Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America

Jingfeng Xiao; Scott V. Ollinger; Steve Frolking; George C. Hurtt; David Y. Hollinger; Kenneth J. Davis; Yude Pan; Xiaoyang Zhang; Feng Deng; Jiquan Chen; Dennis D. Baldocchi; Bevery E. Law; M. Altaf Arain; Ankur R. Desai; Andrew D. Richardson; Ge Sun; Brian Amiro; Hank Margolis; Lianhong Gu; Russell L. Scott; Peter D. Blanken; Andrew E. Suyker

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America

Jingfeng Xiao, Scott V. Ollinger, Steve Frolking, George C. Hurtt, David Y. Hollinger, Kenneth J. Davis, Yude Pan, Xiaoyang Zhang, Feng Deng, Jiquan Chen, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Bevery E. Law, M. Altaf Arain, Ankur R. Desai, Andrew D. Richardson, Ge Sun, Brian Amiro, Hank Margolis, Lianhong Gu, Russell L. ScottPeter D. Blanken, Andrew E. Suyker

Ecosystem Processes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

94 Scopus citations

Abstract

The exchange of carbon dioxide is a key measure of ecosystem metabolism and a critical intersection between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth's climate. Despite the general agreement that the terrestrial ecosystems in North America provide a sizeable carbon sink, the size and distribution of the sink remain uncertain. We use a data-driven approach to upscale eddy covariance flux observations from towers to the continental scale by integrating flux observations, meteorology, stand age, aboveground biomass, and a proxy for canopy nitrogen concentrations from AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada Research Network as well as a variety of satellite data streams from the MODIS sensors. We then use the resulting gridded flux estimates from March 2000 to December 2012 to assess the magnitude, distribution, and interannual variability of carbon fluxes for the U.S. and Canada. The mean annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the U.S. over the period 2001-2012 were 6.84, 5.31, and 1.10PgCyr^-1, respectively; the mean annual GPP, ER, and NEP of Canada over the same 12-year period were 3.91, 3.26, and 0.60PgCyr^-1, respectively. The mean nationwide annual NEP of natural ecosystems over the period 2001-2012 was 0.53PgCyr^-1 for the U.S. and 0.49PgCyr^-1 for the conterminous U.S. Our estimate of the carbon sink for the conterminous U.S. was almost identical with the estimate of the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR). The carbon fluxes exhibited relatively large interannual variability over the study period. The main sources of the interannual variability in carbon fluxes included drought and disturbance. The annual GPP and NEP were strongly related to annual evapotranspiration (ET) for both the U.S. and Canada, showing that the carbon and water cycles were closely coupled. Our gridded flux estimates provided an independent, alternative perspective on ecosystem carbon exchange over North America.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	142-157
Number of pages	16
Journal	Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Volume	197
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013
State	Published - Oct 15 2014

Keywords

Carbon sink
Carbon source
Disturbance
Drought
EVI
Eddy covariance

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10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

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Xiao, J., Ollinger, S. V., Frolking, S., Hurtt, G. C., Hollinger, D. Y., Davis, K. J., Pan, Y., Zhang, X., Deng, F., Chen, J., Baldocchi, D. D., Law, B. E., Arain, M. A., Desai, A. R., Richardson, A. D., Sun, G., Amiro, B., Margolis, H., Gu, L., ... Suyker, A. E. (2014). Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 197, 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

@article{8d8793fb66674a65a49c0cf5b7bce2c2,

title = "Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America",

abstract = "The exchange of carbon dioxide is a key measure of ecosystem metabolism and a critical intersection between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth's climate. Despite the general agreement that the terrestrial ecosystems in North America provide a sizeable carbon sink, the size and distribution of the sink remain uncertain. We use a data-driven approach to upscale eddy covariance flux observations from towers to the continental scale by integrating flux observations, meteorology, stand age, aboveground biomass, and a proxy for canopy nitrogen concentrations from AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada Research Network as well as a variety of satellite data streams from the MODIS sensors. We then use the resulting gridded flux estimates from March 2000 to December 2012 to assess the magnitude, distribution, and interannual variability of carbon fluxes for the U.S. and Canada. The mean annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the U.S. over the period 2001-2012 were 6.84, 5.31, and 1.10PgCyr-1, respectively; the mean annual GPP, ER, and NEP of Canada over the same 12-year period were 3.91, 3.26, and 0.60PgCyr-1, respectively. The mean nationwide annual NEP of natural ecosystems over the period 2001-2012 was 0.53PgCyr-1 for the U.S. and 0.49PgCyr-1 for the conterminous U.S. Our estimate of the carbon sink for the conterminous U.S. was almost identical with the estimate of the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR). The carbon fluxes exhibited relatively large interannual variability over the study period. The main sources of the interannual variability in carbon fluxes included drought and disturbance. The annual GPP and NEP were strongly related to annual evapotranspiration (ET) for both the U.S. and Canada, showing that the carbon and water cycles were closely coupled. Our gridded flux estimates provided an independent, alternative perspective on ecosystem carbon exchange over North America.",

keywords = "Carbon sink, Carbon source, Disturbance, Drought, EVI, Eddy covariance",

