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Dou Y, Tong X, Horion S, Feng L, Fensholt R, Shao Q, Tian F. The success of ecological engineering projects on vegetation restoration in China strongly depends on climatic conditions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 915:170041. [PMID: 38218475 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
China has implemented extensive ecological engineering projects (EEPs) during recent decades to restore and enhance ecosystem functioning. However, the effectiveness of these interventions can vary due to factors such as local climate and specific project objectives. Here, we used two independent satellite remote sensing datasets, including the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling System (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and vegetation optical depth from Ku-band (Ku-VOD), to investigate the vegetation trends in two hotspot regions of EEPs characterized by different climate conditions, i.e., the xeric/semi-xeric Loess Plateau and mesic southwest China. We found diverging vegetation greenness/biomass trend shift patterns in these two regions as a result of the combined effects of EEPs and climate variations, as indicated by changes in the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). In the Loess Plateau, where no significant climate variations were observed, NDVI/Ku-VOD increased continuously after the implementation of key EEPs in 2000. Conversely, southwest China has experienced persistent drying since 2000, and vegetation greenness/biomass showed an increasing trend during the initial stages of ecological engineering implementation but subsequently reversed towards a decline due to the continued dry climatic conditions. We used the residual trend method to separate the influence of EEPs from climate variations on vegetation trends and found a positive effect of the ecological management practices in the Loess Plateau, yet a predominantly negative effect in the southwest China region, which means that projects implemented in southwest China did not lead to a long-term improvement in vegetation growth under the given climate conditions in southwest China. This adverse impact suggests that ecological engineering practices could potentially increase the ecosystem's vulnerability to droughts, owing to the increased transpirational water demands introduced by ecological engineering interventions. Our study highlights the importance of considering the expected occurrence and magnitude of climatic variability when implementing large-scale EEPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujie Dou
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Quantitative Remote Sensing of Land and Atmosphere, School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoye Tong
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stéphanie Horion
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Luwei Feng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Quantitative Remote Sensing of Land and Atmosphere, School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Quanqin Shao
- Key Laboratory of Land Surface Patterns and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101407, China
| | - Feng Tian
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Quantitative Remote Sensing of Land and Atmosphere, School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Perception and Effectiveness Assessment for Carbon-neutrality Efforts, Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education, Wuhan, China.
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Liu X, Zhao W, Yao Y, Pereira P. The rising human footprint in the Tibetan Plateau threatens the effectiveness of ecological restoration on vegetation growth. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 351:119963. [PMID: 38169261 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Ecological restoration projects in the Tibetan Plateau aimed to reverse ecosystem degradation and safeguard the fragile alpine ecological environment. However, it is still being determined if the vegetation restoration is successful on a large scale or reaches the expected magnitude, restricting our ability to adapt practices to maximise the benefit. With multiple vegetation indices (VIs: NDVI, LAI, and GPP) from satellite observations and random forest machine-learning models, we performed an attribution study on vegetation growth trends caused by climate change and human activities. Then, we further explored the relationship between vegetation growth and ecological projects and human footprint without the influence of climate. The results showed that climatic change was a relatively strong driver of vegetation growth. The positive contributions of ecological restoration occurred only in half of the plateau due to the increased human footprint. Vegetation enhancement resulting from ecological restoration occurred in 13.1%-23.1% of the plateau. Among these values, ecological restoration counteracted the negative climate effects in 4.7%-8.3% of the plateau (about half of the negative climate effect area). In forest and grassland protection areas, the ecological restoration was more successful. The study provides a better understanding of the role of ecological projects in vegetation restoration and potential threats to its effectiveness. This is essential to improve future restoration projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Wenwu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Ying Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Paulo Pereira
- Environmental Management Center, Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities g. 20, LT-08303, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Wang H, Liu Y, Wang Y, Yao Y, Wang C. Land cover change in global drylands: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 863:160943. [PMID: 36526201 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
As a sensitive region, identifying land cover change in drylands is critical to understanding global environmental change. However, the current findings related to land cover change in drylands are not uniform due to differences in data and methods among studies. We compared and judged the spatial and temporal characteristics, driving forces, and ecological effects by identifying the main findings of land cover change in drylands at global and regional scales (especially in China) to strengthen the overall understanding of land cover change in drylands. Four main points were obtained. First, while most studies found that drylands were experiencing vegetation greening, some evidence showed decreases in vegetation and large increases in bare land due to inconsistencies in the datasets and the study phases. Second, the dominant factors affecting land cover change in drylands are precipitation, agricultural activities, and urban expansion. Third, the impact of land cover change on the water cycle, especially the impact of afforestation on water resources in drylands, is of great concern. Finally, drylands experience severe land degradation and require dataset matching (classification standards, resolution, etc.) to quantify the impact of human activities on land cover.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Wang
- School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China; State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yanxu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Yijia Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Ying Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Chenxu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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4
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Fawcett D, Sitch S, Ciais P, Wigneron JP, Silva‐Junior CHL, Heinrich V, Vancutsem C, Achard F, Bastos A, Yang H, Li X, Albergel C, Friedlingstein P, Aragão LEOC. Declining Amazon biomass due to deforestation and subsequent degradation losses exceeding gains. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:1106-1118. [PMID: 36415966 PMCID: PMC10100003 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In the Amazon, deforestation and climate change lead to increased vulnerability to forest degradation, threatening its existing carbon stocks and its capacity as a carbon sink. We use satellite L-Band Vegetation Optical Depth (L-VOD) data that provide an integrated (top-down) estimate of biomass carbon to track changes over 2011-2019. Because the spatial resolution of L-VOD is coarse (0.25°), it allows limited attribution of the observed changes. We therefore combined high-resolution annual maps of forest cover and disturbances with biomass maps to model carbon losses (bottom-up) from deforestation and degradation, and gains from regrowing secondary forests. We show an increase of deforestation and associated degradation losses since 2012 which greatly outweigh secondary forest gains. Degradation accounted for 40% of gross losses. After an increase in 2011, old-growth forests show a net loss of above-ground carbon between 2012 and 2019. The sum of component carbon fluxes in our model is consistent with the total biomass change from L-VOD of 1.3 Pg C over 2012-2019. Across nine Amazon countries, we found that while Brazil contains the majority of biomass stocks (64%), its losses from disturbances were disproportionately high (79% of gross losses). Our multi-source analysis provides a pessimistic assessment of the Amazon carbon balance and highlights the urgent need to stop the recent rise of deforestation and degradation, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Fawcett
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Stephen Sitch
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement LSCECEA CNRS UVSQ, Centre d'Etudes Orme de MerisiersGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
