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Forest dynamics need to be considered when estimating the global carbon budget. The alteration of forest structure and function under a changing climate and expanding human activity could lead to a reduction of forest canopy cover and a spread of lower-biomass ecosystems in warm and dry regions. A non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) acts as a storage buffer between carbon supplied by assimilation and carbon consumed by, inter alia, respiration, reproduction, and pests. Estimation of NSC concentrations in a tree is very important for accurate projection of future forest dynamics. We developed a new NSC module for incorporation into a spatially explicit individual-based dynamic global vegetation model (SEIB-DGVM) to validate the simulated NSC dynamics with observations. NSC pools were simulated in three plant organs: leaves, trunk, and roots. The seasonal dynamics of the NSCs varied among plant species, and the sizes of the NSC pools inferred from observations differed between the boreal, temperate, and tropical climates. The NSC models were therefore validated for each of the three climatic regions at both point and global scales to assess the performance of the models. The modeled NSCs showed good agreement in seasonality with the observed NSCs at four sites – Canada (boreal), Austria and Switzerland (temperate), and Panama (tropical) – and in mean values for three climate zones derived from the global NSC dataset. The SEIB-DGVM-NSC version 1.0 is expected to enable simulation of biome shifts caused by the changes in NSC dynamics worldwide. These dynamics will contribute to changes in not only the global carbon cycle but also in forest structure and demography at a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Introduced a new PFT with masting reproduction to a process-based model. • Allocating too many resources to masting inhibited growth and increased mortality. • Model with resource budget and pollen limitation predicted observed patterns best. • Future optimization possible to predict the impacts of climate change on masting. Masting, the periodical mass production of seeds, affects forest ecosystems and food web dynamics. However, masting is not included in process-based models of forest dynamics which makes it difficult to predict changes in masting characteristics owing to climate change. We developed a masting model using the Spatially Explicit Individual Based-Dynamic Global Vegetation Model and validated it in a temperate forest containing Quercus crispula. Four models were devised using combinations of three major masting theories: resource budget, pollen limitation, and weather pattern hypotheses. The models simulated masting by modifying the reproduction of a novel plant functional type by parameterising the resource allocation to masting, the threshold limit for flowering, and the cost of acorn production. The results indicate that masting affected tree mortality; when trees allocated too many resources to masting and the threshold limit for flowering was low, tree mortality of the masting group increased. The model based on the resource budget and pollen limitation hypotheses corresponded most closely to observations, particularly under parameter combinations involving low resource allocation to masting and cost of acorn production. The models can be adapted to other species and for global applications, such as simulating the effects of climate change on masting and mitigating negative impacts on forest ecosystems and human–wildlife interactions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) emissions were estimated by the "area-ratio Fraunhofer line depth (aFLD) method", a new retrieval methodology in spectra from a low spectral resolution (SR) spectroradiometer (MS-700: full width half maximum (FWHM) of 10 nm and spectral sampling interval of 3.3 nm), assisted with a scaling to reference SIF detected from high SR spectrum. The sparse pixels of a spectrum of low SR misses detecting the minimum of the O2A absorption band around at 760 nm, which makes the SIF detection by conventional FLD methods lose accuracy considerably. To overcome this, the aFLD method uses the definite integral of spectra over a wide interval between 750 and 780 nm. The integration of the spectrum is insusceptible to the change in shape of the depression curve, leading to higher accuracy of the aFLD method. Daily SIF, calculated by the aFLD method using the spectra obtained with MS-700, was scaled to reference daily SIF calculated by the spectral fitting method using the spectra obtained from August to December 2019 with an ultrafine SR spectroradiometer (QE Pro, FWHM = 0.24 nm). As a result, SIF calculated from MS-700 spectra by aFLD method was strongly correlated with the reference SIF from QE Pro spectra (r2 = 0.81) and was successfully scaled. Then, the scaled 11-year SIF from MS-700 at a deciduous broadleaf forest showed the correlation with GPP at multiple time steps: daily, monthly, and yearly, consistently during 2008–2018. The comparison of aFLD-derived SIF with the global Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) SIF data set (GOSIF) showed high correlation on monthly values during 2008–2017 (r2 = 0.85). The combining approach of the aFLD method with a scaling to reference SIF successfully detected long-term canopy SIF emissions, which has great potential to provide essential information on ecosystem-level photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Row orientations with smaller row–sun angles reduce solar-induced fluorescence. • Observed canopy SIF validated a 3D crop-row SIF radiative transfer model. • Simulated fluorescence escape ratio varied widely due to geometry and structures. • The inter-row widths affected simulated SIF under smaller row–sun angles. Although multiple studies have used solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) of the crop canopy to estimate photosynthetic activity, the effect of canopy geometry (row orientation) on diurnal SIF remains uncertain. Using a combination of 3D canopy radiative transfer modeling and spectroscopic observations collected in a winter wheat field, we investigated (i) the relationships between observed SIF and factors including temperature, humidity, absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), and row orientation; (ii) the temporal pattern and multi-angle distribution of diurnal canopy SIF; and (iii) the mechanisms influencing components of diurnal SIF under the effect of row orientation. The relationship between observed SIF and APAR was relatively strong at the early growth period, but SIF was influenced by various factors (temperature, humidity, and row–sun angle) at the middle of the growth period. To test an asymmetric crop row effect as a potential cause of this skewness, we evaluated the modeled SIF