Process contributions of Australian ecosystems to interannual variations in the carbon cycle
(2016) In Environmental Research Letters 11(5).- Abstract
New evidence is emerging that semi-arid ecosystems dominate interannual variability (IAV) of the global carbon cycle, largely via fluctuating water availability associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Recent evidence from global terrestrial biosphere modelling and satellite-based inversion of atmospheric CO2 point to a large role of Australian ecosystems in global carbon cycle variability, including a large contribution from Australia to the record land sink of 2011. However the specific mechanisms governing this variability, and their bioclimatic distribution within Australia, have not been identified. Here we provide a regional assessment, based on best available observational data, of IAV in the Australian... (More)
New evidence is emerging that semi-arid ecosystems dominate interannual variability (IAV) of the global carbon cycle, largely via fluctuating water availability associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Recent evidence from global terrestrial biosphere modelling and satellite-based inversion of atmospheric CO2 point to a large role of Australian ecosystems in global carbon cycle variability, including a large contribution from Australia to the record land sink of 2011. However the specific mechanisms governing this variability, and their bioclimatic distribution within Australia, have not been identified. Here we provide a regional assessment, based on best available observational data, of IAV in the Australian terrestrial carbon cycle and the role of Australia in the record land sink anomaly of 2011. We find that IAV in Australian net carbon uptake is dominated by semi-arid ecosystems in the east of the continent, whereas the 2011 anomaly was more uniformly spread across most of the continent. Further, and in contrast to global modelling results suggesting that IAV in Australian net carbon uptake is amplified by lags between production and decomposition, we find that, at continental scale, annual variations in production are dampened by annual variations in decomposition, with both fluxes responding positively to precipitation anomalies.
(Less)
- author
- Haverd, Vanessa ; Smith, Benjamin LU and Trudinger, Cathy
- organization
- publishing date
- 2016-05-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Australia, global carbon cycle, interannual variability, net carbon uptake, net primary production, precipitation anomalies, semi-arid ecosystems
- in
- Environmental Research Letters
- volume
- 11
- issue
- 5
- article number
- 054013
- publisher
- IOP Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84975507050
- wos:000376484300013
- ISSN
- 1748-9326
- DOI
- 10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054013
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 029553ec-b898-4409-9e4b-ab086c72b42f
- date added to LUP
- 2016-10-11 17:09:18
- date last changed
- 2024-10-05 03:15:17
@article{029553ec-b898-4409-9e4b-ab086c72b42f,
abstract = {{<p>New evidence is emerging that semi-arid ecosystems dominate interannual variability (IAV) of the global carbon cycle, largely via fluctuating water availability associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Recent evidence from global terrestrial biosphere modelling and satellite-based inversion of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> point to a large role of Australian ecosystems in global carbon cycle variability, including a large contribution from Australia to the record land sink of 2011. However the specific mechanisms governing this variability, and their bioclimatic distribution within Australia, have not been identified. Here we provide a regional assessment, based on best available observational data, of IAV in the Australian terrestrial carbon cycle and the role of Australia in the record land sink anomaly of 2011. We find that IAV in Australian net carbon uptake is dominated by semi-arid ecosystems in the east of the continent, whereas the 2011 anomaly was more uniformly spread across most of the continent. Further, and in contrast to global modelling results suggesting that IAV in Australian net carbon uptake is amplified by lags between production and decomposition, we find that, at continental scale, annual variations in production are dampened by annual variations in decomposition, with both fluxes responding positively to precipitation anomalies.</p>}},
author = {{Haverd, Vanessa and Smith, Benjamin and Trudinger, Cathy}},
issn = {{1748-9326}},
keywords = {{Australia; global carbon cycle; interannual variability; net carbon uptake; net primary production; precipitation anomalies; semi-arid ecosystems}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{05}},
number = {{5}},
publisher = {{IOP Publishing}},
series = {{Environmental Research Letters}},
title = {{Process contributions of Australian ecosystems to interannual variations in the carbon cycle}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054013}},
doi = {{10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054013}},
volume = {{11}},
year = {{2016}},
}