| | | | - Celso H. L. Silva‐Junior
- Institute of Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCaliforniaUSA
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biodiversidade e ConservaçãoUniversidade Federal do MaranhãoSão LuísBrazil
| | - Viola Heinrich
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Christelle Vancutsem
- FINCONs GroupMilanItaly
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)BogorIndonesia
| | | | - Ana Bastos
- Department of Biogeochemical IntegrationMax Planck Institute for BiogeochemistryJenaGermany
| | - Hui Yang
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement LSCECEA CNRS UVSQ, Centre d'Etudes Orme de MerisiersGif‐sur‐YvetteFrance
- Department of Biogeochemical IntegrationMax Planck Institute for BiogeochemistryJenaGermany
| | - Xiaojun Li
- INRAE, UMR ISPAUniversité de BordeauxVillenave d'OrnonFrance
| | - Clément Albergel
- European Space Agency Climate OfficeECSAT, Harwell CampusDidcotOxfordshireUK
| | - Pierre Friedlingstein
- Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- LMD/IPSL, ENS PSL Université, Ècole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de ParisSorbonne Université, CNRSParisFrance
| | - Luiz E. O. C. Aragão
- Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and EconomyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- Tropical Ecosystems and Environmental Sciences LaboratorySão José dos CamposBrazil
- Earth Observation and Geoinformatics DivisionNational Institute for Space ResearchSão José dos CamposBrazil
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5
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Babiy IA, Im ST, Kharuk VI. Estimating Aboveground Forest Biomass Using Radar Methods. CONTEMP PROBL ECOL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1995425522050031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
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Küçük Ç, Koirala S, Carvalhais N, Miralles DG, Reichstein M, Jung M. Observation-based assessment of secondary water effects on seasonal vegetation decay across Africa. Front Big Data 2022; 5:967477. [PMID: 36156935 PMCID: PMC9500241 DOI: 10.3389/fdata.2022.967477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Local studies and modeling experiments suggest that shallow groundwater and lateral redistribution of soil moisture, together with soil properties, can be highly important secondary water sources for vegetation in water-limited ecosystems. However, there is a lack of observation-based studies of these terrain-associated secondary water effects on vegetation over large spatial domains. Here, we quantify the role of terrain properties on the spatial variations of dry season vegetation decay rate across Africa obtained from geostationary satellite acquisitions to assess the large-scale relevance of secondary water effects. We use machine learning based attribution to identify where and under which conditions terrain properties related to topography, water table depth, and soil hydraulic properties influence the rate of vegetation decay. Over the study domain, the machine learning model attributes about one-third of the spatial variations of vegetation decay rates to terrain properties, which is roughly equally split between direct terrain effects and interaction effects with climate and vegetation variables. The importance of secondary water effects increases with increasing topographic variability, shallower groundwater levels, and the propensity to capillary rise given by soil properties. In regions with favorable terrain properties, more than 60% of the variations in the decay rate of vegetation are attributed to terrain properties, highlighting the importance of secondary water effects on vegetation in Africa. Our findings provide an empirical assessment of the importance of local-scale secondary water effects on vegetation over Africa and help to improve hydrological and vegetation models for the challenge of bridging processes across spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Çağlar Küçük
- Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Hydro-Climate Extremes Lab (H-CEL), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- *Correspondence: Çağlar Küçük
| | - Sujan Koirala
- Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Nuno Carvalhais
- Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE), Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
| | - Diego G. Miralles
- Hydro-Climate Extremes Lab (H-CEL), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Markus Reichstein
- Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Jung
- Department of Biogeochemical Integration, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
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7
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Climatic and biotic factors influencing regional declines and recovery of tropical forest biomass from the 2015/16 El Niño. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2101388119. [PMID: 35733266 PMCID: PMC9245643 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2101388119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2015/16 El Niño brought severe drought and record-breaking temperatures in the tropics. Here, using satellite-based L-band microwave vegetation optical depth, we mapped changes of above-ground biomass (AGB) during the drought and in subsequent years up to 2019. Over more than 60% of drought-affected intact forests, AGB reduced during the drought, except in the wettest part of the central Amazon, where it declined 1 y later. By the end of 2019, only 40% of AGB reduced intact forests had fully recovered to the predrought level. Using random-forest models, we found that the magnitude of AGB losses during the drought was mainly associated with regionally distinct patterns of soil water deficits and soil clay content. For the AGB recovery, we found strong influences of AGB losses during the drought and of [Formula: see text]. [Formula: see text] is a parameter related to canopy structure and is defined as the ratio of two relative height (RH) metrics of Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) waveform data-RH25 (25% energy return height) and RH100 (100% energy return height; i.e., top canopy height). A high [Formula: see text] may reflect forests with a tall understory, thick and closed canopy, and/or without degradation. Such forests with a high [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] ≥ 0.3) appear to have a stronger capacity to recover than low-[Formula: see text] ones. Our results highlight the importance of forest structure when predicting the consequences of future drought stress in the tropics.
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8
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Cunliffe AM, Anderson K, Boschetti F, Brazier RE, Graham HA, Myers‐Smith IH, Astor T, Boer MM, Calvo LG, Clark PE, Cramer MD, Encinas‐Lara MS, Escarzaga SM, Fernández‐Guisuraga JM, Fisher AG, Gdulová K, Gillespie BM, Griebel A, Hanan NP, Hanggito MS, Haselberger S, Havrilla CA, Heilman P, Ji W, Karl JW, Kirchhoff M, Kraushaar S, Lyons MB, Marzolff I, Mauritz ME, McIntire CD, Metzen D, Méndez‐Barroso LA, Power SC, Prošek J, Sanz‐Ablanedo E, Sauer KJ, Schulze‐Brüninghoff D, Šímová P, Sitch S, Smit JL, Steele CM, Suárez‐Seoane S, Vargas SA, Villarreal M, Visser F, Wachendorf M, Wirnsberger H, Wojcikiewicz R. Global application of an unoccupied aerial vehicle photogrammetry protocol for predicting aboveground biomass in non-forest ecosystems. REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 2022; 8:57-71. [PMID: 35873085 PMCID: PMC9290598 DOI: 10.1002/rse2.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Non-forest ecosystems, dominated by shrubs, grasses and herbaceous plants, provide ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and forage for grazing, and are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Yet these ecosystems are poorly represented in remotely sensed biomass products and are undersampled by in situ monitoring. Current global change threats emphasize the need for new tools to capture biomass change in non-forest ecosystems at appropriate scales. Here we developed and deployed a new protocol for photogrammetric height using unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) images to test its capability for delivering standardized measurements of biomass across a globally distributed field experiment. We assessed whether canopy height inferred from UAV photogrammetry allows the prediction of aboveground biomass (AGB) across low-stature plant species by conducting 38 photogrammetric surveys over 741 harvested plots to sample 50 species. We found mean canopy height was strongly predictive of AGB across species, with a median adjusted R 2 of 0.87 (ranging from 0.46 to 0.99) and median prediction error from leave-one-out cross-validation of 3.9%. Biomass per-unit-of-height was similar within but different among, plant functional types. We found that photogrammetric reconstructions of canopy height were sensitive to wind speed but not sun elevation during surveys. We demonstrated that our photogrammetric approach produced generalizable measurements across growth forms and environmental settings and yielded accuracies as good as those obtained from in situ approaches. We demonstrate that using a standardized approach for UAV photogrammetry can deliver accurate AGB estimates across a wide range of dynamic and heterogeneous ecosystems. Many academic and land management institutions have the technical capacity to deploy these approaches over extents of 1-10 ha-1. Photogrammetric approaches could provide much-needed information required to calibrate and validate the vegetation models and satellite-derived biomass products that are essential to understand vulnerable and understudied non-forested ecosystems around the globe.