author = "Jingfeng Xiao and Ollinger, {Scott V.} and Steve Frolking and Hurtt, {George C.} and Hollinger, {David Y.} and Davis, {Kenneth J.} and Yude Pan and Xiaoyang Zhang and Feng Deng and Jiquan Chen and Baldocchi, {Dennis D.} and Law, {Bevery E.} and Arain, {M. Altaf} and Desai, {Ankur R.} and Richardson, {Andrew D.} and Ge Sun and Brian Amiro and Hank Margolis and Lianhong Gu and Scott, {Russell L.} and Blanken, {Peter D.} and Suyker, {Andrew E.}",

year = "2014",

month = oct,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013",

language = "English",

volume = "197",

pages = "142--157",

journal = "Agricultural and Forest Meteorology",

issn = "0168-1923",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Xiao, J, Ollinger, SV, Frolking, S, Hurtt, GC, Hollinger, DY, Davis, KJ, Pan, Y, Zhang, X, Deng, F, Chen, J, Baldocchi, DD, Law, BE, Arain, MA, Desai, AR, Richardson, AD, Sun, G, Amiro, B, Margolis, H, Gu, L, Scott, RL, Blanken, PD & Suyker, AE 2014, 'Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 197, pp. 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

TY - JOUR

T1 - Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America

AU - Xiao, Jingfeng

AU - Ollinger, Scott V.

AU - Frolking, Steve

AU - Hurtt, George C.

AU - Hollinger, David Y.

AU - Davis, Kenneth J.

AU - Pan, Yude

AU - Zhang, Xiaoyang

AU - Deng, Feng

AU - Chen, Jiquan

AU - Baldocchi, Dennis D.

AU - Law, Bevery E.

AU - Arain, M. Altaf

AU - Desai, Ankur R.

AU - Richardson, Andrew D.

AU - Sun, Ge

AU - Amiro, Brian

AU - Margolis, Hank

AU - Gu, Lianhong

AU - Scott, Russell L.

AU - Blanken, Peter D.

AU - Suyker, Andrew E.

PY - 2014/10/15

Y1 - 2014/10/15

N2 - The exchange of carbon dioxide is a key measure of ecosystem metabolism and a critical intersection between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth's climate. Despite the general agreement that the terrestrial ecosystems in North America provide a sizeable carbon sink, the size and distribution of the sink remain uncertain. We use a data-driven approach to upscale eddy covariance flux observations from towers to the continental scale by integrating flux observations, meteorology, stand age, aboveground biomass, and a proxy for canopy nitrogen concentrations from AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada Research Network as well as a variety of satellite data streams from the MODIS sensors. We then use the resulting gridded flux estimates from March 2000 to December 2012 to assess the magnitude, distribution, and interannual variability of carbon fluxes for the U.S. and Canada. The mean annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the U.S. over the period 2001-2012 were 6.84, 5.31, and 1.10PgCyr-1, respectively; the mean annual GPP, ER, and NEP of Canada over the same 12-year period were 3.91, 3.26, and 0.60PgCyr-1, respectively. The mean nationwide annual NEP of natural ecosystems over the period 2001-2012 was 0.53PgCyr-1 for the U.S. and 0.49PgCyr-1 for the conterminous U.S. Our estimate of the carbon sink for the conterminous U.S. was almost identical with the estimate of the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR). The carbon fluxes exhibited relatively large interannual variability over the study period. The main sources of the interannual variability in carbon fluxes included drought and disturbance. The annual GPP and NEP were strongly related to annual evapotranspiration (ET) for both the U.S. and Canada, showing that the carbon and water cycles were closely coupled. Our gridded flux estimates provided an independent, alternative perspective on ecosystem carbon exchange over North America.

AB - The exchange of carbon dioxide is a key measure of ecosystem metabolism and a critical intersection between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth's climate. Despite the general agreement that the terrestrial ecosystems in North America provide a sizeable carbon sink, the size and distribution of the sink remain uncertain. We use a data-driven approach to upscale eddy covariance flux observations from towers to the continental scale by integrating flux observations, meteorology, stand age, aboveground biomass, and a proxy for canopy nitrogen concentrations from AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada Research Network as well as a variety of satellite data streams from the MODIS sensors. We then use the resulting gridded flux estimates from March 2000 to December 2012 to assess the magnitude, distribution, and interannual variability of carbon fluxes for the U.S. and Canada. The mean annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the U.S. over the period 2001-2012 were 6.84, 5.31, and 1.10PgCyr-1, respectively; the mean annual GPP, ER, and NEP of Canada over the same 12-year period were 3.91, 3.26, and 0.60PgCyr-1, respectively. The mean nationwide annual NEP of natural ecosystems over the period 2001-2012 was 0.53PgCyr-1 for the U.S. and 0.49PgCyr-1 for the conterminous U.S. Our estimate of the carbon sink for the conterminous U.S. was almost identical with the estimate of the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR). The carbon fluxes exhibited relatively large interannual variability over the study period. The main sources of the interannual variability in carbon fluxes included drought and disturbance. The annual GPP and NEP were strongly related to annual evapotranspiration (ET) for both the U.S. and Canada, showing that the carbon and water cycles were closely coupled. Our gridded flux estimates provided an independent, alternative perspective on ecosystem carbon exchange over North America.

KW - Carbon sink

KW - Carbon source

KW - Disturbance

KW - Drought

KW - EVI

KW - Eddy covariance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904539244&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

DO - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.06.013

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84904539244

SN - 0168-1923

VL - 197

SP - 142

EP - 157

JO - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

JF - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

ER -

Data-driven diagnostics of terrestrial carbon dynamics over North America

Abstract

Keywords

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