with a 3D northwestward (315°) crop row alignment and other orientations. Each row orientation resulted in a trough-like depression parallel to the row in simulated canopy SIF, which could cause a diurnal asymmetry of canopy SIF, a fraction of fluorescence escape, and a fraction of APAR. View angles, the dimension of canopy objects (1D/3D), inter-row width, and leaf structure parameters impacted the representativeness of these simulations. An increased shade SIF, synchronized with the time when row–sun angles become zero at the incident sunlight being parallel to the crop row, was linked to decreasing canopy SIF emissions and would cause a non-linear SIF–APAR relationship at certain row orientations especially facing diagonally to the south. The concept of row orientation provides a novel viewpoint of diurnal canopy SIF from which to test the effect of row geometry in cropland, and will promote a mechanistic understanding of photosynthesis and canopy light use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SIF red and SIF far-red were measured during the mid to late stage of a rice paddy growing season. • Similar to SIF far-red , SIF red showed a strong correlation to eddy GPP. • Canopy-escaping SIF far-red displayed a higher correlation with GPP than Total SIF far-red. • SIF is mainly controlled by physiology in relatively mature rice ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystem photosynthesis plays a crucial role in global carbon cycling. Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is a state-of-the-art proxy for ecosystem photosynthesis. Although satellite-derived SIF correlates with gross primary productivity (GPP), it needs to be complemented with ground-based measurements to better understand the dynamics of carbon uptake by plants, because of the coarse spatiotemporal resolution of satellite-based data. We used an ultrafine-resolution spectrometer to detect both red SIF (SIF red , 687 nm) and far-red SIF (SIF far-red , 760 nm) at ground level. Then, we investigated how well they represented eddy-tower-derived GPP in a rice field of central Japan during the mid to late growing season in 2019. Half-hourly and daily averaged SIF red showed stronger correlation with GPP (R 2 = 0.61 and 0.83, respectively) than SIF far-red (R 2 = 0.42 and 0.57, respectively). Stronger seasonal correlation with GPP was observed for canopy-escaping SIF than for total SIF. The SIF red /SIF far-red ratio was not significantly correlated with seasonal changes in the normalized difference vegetation index or in the pigment-specific simple ratios for chlorophyll- a and - b. There were no clear differences in the SIF red –GPP relationships between sunny and cloudy conditions. We concluded that SIF red could be an equivalent or better proxy than SIF far-red for ecosystem-level photosynthesis. We further postulated that SIF emission is mainly controlled by plant physiology during the mid to late growing season, when temporal variations of the canopy structure in rice ecosystems are small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, isotopic signatures in soil–atmosphere CH4fluxes were investigated in nine grasslands and three wetlands. In the grasslands, the fractionation factor for soil CH4uptake,αsoil, was much smaller than the usually reported value of 0.9975–1.0095. Stepwise multiple variation analysis indicates thatαsoilis higher for higher soil water contents but is lower for higher C/N ratios of soil surface biomass. In the three wetlands, the soil-emittedδ13C–CH4was similar (−55.3 ± 5.5 ‰ and −53.0 ± 5.5 ‰) in two bogs separated by >1000 km but was lower (−63.4 ± 6.3 ‰) in a marsh. Environmental factors related to intrasite variations in soil-emittedδ13C–CH4include the soil C/N ratio, oxidation–reduction potential, soil C concentration and soil water contents. Geographical isotopic surveys revealed environmental constraints on the CH4consumption pathways in grasslands and the biome type-specific consistency in CH4production pathways in wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) can represent gross primary productivity (GPP) in many types of terrestrial vegetation. In principle, the chlorophyll- a fluorescence signal responds to the amount of light absorption and the fraction of energy distribution in photosystems. Therefore, it is mechanistically linked with CO 2 assimilation. Recently, radiative transfer models have traced the processes of emission, interception and reabsorption within a canopy in heterogeneous tree stands. These processes influence the expected relationship between SIF and GPP. We inferred that the vertical profile of SIF could reveal those processes. In addition, the sum of SIF emission from different pathways within the canopy must be equivalent to the total SIF emission from all leaves. The purposes of this study were: (1) to clarify the seasonal and diurnal variations of ground-based SIF observed above the overstory, midstory and understory layers (strata); (2) to examine whether the sum of SIF observed from the three layers could represent total SIF emissions, and (3) to examine whether SIF above the understory could reveal the photosynthetic activity within the vertical profile of a forest. To estimate how much SIF was present after its emission from leaves within the canopy, we conducted spectral radiation observations in three vertical layers: above the understory, midstory and overstory (8, 14 and 18 m from the ground, respectively) to retrieve the red and far-red SIF in a deciduous broadleaf forest ecosystem in Japan from April to November 2020. We found that SIF above the overstory and the sum of SIF from the three layers increased sharply at the leaf-onset of the overstory and was correlated with each season's GPP. The sum of far-red SIF from the three layers was proportional to the total SIF estimated using the escape ratio approach for SIF above the overstory. In this study we demonstrated that SIF above the understory could detect the increased photosynthesis of the understory in spring, compared with the GPP and the vertical profile of the CO 2 concentrations. In summary, SIF observed in three forest layers detected the seasonal change of GPP within the canopy. Thus, a multi-layer approach can be used to understand the relationship between SIF and photosynthesis within the canopy. • We identified solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from 3 forest layers. • The SIF from different forest layers can detect seasonal photosynthetic activity. • The sum of overstory, midstory, and understory SIF could verify total SIF emissions. • Understory SIF responded to photosynthesis before leaf-onset in the overstory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest biomass is a crucial component of the global carbon budget in climate change studies. Therefore, it is essential to develop a credible way to estimate