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9
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Konings AG, Saatchi SS, Frankenberg C, Keller M, Leshyk V, Anderegg WRL, Humphrey V, Matheny AM, Trugman A, Sack L, Agee E, Barnes ML, Binks O, Cawse‐Nicholson K, Christoffersen BO, Entekhabi D, Gentine P, Holtzman NM, Katul GG, Liu Y, Longo M, Martinez‐Vilalta J, McDowell N, Meir P, Mencuccini M, Mrad A, Novick KA, Oliveira RS, Siqueira P, Steele‐Dunne SC, Thompson DR, Wang Y, Wehr R, Wood JD, Xu X, Zuidema PA. Detecting forest response to droughts with global observations of vegetation water content. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:6005-6024. [PMID: 34478589 PMCID: PMC9293345 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Droughts in a warming climate have become more common and more extreme, making understanding forest responses to water stress increasingly pressing. Analysis of water stress in trees has long focused on water potential in xylem and leaves, which influences stomatal closure and water flow through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. At the same time, changes of vegetation water content (VWC) are linked to a range of tree responses, including fluxes of water and carbon, mortality, flammability, and more. Unlike water potential, which requires demanding in situ measurements, VWC can be retrieved from remote sensing measurements, particularly at microwave frequencies using radar and radiometry. Here, we highlight key frontiers through which VWC has the potential to significantly increase our understanding of forest responses to water stress. To validate remote sensing observations of VWC at landscape scale and to better relate them to data assimilation model parameters, we introduce an ecosystem-scale analog of the pressure-volume curve, the non-linear relationship between average leaf or branch water potential and water content commonly used in plant hydraulics. The sources of variability in these ecosystem-scale pressure-volume curves and their relationship to forest response to water stress are discussed. We further show to what extent diel, seasonal, and decadal dynamics of VWC reflect variations in different processes relating the tree response to water stress. VWC can also be used for inferring belowground conditions-which are difficult to impossible to observe directly. Lastly, we discuss how a dedicated geostationary spaceborne observational system for VWC, when combined with existing datasets, can capture diel and seasonal water dynamics to advance the science and applications of global forest vulnerability to future droughts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sassan S. Saatchi
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | - Michael Keller
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
- United States Forest ServiceWashingtonDCUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - Anna Trugman
- University of California ‐ Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCAUSA
| | - Lawren Sack
- University of California ‐ Los AngelesLos AngelesCAUSA
| | | | | | - Oliver Binks
- The Australian National UniversityCanberraACTAustralia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Marcos Longo
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Jordi Martinez‐Vilalta
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF)BarcelonaSpain
- Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Nate McDowell
- Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryRichlandWAUSA
- Washington State UniversityPullmanWAUSA
| | - Patrick Meir
- The Australian National UniversityCanberraACTAustralia
- University of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Maurizio Mencuccini
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF)BarcelonaSpain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)BarcelonaSpain
| | - Assaad Mrad
- University of California ‐ IrvineIrvineCAUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - David R. Thompson
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Yujie Wang
- California Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
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10
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The Contribution of Trees Outside of Forests to Landscape Carbon and Climate Change Mitigation in West Africa. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12121652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
While closed canopy forests have been an important focal point for land cover change monitoring and climate change mitigation, less consideration has been given to methods for large scale measurements of trees outside of forests. Trees outside of forests are an important but often overlooked natural resource throughout sub-Saharan Africa, providing benefits for livelihoods as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this study, the development of an individual tree cover map using very high-resolution remote sensing and a comparison with a new automated machine learning mapping product revealed an important contribution of trees outside of forests to landscape tree cover and carbon stocks in a region where trees outside of forests are important components of livelihood systems. Here, we test and demonstrate the use of allometric scaling from remote sensing crown area to provide estimates of landscape-scale carbon stocks. Prominent biomass and carbon maps from global-scale remote sensing greatly underestimate the “invisible” carbon in these sparse tree-based systems. The measurement of tree cover and carbon in these landscapes has important application in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.
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11
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Feldman AF, Chaparro D, Entekhabi D. Error Propagation in Microwave Soil Moisture and Vegetation Optical Depth Retrievals. IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING 2021; 14:11311-11323. [PMID: 35003512 PMCID: PMC8740529 DOI: 10.1109/jstars.2021.3124857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Satellite soil moisture and vegetation optical depth [(VOD); related to the total vegetation water mass per unit area] are increasingly being used to study water relations in the soil-plant continuum across the globe. However, soil moisture and VOD are typically jointly estimated, where errors in the optimization approach can cause compensation between both variables and confound such studies. It is thus critical to quantify how satellite microwave measurement errors propagate into soil moisture and VOD. Such a study is especially important for VOD given limited investigations of whether VOD reflects in situ plant physiology. Furthermore, despite new approaches that constrain (or regularize) VOD dynamics to reduce soil moisture errors, there is limited study of whether regularization reduces VOD errors without obscuring true vegetation temporal dynamics. Here, we find that, across the globe, VOD is less robust to measurement error (more difficult for optimization methods to find the true solution) than soil moisture in their joint estimation. However, a moderate degree of regularization (via time-constrained VOD) reduces errors in VOD to a greater degree than soil moisture and reduces spurious soil moisture-VOD coupling. Furthermore, despite constraining VOD time dynamics, regularized VOD variations on subweekly scales are both closer to simulated true VOD time series and have global VOD post-rainfall responses with reduced error signatures compared to VOD retrievals without regularization. Ultimately, we recommend moderately regularized VOD for use in large scale studies of soil-plant water relations because it suppresses noise and spurious soil moisture-VOD coupling without removing the physical signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F Feldman
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - David Chaparro
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
| | - Dara Entekhabi
- CommSensLab, Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Satellite Retrieval of Microwave Land Surface Emissivity under Clear and Cloudy Skies in China Using Observations from AMSR-E and MODIS. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13193980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Microwave land surface emissivity (MLSE) is an important geophysical parameter to determine the microwave radiative transfer over land and has broad applications in satellite remote sensing of atmospheric parameters (e.g., precipitation, cloud properties), land surface parameters (e.g., soil moisture, vegetation properties), and the parameters of interactions between atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystem (e.g., evapotranspiration rate, gross primary production rate). In this study, MLSE in China under both clear and cloudy sky conditions was retrieved using satellite passive microwave measurements from Aqua Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), combined with visible/infrared observations from Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmosphere reanalysis dataset of ERA-20C. Attenuations from atmospheric oxygen and water vapor, as well as the emissions and scatterings from cloud particles are taken into account using a microwave radiation transfer model to do atmosphere corrections. All cloud parameters needed are derived from MODIS visible and infrared instantaneous measurements. Ancillary surface skin temperature as well as atmospheric temperature-humidity profiles are collected from ECMWF reanalysis data. Quality control and sensitivity analyses were conducted for the input variables of surface skin temperature, air temperature, and atmospheric humidity. The ground-based validations show acceptable biases of primary input parameters (skin temperature, 2 m air temperature, near surface relative humidity, rain flag) for retrieving using. The subsequent sensitivity tests suggest that 10 K bias of skin temperature or observed brightness temperature may result in a 4% (~0.04) or 7% (0.07) retrieving error in MLSE at 23.5 GHz. A nonlinear sensitivity in the same magnitude is found for air temperature perturbation, while the sensitivity is less than 1% for 300 g/m2 error in cloud water path. Results show that our algorithm can successfully retrieve MLSE over 90% of the satellite detected land surface area in a typical cloudy day (cloud fraction of 64%), which is considerably higher than that of the 29% area by the clear-sky only algorithms. The spatial distribution of MLSE in China is highly dependent on the land surface types and topography. The retrieved MLSE is assessed by compared with other existing clear-sky AMSR-E emissivity products and the vegetation optical depth (VOD) product. Overall, high consistencies are shown for the MLSE retrieved in this study with other AMSR-E emissivity products across China though noticeable discrepancies are observed in Tibetan Plateau and Qinling-Taihang Mountains due to different sources of input skin temperature. In addition, the retrieved MLSE exhibits strong positive correlations in spatial patterns with microwave vegetation optical depth reported in the literature.
