scholarly journals How close are we to the temperature tipping point of the terrestrial biosphere?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. eaay1052
Author(s):  
Katharyn A. Duffy ◽  
Christopher R. Schwalm ◽  
Vickery L. Arcus ◽  
George W. Koch ◽  
Liyin L. Liang ◽  
...  

The temperature dependence of global photosynthesis and respiration determine land carbon sink strength. While the land sink currently mitigates ~30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions, it is unclear whether this ecosystem service will persist and, more specifically, what hard temperature limits, if any, regulate carbon uptake. Here, we use the largest continuous carbon flux monitoring network to construct the first observationally derived temperature response curves for global land carbon uptake. We show that the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (3-month period) passed the thermal maximum for photosynthesis during the past decade. At higher temperatures, respiration rates continue to rise in contrast to sharply declining rates of photosynthesis. Under business-as-usual emissions, this divergence elicits a near halving of the land sink strength by as early as 2040.

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 803-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. J. Jacobs ◽  
A. F. G. Jacobs ◽  
F. C. Bosveld ◽  
D. M. D. Hendriks ◽  
A. Hensen ◽  
...  

Abstract. An intercomparison is made of the Net Ecosystem Exchange of CO2, NEE, for eight Dutch grassland sites: four natural grasslands, two production grasslands and two meteorological stations within a rotational grassland region. At all sites the NEE was determined during at least 10 months per site, using the eddy-covariance (EC) technique, but in different years. The NEE does not include any import or export other than CO2. The photosynthesis-light response analysis technique is used along with the respiration-temperature response technique to partition NEE into Gross Primary Production (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (Re) and to obtain the eco-physiological characteristics of the sites at the field scale. Annual sums of NEE, GPP and Re are then estimated using the fitted response curves with observed radiation and air temperature from a meteorological site in the centre of The Netherlands as drivers. These calculations are carried out for four years (2002–2005). Land use and management histories are not considered. The estimated annual Re for all individual sites is more or less constant per site and the average for all sites amounts to 1390±30 gC m−2 a−1. The narrow uncertainty band (±2%) reflects the small differences in the mean annual air temperature. The mean annual GPP was estimated to be 1325 g C m−2 a−1, and displays a much higher standard deviation, of ±110 gC m−2 a−1 (8%), which reflects the relatively large variation in annual solar radiation. The mean annual NEE amounts to –65±85 gC m−2 a−1. From two sites, four-year records of CO2 flux were available and analyzed (2002–2005). Using the weather record of 2005 with optimizations from the other years, the standard deviation of annual GPP was estimated to be 171–206 gC m−2 a−1 (8–14%), of annual Re 227–247 gC m−2 a−1 (14–16%) and of annual NEE 176–276 gC m−2 a−1. The inter-site standard deviation was higher for GPP and Re, 534 gC m−2 a−1 (37.3%) and 486 gC m−2 a−1 (34.8%), respectively. However, the inter-site standard deviation of NEE was similar to the interannual one, amounting to 207 gC m−2 a−1. Large differences occur due to soil type. The grasslands on organic (peat) soils show a mean net release of CO2 of 220±90 g C m−2 a−1 while the grasslands on mineral (clay and sand) soils show a mean net uptake of CO2 of 90±90 g C m−2 a−1. If a weighing with the fraction of grassland on organic (20%) and mineral soils (80%) is applied, an average NEE of 28 ±90 g C m−2 a−1 is found. The results from the analysis illustrate the need for regionally specific and spatially explicit CO2 emission estimates from grassland.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1453-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Yuan ◽  
Y. Luo ◽  
S. Liang ◽  
G. Yu ◽  
S. Niu ◽  
...  

Abstract. Thermal adaptation of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration has been well documented over broad thermal gradients. However, no study has examined their interaction as a function of temperature, i.e. the thermal responses of net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE). In this study, we constructed temperature response curves of NEE against temperature using 380 site-years of eddy covariance data at 72 forest, grassland and shrubland ecosystems located at latitudes ranging from ~29° N to 64° N. The response curves were used to define two critical temperatures: transition temperature (Tb) at which ecosystem transfer from carbon source to sink and optimal temperature (To) at which carbon uptake is maximized. Tb was strongly correlated with annual mean air temperature. To was strongly correlated with mean temperature during the net carbon uptake period across the study ecosystems. Our results imply that the net ecosystem exchange of carbon adapts to the temperature across the geographical range due to intrinsic connections between vegetation primary production and ecosystem respiration.