forest biomass as carbon stock. Our study used PALSAR-2 (ALOS-2) and Sentinel-2 images to drive the Random Forest regression model, which we trained with airborne lidar data. We used the model to estimate forest aboveground biomass (AGB) of two significant coniferous trees, Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. We used 48 variables derived from the two remote sensing datasets to predict forest AGB under the Random Forest algorithm, and found that the model that combined the two datasets performed better than models based on only one dataset, with R2 = 0.31, root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 54.38 Mg ha−1, mean absolute error (MAE) = 40.98 Mg ha−1, and relative RMSE (rRMSE) of 0.35 for Japanese cedar, and R2 = 0.37, RMSE = 98.63 Mg ha−1, MAE = 76.97 Mg ha−1, and rRMSE of 0.33 for Japanese cypress, over the whole AGB range. In the satellite AGB map, the total AGB of Japanese cedar in 17 targeted cities in Ibaraki Prefecture was 5.27 Pg, with a mean of 146.50 Mg ha−1 and a standard deviation of 44.37 Mg ha−1. The total AGB of Japanese cypress was 3.56 Pg, with a mean of 293.12 Mg ha−1 and a standard deviation of 78.48 Mg ha−1. We also found a strong linear relationship with between the model estimates and Japanese government data, with R2 = 0.99 for both species and found the government information underestimates the AGB for cypress but overestimates it for cedar. Our results reveal that combining information from multiple sensors can predict forest AGB with increased accuracy and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests in the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere function as a significant sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This carbon (C) sink has been attributed to two processes: age-related growth after land use change and growth enhancement due to environmental changes, such as elevated CO2, nitrogen deposition, and climate change. However, attribution between these two processes is largely controversial. Here, using a unique time series of an age-class dataset from six national forest inventories in Japan and a new approach developed in this study (i.e., examining changes in biomass density at each age class over the inventory periods), we quantify the growth enhancement due to environmental changes and its contribution to biomass C sink in Japan's forests. We show that the growth enhancement for four major plantations was 4.0∼7.7 Mg C·ha-1 from 1980 to 2005, being 8.4-21.6% of biomass C sequestration per hectare and 4.1-35.5% of the country's total net biomass increase of each forest type. The growth enhancement differs among forest types, age classes, and regions. Our results provide, to our knowledge, the first ground-based evidence that global environmental changes can increase C sequestration in forests on a broad geographic scale and imply that both the traits and age of trees regulate the responses of forest growth to environmental changes. These findings should be incorporated into the prediction of forest C cycling under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To understand the mechanisms of soil CH4 consumption and production in alpine ecosystems, we for the first time examined the stable carbon isotope ratio of CH4 (δ13C–CH4) at three major grassland vegetation types, alpine meadow, alpine shrub, and alpine wetland, on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The alpine meadow and shrub showed net CH4 absorption in their vertical profiles of CH4 concentration in summer, but a difference in their processes. Whereas the alpine shrub was dominated by CH4 consumption in its soil profile, CH4 production in the alpine meadow could slightly cancel consumed CH4 in shallow soil from −0.3 to −0.1 m. This potential CH4 production can be attributed to the relatively wet soil type of that ecosystem, which might allow methanogenesis to act in moist soil lumps in the shallow layer. The alpine wetland differed in methane production, consumption, and transport pathways between hummock and hollow plots. In summer, both plots were enriched in 13C–CH4 in dissolved CH4 in soil pore water, suggesting that CH4 production was conducted mainly by acetate fermentation. In autumn, CH4 production was shifted toward CO2/H2 reduction. Furthermore, in hummocks, plant-mediated transport of CH4 by vascular plants appeared to perform passive CH4 flow from deep soil to atmosphere, which allowed the produced CH4 to bypass the oxidation zone in shallow soil. In hollows, however, CH4 produced in shallow soil was subject to simultaneous oxidation. The fractional oxidation rate on gross CH4 production in hollows was estimated by simple mass balance model at 7–17% in summer and 35–36% in autumn. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

RATIONALE Static-chamber flux measurements have suggested that one of the world's largest grasslands, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), is a potential source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a major greenhouse gas. However, production and consumption pathways of N2O have not been identified by in situ field measurements. METHODS Ratios of N2O isotopomers (14N15N16O and 15N14N16O) and an isotopologue (14N14N18O) with respect to 14N14N16O in the atmosphere, static chambers, and soils were measured by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in the summer of 2005 and the following winter of 2006 at three typical alpine ecosystems: alpine meadow, alpine shrub, and alpine wetland, on the QTP, China. RESULTS Site preference ( SP) values of soil-emitted N2O were estimated as 33.7‰ and 30.1‰ for alpine meadow and shrub, respectively, suggesting larger contributions by fungal denitrification, than by bacterial denitrification and nitrifier-denitrification, to N2O production. Statistical analysis of the relationship between SP and δ15Nbulk values indicated that in alpine meadow, shrub, and wetland sites fungal denitrification contributed 40.7%, 40.0%, and 23.2% to gross N2O production and the produced N2O was reduced by 87.6%, 82.9%, and 92.