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13
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Recent Changes in Hydroclimatic Patterns over Medium Niger River Basins at the Origin of the 2020 Flood in Niamey (Niger). WATER 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/w13121659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Niamey, the capital of Niger, is particularly prone to floods, since it is on the banks of the Niger River, which in its middle basin has two flood peaks: one in summer (the red flood) and one in winter (the black flood). In 2020, the Niger River in Niamey reached its all-time highest levels following an abundant rainy season. On the other hand, the floods in Niamey have been particularly frequent in the last decade, a symptom of a change in hydroclimatic behaviour already observed since the end of the great droughts of the 1970s and 1980s and which is identified with the name of Sahelian Paradox. This study, starting from the analysis of the 2020 flood and from the update of the rating curve of the Niamey hydrometric station, analyses the rainfall–runoff relationship on the Sahelian basins of the Medium Niger River Basin (MNRB) that are at the origin of the local flood. The comparative analysis of runoffs, annual maximum flows (AMAX) and runoff coefficients with various rainfall indices calculated on gridded datasets allowed to hydroclimatically characterise the last decade as a different period from the wet one before the drought, the dry one and the post-drought one. Compared to the last one, the current period is characterised by a sustained increase in hydrological indicators (AMAX +27%) consistent with the increase in both the accumulation of precipitation (+11%) and the number (+51%) and magnitude (+54%) of extreme events in the MNRB. Furthermore, a greater concentration of rainfall and extremes (+78%) in August contributes to reinforcing the red flood’s positive anomalies (+2.23 st.dev in 2020). The study indicates that under these conditions the frequency of extreme hydrological events in Niamey will tend to increase further also because of the concurrence of drivers such as river-bed silting and levee effects. Consequently, the study concludes with the need for a comprehensive flood-risk assessment on the Niamey city that considers both recent hydroclimatic trends and urbanisation dynamics in flood zones hence defining the most appropriate risk-reduction strategies.
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14
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Pellegrini AFA, Refsland T, Averill C, Terrer C, Staver AC, Brockway DG, Caprio A, Clatterbuck W, Coetsee C, Haywood JD, Hobbie SE, Hoffmann WA, Kush J, Lewis T, Moser WK, Overby ST, Patterson WA, Peay KG, Reich PB, Ryan C, Sayer MAS, Scharenbroch BC, Schoennagel T, Smith GR, Stephan K, Swanston C, Turner MG, Varner JM, Jackson RB. Decadal changes in fire frequencies shift tree communities and functional traits. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:504-512. [PMID: 33633371 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01401-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Global change has resulted in chronic shifts in fire regimes. Variability in the sensitivity of tree communities to multi-decadal changes in fire regimes is critical to anticipating shifts in ecosystem structure and function, yet remains poorly understood. Here, we address the overall effects of fire on tree communities and the factors controlling their sensitivity in 29 sites that experienced multi-decadal alterations in fire frequencies in savanna and forest ecosystems across tropical and temperate regions. Fire had a strong overall effect on tree communities, with an average fire frequency (one fire every three years) reducing stem density by 48% and basal area by 53% after 50 years, relative to unburned plots. The largest changes occurred in savanna ecosystems and in sites with strong wet seasons or strong dry seasons, pointing to fire characteristics and species composition as important. Analyses of functional traits highlighted the impact of fire-driven changes in soil nutrients because frequent burning favoured trees with low biomass nitrogen and phosphorus content, and with more efficient nitrogen acquisition through ectomycorrhizal symbioses. Taken together, the response of trees to altered fire frequencies depends both on climatic and vegetation determinants of fire behaviour and tree growth, and the coupling between fire-driven nutrient losses and plant traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam F A Pellegrini
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. .,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Tyler Refsland
- Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Colin Averill
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - César Terrer
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - A Carla Staver
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dale G Brockway
- Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Anthony Caprio
- National Parks Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA, USA
| | - Wayne Clatterbuck
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Corli Coetsee
- Scientific Services, South African National Parks, Kruger National Park, Skukuza, South Africa.,School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
| | - James D Haywood
- Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Pineville, LA, USA
| | - Sarah E Hobbie
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - William A Hoffmann
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - John Kush
- School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Tom Lewis
- Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - W Keith Moser
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Steven T Overby
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - William A Patterson
- Forestry Program, Holdsworth Natural Resources Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Kabir G Peay
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Peter B Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Casey Ryan
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Bryant C Scharenbroch
- College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, USA
| | - Tania Schoennagel
- Department of Geography, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Gabriel Reuben Smith
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kirsten Stephan
- Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| | - Chris Swanston
- Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Houghton, MI, USA
| | - Monica G Turner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Robert B Jackson
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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15
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Comparative Evaluation of Microwave L-Band VOD and Optical NDVI for Agriculture Drought Detection over Central Europe. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13071251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Agricultural droughts impose many economic and social losses on various communities. Most of the effective tools developed for agricultural drought assessment are based on vegetation indices (VIs). The aim of this study is to compare the response of two commonly used VIs to meteorological droughts—Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) vegetation optical depth (VOD). For this purpose, meteorological droughts are calculated by using a standardized precipitation index over more than 24,000 pixels at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution located in central Europe. Then, to evaluate the capability of VIs in the detection of agricultural droughts, the average values of VIs anomalies during dry and wet periods obtained from meteorological droughts are statistically compared to each other. Additionally, to assess the response time of VIs to meteorological droughts, a time lag of one to six months is applied to the anomaly time series of VIs during their comparison. Results show that over 35% of the considered pixels NDVI, over 22% of VOD, and over 8% of both VIs anomalies have a significant response to drought events, while the significance level of these differences and the response time of VIs vary with different land use and climate conditions.
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16
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Ross CW, Hanan NP, Prihodko L, Anchang J, Ji W, Yu Q. Woody-biomass projections and drivers of change in sub-Saharan Africa. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE 2021; 11:449-455. [PMID: 35136420 PMCID: PMC8819706 DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01034-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Africa's ecosystems have an important role in global carbon dynamics, yet consensus is lacking regarding the amount of carbon stored in woody vegetation and the potential impacts to carbon storage in response to changes in climate, land use, and other Anthropocene risks. Here, we explore the socio-environmental conditions that shaped the contemporary distribution of woody vegetation across sub-Saharan Africa and evaluate ecosystem response to multiple scenarios of climate change, anthropogenic pressures, and fire disturbance. Our projections suggest climate change will have a small but negative effect on above ground woody biomass at the continental scale, and the compounding effects of population growth, increasing human pressures, and socio-climatic driven changes in fire behavior further exacerbate climate-driven trends. Relatively modest continental-scale trends obscure much larger regional perturbations, with climatic and anthropogenic factors leading to increased carbon storage potential in East Africa, offset by large deficits in West, Central, and Southern Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Wade Ross
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
- Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida 32312, USA
| | - Niall P Hanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Lara Prihodko
- Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Julius Anchang
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Wenjie Ji
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Qiuyan Yu
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
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17
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2019–2020 Australia Fire and Its Relationship to Hydroclimatological and Vegetation Variabilities. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12113067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Wildfire is a major concern worldwide and particularly in Australia. The 2019–2020 wildfires in Australia became historically significant as they were widespread and extremely severe. Linking climate and vegetation settings to wildfires can provide insightful information for wildfire prediction, and help better understand wildfires behavior in the future. The goal of this research was to examine the relationship between the recent wildfires, various hydroclimatological variables, and satellite-retrieved vegetation indices. The analyses performed here show the uniqueness of the 2019–2020 wildfires. The near-surface air temperature from December 2019 to February 2020 was about 1 °C higher than the 20-year mean, which increased the evaporative demand. The lack of precipitation before the wildfires, due to an enhanced high-pressure system over southeast Australia, prevented the soil from having enough moisture to supply the demand, and set the stage for a large amount of dry fuel that highly favored the spread of the fires.
