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Abstract Carbon fluxes at the land‐atmosphere interface are strongly influenced by weather and climate conditions. Yet what is usually known as “climate extremes” does not always translate into very high or low carbon fluxes or so‐called “carbon extremes.” To reveal the patterns of how climate extremes influence terrestrial carbon fluxes, we analyzed the interannual variations in ecosystem carbon fluxes simulated by the Terrestrial Biosphere Models (TBMs) in the Inter‐Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. At the global level, TBMs simulated reduced ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP; 18.5 ± 9.3 g C m−2 yr−1), but enhanced heterotrophic respiration (Rh; 7 ± 4.6 g C m−2 yr−1) during extremely hot events. TBMs also simulated reduced NPP (60.9 ± 24.4 g C m−2 yr−1) and reduced Rh (16.5 ± 11.4 g C m−2 yr−1) during extreme dry events. Influences of precipitation extremes on terrestrial carbon uptake were larger in the arid/semiarid zones than other regions. During hot extremes, ecosystems in the low latitudes experienced a larger reduction in carbon uptake. However, a large fraction of carbon extremes did not occur in concert with either temperature or precipitation extremes. Rather these carbon extremes are likely to be caused by the interactive effects of the concurrent temperature and precipitation anomalies. The interactive effects showed considerable spatial variations with the largest effects on NPP in South America and Africa. Additionally, TBMs simulated a stronger sensitivity of ecosystem productivity to precipitation than satellite estimates. This study provides new insights into the complex ecosystem responses to climate extremes, especially the emergent properties of carbon dynamics resulting from compound climate extremes.
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Deeper topsoils enhance ecosystem productivity and climate resilience in arid regions, but not in humid regions
Abstract Understanding the controlling mechanisms of soil properties on ecosystem productivity is essential for sustaining productivity and increasing resilience under a changing climate. Here we investigate the control of topsoil depth (e.g., A horizons) on long‐term ecosystem productivity. We used nationwide observations (n = 2401) of topsoil depth and multiple scaled datasets of gross primary productivity (GPP) for five ecosystems (cropland, forest, grassland, pasture, shrubland) over 36 years (1986–2021) across the conterminous USA. The relationship between topsoil depth and GPP is primarily associated with water availability, which is particularly significant in arid regions under grassland, shrubland, and cropland (r = .37, .32, .15, respectively,p < .0001). For every 10 cm increase in topsoil depth, the GPP increased by 114 to 128 g C m−2 year−1in arid regions (r = .33 and .45,p < .0001). Paired comparison of relatively shallow and deep topsoils while holding other variables (climate, vegetation, parent material, soil type) constant showed that the positive control of topsoil depth on GPP occurred primarily in cropland (0.73, confidence interval of 0.57–0.84) and shrubland (0.75, confidence interval of 0.40–0.94). The GPP difference between deep and shallow topsoils was small and not statistically significant. Despite the positive control of topsoil depth on productivity in arid regions, its contribution (coefficients: .09–.33) was similar to that of heat (coefficients: .06–.39) but less than that of water (coefficients: .07–.87). The resilience of ecosystem productivity to climate extremes varied in different ecosystems and climatic regions. Deeper topsoils increased stability and decreased the variability of GPP under climate extremes in most ecosystems, especially in shrubland and grassland. The conservation of topsoil in arid regions and improvements of soil depth representation and moisture‐retention mechanisms are critical for carbon‐sequestration ecosystem services under a changing climate. These findings and relationships should also be included in Earth system models.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2017870
- PAR ID:
- 10464221
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Global Change Biology
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 23
- ISSN:
- 1354-1013
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 6794-6811
- Size(s):
- p. 6794-6811
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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