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The combined measurements of N2O concentration, flux, and isotopomeric signatures provide a robust estimation of N2O circulation dynamics in alpine ecosystems on the QTP, which would contribute to the development of ecosystem nitrogen cycle model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The intra- and inter-site spatial variability of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were investigated in three alpine ecosystems at Haibei station on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) in summer 2005 and in sixteen alpine ecosystems with various vegetations across the QTP in summer 2006, respectively. The magnitude of average CH4 emissions from wetlands was at least 100 times larger than average CH4 uptake by grassland, suggesting that the entire QTP is likely to be a source of methane in summertime because of a significant fractional area of wetlands (∼ 2.2%) on the plateau. Intra-site investigation, with sixteen chambers, revealed a significant negative relationship of CH4 emissions with the C/N ratio of aboveground biomass and soil pH in the alpine wetland when all chambers were considered. Moreover, soil oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) had a remarkably strong influence on CH4 emissions for nine chambers above the water level, resulting in a negative exponential relationship. For N2O flux in alpine meadows, a negative relationship with both soil pH and livestock dung biomass was observed. Aboveground plant biomass and soil pH were important variables overall in wetlands. Inter-site investigation found positive and negative relationships between CH4 flux and soil biomass to 5 cm depth in nine grassland and seven wetland sites, respectively. N2O flux showed a moderately strong negative exponential relationship with the C/N ratio of surface soil in the grassland sites. In the wetlands, soil pH was negatively correlated with N2O flux, perhaps due to both reduced N2O release from suppressed nitrification and denitrification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A coupled climate–carbon cycle model composed of a process-based terrestrial carbon cycle model, Sim-CYCLE, and the CCSR/NIES/FRCGC atmospheric general circulation model was developed. We examined the multiple temporal scale functions of terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics induced by human activities and natural processes and evaluated their contribution to fluctuations in the global carbon budget during the twentieth century. Global annual net primary production ( NPP) and heterotrophic respiration ( HR) increased gradually by 6.7 and 4.7%, respectively, from the 1900s to the 1990s. The difference between NPP and HR was the net carbon uptake by natural ecosystems, which was 0.6 Pg C year−1 in the 1980s, whereas the carbon emission induced by human land-use changes was 0.5 Pg C year−1, largely offsetting the natural terrestrial carbon sequestration. Our results indicate that monthly to interannual variation in atmospheric CO2 growth rate anomalies show 2- and 6-month time lags behind anomalies in temperature and the NiNO3 index, respectively. The simulated anomaly amplitude in monthly net carbon flux from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere was much larger than in the prescribed air-to-sea carbon flux. Fluctuations in the global atmospheric CO2 time series were dominated by the activity of terrestrial vegetation. These results suggest that terrestrial ecosystems have acted as a net neutral reservoir for atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the twentieth century on an interdecadal timescale, but as the dominant driver for atmospheric CO2 fluctuations on a monthly to interannual timescale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to climate change. To address the potential variability of the responses of alpine ecosystems to climate change, we examined daily CO2 exchange in relation to major environmental variables. A dataset was obtained from an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from eddy covariance measurements taken over 3 years (2002–2004). Path analysis showed that soil temperature at 5 cm depth ( Ts5) had the greatest effect on daily variation in ecosystem CO2 exchange all year around, whereas photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) had a high direct effect on daily variation in CO2 flux during the growing season. The combined effects of temperature and light regimes on net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) could be clearly categorized into three areas depending on the change in Ts5: (1) almost no NEE change irrespective of variations in light and temperature when Ts5 was below 0 °C; (2) an NEE increase (i.e. CO2 released from the ecosystem) with increasing Ts5, but little response to variation in light regime when 0 °C≤ Ts5≤8 °C; and (3) an NEE decrease with increase in Ts5 and PPFD when Ts5 was approximately >8 °C. The highest daily net ecosystem CO2 uptake was observed under the conditions of daily mean Ts5 of about 15 °C and daily mean PPFD of about 50 mol m−2 day−1. The results suggested that temperature is the most critical determinant of CO2 exchange in this alpine meadow ecosystem and may play an important role in the ecosystem carbon budget under future global warming conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian terrestrial ecosystems cover an extensive area characterized by a large variety in climates and ecosystem properties. The observations of ecosystem CO2 flux in this area are increasing both in duration and spatial density, but no synthesis has yet been conducted. We surveyed CO2 flux observation data obtained by eddy covariance methods at 49 sites in terrestrial Asia. The measurements at most sites (44 of 49) began after 2000. The net ecosystem uptake of CO2 (NEE) varied greatly among sites and years and averaged −132.6±73.7, −250.1±206.1, and −180.1±361.7 g C m−2 yr−1, in boreal, temperate, and tropical Asia, respectively, and the coefficient of variation among sites increased from boreal to tropical Asia. The site-averaged annual NEE was correlated linearly with the mean annual temperature ( Tair) and also correlated logarithmically with the precipitation. Multiple regression analysis and stepwise analysis indicated that photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and Tair were the most significant predictors of the annual NEE. The study results suggest that Asian terrestrial ecosystems are currently significant net CO2 sinks and that the sink strength is largely controlled by temperature, moisture, and light conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examined the CO2 exchange of a Kobresia meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau using a chamber system. CO2 efflux from the ecosystem was strongly dependence on soil surface temperature. The CO2 efflux–temperature relationship was identical under both light and dark conditions, indicating that no photosynthesis could be detected under light conditions during the measurement period. The temperature sensitivity (Q 10) of the CO2 efflux showed a marked transition around −1.0°C; Q 10 was 2.14 at soil surface temperatures above and equal to −1.0°C but was 15.3 at temperatures below −1.0°C. Our findings suggest that soil surface temperature was the major factor controlling winter CO2 flux for the alpine meadow ecosystem and that freeze–thaw cycles at the soil surface layer play an important role in the temperature dependence of winter CO2 flux. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We used the eddy covariance method to measure the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and an alpine meadow ecosystem (37°29–45′N, 101°12–23′E, 3250 m a.s.l.) on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China in the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons. The maximum rates of CO2 uptake and release derived from the diurnal course of CO2 flux (FCO2) were -10.8 and 4.4 μmol m-2 s-1, respectively, indicating a relatively high net carbon sequestration potential as compared to subalpine coniferous forest at similar elevation and latitude. The largest daily CO2 uptake was 3.9 g C m-2 per day on 7 July 2002, which is less than half of those reported for lowland grassland and forest at similar latitudes. The daily CO2 uptake during the measurement period indicated that the alpine ecosystem might behave as a sink of atmospheric CO2 during the growing season if the carbon lost due to grazing is not significant. The daytime CO2 uptake was linearly correlated with the daily photosynthetic photon flux density each month. The nighttime averaged FCO2 showed a positive exponential correlation with the soil temperature, but apparently negative correlation with the soil water content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using the Shuttleworth and Wallace (S–W) model, evapotranspiration (ET); transpiration ratio (T/ET), which is the ratio of transpiration (T) to ET; and water-use efficiency (WUE) were estimated for a sparsely planted sorghum canopy that was well irrigated. That model is designed to estimate separately the evaporation from soil and transpiration from crops.The evapotranspiration estimates for both short- and long-term measurement periods coincided closely with the Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) measurements. The transpiration ratios were affected by the canopy resistances and the soil surface resistances during the day. The regression curve between leaf area index (LAI) and transpiration ratio suggests that LAI, less than 1.6, determined the transpiration ratio in the absence of water stresses by soil water drought and extreme weather condition. The WUEs for transpiration (WUEt) and evapotranspiration (WUEet), which are the total dry matter (TDM) production for 1 kg T and ET, reached the peaks of 9.0 and 4.5 g kg−1 H2O, respectively, in the end of July when the total dry matter increasing rate was greatest. These two WUEs degraded to less than zero in the end of August when the plant biomass decreased due to drying and death. The WUEs are largely affected by the TDM seasonal increment rate.Thus, in a sparse crop, the crop growth properties (i.e. LAI and TDM increment) mainly determine the crop water uses (i.e. the transpiration ratio and water-use efficiency) in the absence of water stresses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Global terrestrial ecosystems control the atmospheric CO2 concentration through gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration processes. Chlorophyll fluorescence is one of the energy release pathways of excess incident light in the photosynthetic process. Over the last 10 years, extensive studies have revealed that canopy-scale Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), which potentially provides a direct pathway to link leaf-level photosynthesis to global GPP, can be observed from satellites. SIF is used to infer photosynthetic capacity of plant canopy; however, it is not clear how the leaf-level SIF emission contributes to the top-of-canopy directional SIF. Plant canopy radiative transfer models are useful tools to understand the mechanism of anisotropic light interactions such as scattering and absorption in plant canopies. One-dimensional (1-D) plane-parallel layer models (e.g., the Soil Canopy Observation, Photochemistry and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) model) have been widely used and are useful to understand the general mechanisms behind the temporal and seasonal variations in SIF. However, a 1-D model does not explain the complexity of the actual canopy structures. Three-dimensional models (3-D) have a potential to delineate the realistic directional canopy SIFs. Forest Light Environmental Simulator for SIF (FLiES-SIF) version 1.0 is a 3-D Monte Carlo plant canopy radiative transfer model to understand the biological and physical mechanisms behind the SIF emission from complex forest canopies. The FLiES-SIF model is coupled with leaf-level fluorescence and a physiology module so that users are able to simulate how the changes in environmental and leaf traits as well as canopy structure affect the observed SIF at the top of the canopy. The FLiES-SIF model was designed as three-dimensional model, yet the entire modules are computationally efficient: FLiES-SIF can be easily run by moderate-level personal computers with lower memory demands and public software. In this model description paper, we focused on the model formulation and simulation schemes, and showed some sensitivity analysis against several major variables such as view angle and leaf area index (LAI). The simulation results show that SIF increases with LAI then saturated at LAI>2 –4 depending on the spectral wavelength. The sensitivity analysis also shows that simulated SIF radiation may decrease with LAI at a higher LAI domain (LAI>5). These phenomena are seen in certain Sun and view angle conditions. This type of nonlinear and nonmonotonic SIF behavior towards LAI is also related to spatial forest structure patterns. FLiES-SIF version 1.0 can be used to quantify the canopy SIF in various view angles including the contribution of multiple scattering which is the important component in the near-infrared domain. The potential use of the model is to standardize the satellite SIF by correcting the bidirectional effect. This step will contribute to the improvement of the GPP estimation accuracy through SIF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol- and cloud-induced changes in diffuse light have important impacts on the global land carbon cycle, as they alter light distribution and photosynthesis in vegetation canopies. However, this effect remains poorly represented or evaluated in current land surface models. Here, we add a light partitioning module and a new canopy light transmission module to the ORCHIDEE (Organising Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems) land surface model (trunk version, v5453) and use the revised model, ORCHIDEE_DF, to estimate the fraction of diffuse light and its effect on gross primary production (GPP) in a multilayer canopy. We evaluate the new parameterizations using flux observations from 159 eddy covariance sites over the globe. Our results show that, compared with the original model, ORCHIDEE_DF improves the GPP simulation under sunny conditions and captures the observed higher photosynthesis under cloudier conditions in most plant functional types (PFTs). Our results also indicate that the larger GPP under cloudy conditions compared with sunny conditions is mainly driven by increased diffuse light in the morning and in the afternoon as well as by a decreased vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and decreased air temperature at midday. The observations show that the strongest positive effects of diffuse light on photosynthesis are found in the range from 5 to 20 ∘ C and at a VPD < 1 kPa. This effect is found to decrease when the VPD becomes too large or the temperature falls outside of the abovementioned range, which is likely due to the increasing stomatal resistance to leaf CO 2 uptake. ORCHIDEE_DF underestimates the diffuse light effect at low temperature in all PFTs and overestimates this effect at high temperature and at a high VPD in grasslands and croplands. The new model has the potential to better investigate the impact of large-scale aerosol changes and long-term changes in cloudiness on the terrestrial carbon budget, both in the historical period and in the context of future air quality policies and/or climate engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deforestation and forest degradation cause the deterioration of resources and ecosystem services. However, there are still no operational indicators to measure forest status, especially for forest degradation. In the present study, we analysed the thermal response number (TRN, calculated by daily total net radiation divided by daily temperature range) of 163 sites including mature forest, disturbed forest, planted forest, shrubland, grassland, savanna vegetation and cropland. TRN generally increased with latitude, however the regression of TRN against latitude differed among vegetation types. Mature forests are superior as thermal buffers, and had significantly higher TRN than disturbed and planted forests. There was a clear boundary between TRN of forest and non-forest vegetation (i.e. grassland and savanna) with the exception of shrubland, whose TRN overlapped with that of forest vegetation. We propose to use the TRN of local mature forest as the optimal TRN (TRN opt ). A forest with lower than 75% of TRN opt was identified as subjected to significant disturbance, and forests with 66% of TRN opt was the threshold for deforestation within the absolute latitude from 30° to 55°. Our results emphasized the irreplaceable thermal buffer capacity of mature forest. TRN can be used for early warning of deforestation and degradation risk. It is therefore a valuable tool in the effort to protect forests and prevent deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of high-resolution terrestrial evapotranspiration ( ET ) from Landsat data is important in many climatic, hydrologic, and agricultural applications, as it can help bridging the gap between existing coarse-resolution ET products and point-based field measurements. However, there is large uncertainty among existing ET products from Landsat that limit their application. This study presents a simple Taylor skill fusion ( STS ) method that merges five Landsat-based ET products and directly measured ET from eddy covariance ( EC ) to improve the global estimation of terrestrial ET . The STS method uses a weighted average of the individual ET products and weights are determined by their Taylor skill scores ( S ). The validation with site-scale measurements at 206 EC flux towers showed large differences and uncertainties among the five ET products. The merged ET product exhibited the best performance with a decrease in the averaged root-mean-square error ( RMSE ) by 2–5 W/m 2 when compared to the individual products. To evaluate the reliability of the STS method at the regional scale, the weights of the STS method for these five ET products were determined using EC ground-measurements. An example of regional ET mapping demonstrates that the STS -merged ET can effectively integrate the individual Landsat ET products. Our proposed method provides an improved high-resolution ET product for identifying agricultural crop water consumption and providing a diagnostic assessment for global land surface models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange between the atmosphere and grassland ecosystems is very important for the global carbon balance. To assess the CO2 flux and its relationship to environmental factors, the eddy covariance method was used to evaluate the diurnal cycle and seasonal pattern of the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of a cultivated pasture in the Three-River Source Region (TRSR) on the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau from January 1 to December 31, 2008. The diurnal variations in the NEE and ecosystem respiration (Re) during the growing season exhibited single-peak patterns, the maximum and minimum CO2 uptake observed during the noon hours and night; and the maximum and minimum Re took place in the afternoon and early morning, respectively. The minimum hourly NEE rate and the maximum hourly Re rate were −7.89 and 5.03 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1, respectively. The NEE and Re showed clear seasonal variations, with lower values in winter and higher values in the peak growth period. The highest daily values for C uptake and Re were observed on August 12 (−2.91 g C m−2 d−1) and July 28 (5.04 g C m−2 day−1), respectively. The annual total NEE and Re were −140.01 and 403.57 g C m−2 year−1, respectively. The apparent quantum yield (α) was −0.0275 μmol μmol−1 for the entire growing period, and the α values for the pasture’s light response curve varied with the leaf area index (LAI), air temperature (Ta), soil water content (SWC) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Piecewise regression results indicated that the optimum Ta and VPD for the daytime NEE were 14.1°C and 0.65 kPa, respectively. The daytime NEE decreased with increasing SWC, and the temperature sensitivity of respiration (Q10) was 3.0 during the growing season, which was controlled by the SWC conditions. Path analysis suggested that the soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm (Tsoil) was the most important environmental factor affecting daily variations in NEE during the growing season, and the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was the major limiting factor for this cultivated pasture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Seven light use efficiency models were compared at global eddy covariance towers. [•] Performance of seven models differed substantially among ecosystem types. [•] It is needed to improve LUE models by integrating impacts of diffuse radiation and reliable water stress equations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Forests play an important role in regional and global carbon (C) cycles. With extensive afforestation and reforestation efforts over the last several