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18
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Brandt M, Tucker CJ, Kariryaa A, Rasmussen K, Abel C, Small J, Chave J, Rasmussen LV, Hiernaux P, Diouf AA, Kergoat L, Mertz O, Igel C, Gieseke F, Schöning J, Li S, Melocik K, Meyer J, Sinno S, Romero E, Glennie E, Montagu A, Dendoncker M, Fensholt R. An unexpectedly large count of trees in the West African Sahara and Sahel. Nature 2020; 587:78-82. [PMID: 33057199 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2824-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A large proportion of dryland trees and shrubs (hereafter referred to collectively as trees) grow in isolation, without canopy closure. These non-forest trees have a crucial role in biodiversity, and provide ecosystem services such as carbon storage, food resources and shelter for humans and animals1,2. However, most public interest relating to trees is devoted to forests, and trees outside of forests are not well-documented3. Here we map the crown size of each tree more than 3 m2 in size over a land area that spans 1.3 million km2 in the West African Sahara, Sahel and sub-humid zone, using submetre-resolution satellite imagery and deep learning4. We detected over 1.8 billion individual trees (13.4 trees per hectare), with a median crown size of 12 m2, along a rainfall gradient from 0 to 1,000 mm per year. The canopy cover increases from 0.1% (0.7 trees per hectare) in hyper-arid areas, through 1.6% (9.9 trees per hectare) in arid and 5.6% (30.1 trees per hectare) in semi-arid zones, to 13.3% (47 trees per hectare) in sub-humid areas. Although the overall canopy cover is low, the relatively high density of isolated trees challenges prevailing narratives about dryland desertification5-7, and even the desert shows a surprisingly high tree density. Our assessment suggests a way to monitor trees outside of forests globally, and to explore their role in mitigating degradation, climate change and poverty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. .,Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
| | | | - Ankit Kariryaa
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,HCI Group, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Kjeld Rasmussen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christin Abel
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jennifer Small
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Jerome Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution and Diversité Biologique, CNRS, UPS, IRD, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Laura Vang Rasmussen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Pierre Hiernaux
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,Pastoralisme Conseil, Caylus, France
| | | | - Laurent Kergoat
- Geosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, UMR 5563 (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), Toulouse, France
| | - Ole Mertz
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Igel
- Department of Computer Science (DIKU), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Fabian Gieseke
- Department of Computer Science (DIKU), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Information Systems, University of Műnster, Műnster, Germany
| | | | - Sizhuo Li
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Katherine Melocik
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Jesse Meyer
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Scott Sinno
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Eric Romero
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Erin Glennie
- Science Systems and Applications Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Amandine Montagu
- Département de Géosciences, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Morgane Dendoncker
- Earth and Life Institute, Environmental Sciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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19
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Spatial validation reveals poor predictive performance of large-scale ecological mapping models. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4540. [PMID: 32917875 PMCID: PMC7486894 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18321-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Mapping aboveground forest biomass is central for assessing the global carbon balance. However, current large-scale maps show strong disparities, despite good validation statistics of their underlying models. Here, we attribute this contradiction to a flaw in the validation methods, which ignore spatial autocorrelation (SAC) in data, leading to overoptimistic assessment of model predictive power. To illustrate this issue, we reproduce the approach of large-scale mapping studies using a massive forest inventory dataset of 11.8 million trees in central Africa to train and validate a random forest model based on multispectral and environmental variables. A standard nonspatial validation method suggests that the model predicts more than half of the forest biomass variation, while spatial validation methods accounting for SAC reveal quasi-null predictive power. This study underscores how a common practice in big data mapping studies shows an apparent high predictive power, even when predictors have poor relationships with the ecological variable of interest, thus possibly leading to erroneous maps and interpretations. Mapping ecological variables using machine-learning algorithms based on remote-sensing data has become a widespread practice in ecology. Here, the authors use forest biomass mapping as a study case to show that the most common model validation approach, which ignores data spatial structure, leads to overoptimistic assessment of model predictive power.
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20
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Global Monitoring of the Vegetation Dynamics from the Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD): A Review. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12182915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Vegetation is a key element in the energy, water and carbon balances over the land surfaces and is strongly impacted by climate change and anthropogenic effects. Remotely sensed observations are commonly used for the monitoring of vegetation dynamics and its temporal changes from regional to global scales. Among the different indices derived from Earth observation satellites to study the vegetation, the vegetation optical depth (VOD), which is related to the intensity of extinction effects within the vegetation canopy layer in the microwave domain and which can be derived from both passive and active microwave observations, is increasingly used for monitoring a wide range of ecological vegetation variables. Based on different frequency bands used to derive VOD, from L- to Ka-bands, these variables include, among others, the vegetation water content/status and the above ground biomass. In this review, the theoretical bases of VOD estimates for both the passive and active microwave domains are presented and the global long-term VOD products computed from various groups in the world are described. Then, major findings obtained using VOD are reviewed and the perspectives offered by methodological improvements and by new sensors onboard satellite missions recently launched or to be launched in a close future are presented.
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21
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Fagan ME. A lesson unlearned? Underestimating tree cover in drylands biases global restoration maps. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4679-4690. [PMID: 32614489 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Two recent global maps of tree restoration potential have identified vast regions where tree cover could be increased, ranging from 0.9 to 2.3 billion hectares. Both maps, however, emphasized dryland regions, with arid biomes making up 36%-42% of potential restoration area. Dryland biomes have repeatedly been recognized as inappropriate regions for expanding tree cover due to the risks of biodiversity loss, water overconsumption, and fire, so maps that highlight these regions for restoration must sustain careful scrutiny. Here, I show that both recent attempts to map restoration potential in arid regions have been hindered by underlying errors in the global tree cover maps they used. Systematic underestimates of existing sparse tree cover led directly to large overestimates of the potential for tree recovery in drylands. The Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities (Laestadius et al., Unasylva, 2011, 62, 47) overestimated tree restoration potential across a third of arid biomes by between 7% and 20% (55-166 million hectares [Mha]). Similarly, Bastin, Finegold, Garcia, Mollicone, et al. (Science, 2019, 365, 76) overestimated tree restoration potential across all arid biomes by 33%-45% (316-440 Mha). These inaccuracies limit the utility of this research for policy decisions in drylands and overstate the potential for tree planting to address climate change. Given this long-standing but underappreciated challenge in mapping global tree cover, I propose various ways forward that keep this lesson in mind. To better monitor and restore tree cover, I call for re-interpretation and correction of existing global maps, and for a new focus on quantifying sparse tree cover in drylands and other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Fagan
- Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
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22
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Paris Climate Agreement: Promoting Interdisciplinary Science and Stakeholders’ Approaches for Multi-Scale Implementation of Continental Carbon Sequestration. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12176715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The Paris Climate Agreements and Sustainable Development Goals, signed by 197 countries, present agendas and address key issues for implementing multi-scale responses for sustainable development under climate change—an effort that must involve local, regional, national, and supra-national stakeholders. In that regard, Continental Carbon Sequestration (CoCS) and conservation of carbon sinks are recognized increasingly as having potentially important roles in mitigating climate change and adapting to it. Making that potential a reality will require indicators of success for various stakeholders from multidisciplinary backgrounds, plus promotion of long-term implementation of strategic action towards civil society (e.g., law and policy makers, economists, and farmers). To help meet those challenges, this discussion paper summarizes the state of the art and uncertainties regarding CoCS, taking an interdisciplinary, holistic approach toward understanding these complex issues. The first part of the paper discusses the carbon cycle’s bio-geophysical processes, while the second introduces the plurality of geographical scales to be addressed when dealing with landscape management for CoCS. The third part addresses systemic viability, vulnerability, and resilience in CoCS practices, before concluding with the need to develop inter-disciplinarity in sustainable science, participative research, and the societal implications of sustainable CoCS actions.
