The Full Annual Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests Is Highly Sensitive to Precipitation

M. G. Oquist; K. Bishop; A. Grelle; L. Klemedtsson; S. J. Kohler; H. Laudon; Anders Lindroth; M. Ottosson Lofvenius; M. B. Wallin; M. B. Nilsson

doi:10.1021/ez500169j

The Full Annual Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests Is Highly Sensitive to Precipitation

M. G. Oquist, K. Bishop, A. Grelle, L. Klemedtsson, S. J. Kohler, H. Laudon, Anders Lindroth, M. Ottosson Lofvenius, M. B. Wallin, M. B. Nilsson

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

Abstract

The boreal forest carbon balance is predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Carbon balance estimates of these biomes stem mainly from eddy-covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). However, a full net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) must include the lateral carbon export (LCE) through discharge. We show that annual LCE at a boreal forest site ranged from 4 to 28%, averaging 11% (standard deviation of 8%), of annual NEE over 13 years. Annual LCE and NEE are strongly anticorrelated; years with weak NEE coincide with high LCE. The decreased NEE in response to increased precipitation is caused by a reduction in the amount of incoming radiation caused by clouds. If our finding is also valid for other sites, it implies that increased precipitation at high latitudes may shift forest NECB in large areas of the boreal biome. Our results call for future analysis of this dual effect of precipitation on NEE and LCE.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	315-319
Journal	Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Volume	1
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/ez500169j
Publication status	Published - 2014

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Physical Geography

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1021/ez500169j

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title = "The Full Annual Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests Is Highly Sensitive to Precipitation",

abstract = "The boreal forest carbon balance is predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Carbon balance estimates of these biomes stem mainly from eddy-covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). However, a full net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) must include the lateral carbon export (LCE) through discharge. We show that annual LCE at a boreal forest site ranged from 4 to 28%, averaging 11% (standard deviation of 8%), of annual NEE over 13 years. Annual LCE and NEE are strongly anticorrelated; years with weak NEE coincide with high LCE. The decreased NEE in response to increased precipitation is caused by a reduction in the amount of incoming radiation caused by clouds. If our finding is also valid for other sites, it implies that increased precipitation at high latitudes may shift forest NECB in large areas of the boreal biome. Our results call for future analysis of this dual effect of precipitation on NEE and LCE.",

author = "Oquist, {M. G.} and K. Bishop and A. Grelle and L. Klemedtsson and Kohler, {S. J.} and H. Laudon and Anders Lindroth and Lofvenius, {M. Ottosson} and Wallin, {M. B.} and Nilsson, {M. B.}",

year = "2014",

doi = "10.1021/ez500169j",

language = "English",

volume = "1",

pages = "315--319",

journal = "Environmental Science & Technology Letters",

issn = "2328-8930",

publisher = "The American Chemical Society (ACS)",

number = "7",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Full Annual Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests Is Highly Sensitive to Precipitation

AU - Oquist, M. G.

AU - Bishop, K.

AU - Grelle, A.

AU - Klemedtsson, L.

AU - Kohler, S. J.

AU - Laudon, H.

AU - Lindroth, Anders

AU - Lofvenius, M. Ottosson

AU - Wallin, M. B.

AU - Nilsson, M. B.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - The boreal forest carbon balance is predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Carbon balance estimates of these biomes stem mainly from eddy-covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). However, a full net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) must include the lateral carbon export (LCE) through discharge. We show that annual LCE at a boreal forest site ranged from 4 to 28%, averaging 11% (standard deviation of 8%), of annual NEE over 13 years. Annual LCE and NEE are strongly anticorrelated; years with weak NEE coincide with high LCE. The decreased NEE in response to increased precipitation is caused by a reduction in the amount of incoming radiation caused by clouds. If our finding is also valid for other sites, it implies that increased precipitation at high latitudes may shift forest NECB in large areas of the boreal biome. Our results call for future analysis of this dual effect of precipitation on NEE and LCE.

AB - The boreal forest carbon balance is predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Carbon balance estimates of these biomes stem mainly from eddy-covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). However, a full net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) must include the lateral carbon export (LCE) through discharge. We show that annual LCE at a boreal forest site ranged from 4 to 28%, averaging 11% (standard deviation of 8%), of annual NEE over 13 years. Annual LCE and NEE are strongly anticorrelated; years with weak NEE coincide with high LCE. The decreased NEE in response to increased precipitation is caused by a reduction in the amount of incoming radiation caused by clouds. If our finding is also valid for other sites, it implies that increased precipitation at high latitudes may shift forest NECB in large areas of the boreal biome. Our results call for future analysis of this dual effect of precipitation on NEE and LCE.

U2 - 10.1021/ez500169j

DO - 10.1021/ez500169j

M3 - Article

SN - 2328-8930

VL - 1

SP - 315

EP - 319

JO - Environmental Science & Technology Letters

JF - Environmental Science & Technology Letters

IS - 7

ER -

The Full Annual Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests Is Highly Sensitive to Precipitation

Abstract

Subject classification (UKÄ)

UN SDGs

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