dong
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4077–4093, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4077-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4077-2022, 2022
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Green leaves contain chlorophyll pigments that harvest light for photosynthesis and also emit chlorophyll fluorescence as a byproduct. Both chlorophyll pigments and fluorescence can be measured by Earth-orbiting satellite sensors. Here we demonstrate that leaf photosynthetic capacity can be reliably derived globally using these measurements. This new satellite-based information overcomes a bottleneck in global ecological research where such spatially explicit information is currently lacking.
Marina Corrêa Scalon, Imma Oliveras Menor, Renata Freitag, Karine S. Peixoto, Sami W. Rifai, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, and Yadvinder Malhi
Biogeosciences, 19, 3649–3661, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3649-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3649-2022, 2022
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We investigated dynamic nutrient flow and demand in a typical savanna and a transition forest to understand how similar soils and the same climate dominated by savanna vegetation can also support forest-like formations. Savanna relied on nutrient resorption from wood, and nutrient demand was equally partitioned between leaves, wood and fine roots. Transition forest relied on resorption from the canopy biomass and nutrient demand was predominantly driven by leaves.
Selena Georgiou, Edward T. A. Mitchard, Bart Crezee, Paul I. Palmer, Greta C. Dargie, Sofie Sjögersten, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Ovide B. Emba, Joseph T. Kanyama, Pierre Bola, Jean-Bosco N. Ndjango, Nicholas T. Girkin, Yannick E. Bocko, Suspense A. Ifo, and Simon L. Lewis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-580, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-580, 2022
Preprint archived
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Two major vegetation types, hardwood trees and palms, overlay the Central Congo Basin peatland complex, each dominant in different locations. We investigated the influence of terrain and climatological variables on their distribution, using a regression model, and found elevation and seasonal rainfall and temperature contribute significantly. There are indications of an optimal range of net water input for palm swamp to dominate, above and below which hardwood swamp dominates.
Gilvan Sampaio, Marília H. Shimizu, Carlos A. Guimarães-Júnior, Felipe Alexandre, Marcelo Guatura, Manoel Cardoso, Tomas F. Domingues, Anja Rammig, Celso von Randow, Luiz F. C. Rezende, and David M. Lapola
Biogeosciences, 18, 2511–2525, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2511-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2511-2021, 2021
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The impact of large-scale deforestation and the physiological effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on Amazon rainfall are systematically compared in this study. Our results are remarkable in showing that the two disturbances cause equivalent rainfall decrease, though through different causal mechanisms. These results highlight the importance of not only curbing regional deforestation but also reducing global CO2 emissions to avoid climatic changes in the Amazon.
Douglas I. Kelley, Chantelle Burton, Chris Huntingford, Megan A. J. Brown, Rhys Whitley, and Ning Dong
Biogeosciences, 18, 787–804, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-787-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-787-2021, 2021
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Initial evidence suggests human ignitions or landscape changes caused most Amazon fires during August 2019. However, confirmation is needed that meteorological conditions did not have a substantial role. Assessing the influence of historical weather on burning in an uncertainty framework, we find that 2019 meteorological conditions alone should have resulted in much less fire than observed. We conclude socio-economic factors likely had a strong role in the high recorded 2019 fire activity.
Stijn Hantson, Douglas I. Kelley, Almut Arneth, Sandy P. Harrison, Sally Archibald, Dominique Bachelet, Matthew Forrest, Thomas Hickler, Gitta Lasslop, Fang Li, Stephane Mangeon, Joe R. Melton, Lars Nieradzik, Sam S. Rabin, I. Colin Prentice, Tim Sheehan, Stephen Sitch, Lina Teckentrup, Apostolos Voulgarakis, and Chao Yue
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 3299–3318, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3299-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3299-2020, 2020
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Global fire–vegetation models are widely used, but there has been limited evaluation of how well they represent various aspects of fire regimes. Here we perform a systematic evaluation of simulations made by nine FireMIP models in order to quantify their ability to reproduce a range of fire and vegetation benchmarks. While some FireMIP models are better at representing certain aspects of the fire regime, no model clearly outperforms all other models across the full range of variables assessed.
Carlos Alberto Quesada, Claudia Paz, Erick Oblitas Mendoza, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, Gustavo Saiz, and Jon Lloyd
SOIL, 6, 53–88, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-53-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-53-2020, 2020
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Amazon soils hold as much carbon (C) as is contained in the vegetation. In this work we sampled soils across 8 different Amazonian countries to try to understand which soil properties control current Amazonian soil C concentrations. We confirm previous knowledge that highly developed soils hold C through clay content interactions but also show a previously unreported mechanism of soil C stabilization in the younger Amazonian soil types which hold C through aluminium organic matter interactions.
Amelie Baomalgré Bougma, Korodjouma Ouattara, Halidou Compaore, Hassan Bismarck Nacro, Caleb Melenya, Samuel Ayodele Mesele, Vincent Logah, Azeez Jamiu Oladipupo, Elmar Veenendaal, and Jonathan Lloyd
SOIL Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2019-87, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2019-87, 2020
Preprint withdrawn
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To better understand the development of forest islands in west Africa, our study focused on soil aggregates stability of these patches across a precipitation transect. Soil samples were taken from 0 to 5 cm and 5 to 10 cm depths and aggregate fractions with diameters: > 500, 500–250 μm and 250–53 μm determined using the water sieving method. The results showed significant higher proportion of stable meso and macroaggregates in forest islands and natural savanna compared to agricultural soil.
Friederike Gerschlauer, Gustavo Saiz, David Schellenberger Costa, Michael Kleyer, Michael Dannenmann, and Ralf Kiese
Biogeosciences, 16, 409–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-409-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-409-2019, 2019
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Mount Kilimanjaro is an iconic environmental asset under serious threat due to increasing human pressures and climate change constraints. We studied variations in the stable isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in plant, litter, and soil material sampled along a strong land-use and altitudinal gradient. Our results show that, besides management, increasing temperatures in a changing climate may promote carbon and nitrogen losses, thus altering the stability of Kilimanjaro ecosystems.
Chantelle Burton, Richard Betts, Manoel Cardoso, Ted R. Feldpausch, Anna Harper, Chris D. Jones, Douglas I. Kelley, Eddy Robertson, and Andy Wiltshire
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 179–193, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-179-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-179-2019, 2019
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Fire and land-use change are important disturbances within the Earth system, and their inclusion in models is critical to enable the correct simulation of vegetation cover. Here we describe developments to the land surface model JULES to represent explicit land-use change and fire and to assess the effects of each process on present day vegetation compared to observations. Using historical land-use data and the fire model INFERNO, overall model results are improved by the developments.
Tommaso Jucker, Gregory P. Asner, Michele Dalponte, Philip G. Brodrick, Christopher D. Philipson, Nicholas R. Vaughn, Yit Arn Teh, Craig Brelsford, David F. R. P. Burslem, Nicolas J. Deere, Robert M. Ewers, Jakub Kvasnica, Simon L. Lewis, Yadvinder Malhi, Sol Milne, Reuben Nilus, Marion Pfeifer, Oliver L. Phillips, Lan Qie, Nathan Renneboog, Glen Reynolds, Terhi Riutta, Matthew J. Struebig, Martin Svátek, Edgar C. Turner, and David A. Coomes
Biogeosciences, 15, 3811–3830, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3811-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3811-2018, 2018
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Efforts to protect tropical forests hinge on recognizing the ecosystem services they provide, including their ability to store carbon. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) captures information on the 3-D structure of forests, allowing carbon stocks to be mapped. By combining ALS with data from 173 field plots on the island of Borneo, we develop a simple yet general model for estimating forest carbon stocks from the air. Our model underpins ongoing efforts to restore Borneo's unique tropical forests.