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23
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Wei F, Wang S, Fu B, Brandt M, Pan N, Wang C, Fensholt R. Nonlinear dynamics of fires in Africa over recent decades controlled by precipitation. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4495-4505. [PMID: 32445413 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Dynamics of fires in Africa are of critical importance for understanding changes in ecosystem properties and effects on the global carbon cycle. Given increasing fire risk from projected warming on the one hand and a documented human-driven decline in fires on the other, it is still unknown how the complex interplay between climate and human factors affects recent changes of fires in Africa. Moreover, the impact of recent strong El Niño events on fire dynamics is not yet known. By applying an ensemble empirical mode decomposition method to satellite-derived fire burned area, we investigated the spatio-temporal evolution of fires in Africa over 2001-2016 and identified the potential dominant drivers. Our results show an overall decline of fire rates, which is continuous over the time period and mainly caused by cropland expansion in northern sub-Saharan Africa. However, we also find that years of high precipitation have caused an initial increase in fire rates in southern Africa, which reversed to a decline in later years. This decline is caused by a high frequency of dry years leading to very low fuel loads, suggesting that recent drought causes a general reduction of burned areas, in particular in xeric savannas. In some mesic regions (10°-15°S), solar radiation and increased temperature caused increase in fires. These findings show that climate change overrules the impact of human expansion on fire rates at the continental scale in Africa, reducing the fire risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangli Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shuai Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bojie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Naiqing Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Cong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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24
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Uncovering Dryland Woody Dynamics Using Optical, Microwave, and Field Data—Prolonged Above-Average Rainfall Paradoxically Contributes to Woody Plant Die-Off in the Western Sahel. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12142332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Dryland ecosystems are frequently struck by droughts. Yet, woody vegetation is often able to recover from mortality events once precipitation returns to pre-drought conditions. Climate change, however, may impact woody vegetation resilience due to more extreme and frequent droughts. Thus, better understanding how woody vegetation responds to drought events is essential. We used a phenology-based remote sensing approach coupled with field data to estimate the severity and recovery rates of a large scale die-off event that occurred in 2014–2015 in Senegal. Novel low (L-band) and high-frequency (Ku-band) passive microwave vegetation optical depth (VOD), and optical MODIS data, were used to estimate woody vegetation dynamics. The relative importance of soil, human-pressure, and before-drought vegetation dynamics influencing the woody vegetation response to the drought were assessed. The die-off in 2014–2015 represented the highest dry season VOD drop for the studied period (1989–2017), even though the 2014 drought was not as severe as the droughts in the 1980s and 1990s. The spatially explicit Die-off Severity Index derived in this study, at 500 m resolution, highlights woody plants mortality in the study area. Soil physical characteristics highly affected die-off severity and post-disturbance recovery, but pre-drought biomass accumulation (i.e., in areas that benefited from above-normal rainfall conditions before the 2014 drought) was the most important variable in explaining die-off severity. This study provides new evidence supporting a better understanding of the “greening Sahel”, suggesting that a sudden increase in woody vegetation biomass does not necessarily imply a stable ecosystem recovery from the droughts in the 1980s. Instead, prolonged above-normal rainfall conditions prior to a drought may result in the accumulation of woody biomass, creating the basis for potentially large-scale woody vegetation die-off events due to even moderate dry spells.
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A Review of Terrestrial Carbon Assessment Methods Using Geo-Spatial Technologies with Emphasis on Arid Lands. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12122008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Geo-spatial technologies (i.e., remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)) offer the means to enable a rapid assessment of terrestrial carbon stock (CS) over large areas. The utilization of an integrated RS-GIS approach for above ground biomass (AGB) estimation and precision carbon management is a timely and cost-effective solution for implementing appropriate management strategies at a localized and regional scale. The current study reviews various RS-related techniques used in the CS assessment, with emphasis on arid lands, and provides insight into the associated challenges, opportunities and future trends. The study examines the traditional methods and highlights their limitations. It explores recent and developing techniques, and identifies the most significant RS variables in depicting biophysical predictors. It further demonstrates the usefulness of geo-spatial technologies for assessing terrestrial CS, especially in arid lands. RS of vegetation in these ecosystems is constrained by unique challenges specific to their environmental conditions, leading to high inaccuracies when applying biomass estimation techniques developed for other ecosystems. This study reviews and highlights advantages and limitations of the various techniques and sensors, including optical, RADAR and LiDAR, that have been extensively used to estimate AGB and assess CS with RS data. Other new methods are introduced and discussed as well. Finally, the study highpoints the need for further work to fill the gaps and overcome limitations in using these emerging techniques for precision carbon management. Geo-spatial technologies are shown to be a valuable tool for estimating carbon sequestered especially in difficult and remote areas such as arid land.
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Bastos A, Ciais P, Friedlingstein P, Sitch S, Pongratz J, Fan L, Wigneron JP, Weber U, Reichstein M, Fu Z, Anthoni P, Arneth A, Haverd V, Jain AK, Joetzjer E, Knauer J, Lienert S, Loughran T, McGuire PC, Tian H, Viovy N, Zaehle S. Direct and seasonal legacy effects of the 2018 heat wave and drought on European ecosystem productivity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaba2724. [PMID: 32577519 PMCID: PMC7286671 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba2724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In summer 2018, central and northern Europe were stricken by extreme drought and heat (DH2018). The DH2018 differed from previous events in being preceded by extreme spring warming and brightening, but moderate rainfall deficits, yet registering the fastest transition between wet winter conditions and extreme summer drought. Using 11 vegetation models, we show that spring conditions promoted increased vegetation growth, which, in turn, contributed to fast soil moisture depletion, amplifying the summer drought. We find regional asymmetries in summer ecosystem carbon fluxes: increased (reduced) sink in the northern (southern) areas affected by drought. These asymmetries can be explained by distinct legacy effects of spring growth and of water-use efficiency dynamics mediated by vegetation composition, rather than by distinct ecosystem responses to summer heat/drought. The asymmetries in carbon and water exchanges during spring and summer 2018 suggest that future land-management strategies could influence patterns of summer heat waves and droughts under long-term warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Bastos
- Department of Geography, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Luisenstr. 37, 80333 Munich, Germany
| | - P. Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - P. Friedlingstein
- College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK
- LMD/IPSL, ENS, PSL Université, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - S. Sitch
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - J. Pongratz
- Department of Geography, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Luisenstr. 37, 80333 Munich, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - L. Fan
- ISPA, UMR 1391, INRA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, Grande Ferrage, Villenave d’Ornon, France
| | - J. P. Wigneron
- ISPA, UMR 1391, INRA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, Grande Ferrage, Villenave d’Ornon, France
| | - U. Weber
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - M. Reichstein
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Z. Fu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - P. Anthoni
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research/Atmospheric Environmental Research, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - A. Arneth
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research/Atmospheric Environmental Research, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - V. Haverd
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - A. K. Jain
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - E. Joetzjer
- CNRM, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - J. Knauer
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - S. Lienert
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland
| | - T. Loughran
- Department of Geography, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Luisenstr. 37, 80333 Munich, Germany
| | - P. C. McGuire
- Department of Meteorology, Department of Geography & Environmental Science, and National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, Earley Gate, RG66BB Reading, UK
| | - H. Tian
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - N. Viovy
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - S. Zaehle
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
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Evaluation of the Sensitivity of SMOS L-VOD to Forest Above-Ground Biomass at Global Scale. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12091450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The present study evaluates the L band Vegetation Optical Depth (L-VOD) derived from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite to monitor Above Ground Biomass (AGB) at a global scale. Although SMOS L-VOD has been shown to be a good proxy for AGB in Africa and Tropics, little is known about this relationship at large scale. In this study, we further examine this relationship at a global scale using the latest AGB maps from Saatchi et al. and GlobBiomass computed using data acquired during the SMOS period. We show that at a global scale the L-VOD from SMOS is well-correlated with the AGB estimates from Saatchi et al. and GlobBiomass with the Pearson’s correlation coefficients (R) of 0.91 and 0.94 respectively. Although AGB estimates in Africa and the Tropics are well-captured by SMOS L-VOD (R > 0.9), the relationship is less straightforward for the dense forests over the northern latitudes (R = 0.32 and 0.69 with Saatchi et al. and GlobBiomass respectively). This paper gives strong evidence in support of the sensitivity of SMOS L-VOD to AGB estimates at a globale scale, providing an interesting alternative and complement to exisiting sensors for monitoring biomass evolution. These findings can further facilitate research on biomass now that SMOS is providing more than 10 years of data.