2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (9) ◽  
pp. 273-280
Author(s):  
Annett Wolf

To assess the carbon sink capacity of Swiss forests, we summarize what is known about the carbon content of Swiss forests today, considering carbon stored in the trees as well as in soils. We explain briefly how climate influences carbon uptake and carbon emissions from forest ecosystems. Finally, we analyze simulation studies, which investigate the future development of carbon pools and fluxes in Swiss forests. We found that carbon stocks in Swiss forests are already high today, hence the growth potential that would lead to further carbon uptake is comparatively small. Still, within the next decades Swiss forests are likely to act as carbon sinks as long as management does not change dramatically. The afforestation of abandoned land and the change in treeline will be mainly responsible for the additional uptake of carbon. In the next decades, management decisions will influence the sink strength of Swiss forests more than climatic changes. In the long term, the sink capacity of forests is likely to decrease and in case of drastic climatic or management changes, the forests can even become large-scale carbon sources.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1499-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. J. Jacobs ◽  
A. F. G. Jacobs ◽  
F. C. Bosveld ◽  
D. M. D. Hendriks ◽  
A. Hensen ◽  
...  

Abstract. An intercomparison is made of the Net Ecosystem Exchange of CO2, NEE, for eight Dutch grassland sites; four natural grasslands, two production grasslands and two meteorological stations within a rotational grassland region. At all sites the NEE was determined during at least 10 months per site, using the eddy-covariance (EC) technique, but in different years. The photosynthesis-light response analysis technique is used along with the respiration-temperature response technique to partition NEE among Gross Primary Production (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (Re) and to obtain the eco-physiological characteristics of the sites at the field scale. Annual sums of NEE, GPP and Re are then estimated using the fitted response curves with observed radiation and air temperature from a meteorological site in the centre of The Netherlands as drivers. These calculations are carried out for four years (2002–2005). The estimated annual Re for all individual sites is more or less constant per site and the average for all sites amounts to 1390±30 gC m−2 a−1. The narrow uncertainty band (±2%) reflects the small differences in the mean annual air temperature. The mean annual GPP was estimated to be 1325 g C m−2 a−1, and displays a much higher standard deviation, of ±100 gC m−2 a−1 (8%), which reflects the relatively large variation in annual solar radiation. The mean annual NEE amounts to –65±85 gC m−2 a−1, which implies that on average the grasslands act as a source, with a relatively large standard deviation. From two sites, four-year records of CO2 flux were available and analyzed (2002–2005). Using the weather record of 2005 with optimizations from the other years, standard deviation of annual GPP was estimated to be 171–206 gC m−2 a−1 (8–14%), of annual Re 227–247 gC m−2 a−1 (14–16%) and of annual NEE 176–276 gC m−2 a−1. The inter-site standard deviation was higher for GPP and Re, 534 gC m−2 a−1 (37.3%) and 486 gC m−2 a−1 (34.8%), respectively. However, the inter-site standard deviation of NEE was similar to the interannual one, amounting to 207 gC m−2 a−1. Large differences occur due to soil type. The grasslands on organic (peat) soils show a mean net release of CO2 of 220±90 g C m−2 a−1 while the grasslands on mineral (clay and sand) soils show a mean net uptake of CO2 of 90±90 g C m−2 a−1. If a weighing with the fraction of grassland on organic (20%) and mineral soils (80%) is applied, an average NEE of 28±90 g C m−2 a−1 is found, which means that on average the Dutch grasslands behave like a small sink for CO2. The results from the analysis illustrate the need for regionally specific and spatially explicit CO2 emission estimates from grassland.