Daniel S. Goll, Alexander J. Winkler, Thomas Raddatz, Ning Dong, Ian Colin Prentice, Philippe Ciais, and Victor Brovkin
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 2009–2030, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-2009-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-2009-2017, 2017
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The response of soil organic carbon decomposition to warming and the interactions between nitrogen and carbon cycling affect the feedbacks between the land carbon cycle and the climate. In the model JSBACH carbon–nitrogen interactions have only a small effect on the feedbacks, whereas modifications of soil organic carbon decomposition have a large effect. The carbon cycle in the improved model is more resilient to climatic changes than in previous version of the model.
Sam S. Rabin, Joe R. Melton, Gitta Lasslop, Dominique Bachelet, Matthew Forrest, Stijn Hantson, Jed O. Kaplan, Fang Li, Stéphane Mangeon, Daniel S. Ward, Chao Yue, Vivek K. Arora, Thomas Hickler, Silvia Kloster, Wolfgang Knorr, Lars Nieradzik, Allan Spessa, Gerd A. Folberth, Tim Sheehan, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Douglas I. Kelley, I. Colin Prentice, Stephen Sitch, Sandy Harrison, and Almut Arneth
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 1175–1197, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1175-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1175-2017, 2017
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Global vegetation models are important tools for understanding how the Earth system will change in the future, and fire is a critical process to include. A number of different methods have been developed to represent vegetation burning. This paper describes the protocol for the first systematic comparison of global fire models, which will allow the community to explore various drivers and evaluate what mechanisms are important for improving performance. It also includes equations for all models.
Kerry J. Dinsmore, Julia Drewer, Peter E. Levy, Charles George, Annalea Lohila, Mika Aurela, and Ute M. Skiba
Biogeosciences, 14, 799–815, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-799-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-799-2017, 2017
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Release of greenhouse gases from northern soils contributes significantly to the global atmosphere and plays an important role in regulating climate. This study, based in N. Finland, aimed to measure and understand release of CH4 and N2O, and using satellite imagery, upscale our results to a 2 × 2 km area. Wetlands released large amounts of CH4, with emissions linked to temperature and the presence of Sphagnum; landscape emissions were 2.05 mg C m−2 hr−1. N2O fluxes were consistently near-zero.
Ning Dong, Iain Colin Prentice, Bradley J. Evans, Stefan Caddy-Retalic, Andrew J. Lowe, and Ian J. Wright
Biogeosciences, 14, 481–495, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-481-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-481-2017, 2017
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The nitrogen content of leaves is a key quantity for understanding ecosystem function. We analysed variations in nitrogen per unit leaf area among species at sites along a transect across Australia including many climates and ecosystem types. The data could be explained by the idea that leaf nitrogen comprises two parts, one proportional to leaf mass, the other (metabolic) part proportional to light intensity and declining with CO2 drawdown and temperature, as optimal allocation theory predicts.
David Pelster, Mariana Rufino, Todd Rosenstock, Joash Mango, Gustavo Saiz, Eugenio Diaz-Pines, German Baldi, and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Biogeosciences, 14, 187–202, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-187-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-187-2017, 2017
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In order to quantify greenhouse gas fluxes from typical eastern African smallholder farms, we measured flux rates every week for 1 year at 59 farms in western Kenya. These upland soils tend to be small sinks for CH4 and small sources of N2O. The management intensity of the farm plots had no effect on emissions, likely because the variability was low. Plots with trees had higher CH4 uptake than other plots. This suggests that emissions from small, low-input farms in this region are quite low.
Kaniska Mallick, Ivonne Trebs, Eva Boegh, Laura Giustarini, Martin Schlerf, Darren T. Drewry, Lucien Hoffmann, Celso von Randow, Bart Kruijt, Alessandro Araùjo, Scott Saleska, James R. Ehleringer, Tomas F. Domingues, Jean Pierre H. B. Ometto, Antonio D. Nobre, Osvaldo Luiz Leal de Moraes, Matthew Hayek, J. William Munger, and Steven C. Wofsy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4237–4264, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4237-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4237-2016, 2016
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While quantifying vegetation water use over multiple plant function types in the Amazon Basin, we found substantial biophysical control during drought as well as a water-stress period and dominant climatic control during a water surplus period. This work has direct implication in understanding the resilience of the Amazon forest in the spectre of frequent drought menace as well as the role of drought-induced plant biophysical functioning in modulating the water-carbon coupling in this ecosystem.
Stijn Hantson, Almut Arneth, Sandy P. Harrison, Douglas I. Kelley, I. Colin Prentice, Sam S. Rabin, Sally Archibald, Florent Mouillot, Steve R. Arnold, Paulo Artaxo, Dominique Bachelet, Philippe Ciais, Matthew Forrest, Pierre Friedlingstein, Thomas Hickler, Jed O. Kaplan, Silvia Kloster, Wolfgang Knorr, Gitta Lasslop, Fang Li, Stephane Mangeon, Joe R. Melton, Andrea Meyn, Stephen Sitch, Allan Spessa, Guido R. van der Werf, Apostolos Voulgarakis, and Chao Yue
Biogeosciences, 13, 3359–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3359-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3359-2016, 2016
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Our ability to predict the magnitude and geographic pattern of past and future fire impacts rests on our ability to model fire regimes. A large variety of models exist, and it is unclear which type of model or degree of complexity is required to model fire adequately at regional to global scales. In this paper we summarize the current state of the art in fire-regime modelling and model evaluation, and outline what lessons may be learned from the Fire Model Intercomparison Project – FireMIP.
J. Lloyd and E. M. Veenendaal
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2015-660, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2015-660, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Fire has been proposed as the key driver of tropical forest and savanna biome distributions with many tropical ecologists believing that these biomes constitute alternate stable states (ASS). Contributing to an ongoing debate as evidence supporting the existence of ASS in the terrestrial tropics, we find all current arguments presented as supporting the existence of ASS to be flawed, with five specific fallacious argumentation types identified.
J. Lloyd, T. F. Domingues, F. Schrodt, F. Y. Ishida, T. R. Feldpausch, G. Saiz, C. A. Quesada, M. Schwarz, M. Torello-Raventos, M. Gilpin, B. S. Marimon, B. H. Marimon-Junior, J. A. Ratter, J. Grace, G. B. Nardoto, E. Veenendaal, L. Arroyo, D. Villarroel, T. J. Killeen, M. Steininger, and O. L. Phillips
Biogeosciences, 12, 6529–6571, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6529-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6529-2015, 2015
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Across tropical South America, forest soils are typically of a higher cation status than their savanna equivalents with soil exchangeable potassium a key soil nutrient differentiating these two vegetation types. Differences in soil water storage capacity are also important – interacting with both potassium availability and precipitation regimes in a relatively complex manner.