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Houghton RA. Terrestrial fluxes of carbon in GCP carbon budgets. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:3006-3014. [PMID: 32100912 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The Global Carbon Project (GCP) has published global carbon budgets annually since 2007 (Canadell et al. [2007], Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, 18866-18870; Raupach et al. [2007], Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 104, 10288-10293). There are many scientists involved, but the terrestrial fluxes that appear in the budgets are not well understood by ecologists and biogeochemists outside of that community. The purpose of this paper is to make the terrestrial fluxes of carbon in those budgets more accessible to a broader community. The GCP budget is composed of annual perturbations from pre-industrial conditions, driven by addition of carbon to the system from combustion of fossil fuels and by transfers of carbon from land to the atmosphere as a result of land use. The budget includes a term for each of the major fluxes of carbon (fossil fuels, oceans, land) as well as the rate of carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Land is represented by two terms: one resulting from direct anthropogenic effects (Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry or land management) and one resulting from indirect anthropogenic (e.g., CO2 , climate change) and natural effects. Each of these two net terrestrial fluxes of carbon, in turn, is composed of opposing gross emissions and removals (e.g., deforestation and forest regrowth). Although the GCP budgets have focused on the two net terrestrial fluxes, they have paid little attention to the gross components, which are important for a number of reasons, including understanding the potential for land management to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and understanding the processes responsible for the sink for carbon on land. In contrast to the net fluxes of carbon, which are constrained by the global carbon budget, the gross fluxes are largely unconstrained, suggesting that there is more uncertainty than commonly believed about how terrestrial carbon emissions will respond to future fossil fuel emissions and a changing climate.
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Wigneron JP, Fan L, Ciais P, Bastos A, Brandt M, Chave J, Saatchi S, Baccini A, Fensholt R. Tropical forests did not recover from the strong 2015-2016 El Niño event. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaay4603. [PMID: 32076648 PMCID: PMC7002128 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay4603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Severe drought and extreme heat associated with the 2015-2016 El Niño event have led to large carbon emissions from the tropical vegetation to the atmosphere. With the return to normal climatic conditions in 2017, tropical forest aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks are expected to partly recover due to increased productivity, but the intensity and spatial distribution of this recovery are unknown. We used low-frequency microwave satellite data (L-VOD) to feature precise monitoring of AGC changes and show that the AGC recovery of tropical ecosystems was slow and that by the end of 2017, AGC had not reached predrought levels of 2014. From 2014 to 2017, tropical AGC stocks decreased by1.3 1.2 1.5 Pg C due to persistent AGC losses in Africa (- 0.9 - 1.1 - 0.8 Pg C) and America (- 0.5 - 0.6 - 0.4 Pg C). Pantropically, drylands recovered their carbon stocks to pre-El Niño levels, but African and American humid forests did not, suggesting carryover effects from enhanced forest mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Pierre Wigneron
- ISPA, UMR 1391, Inrae Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, Grande Ferrade, Villenave d’Ornon, France
| | - Lei Fan
- ISPA, UMR 1391, Inrae Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Université de Bordeaux, Grande Ferrade, Villenave d’Ornon, France
- Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disaster, School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Ana Bastos
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Luisenstr. 37, 80333 Munich, Germany
| | - Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jérome Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution and Diversité Biologique, Bâtiment 4R3 Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Sassan Saatchi
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Alessandro Baccini
- Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540-1644, USA
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Tagesson T, Schurgers G, Horion S, Ciais P, Tian F, Brandt M, Ahlström A, Wigneron JP, Ardö J, Olin S, Fan L, Wu Z, Fensholt R. Recent divergence in the contributions of tropical and boreal forests to the terrestrial carbon sink. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:202-209. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1090-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Forest management in southern China generates short term extensive carbon sequestration. Nat Commun 2020; 11:129. [PMID: 31913268 PMCID: PMC6949300 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13798-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Land use policies have turned southern China into one of the most intensively managed forest regions in the world, with actions maximizing forest cover on soils with marginal agricultural potential while concurrently increasing livelihoods and mitigating climate change. Based on satellite observations, here we show that diverse land use changes in southern China have increased standing aboveground carbon stocks by 0.11 ± 0.05 Pg C y-1 during 2002-2017. Most of this regional carbon sink was contributed by newly established forests (32%), while forests already existing contributed 24%. Forest growth in harvested forest areas contributed 16% and non-forest areas contributed 28% to the carbon sink, while timber harvest was tripled. Soil moisture declined significantly in 8% of the area. We demonstrate that land management in southern China has been removing an amount of carbon equivalent to 33% of regional fossil CO2 emissions during the last 6 years, but forest growth saturation, land competition for food production and soil-water depletion challenge the longevity of this carbon sink service.