1967 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Jacob Koed ◽  
Christian Hamburger

ABSTRACT Comparison of the dose-response curves for LH of ovine origin (NIH-LH-S8) and of human origin (IRP-HMG-2) using the OAAD test showed a small, though statistically significant difference, the dose-response curve for LH of human origin being a little flatter. Two standard curves for ovine LH obtained with 14 months' interval, were parallel but at different levels of ovarian ascorbic acid. When the mean ascorbic acid depletions were calculated as percentages of the control levels, the two curves for NIH-LH-S8 were identical. The use of standards of human origin in the OAAD test for LH activity of human preparations is recommended.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Beckebanze ◽  
Zoé Rehder ◽  
David Holl ◽  
Charlotta Mirbach ◽  
Christian Wille ◽  
...  

Abstract. Arctic permafrost landscapes have functioned as a global carbon sink for millennia. These landscapes are very heterogeneous, and the omnipresent waterbodies are a carbon source within them. Yet, only a few studies focus on the impact of these waterbodies on the landscape carbon budget. We compare carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from small waterbodies to fluxes from the surrounding tundra using eddy covariance measurements from a tower located between a large pond and semi-terrestrial vegetated tundra. When taking the open-water areas of small waterbodies into account, the carbon dioxide sink strength of the landscape was reduced by 11 %. While open-water methane emissions were similar to the tundra emissions, some parts of the studied pond's shoreline exhibited much higher emissions, underlining the high spatial variability of methane emissions. We conclude that gas fluxes from small waterbodies can contribute significantly to the carbon budget of arctic tundra landscapes. Consequently, changes in arctic hydrology and the concomitant changes in the waterbody distribution may substantially impact the overall carbon budget of the Arctic.


Author(s):  
J. Antonio Guzmán Q. ◽  
G. Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa ◽  
Benoit Rivard

Leaf temperature (Tleaf) influences photosynthesis and respiration. Currently, there is a growing interest on including lianas in productivity models due to their increasing abundance, and their detrimental effects on net primary productivity in tropical environments. Therefore, understanding the differences of Tleaf between lianas and trees is important for future of forest on whole ecosystem productivity. Here we determined the displayed leaf temperature (Td= Tleaf – ambient temperature) of several species of lianas and their host trees during ENSO and non-ENSO years to evaluate if the presence of lianas affects the Td of their host trees, and if leaves of lianas and their host trees exhibit differences in Td. Our results suggest that close to midday, the presence of lianas does not affect the Td of their host trees; however, lianas tend to have higher values of Td than their hosts across seasons, in both ENSO and non-ENSO years. Although lianas and trees tend to have similar physiological-temperature responses, differences in Td could lead to significant differences in rates of photosynthesis and respiration based temperature response curves. Future models should thus consider differences in leaf temperature between these life forms to achieve robust predictions of productivity.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis M. Carrascal ◽  
Sara Villén-Pérez ◽  
David Palomino

Background. Availability of environmental energy, as measured by temperature, is expected to limit the abundance and distribution of endotherms wintering at temperate latitudes. A prediction of this hypothesis is that birds should attain their highest abundances in warmer areas. However, there may be a spatial mismatch between species preferred habitats and species preferred temperatures, so some species might end-up wintering in sub-optimal thermal environments. Methods. We model the influence of minimum winter temperature on the relative abundance of 106 terrestrial bird species wintering in peninsular Spain, at 10x10 Km2 resolution, using 95%-quantile regressions. We analyze general trends across species on the shape of the response curves, the environmental preferred temperature (at which the species abundance is maximized), the mean temperature in the area of distribution and the thermal breadth (area under the abundance-temperature curve). Results. There is a large interspecific variability on the thermal preferences and specialization of species. Despite this large variability, there is a preponderance of positive relationships between species abundance and temperature, and on average species attain their maximum abundances in areas 1.9 ºC warmer than the average temperature available in peninsular Spain. The mean temperature in the area of distribution is lower than the thermal preferences of the species, although both parameters are highly correlated. Discussion. Most species prefer the warmest environments to overwinter, which suggests that temperature imposes important restrictions to birds wintering in the Iberian Peninsula. However, most individuals overwinter in locations colder than the species thermal preferences, probably reflecting a limitation of environments combining habitat and thermal preferences. Beyond these general trends, there is a high inter-specific variation in the versatility of species using the available thermal space .


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