L. Wingate, J. Ogée, E. Cremonese, G. Filippa, T. Mizunuma, M. Migliavacca, C. Moisy, M. Wilkinson, C. Moureaux, G. Wohlfahrt, A. Hammerle, L. Hörtnagl, C. Gimeno, A. Porcar-Castell, M. Galvagno, T. Nakaji, J. Morison, O. Kolle, A. Knohl, W. Kutsch, P. Kolari, E. Nikinmaa, A. Ibrom, B. Gielen, W. Eugster, M. Balzarolo, D. Papale, K. Klumpp, B. Köstner, T. Grünwald, R. Joffre, J.-M. Ourcival, M. Hellstrom, A. Lindroth, C. George, B. Longdoz, B. Genty, J. Levula, B. Heinesch, M. Sprintsin, D. Yakir, T. Manise, D. Guyon, H. Ahrends, A. Plaza-Aguilar, J. H. Guan, and J. Grace
Biogeosciences, 12, 5995–6015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5995-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5995-2015, 2015
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The timing of plant development stages and their response to climate and management were investigated using a network of digital cameras installed across different European ecosystems. Using the relative red, green and blue content of images we showed that the green signal could be used to estimate the length of the growing season in broadleaf forests. We also developed a model that predicted the seasonal variations of camera RGB signals and how they relate to leaf pigment content and area well.
G. Saiz, M. Bird, C. Wurster, C. A. Quesada, P. Ascough, T. Domingues, F. Schrodt, M. Schwarz, T. R. Feldpausch, E. Veenendaal, G. Djagbletey, G. Jacobsen, F. Hien, H. Compaore, A. Diallo, and J. Lloyd
Biogeosciences, 12, 5041–5059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5041-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5041-2015, 2015
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We demonstrate and explain differential patterns in SOM dynamics in C3/C4 mixed ecosystems at various spatial scales across contrasting climate and soils. This study shows that the interdependence between biotic and abiotic factors ultimately determines whether SOM dynamics of C3- and C4-derived vegetation are at variance in ecosystems where both vegetation types coexist. The results also highlight the far-reaching implications that vegetation thickening may have for the stability of deep SOM.
M. Liu, M. Dannenmann, S. Lin, G. Saiz, G. Yan, Z. Yao, D. E. Pelster, H. Tao, S. Sippel, Y. Tao, Y. Zhang, X. Zheng, Q. Zuo, and K. Butterbach-Bahl
Biogeosciences, 12, 4831–4840, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4831-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4831-2015, 2015
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We demonstrate for the first time that a ground cover rice production system (GCRPS) significantly increased soil organic C and total N stocks at spatially representative paired sites under varying edaphic conditions. Our results suggest that GCRPS is a stable and sustainable technique that maintains key soil functions, while increasing rice yield and expanding the cultivation into regions where it has been hampered by low seasonal temperatures and/or a lack of irrigation water.
E. M. Veenendaal, M. Torello-Raventos, T. R. Feldpausch, T. F. Domingues, F. Gerard, F. Schrodt, G. Saiz, C. A. Quesada, G. Djagbletey, A. Ford, J. Kemp, B. S. Marimon, B. H. Marimon-Junior, E. Lenza, J. A. Ratter, L. Maracahipes, D. Sasaki, B. Sonké, L. Zapfack, D. Villarroel, M. Schwarz, F. Yoko Ishida, M. Gilpin, G. B. Nardoto, K. Affum-Baffoe, L. Arroyo, K. Bloomfield, G. Ceca, H. Compaore, K. Davies, A. Diallo, N. M. Fyllas, J. Gignoux, F. Hien, M. Johnson, E. Mougin, P. Hiernaux, T. Killeen, D. Metcalfe, H. S. Miranda, M. Steininger, K. Sykora, M. I. Bird, J. Grace, S. Lewis, O. L. Phillips, and J. Lloyd
Biogeosciences, 12, 2927–2951, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2927-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2927-2015, 2015
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When nearby forest and savanna stands are compared, they are not as structurally different as first seems. Moreover, savanna-forest transition zones typically occur at higher rainfall for South America than for Africa but with coexistence confined to a well-defined edaphic-climate envelope. With interacting soil cation-soil water storage–precipitations effects on canopy cover also observed we argue that both soils and climate influence the location of the two major tropical vegetation types.
G. Saiz, J. G. Wynn, C. M. Wurster, I. Goodrick, P. N. Nelson, and M. I. Bird
Biogeosciences, 12, 1849–1863, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1849-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1849-2015, 2015
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Around half of all pyrogenic carbon (charcoal+soot) derived from wildfires comes from semi-annual burning of tropical savannas. This pyrogenic carbon is significant because it is a component of global aerosols capable of modulating the greenhouse effect and is resistant to degradation. We use controlled field burns in northern Australian savannas to determine how much pyrogenic carbon is formed, how much of this is recalcitrant and how it is partitioned between ground residues and airborne soot.
K. J. Bloomfield, T. F. Domingues, G. Saiz, M. I. Bird, D. M. Crayn, A. Ford, D. J. Metcalfe, G. D. Farquhar, and J. Lloyd
Biogeosciences, 11, 7331–7347, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-7331-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-7331-2014, 2014
S. J. O'Shea, G. Allen, M. W. Gallagher, K. Bower, S. M. Illingworth, J. B. A. Muller, B. T. Jones, C. J. Percival, S. J-B. Bauguitte, M. Cain, N. Warwick, A. Quiquet, U. Skiba, J. Drewer, K. Dinsmore, E. G. Nisbet, D. Lowry, R. E. Fisher, J. L. France, M. Aurela, A. Lohila, G. Hayman, C. George, D. B. Clark, A. J. Manning, A. D. Friend, and J. Pyle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13159–13174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, 2014
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This paper presents airborne measurements of greenhouse gases collected in the European Arctic. Regional scale flux estimates for the northern Scandinavian wetlands are derived. These fluxes are found to be in excellent agreement with coincident surface measurements within the aircraft's sampling domain. This has allowed a significant low bias to be identified in two commonly used process-based land surface models.
