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Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming

Yun, Hanbo ; Ciais, Philippe ; Zhu, Qing ; Chen, Deliang ; Zohner, Constantin M. ; Tang, Jing LU orcid ; Qu, Yang ; Zhou, Hao LU orcid ; Schimel, Joshua and Zhu, Peng , et al. (2024) In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121(25).
Abstract

Permafrost regions contain approximately half of the carbon stored in land ecosystems and have warmed at least twice as much as any other biome. This warming has influenced vegetation activity, leading to changes in plant composition, physiology, and biomass storage in aboveground and belowground components, ultimately impacting ecosystem carbon balance. Yet, little is known about the causes and magnitude of long-term changes in the above- to belowground biomass ratio of plants (η). Here, we analyzed η values using 3,013 plots and 26,337 species-specific measurements across eight sites on the Tibetan Plateau from 1995 to 2021. Our analysis revealed distinct temporal trends in η for three vegetation types: a 17% increase in alpine... (More)

Permafrost regions contain approximately half of the carbon stored in land ecosystems and have warmed at least twice as much as any other biome. This warming has influenced vegetation activity, leading to changes in plant composition, physiology, and biomass storage in aboveground and belowground components, ultimately impacting ecosystem carbon balance. Yet, little is known about the causes and magnitude of long-term changes in the above- to belowground biomass ratio of plants (η). Here, we analyzed η values using 3,013 plots and 26,337 species-specific measurements across eight sites on the Tibetan Plateau from 1995 to 2021. Our analysis revealed distinct temporal trends in η for three vegetation types: a 17% increase in alpine wetlands, and a decrease of 26% and 48% in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, respectively. These trends were primarily driven by temperature-induced growth preferences rather than shifts in plant species composition. Our findings indicate that in wetter ecosystems, climate warming promotes aboveground plant growth, while in drier ecosystems, such as alpine meadows and alpine steppes, plants allocate more biomass belowground. Furthermore, we observed a threefold strengthening of the warming effect on η over the past 27 y. Soil moisture was found to modulate the sensitivity of η to soil temperature in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but not in alpine wetlands. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the processes driving the response of biomass distribution to climate warming, which is crucial for predicting the future carbon trajectory of permafrost ecosystems and climate feedback.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biomass allocation, carbon trajectory, climate warming, permafrost, vegetation adaptations
in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
volume
121
issue
25
article number
e2314036121
publisher
National Academy of Sciences
external identifiers
  • scopus:85195625347
  • pmid:38857391
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2314036121
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e1f5359c-7a2f-43fc-b592-ee8d4e33ee3b
date added to LUP
2024-08-21 11:00:48
date last changed
2024-08-22 03:12:20
@article{e1f5359c-7a2f-43fc-b592-ee8d4e33ee3b,
  abstract     = {{<p>Permafrost regions contain approximately half of the carbon stored in land ecosystems and have warmed at least twice as much as any other biome. This warming has influenced vegetation activity, leading to changes in plant composition, physiology, and biomass storage in aboveground and belowground components, ultimately impacting ecosystem carbon balance. Yet, little is known about the causes and magnitude of long-term changes in the above- to belowground biomass ratio of plants (η). Here, we analyzed η values using 3,013 plots and 26,337 species-specific measurements across eight sites on the Tibetan Plateau from 1995 to 2021. Our analysis revealed distinct temporal trends in η for three vegetation types: a 17% increase in alpine wetlands, and a decrease of 26% and 48% in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, respectively. These trends were primarily driven by temperature-induced growth preferences rather than shifts in plant species composition. Our findings indicate that in wetter ecosystems, climate warming promotes aboveground plant growth, while in drier ecosystems, such as alpine meadows and alpine steppes, plants allocate more biomass belowground. Furthermore, we observed a threefold strengthening of the warming effect on η over the past 27 y. Soil moisture was found to modulate the sensitivity of η to soil temperature in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but not in alpine wetlands. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the processes driving the response of biomass distribution to climate warming, which is crucial for predicting the future carbon trajectory of permafrost ecosystems and climate feedback.</p>}},
  author       = {{Yun, Hanbo and Ciais, Philippe and Zhu, Qing and Chen, Deliang and Zohner, Constantin M. and Tang, Jing and Qu, Yang and Zhou, Hao and Schimel, Joshua and Zhu, Peng and Shao, Ming and Christensen, Jens Hesselbjerg and Wu, Qingbai and Chen, Anping and Elberling, Bo}},
  issn         = {{0027-8424}},
  keywords     = {{biomass allocation; carbon trajectory; climate warming; permafrost; vegetation adaptations}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{25}},
  publisher    = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}},
  title        = {{Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2314036121}},
  doi          = {{10.1073/pnas.2314036121}},
  volume       = {{121}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}