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Informing climate models with rapid chamber measurements of forest carbon uptake

Metcalfe, Daniel B. LU ; Ricciuto, Daniel ; Palmroth, Sari ; Campbell, Catherine ; Hurry, Vaughan ; Mao, Jiafu ; Keel, Sonja G. ; Linder, Sune ; Shi, Xiaoying and Näsholm, Torgny , et al. (2017) In Global Change Biology 23(5). p.2130-2139
Abstract

Models predicting ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange under future climate change rely on relatively few real-world tests of their assumptions and outputs. Here, we demonstrate a rapid and cost-effective method to estimate CO2 exchange from intact vegetation patches under varying atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We find that net ecosystem CO2 uptake (NEE) in a boreal forest rose linearly by 4.7 ± 0.2% of the current ambient rate for every 10 ppm CO2 increase, with no detectable influence of foliar biomass, season, or nitrogen (N) fertilization. The lack of any clear short-term NEE response to fertilization in such an N-limited system is inconsistent with the... (More)

Models predicting ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange under future climate change rely on relatively few real-world tests of their assumptions and outputs. Here, we demonstrate a rapid and cost-effective method to estimate CO2 exchange from intact vegetation patches under varying atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We find that net ecosystem CO2 uptake (NEE) in a boreal forest rose linearly by 4.7 ± 0.2% of the current ambient rate for every 10 ppm CO2 increase, with no detectable influence of foliar biomass, season, or nitrogen (N) fertilization. The lack of any clear short-term NEE response to fertilization in such an N-limited system is inconsistent with the instantaneous downregulation of photosynthesis formalized in many global models. Incorporating an alternative mechanism with considerable empirical support – diversion of excess carbon to storage compounds – into an existing earth system model brings the model output into closer agreement with our field measurements. A global simulation incorporating this modified model reduces a long-standing mismatch between the modeled and observed seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO2. Wider application of this chamber approach would provide critical data needed to further improve modeled projections of biosphere–atmosphere CO2 exchange in a changing climate.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
boreal forest, earth system model, model-data integration, nutrient limitation, photosynthetic downregulation, Pinus sylvestris
in
Global Change Biology
volume
23
issue
5
pages
10 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:84983568243
  • pmid:27490439
ISSN
1354-1013
DOI
10.1111/gcb.13451
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ab4f2490-0f75-4e57-8cf2-fc412d503ba3
date added to LUP
2018-04-06 18:34:10
date last changed
2024-05-13 07:59:44
@article{ab4f2490-0f75-4e57-8cf2-fc412d503ba3,
  abstract     = {{<p>Models predicting ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) exchange under future climate change rely on relatively few real-world tests of their assumptions and outputs. Here, we demonstrate a rapid and cost-effective method to estimate CO<sub>2</sub> exchange from intact vegetation patches under varying atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations<sub>.</sub> We find that net ecosystem CO<sub>2</sub> uptake (NEE) in a boreal forest rose linearly by 4.7 ± 0.2% of the current ambient rate for every 10 ppm CO<sub>2</sub> increase, with no detectable influence of foliar biomass, season, or nitrogen (N) fertilization. The lack of any clear short-term NEE response to fertilization in such an N-limited system is inconsistent with the instantaneous downregulation of photosynthesis formalized in many global models. Incorporating an alternative mechanism with considerable empirical support – diversion of excess carbon to storage compounds – into an existing earth system model brings the model output into closer agreement with our field measurements. A global simulation incorporating this modified model reduces a long-standing mismatch between the modeled and observed seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>. Wider application of this chamber approach would provide critical data needed to further improve modeled projections of biosphere–atmosphere CO<sub>2</sub> exchange in a changing climate.</p>}},
  author       = {{Metcalfe, Daniel B. and Ricciuto, Daniel and Palmroth, Sari and Campbell, Catherine and Hurry, Vaughan and Mao, Jiafu and Keel, Sonja G. and Linder, Sune and Shi, Xiaoying and Näsholm, Torgny and Ohlsson, Klas E.A. and Blackburn, M. and Thornton, Peter E. and Oren, Ram}},
  issn         = {{1354-1013}},
  keywords     = {{boreal forest; earth system model; model-data integration; nutrient limitation; photosynthetic downregulation; Pinus sylvestris}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{2130--2139}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Global Change Biology}},
  title        = {{Informing climate models with rapid chamber measurements of forest carbon uptake}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13451}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/gcb.13451}},
  volume       = {{23}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}