A. P. Schrier-Uijl, P. S. Kroon, D. M. D. Hendriks, A. Hensen, J. Van Huissteden, F. Berendse, and E. M. Veenendaal
Biogeosciences, 11, 4559–4576, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4559-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4559-2014, 2014
N. M. Fyllas, E. Gloor, L. M. Mercado, S. Sitch, C. A. Quesada, T. F. Domingues, D. R. Galbraith, A. Torre-Lezama, E. Vilanova, H. Ramírez-Angulo, N. Higuchi, D. A. Neill, M. Silveira, L. Ferreira, G. A. Aymard C., Y. Malhi, O. L. Phillips, and J. Lloyd
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 1251–1269, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1251-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1251-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Land
Seasonality and synchrony of photosynthesis in African forests inferred from spaceborne chlorophyll fluorescence and vegetation indices
Altitudinal distribution of soil organic and inorganic carbon in a dry alpine rangeland of northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Precipitation–fire functional interactions control biomass stocks and carbon exchanges across the world's largest savanna
Nitrogen concentrations in boreal and temperate tree tissues vary with tree age/size, growth rate, and climate
Burn severity and vegetation type control phosphorus concentration, molecular composition, and mobilization
Fertilization turns a rubber plantation from sink to methane source
Comparison of shortwave radiation dynamics between boreal forest and open peatland pairs in southern and northern Finland
Subsurface CO2 dynamics in a temperate karst system reveal complex seasonal and spatial variations
Cropland expansion drives vegetation greenness decline in Southeast Asia
How to measure the efficiency of bioenergy crops compared to forestation
On the added value of sequential deep learning for upscaling evapotranspiration
Annual net CO2 fluxes from drained organic soils used for agriculture in the hemiboreal region of Europe
Implications of climate and litter quality for simulations of litterbag decomposition at high latitudes
Soil carbon-concentration and carbon-climate feedbacks in CMIP6 Earth system models
Monitoring the impact of forest changes on carbon uptake with solar-induced fluorescence measurements from GOME-2A and TROPOMI for an Australian and Chinese case study
Technical note: Flagging inconsistencies in flux tower data
Uncertainty in Amazon vegetation productivity in CMIP6 projections driven by surface energy fluxes
Relevance of near-surface soil moisture vs. terrestrial water storage for global vegetation functioning
High-resolution spatial patterns and drivers of terrestrial ecosystem carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes in the tundra
Long-term additions of ammonium nitrate to montane forest ecosystems may cause limited soil acidification, even in the presence of soil carbonate
Leaf carbon and nitrogen stoichiometric variation along environmental gradients
Gross primary productivity and the predictability of CO2: more uncertainty in what we predict than how well we predict it
Scale variance in the carbon dynamics of fragmented, mixed-use landscapes estimated using model–data fusion
Seasonal controls override forest harvesting effects on the composition of dissolved organic matter mobilized from boreal forest soil organic horizons
Carbon cycle extremes accelerate weakening of the land carbon sink in the late 21st century
Estimating oil-palm Si storage, Si return to soils, and Si losses through harvest in smallholder oil-palm plantations of Sumatra, Indonesia
Assessing the sensitivity of multi-frequency passive microwave vegetation optical depth to vegetation properties
Seasonal variation of mercury concentration of ancient olive groves of Lebanon
Soil organic matter diagenetic state informs boreal forest ecosystem feedbacks to climate change
Upscaling dryland carbon and water fluxes with artificial neural networks of optical, thermal, and microwave satellite remote sensing
Sun-induced fluorescence as a proxy for primary productivity across vegetation types and climates
Technical note: A view from space on global flux towers by MODIS and Landsat: the FluxnetEO data set
Changing sub-Arctic tundra vegetation upon permafrost degradation: impact on foliar mineral element cycling
Land Management Contributes significantly to observed Vegetation Browning in Syria during 2001–2018
Assessing the representation of the Australian carbon cycle in global vegetation models
Assessing the response of soil carbon in Australia to changing inputs and climate using a consistent modelling framework
Reviews and syntheses: Ongoing and emerging opportunities to improve environmental science using observations from the Advanced Baseline Imager on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites
First pan-Arctic assessment of dissolved organic carbon in lakes of the permafrost region
The impact of wildfire on biogeochemical fluxes and water quality in boreal catchments
Examining the sensitivity of the terrestrial carbon cycle to the expression of El Niño
Subalpine grassland productivity increased with warmer and drier conditions, but not with higher N deposition, in an altitudinal transplantation experiment
Reviews and syntheses: Impacts of plant-silica–herbivore interactions on terrestrial biogeochemical cycling
Implementation of nitrogen cycle in the CLASSIC land model
Combined effects of ozone and drought stress on the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds from Quercus robur L.
A bottom-up quantification of foliar mercury uptake fluxes across Europe
Lagged effects regulate the inter-annual variability of the tropical carbon balance
Spatial variations in terrestrial net ecosystem productivity and its local indicators
Nitrogen cycling in CMIP6 land surface models: progress and limitations
Decomposing reflectance spectra to track gross primary production in a subalpine evergreen forest
Sensitivity of 21st century simulated ecosystem indicators to model parameters, prescribed climate drivers, RCP scenarios and forest management actions for two Finnish boreal forest sites
Russell Doughty, Michael C. Wimberly, Dan Wanyama, Helene Peiro, Nicholas Parazoo, Sean Crowell, and Moses Azong Cho
Biogeosciences, 22, 1985–2004, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1985-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1985-2025, 2025
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We find West African solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) increases during the dry season and peaks before precipitation, similar to the Amazon. In central Africa, a continental-scale bimodal SIF seasonality appears; its minimum aligns with precipitation, but its maximum seems less environmentally driven. Notably, differences between SIF and vegetation index (VI) seasonality indicate VI-based photosynthesis estimates may be inaccurate.
Qinglin Liu, Ailin Zhang, Xiangyi Li, Jinfei Yin, Yuxue Zhang, Osbert Jianxin Sun, and Yong Jiang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1269, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1269, 2025
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The arid region of the plateau is a fragile ecosystem sensitive to environmental change. Changes in the soil carbon pool in this ecosystem will affect the terrestrial carbon cycle. The soil carbon pool in this region is mainly composed of soil inorganic carbon, and the response to environmental changes is more obvious. At the same time, the impact of environment on vegetation is also an important part of the carbon cycle of terrestrial organisms.
Mathew Williams, David T. Milodowski, T. Luke Smallman, Kyle G. Dexter, Gabi C. Hegerl, Iain M. McNicol, Michael O'Sullivan, Carla M. Roesch, Casey M. Ryan, Stephen Sitch, and Aude Valade
Biogeosciences, 22, 1597–1614, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1597-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1597-2025, 2025
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Southern African woodlands are important in both regional and global carbon cycles. A new carbon analysis created by combining satellite data with ecosystem modelling shows that the region has a neutral C balance overall but with important spatial variations. Patterns of biomass and C balance across the region are the outcome of climate controls on production and vegetation–fire interactions, which determine the mortality of vegetation and spatial variations in vegetation function.
Martin Thurner, Kailiang Yu, Stefano Manzoni, Anatoly Prokushkin, Melanie A. Thurner, Zhiqiang Wang, and Thomas Hickler
Biogeosciences, 22, 1475–1493, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1475-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1475-2025, 2025
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Nitrogen concentrations in tree tissues (leaves, branches, stems, and roots) are related to photosynthesis, growth, and respiration and thus to vegetation carbon uptake. Our novel database allows us to identify the controls of tree tissue nitrogen concentrations in boreal and temperate forests, such as tree age/size, species, and climate. Changes therein will affect tissue nitrogen concentrations and thus also vegetation carbon uptake.
Morgan E. Barnes, Jesse Alan Roebuck Jr., Samantha Grieger, Paul J. Aronstein, Vanessa A. Garayburu-Caruso, Kathleen Munson, Robert P. Young, Kevin D. Bladon, John D. Bailey, Emily B. Graham, Lupita Renteria, Peggy A. O'Day, Timothy D. Scheibe, and Allison N. Myers-Pigg
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-21, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-21, 2025
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Wildfires impact nutrient cycles on land and in water. We used burning experiments to understand the types of phosphorous (P), an essential nutrient, that might be released to the environment after different types of fires. We found that the amount of P moving through the environment post-fire is dependent on the type of vegetation and degree of burning which may influence when and where this material is processed or stored.