decades, forests in East Asia have largely expanded, but the dynamics of their C stocks have not been fully assessed. We estimated biomass C stocks of the forests in all five East Asian countries ( China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia) between the 1970s and the 2000s, using the biomass expansion factor method and forest inventory data. Forest area and biomass C density in the whole region increased from 179.78 × 106 ha and 38.6 Mg C ha−1 in the 1970s to 196.65 × 106 ha and 45.5 Mg C ha−1 in the 2000s, respectively. The C stock increased from 6.9 Pg C to 8.9 Pg C, with an averaged sequestration rate of 66.9 Tg C yr−1. Among the five countries, China and Japan were two major contributors to the total region's forest C sink, with respective contributions of 71.1% and 32.9%. In China, the areal expansion of forest land was a larger contributor to C sinks than increased biomass density for all forests (60.0% vs. 40.0%) and for planted forests (58.1% vs. 41.9%), while the latter contributed more than the former for natural forests (87.0% vs. 13.0%). In Japan, increased biomass density dominated the C sink for all (101.5%), planted (91.1%), and natural (123.8%) forests. Forests in South Korea also acted as a C sink, contributing 9.4% of the total region's sink because of increased forest growth (98.6%). Compared to these countries, the reduction in forest land in both North Korea and Mongolia caused a C loss at an average rate of 9.0 Tg C yr−1, equal to 13.4% of the total region's C sink. Over the last four decades, the biomass C sequestration by East Asia's forests offset 5.8% of its contemporary fossil-fuel CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regression tree method is used to upscale evapotranspiration (ET) measurements at eddy-covariance (EC) towers to the grassland ecosystems over the Dryland East Asia (DEA). The regression tree model was driven by satellite and meteorology datasets, and explained 82% and 76% of the variations of ET observations in the calibration and validation datasets, respectively. The annual ET estimates ranged from 222.6 to 269.1 mm yr−1 over the DEA region with an average of 245.8 mm yr−1 from 1982 through 2009. Ecosystem ET showed decreased trends over 61% of the DEA region during this period, especially in most regions of Mongolia and eastern Inner Mongolia due to decreased precipitation. The increased ET occurred primarily in the western and southern DEA region. Over the entire study area, water balance (the difference between precipitation and ecosystem ET) decreased substantially during the summer and growing season. Precipitation reduction was an important cause for the severe water deficits. The drying trend occurring in the grassland ecosystems of the DEA region can exert profound impacts on a variety of terrestrial ecosystem processes and functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We developed a predictive model for estimating NEP in the grasslands of northern China. [•] The northern China's grasslands had a net carbon uptake of 158±25gCm−2 growing season−1. [•] On average, the regional NEP was 126TgCgrowing season−1 during 2000–2010. [•] Interannual variations of net carbon uptake were sensitive to precipitation and drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We synthesize flux observations from 22 eddy covariance sites across China. [•] Annual carbon and water fluxes generally decline with increasing latitude. [•] The patterns are controlled by temperature, precipitation, and growing season length. [•] Plantations and coastal wetlands have high carbon sequestration capacity and WUE. [•] Efforts to strengthen C sink should focus on forest plantations in southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We monitored UVA, UVB, and solar radiation from August 2001 to 2003 on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to characterize the diurnal and seasonal variations of UV radiation on the world''s highest plateau. Daily UVB radiation and the ratio of UVB to total solar radiation increased significantly when the atmospheric ozone concentration decreased as estimated by the total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS), as well as when cloud coverage decreased. The UVB/UVA ratio also showed a significant increase when the TOMS ozone concentration decreased in the morning. The seasonal variation pattern of UVB, however, was closely correlated with solar elevation but was little affected by the seasonal pattern of the atmospheric ozone amount. Compared to observations from the central plateau, the magnitude of the UVB increase attributed to ozone depletion was smaller at the northern edge. The study suggests that the temporal variation of ground UV radiation is determined by both solar elevation and the ozone amount, but the spatial difference on the plateau is likely to be ascribed mainly to the spatial variation of the ozone amount. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To initially characterize the dynamics and environmental controls of CO2, ecosystem CO2 fluxes were measured for different vegetation zones in a deep-water wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the growing season of 2002. Four zones of vegetation along a gradient from shallow to deep water were dominated, respectively by the emergent species Carex allivescens V. Krez., Scirpus distigmaticus L., Hippuris vulgaris L., and the submerged species Potamogeton pectinatus L. Gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), and net ecosystem production (NEP) were markedly different among the vegetation zones, with lower Re and GPP in deeper water. NEP was highest in the Scirpus-dominated zone with moderate water depth, but lowest in the Potamogeton-zone that occupied approximately 75% of the total wetland area. Diurnal variation in CO2 flux was highly correlated with variation in light intensity and soil temperature. The relationship between CO2 flux and these environmental variables varied among the vegetation zones. Seasonal CO2 fluxes, including GPP, Re, and NEP, were strongly correlated with aboveground biomass, which was in turn determined by water depth. In the early growing season, temperature sensitivity (Q10) for Re varied from 6.0 to 8.9 depending on vegetation zone. Q10 decreased in the late growing season. Estimated NEP for the whole deep-water wetland over the growing season was 24 g C m−2. Our results suggest that water depth is the major environmental control of seasonal variation in CO2 flux, whereas photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) controls diurnal dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To assess the impact of livestock grazing on the emission of greenhouse gases from grazed wetlands, we examined biomass growth of plants, CO2 and CH4 fluxes under grazing and non-grazing conditions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau wetland. After the grazing treatment for a period of about 3months, net ecosystem CO2 uptake and aboveground biomass were significantly smaller, but ecosystem CH4 emissions were remarkably greater, under grazing conditions than under non-grazing conditions. Examination of the gas-transport system showed that the increased CH4 emissions resulted from mainly the increase of conductance in the gas-transport system of the grazed plants. The sum of global warming potential, which was estimated from the measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes, was 5.6- to 11.3-fold higher under grazing conditions than under non-grazing conditions. The results suggest that livestock grazing may increase the global warming potential of the alpine wetlands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To reveal the potential contribution of grassland ecosystems to climate change, we examined the energy exchange over an alpine Kobresia meadow on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The annual pattern of energy exchange showed a clear distinction between periods of frozen soil with the daily mean soil temperature at 5cm (T s5 ≤0°C) and non-frozen soil (T s5 >0°C). More than 80% of net radiation was converted to sensible heat (H) during the frozen soil period, but H varied considerably with the change in vegetation during the non-frozen soil period. Three different sub-periods were further distinguished for the later period: (1) the pre-growth period with Bowen ratio (β)>1 was characterized by a high β of 3.0 in average and the rapid increase of net radiation associated with the increases of H, latent heat (LE) and soil heat; (2) during the growth period when β ≤1, the LE was high but H fluxes was low with β changing between 0.3 and 0.4; (3) the post-growth period with average β of 3.6 when H increased again and reached a second maximum around early October. The seasonal pattern suggests that the phenology of the vegetation and the soil water content were the major factors affecting the energy partitioning in the alpine meadow ecosystem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We measured methane (CH4) emissions in the Luanhaizi wetland, a typical alpine wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, during the plant growth season (early July to mid-September) in 2002. Our aim was to quantify the spatial and temporal variation of CH4 flux and to elucidate key factors in this variation. Static chamber measurements of CH4 flux were made in four vegetation zones along a gradient of water depth. There were three emergent-plant zones (Hippuris-dominated; Scirpus-dominated; and Carex-dominated) and one submerged-plant zone (Potamogeton-dominated). The smallest CH4 flux (seasonal mean=33.1 mg CH4 m−2 d−1) was observed in the Potamogeton-dominated zone, which occupied about 74% of the total area of the wetland. The greatest CH4 flux (seasonal mean=214 mg CH4 m−2 d−1) was observed in the Hippuris-dominated zone, in the second-deepest water area. CH4 flux from three zones (excluding the Carex-dominated zone) showed a marked diurnal change and decreased dramatically under dark conditions. Light intensity had a major influence on the temporal variation in CH4 flux, at least in three of the zones. Methane fluxes from all zones increased during the growing season with increasing aboveground biomass. CH4 flux from the Scirpus-dominated zone was significantly lower than in the other emergent-plant zones despite the large biomass, because the root and rhizome intake ports for CH4 transport in the dominant species were distributed in shallower and more oxidative soil than occupied in the other zones. Spatial and temporal variation in CH4 flux from the alpine wetland was determined by the vegetation zone. Among the dominant species in each zone, there were variations in the density and biomass of shoots, gas-transport system, and root–rhizome architecture. The CH4 flux from a typical alpine wetland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was as high as those of other boreal and alpine wetlands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new reconstruction of changes in Taiwan's land cover and estimated uncertainty between 1904 and 2015 is presented. The reconstruction is made by integrating geographical information from historical maps and SPOT satellite images, to obtain spatially explicit land cover maps with a resolution of 500 × 500 m and distinguishes six land cover classes: forests, grasslands, agricultural land, inland water, built-up land, and bare soil. The temporal resolution is unbalanced being derived from four historical maps describing the land cover between 1904 and 1994 and five mosaic satellite images describing the land cover between 1995 and 2015. The uncertainty of the historical maps is quantified to show the aggregation error whereas the uncertainty of the satellite images is quantified as classification error. Since 1904, Taiwan, as a developing country, has gone through a not unusual sequence of population growth and subsequent urbanization, a decoupling of the demand for agricultural land from population growth, and a transition from shrinking in forest area to forest expansion. This new land cover reconstruction is expected to contribute to future revisions of global land cover reconstructions as well as to studies of (gross) land cover changes, the carbon budget, regional climate, urban heat islands, and air and water pollution at the national and sub-national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France is a major crop producer, with a production share of approx. 20% within the European Union. Yet, a discussion has recently started whether French yields are stagnating. While for wheat previous results are unanimously pointing to recent stagnation, there is contradictory evidence for maize and few to no results for other crops. Here we analyse a data set with more than 120,000 yield observations from 1900 to 2016 for ten crops (barley, durum and soft wheat, maize, oats, potatoes, rapeseed, sugar beet, sunflower and wine) in the 96 mainland French départements (NUTS3 administrative division). We dissect the evolution of yield trends over time and space, analyse yield variation and evaluate whether growth of yields has stalled in recent years. Yields have, on average across crops, multiplied four-fold over the course of the 20th century. While absolute yield variability has increased, the variation relative to the mean has halved - mean yields have increased faster than their variability. But growth of yields has stagnated since the 1990’s for winter wheat, barley, oats, durum wheat, sunflower and wine on at least 25% of their areas. Reaching yield potentials is unlikely as a cause for stagnation. Maize, in contrast, shows no evidence for stagnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]