Daniel Epron, Rawiwan Chotiphan, Zixiao Wang, Ornuma Duangngam, Makoto Shibata, Sumonta Kumar Paul, Takumi Mochidome, Jate Sathornkich, Wakana A. Azuma, Jun Murase, Yann Nouvellon, Poonpipope Kasemsap, and Kannika Sajjaphan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2, 2025
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The rapid expansion of rubber cultivation constitutes a significant land-use change in Southeast Asia. Despite fertilization been a common practice in rubber plantations, its impact on soil methane (CH4) dynamics remained poorly understood. Our study demonstrates that fertilization not only reduces soil CH4 consumption but also increases CH4 production, transforming rubber plantations from a net CH4 sink into a source. Implementing rational fertilization could enhance atmospheric CH4 removal.
Otso Peräkylä, Erkka Rinne, Ekaterina Ezhova, Anna Lintunen, Annalea Lohila, Juho Aalto, Mika Aurela, Pasi Kolari, and Markku Kulmala
Biogeosciences, 22, 153–179, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-153-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-153-2025, 2025
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Forests are seen as good for climate. Yet, in areas with snow, trees break up the white snow surface and absorb more sunlight than open areas. This has a warming effect, negating some of the climate benefit of trees. We studied two site pairs in Finland, both with an open peatland and a forest. We found that the later the snow melts, the more extra energy the forest absorbs as compared to the peatland. This has implications for the future, as snow cover duration is affected by global warming.
Sarah Ann Rowan, Marc Luetscher, Thomas Laemmel, Anna Harrison, Sönke Szidat, and Franziska A. Lechleitner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3775, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3775, 2024
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We explored CO2 from soil to subsurface at Milandre cave, finding very high concentrations at all depths. While forest soils produced modern CO2 year-round, cave and meadow soil CO2 influences varies with temperature controlled cave ventilation, with older CO2 input in winter from old organic matter stored underground. These findings show that CO2 fluxes in karst systems are highly dynamic, and a better understanding of them is important for accurate carbon cycle modelling.
Ruiying Zhao, Xiangzhong Luo, Yuheng Yang, Luri Nurlaila Syahid, Chi Chen, and Janice Ser Huay Lee
Biogeosciences, 21, 5393–5406, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5393-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5393-2024, 2024
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Southeast Asia has been a global hot spot of land-use change over the past 50 years. Meanwhile, it also hosts some of the most carbon-dense and diverse ecosystems in the world. Here, we explore the impact of land-use change, along with other environmental factors, on the ecosystem in Southeast Asia. We find that elevated CO2 imposed a positive impact on vegetation greenness, but the positive impact was largely offset by intensive land-use changes in the region, particularly cropland expansion.
Sabine Egerer, Stefanie Falk, Dorothea Mayer, Tobias Nützel, Wolfgang A. Obermeier, and Julia Pongratz
Biogeosciences, 21, 5005–5025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5005-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5005-2024, 2024
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Using a state-of-the-art land model, we find that bioenergy plants can store carbon more efficiently than forests over long periods in the soil, in geological reservoirs, or by substituting fossil-fuel-based energy. Planting forests is more suitable for reaching climate targets by 2050. The carbon removal potential depends also on local environmental conditions. These considerations have important implications for climate policy, spatial planning, nature conservation, and agriculture.
Basil Kraft, Jacob A. Nelson, Sophia Walther, Fabian Gans, Ulrich Weber, Gregory Duveiller, Markus Reichstein, Weijie Zhang, Marc Rußwurm, Devis Tuia, Marco Körner, Zayd Mahmoud Hamdi, and Martin Jung
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2896, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2896, 2024
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Global evapotranspiration (ET) can be estimated using machine learning (ML) models optimized on local data and applied to global data. This study explores whether sequential neural networks, which consider past data, perform better than models that do not. The findings show that sequential models struggle with global upscaling, likely due to their sensitivity to data shifts from local to global scales. To improve ML-based upscaling, additional data or integration of physical knowledge is needed.
Arta Bārdule, Raija Laiho, Jyrki Jauhiainen, Kaido Soosaar, Andis Lazdiņš, Kęstutis Armolaitis, Aldis Butlers, Dovilė Čiuldienė, Andreas Haberl, Ain Kull, Milda Muraškienė, Ivika Ostonen, Gristin Rohula-Okunev, Muhammad Kamil-Sardar, Thomas Schindler, Hanna Vahter, Egidijus Vigricas, and Ieva Līcīte
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2523, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2523, 2024
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Estimates of CO2 fluxes from drained nutrient-rich organic soils in cropland and grassland in the hemiboreal region of Europe revealed that annual net CO2 fluxes were lower than the latest (2014) IPCC emission factors provided for the whole temperate zone including hemiboreal region. Contribution of CO2 fluxes from shallow highly decomposed organic soils, former peatlands that no longer meet the IPCC criterion for organic soils, to total emissions can be high and should not be underestimated.
Elin Ristorp Aas, Inge Althuizen, Hui Tang, Sonya Geange, Eva Lieungh, Vigdis Vandvik, and Terje Koren Berntsen
Biogeosciences, 21, 3789–3817, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3789-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3789-2024, 2024
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We used a soil model to replicate two litterbag decomposition experiments to examine the implications of climate, litter quality, and soil microclimate representation. We found that macroclimate was more important than litter quality for modeled mass loss. By comparing different representations of soil temperature and moisture we found that using observed data did not improve model results. We discuss causes for this and suggest possible improvements to both the model and experimental design.
Rebecca M. Varney, Pierre Friedlingstein, Sarah E. Chadburn, Eleanor J. Burke, and Peter M. Cox
Biogeosciences, 21, 2759–2776, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2759-2024, 2024
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Soil carbon is the largest store of carbon on the land surface of Earth and is known to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Understanding this future response is vital to successfully meeting Paris Agreement targets, which rely heavily on carbon uptake by the land surface. In this study, the individual responses of soil carbon are quantified and compared amongst CMIP6 Earth system models used within the most recent IPCC report, and the role of soils in the land response is highlighted.
Juliëtte C. S. Anema, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Piet Stammes, Gerbrand Koren, William Woodgate, Philipp Köhler, Christian Frankenberg, and Jacqui Stol
Biogeosciences, 21, 2297–2311, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2297-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2297-2024, 2024
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To keep the Paris agreement goals within reach, negative emissions are necessary. They can be achieved with mitigation techniques, such as reforestation, which remove CO2 from the atmosphere. While governments have pinned their hopes on them, there is not yet a good set of tools to objectively determine whether negative emissions do what they promise. Here we show how satellite measurements of plant fluorescence are useful in detecting carbon uptake due to reforestation and vegetation regrowth.
Martin Jung, Jacob Nelson, Mirco Migliavacca, Tarek El-Madany, Dario Papale, Markus Reichstein, Sophia Walther, and Thomas Wutzler
Biogeosciences, 21, 1827–1846, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1827-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1827-2024, 2024
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We present a methodology to detect inconsistencies in perhaps the most important data source for measurements of ecosystem–atmosphere carbon, water, and energy fluxes. We expect that the derived consistency flags will be relevant for data users and will help in improving our understanding of and our ability to model ecosystem–climate interactions.
Matteo Mastropierro, Daniele Peano, and Davide Zanchettin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-823, 2024
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We address how different ESMs represent vegetation productivity, in terms of carbon fluxes, within the Amazon basin. By statistically assessing the role of climatological and model specific factors that influence vegetation, we showed that surface energy fluxes and the implementation of Phosphorous limitation resulted to be the main drivers of model uncertainties in a future scenario. Reducing these uncertainties allows to increase the reliability of tropical land carbon and climate projections
Prajwal Khanal, Anne J. Hoek Van Dijke, Timo Schaffhauser, Wantong Li, Sinikka J. Paulus, Chunhui Zhan, and René Orth
Biogeosciences, 21, 1533–1547, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1533-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1533-2024, 2024
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Water availability is essential for vegetation functioning, but the depth of vegetation water uptake is largely unknown due to sparse ground measurements. This study correlates vegetation growth with soil moisture availability globally to infer vegetation water uptake depth using only satellite-based data. We find that the vegetation water uptake depth varies across climate regimes and vegetation types and also changes during dry months at a global scale.
Anna-Maria Virkkala, Pekka Niittynen, Julia Kemppinen, Maija E. Marushchak, Carolina Voigt, Geert Hensgens, Johanna Kerttula, Konsta Happonen, Vilna Tyystjärvi, Christina Biasi, Jenni Hultman, Janne Rinne, and Miska Luoto
Biogeosciences, 21, 335–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-335-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-335-2024, 2024
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Arctic greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O are important for climate feedbacks. We combined extensive in situ measurements and remote sensing data to develop machine-learning models to predict GHG fluxes at a 2 m resolution across a tundra landscape. The analysis revealed that the system was a net GHG sink and showed widespread CH4 uptake in upland vegetation types, almost surpassing the high wetland CH4 emissions at the landscape scale.
Thomas Baer, Gerhard Furrer, Stephan Zimmermann, and Patrick Schleppi
Biogeosciences, 20, 4577–4589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4577-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4577-2023, 2023
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Nitrogen (N) deposition to forest ecosystems is a matter of concern because it affects their nutrient status and makes their soil acidic. We observed an ongoing acidification in a montane forest in central Switzerland even if the subsoil of this site contains carbonates and is thus well buffered. We experimentally added N to simulate a higher pollution, and this increased the acidification. After 25 years of study, however, we can see the first signs of recovery, also under higher N deposition.
Huiying Xu, Han Wang, Iain Colin Prentice, and Sandy P. Harrison
Biogeosciences, 20, 4511–4525, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4511-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4511-2023, 2023
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Leaf carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are crucial elements in leaf construction and physiological processes. This study reconciled the roles of phylogeny, species identity, and climate in stoichiometric traits at individual and community levels. The variations in community-level leaf N and C : N ratio were captured by optimality-based models using climate data. Our results provide an approach to improve the representation of leaf stoichiometry in vegetation models to better couple N with C cycling.
István Dunkl, Nicole Lovenduski, Alessio Collalti, Vivek K. Arora, Tatiana Ilyina, and Victor Brovkin
Biogeosciences, 20, 3523–3538, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3523-2023, 2023
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Despite differences in the reproduction of gross primary productivity (GPP) by Earth system models (ESMs), ESMs have similar predictability of the global carbon cycle. We found that, although GPP variability originates from different regions and is driven by different climatic variables across the ESMs, the ESMs rely on the same mechanisms to predict their own GPP. This shows that the predictability of the carbon cycle is limited by our understanding of variability rather than predictability.
David T. Milodowski, T. Luke Smallman, and Mathew Williams
Biogeosciences, 20, 3301–3327, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3301-2023, 2023
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Model–data fusion (MDF) allows us to combine ecosystem models with Earth observation data. Fragmented landscapes, with a mosaic of contrasting ecosystems, pose a challenge for MDF. We develop a novel MDF framework to estimate the carbon balance of fragmented landscapes and show the importance of accounting for ecosystem heterogeneity to prevent scale-dependent bias in estimated carbon fluxes, disturbance fluxes in particular, and to improve ecological fidelity of the calibrated models.
Keri L. Bowering, Kate A. Edwards, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 20, 2189–2206, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2189-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2189-2023, 2023
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Dissolved organic matter (DOM) mobilized from surface soils is a source of carbon (C) for deeper mineral horizons but also a mechanism of C loss. Composition of DOM mobilized in boreal forests varied more by season than as a result of forest harvesting. Results suggest reduced snowmelt and increased fall precipitation enhance DOM properties promoting mineral soil C stores. These findings, coupled with hydrology, can inform on soil C fate and boreal forest C balance in response to climate change.
Bharat Sharma, Jitendra Kumar, Auroop R. Ganguly, and Forrest M. Hoffman
Biogeosciences, 20, 1829–1841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1829-2023, 2023
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Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide increases vegetation growth and causes more heatwaves and droughts. The impact of such climate extremes is detrimental to terrestrial carbon uptake capacity. We found that due to overall climate warming, about 88 % of the world's regions towards the end of 2100 will show anomalous losses in net biospheric productivity (NBP) rather than gains. More than 50 % of all negative NBP extremes were driven by the compound effect of dry, hot, and fire conditions.
Britta Greenshields, Barbara von der Lühe, Felix Schwarz, Harold J. Hughes, Aiyen Tjoa, Martyna Kotowska, Fabian Brambach, and Daniela Sauer
Biogeosciences, 20, 1259–1276, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1259-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1259-2023, 2023
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Silicon (Si) can have multiple beneficial effects on crops such as oil palms. In this study, we quantified Si concentrations in various parts of an oil palm (leaflets, rachises, fruit-bunch parts) to derive Si storage estimates for the total above-ground biomass of an oil palm and 1 ha of an oil-palm plantation. We proposed a Si balance by identifying Si return (via palm fronds) and losses (via harvest) in the system and recommend management measures that enhance Si cycling.
Luisa Schmidt, Matthias Forkel, Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Samuel Scherrer, Wouter A. Dorigo, Alexander Kuhn-Régnier, Robin van der Schalie, and Marta Yebra
Biogeosciences, 20, 1027–1046, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1027-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1027-2023, 2023
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Vegetation attenuates natural microwave emissions from the land surface. The strength of this attenuation is quantified as the vegetation optical depth (VOD) parameter and is influenced by the vegetation mass, structure, water content, and observation wavelength. Here we model the VOD signal as a multi-variate function of several descriptive vegetation variables. The results help in understanding the effects of ecosystem properties on VOD.
Nagham Tabaja, David Amouroux, Lamis Chalak, François Fourel, Emmanuel Tessier, Ihab Jomaa, Milad El Riachy, and Ilham Bentaleb
Biogeosciences, 20, 619–633, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-619-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-619-2023, 2023
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This study investigates the seasonality of the mercury (Hg) concentration of olive trees. Hg concentrations of foliage, stems, soil surface, and litter were analyzed on a monthly basis in ancient olive trees growing in two groves in Lebanon. Our study draws an adequate baseline for the eastern Mediterranean and for the region with similar climatic inventories on Hg vegetation uptake in addition to being a baseline for new studies on olive trees in the Mediterranean.
Allison N. Myers-Pigg, Karl Kaiser, Ronald Benner, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 20, 489–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-489-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-489-2023, 2023
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Boreal forests, historically a global sink for atmospheric CO2, store carbon in vast soil reservoirs. To predict how such stores will respond to climate warming we need to understand climate–ecosystem feedbacks. We find boreal forest soil carbon stores are maintained through enhanced nitrogen cycling with climate warming, providing direct evidence for a key feedback. Further application of the approach demonstrated here will improve our understanding of the limits of climate–ecosystem feedbacks.
Matthew P. Dannenberg, Mallory L. Barnes, William K. Smith, Miriam R. Johnston, Susan K. Meerdink, Xian Wang, Russell L. Scott, and Joel A. Biederman
Biogeosciences, 20, 383–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-383-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-383-2023, 2023
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Earth's drylands provide ecosystem services to many people and will likely be strongly affected by climate change, but it is quite challenging to monitor the productivity and water use of dryland plants with satellites. We developed and tested an approach for estimating dryland vegetation activity using machine learning to combine information from multiple satellite sensors. Our approach excelled at estimating photosynthesis and water use largely due to the inclusion of satellite soil moisture.
Mark Pickering, Alessandro Cescatti, and Gregory Duveiller
Biogeosciences, 19, 4833–4864, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4833-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4833-2022, 2022
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This study explores two of the most recent products in carbon productivity estimation, FLUXCOM gross primary productivity (GPP), calculated by upscaling local measurements of CO2 exchange, and remotely sensed sun-induced chlorophyll a fluorescence (SIF). High-resolution SIF data are valuable in demonstrating similarity in the SIF–GPP relationship between vegetation covers, provide an independent probe of the FLUXCOM GPP model and demonstrate the response of SIF to meteorological fluctuations.
Sophia Walther, Simon Besnard, Jacob Allen Nelson, Tarek Sebastian El-Madany, Mirco Migliavacca, Ulrich Weber, Nuno Carvalhais, Sofia Lorena Ermida, Christian Brümmer, Frederik Schrader, Anatoly Stanislavovich Prokushkin, Alexey Vasilevich Panov, and Martin Jung
Biogeosciences, 19, 2805–2840, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2805-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2805-2022, 2022
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Satellite observations help interpret station measurements of local carbon, water, and energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere and are indispensable for simulations of the same in land surface models and their evaluation. We propose generalisable and efficient approaches to systematically ensure high quality and to estimate values in data gaps. We apply them to satellite data of surface reflectance and temperature with different resolutions at the stations.
Elisabeth Mauclet, Yannick Agnan, Catherine Hirst, Arthur Monhonval, Benoît Pereira, Aubry Vandeuren, Maëlle Villani, Justin Ledman, Meghan Taylor, Briana L. Jasinski, Edward A. G. Schuur, and Sophie Opfergelt
Biogeosciences, 19, 2333–2351, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2333-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2333-2022, 2022
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Arctic warming and permafrost degradation largely affect tundra vegetation. Wetter lowlands show an increase in sedges, whereas drier uplands favor shrub expansion. Here, we demonstrate that the difference in the foliar elemental composition of typical tundra vegetation species controls the change in local foliar elemental stock and potential mineral element cycling through litter production upon a shift in tundra vegetation.
Tiexi Chen, Renjie Guo, Qingyun Yan, Xin Chen, Shengjie Zhou, Chuanzhuang Liang, Xueqiong Wei, and Han Dolman
Biogeosciences, 19, 1515–1525, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1515-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1515-2022, 2022
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Currently people are very concerned about vegetation changes and their driving factors, including natural and anthropogenic drivers. In this study, a general browning trend is found in Syria during 2001–2018, indicated by the vegetation index. We found that land management caused by social unrest is the main cause of this browning phenomenon. The mechanism initially reported here highlights the importance of land management impacts at the regional scale.
Lina Teckentrup, Martin G. De Kauwe, Andrew J. Pitman, Daniel S. Goll, Vanessa Haverd, Atul K. Jain, Emilie Joetzjer, Etsushi Kato, Sebastian Lienert, Danica Lombardozzi, Patrick C. McGuire, Joe R. Melton, Julia E. M. S. Nabel, Julia Pongratz, Stephen Sitch, Anthony P. Walker, and Sönke Zaehle
Biogeosciences, 18, 5639–5668, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5639-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5639-2021, 2021
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The Australian continent is included in global assessments of the carbon cycle such as the global carbon budget, yet the performance of dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) over Australia has rarely been evaluated. We assessed simulations by an ensemble of dynamic global vegetation models over Australia and highlighted a number of key areas that lead to model divergence on both short (inter-annual) and long (decadal) timescales.
Juhwan Lee, Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel, Mingxi Zhang, Zhongkui Luo, and Ying-Ping Wang
Biogeosciences, 18, 5185–5202, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5185-2021, 2021
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We performed Roth C simulations across Australia and assessed the response of soil carbon to changing inputs and future climate change using a consistent modelling framework. Site-specific initialisation of the C pools with measurements of the C fractions is essential for accurate simulations of soil organic C stocks and composition at a large scale. With further warming, Australian soils will become more vulnerable to C loss: natural environments > native grazing > cropping > modified grazing.
Anam M. Khan, Paul C. Stoy, James T. Douglas, Martha Anderson, George Diak, Jason A. Otkin, Christopher Hain, Elizabeth M. Rehbein, and Joel McCorkel
Biogeosciences, 18, 4117–4141, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4117-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4117-2021, 2021
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Remote sensing has played an important role in the study of land surface processes. Geostationary satellites, such as the GOES-R series, can observe the Earth every 5–15 min, providing us with more observations than widely used polar-orbiting satellites. Here, we outline current efforts utilizing geostationary observations in environmental science and look towards the future of GOES observations in the carbon cycle, ecosystem disturbance, and other areas of application in environmental science.
Lydia Stolpmann, Caroline Coch, Anne Morgenstern, Julia Boike, Michael Fritz, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Yury Dvornikov, Birgit Heim, Josefine Lenz, Amy Larsen, Katey Walter Anthony, Benjamin Jones, Karen Frey, and Guido Grosse
Biogeosciences, 18, 3917–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, 2021
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Our new database summarizes DOC concentrations of 2167 water samples from 1833 lakes in permafrost regions across the Arctic to provide insights into linkages between DOC and environment. We found increasing lake DOC concentration with decreasing permafrost extent and higher DOC concentrations in boreal permafrost sites compared to tundra sites. Our study shows that DOC concentration depends on the environmental properties of a lake, especially permafrost extent, ecoregion, and vegetation.
Gustaf Granath, Christopher D. Evans, Joachim Strengbom, Jens Fölster, Achim Grelle, Johan Strömqvist, and Stephan J. Köhler
Biogeosciences, 18, 3243–3261, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3243-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3243-2021, 2021
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We measured element losses and impacts on water quality following a wildfire in Sweden. We observed the largest carbon and nitrogen losses during the fire and a strong pulse of elements 1–3 months after the fire that showed a fast (weeks) and a slow (months) release from the catchments. Total carbon export through water did not increase post-fire. Overall, we observed a rapid recovery of the biogeochemical cycling of elements within 3 years but still an annual net release of carbon dioxide.
Lina Teckentrup, Martin G. De Kauwe, Andrew J. Pitman, and Benjamin Smith
Biogeosciences, 18, 2181–2203, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2181-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2181-2021, 2021
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The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) describes changes in the sea surface temperature patterns of the Pacific Ocean. This influences the global weather, impacting vegetation on land. There are two types of El Niño: central Pacific (CP) and eastern Pacific (EP). In this study, we explored the long-term impacts on the carbon balance on land linked to the two El Niño types. Using a dynamic vegetation model, we simulated what would happen if only either CP or EP El Niño events had occurred.
Matthias Volk, Matthias Suter, Anne-Lena Wahl, and Seraina Bassin
Biogeosciences, 18, 2075–2090, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2075-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2075-2021, 2021
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Grassland ecosystem services like forage production and greenhouse gas storage in the soil depend on plant growth.
In an experiment in the mountains with warming treatments, we found that despite dwindling soil water content, the grassland growth increased with up to +1.3 °C warming (annual mean) compared to present temperatures. Even at +2.4 °C the growth was still larger than at the reference site.
This suggests that plant growth will increase due to global warming in the near future.
Bernice C. Hwang and Daniel B. Metcalfe
Biogeosciences, 18, 1259–1268, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1259-2021, 2021
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Despite growing recognition of herbivores as important ecosystem engineers, many major gaps remain in our understanding of how silicon and herbivory interact to shape biogeochemical processes. We highlight the need for more research particularly in natural settings as well as on the potential effects of herbivory on terrestrial silicon cycling to understand potentially critical animal–plant–soil feedbacks.
Ali Asaadi and Vivek K. Arora
Biogeosciences, 18, 669–706, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-669-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-669-2021, 2021
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More than a quarter of the current anthropogenic CO2 emissions are taken up by land, reducing the atmospheric CO2 growth rate. This is because of the CO2 fertilization effect which benefits 80 % of global vegetation. However, if nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients cannot keep up with increasing atmospheric CO2, the magnitude of this terrestrial ecosystem service may reduce in future. This paper implements nitrogen constraints on photosynthesis in a model to understand the mechanisms involved.
Arianna Peron, Lisa Kaser, Anne Charlott Fitzky, Martin Graus, Heidi Halbwirth, Jürgen Greiner, Georg Wohlfahrt, Boris Rewald, Hans Sandén, and Thomas Karl
Biogeosciences, 18, 535–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-535-2021, 2021
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Drought events are expected to become more frequent with climate change. Along with these events atmospheric ozone is also expected to increase. Both can stress plants. Here we investigate to what extent these factors modulate the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from oak plants. We find an antagonistic effect between drought stress and ozone, impacting the emission of different BVOCs, which is indirectly controlled by stomatal opening, allowing plants to control their water budget.
Lena Wohlgemuth, Stefan Osterwalder, Carl Joseph, Ansgar Kahmen, Günter Hoch, Christine Alewell, and Martin Jiskra
Biogeosciences, 17, 6441–6456, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6441-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6441-2020, 2020
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Mercury uptake by trees from the air represents an important but poorly quantified pathway in the global mercury cycle. We determined mercury uptake fluxes by leaves and needles at 10 European forests which were 4 times larger than mercury deposition via rainfall. The amount of mercury taken up by leaves and needles depends on their age and growing height on the tree. Scaling up our measurements to the forest area of Europe, we estimate that each year 20 t of mercury is taken up by trees.
A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, Junjie Liu, Alexandra G. Konings, John R. Worden, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Victoria Meyer, John T. Reager, Helen M. Worden, Zhe Jiang, Gregory R. Quetin, T. Luke Smallman, Jean-François Exbrayat, Yi Yin, Sassan S. Saatchi, Mathew Williams, and David S. Schimel
Biogeosciences, 17, 6393–6422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, 2020
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We use a model of the 2001–2015 tropical land carbon cycle, with satellite measurements of land and atmospheric carbon, to disentangle lagged and concurrent effects (due to past and concurrent meteorological events, respectively) on annual land–atmosphere carbon exchanges. The variability of lagged effects explains most 2001–2015 inter-annual carbon flux variations. We conclude that concurrent and lagged effects need to be accurately resolved to better predict the world's land carbon sink.
Erqian Cui, Chenyu Bian, Yiqi Luo, Shuli Niu, Yingping Wang, and Jianyang Xia
Biogeosciences, 17, 6237–6246, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6237-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6237-2020, 2020
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Mean annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is related to the magnitude of the carbon sink of a specific ecosystem, while its inter-annual variation (IAVNEP) characterizes the stability of such a carbon sink. Thus, a better understanding of the co-varying NEP and IAVNEP is critical for locating the major and stable carbon sinks on land. Based on daily NEP observations from eddy-covariance sites, we found local indicators for the spatially varying NEP and IAVNEP, respectively.
Taraka Davies-Barnard, Johannes Meyerholt, Sönke Zaehle, Pierre Friedlingstein, Victor Brovkin, Yuanchao Fan, Rosie A. Fisher, Chris D. Jones, Hanna Lee, Daniele Peano, Benjamin Smith, David Wårlind, and Andy J. Wiltshire
Biogeosciences, 17, 5129–5148, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5129-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5129-2020, 2020
Rui Cheng, Troy S. Magney, Debsunder Dutta, David R. Bowling, Barry A. Logan, Sean P. Burns, Peter D. Blanken, Katja Grossmann, Sophia Lopez, Andrew D. Richardson, Jochen Stutz, and Christian Frankenberg
Biogeosciences, 17, 4523–4544, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4523-2020, 2020
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We measured reflected sunlight from an evergreen canopy for a year to detect changes in pigments that play an important role in regulating the seasonality of photosynthesis. Results show a strong mechanistic link between spectral reflectance features and pigment content, which is validated using a biophysical model. Our results show spectrally where, why, and when spectral features change over the course of the season and show promise for estimating photosynthesis remotely.
Jarmo Mäkelä, Francesco Minunno, Tuula Aalto, Annikki Mäkelä, Tiina Markkanen, and Mikko Peltoniemi
Biogeosciences, 17, 2681–2700, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2681-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2681-2020, 2020
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We assess the relative magnitude of uncertainty sources on ecosystem indicators of the 21st century climate change on two boreal forest sites. In addition to RCP and climate model uncertainties, we included the overlooked model parameter uncertainty and management actions in our analysis. Management was the dominant uncertainty factor for the more verdant southern site, followed by RCP, climate and parameter uncertainties. The uncertainties were estimated with canonical correlation analysis.
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Short summary
The MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) product underestimates tree cover compared to field data and could be underestimating tree cover significantly across the tropics. VCF is used to represent land cover or validate model performance in many land surface and global vegetation models and to train finer-scaled Earth observation products. Because underestimation in VCF may render it unsuitable for training data and bias model predictions, it should be calibrated before use in the tropics.
The MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) product underestimates tree cover compared to field...
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