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32
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Smith WK, Fox AM, MacBean N, Moore DJP, Parazoo NC. Constraining estimates of terrestrial carbon uptake: new opportunities using long-term satellite observations and data assimilation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 225:105-112. [PMID: 31299099 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The response of terrestrial carbon uptake to increasing atmospheric [CO2 ], that is the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE), remains a key area of uncertainty in carbon cycle science. Here we provide a perspective on how satellite observations could be better used to understand and constrain CFE. We then highlight data assimilation (DA) as an effective way to reconcile different satellite datasets and systematically constrain carbon uptake trends in Earth System Models. As a proof-of-concept, we show that joint DA of multiple independent satellite datasets reduced model ensemble error by better constraining unobservable processes and variables, including those directly impacted by CFE. DA of multiple satellite datasets offers a powerful technique that could improve understanding of CFE and enable more accurate forecasts of terrestrial carbon uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- William K Smith
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Andrew M Fox
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Natasha MacBean
- Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - David J P Moore
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Nicholas C Parazoo
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
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33
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Phiri D, Morgenroth J, Xu C. Long-term land cover change in Zambia: An assessment of driving factors. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 697:134206. [PMID: 32380630 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Land cover change (LCC) has significant effects on the global ecosystem diversity and function. This topic has received increasing attention due, in part, to its relationship with climate change, and the availability of remotely-sensed imagery that is used to monitor LCC. However, studies analysing the factors that drive LCC at large spatial scales and over long temporal scales are uncommon. This study aimed to identify the factors driving long-term (44 years, 1972-2016) national level LCC in Zambia. Two analyses were conducted, with the first considering factors that led to any LCC. The second scenario identified factors associated with changes from forests to other land covers, and the reversion to forests from non-forested covers. Candidate factors considered in both analyses include accessibility, proximity, topography, climate, conservation and socioeconomics. A classification tree (CT) approach was used to relate the explanatory candidate factors to LCC. The results showed that the CT models predicted LCC with accuracies ranging from 71 to 85%. The first analysis showed that the major factors determining LCC were percentage of area under agriculture, distance to water bodies, change in crop yield, mean temperature and elevation. Meanwhile, the second analysis showed that primary, secondary and plantation forest cover losses were mainly influenced by human population density, crop yield per hectare and mean crop yield, respectively. Protection status was the most important factor for forest reversion and recovery, while a variety of factors including distance to the railway, elevation and total precipitation also influenced forest reversion and recovery. The findings from this study provide insights into the factors that influence LCC and are important for developing effective policies to reduce the negative impacts of LCC and to promote forest reversion and recovery through effective management of protected areas. While this study focused on factors associated with historical LCC, the findings will also help to predict and understand future LCC scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darius Phiri
- New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
| | - Justin Morgenroth
- New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Cong Xu
- New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
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Land Surface Phenologies and Seasonalities in the US Prairie Pothole Region Coupling AMSR Passive Microwave Data with the USDA Cropland Data Layer. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11212550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Land surface phenologies and seasonalities in the US Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) were characterized using land surface variables derived from the coarse spatial resolution (25 km) Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) blended data for 2003 to 2016 linked with the optically based USDA NASS Crop Data Layer (CDL) at a much finer spatial resolution. Two transects of AMSR pixels—one in east-central North Dakota and the other in eastern South Dakota—were selected for analysis. The AMSR data were grouped earlier (2003–2005, 2007) and later (2013–2016) to emphasize temporal change and to avoid data discontinuity in 2011–2012 and a major drought in 2006. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall trend test on the CDL data revealed that area in grasslands and wetlands strongly decreased in both transects, while corn and soybean coverage strongly increased. In crop-dominated sites, the AMSR vegetation optical depth (VOD) time series caught the early spring growth, ploughing, and crop growth and senescence. In contrast, the VOD time series at grassland dominated sites exhibited a lower peak but extended growth period. Crop-dominated sites had significantly higher amplitude VODs in both periods and transects. Based on the paired two-sample t-test, neither the peak VOD amplitude nor the peak VOD timing measured in accumulated growing degree-days was significantly different between temporal groups in the North Dakota transect. In contrast, in South Dakota, both the peak VOD amplitude and its timing were significantly different with shifts to later peak timing during the 2013–2016 period. In addition, in South Dakota but not North Dakota, there were significantly earlier shifts in the timing of peak growing degree-days and peak precipitation water vapor. Both spatial and temporal changes in AMSR land surface variables are linked to shifts in land cover along the South Dakota transect as revealed in the CDL data. More research is required to understand the dynamics evident in the passive microwave time series.
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Fan L, Wigneron JP, Ciais P, Chave J, Brandt M, Fensholt R, Saatchi SS, Bastos A, Al-Yaari A, Hufkens K, Qin Y, Xiao X, Chen C, Myneni RB, Fernandez-Moran R, Mialon A, Rodriguez-Fernandez NJ, Kerr Y, Tian F, Peñuelas J. Satellite-observed pantropical carbon dynamics. NATURE PLANTS 2019; 5:944-951. [PMID: 31358958 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0478-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Changes in terrestrial tropical carbon stocks have an important role in the global carbon budget. However, current observational tools do not allow accurate and large-scale monitoring of the spatial distribution and dynamics of carbon stocks1. Here, we used low-frequency L-band passive microwave observations to compute a direct and spatially explicit quantification of annual aboveground carbon (AGC) fluxes and show that the tropical net AGC budget was approximately in balance during 2010 to 2017, the net budget being composed of gross losses of -2.86 PgC yr-1 offset by gross gains of -2.97 PgC yr-1 between continents. Large interannual and spatial fluctuations of tropical AGC were quantified during the wet 2011 La Niña year and throughout the extreme dry and warm 2015-2016 El Niño episode. These interannual fluctuations, controlled predominantly by semiarid biomes, were shown to be closely related to independent global atmospheric CO2 growth-rate anomalies (Pearson's r = 0.86), highlighting the pivotal role of tropical AGC in the global carbon budget.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Fan
- School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
- ISPA, UMR 1391, INRA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | | | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA/CNRS/UVSQ/Université Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Jérôme Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sassan S Saatchi
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ana Bastos
- Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany
| | - Amen Al-Yaari
- ISPA, UMR 1391, INRA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Koen Hufkens
- ISPA, UMR 1391, INRA Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Villenave d'Ornon, France
- Department of Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Yuanwei Qin
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Xiangming Xiao
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Chi Chen
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ranga B Myneni
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Arnaud Mialon
- CESBIO, Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/INRA/IRD/UPS, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Yann Kerr
- CESBIO, Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/INRA/IRD/UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Feng Tian
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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Palmer PI, Feng L, Baker D, Chevallier F, Bösch H, Somkuti P. Net carbon emissions from African biosphere dominate pan-tropical atmospheric CO 2 signal. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3344. [PMID: 31409792 PMCID: PMC6692308 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11097-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical ecosystems are large carbon stores that are vulnerable to climate change. The sparseness of ground-based measurements has precluded verification of these ecosystems being a net annual source (+ve) or sink (−ve) of atmospheric carbon. We show that two independent satellite data sets of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), interpreted using independent models, are consistent with the land tropics being a net annual carbon emission of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$1.60_{ + 1.39}^{ + 2.11}$$\end{document}1.60+1.39+2.11 petagrams (PgC) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. These pan-tropical estimates reflect unexpectedly large net emissions from tropical Africa of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$1.48_{ + 0.80}^{ + 1.95}$$\end{document}1.48+0.80+1.95 PgC in 2015 and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$1.65_{ + 1.14}^{ + 2.42}$$\end{document}1.65+1.14+2.42 PgC in 2016. The largest carbon uptake is over the Congo basin, and the two loci of carbon emissions are over western Ethiopia and western tropical Africa, where there are large soil organic carbon stores and where there has been substantial land use change. These signals are present in the space-borne CO2 record from 2009 onwards. Tropical land ecosystems contain vast carbon reservoirs, but their influence on atmospheric CO2 is poorly understood. Here the authors use new carbon-observing satellites to reveal a large emission source over northern tropical Africa, where there are large soil carbon stores and substantial land use changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul I Palmer
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK. .,National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK.
| | - Liang Feng
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK.,National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
| | - David Baker
- Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523-1375, Colorado, USA
| | - Frédéric Chevallier
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hartmut Bösch
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.,National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Peter Somkuti
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.,National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
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37
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Konings AG, Rao K, Steele-Dunne SC. Macro to micro: microwave remote sensing of plant water content for physiology and ecology. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 223:1166-1172. [PMID: 30919449 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Although primarily valued for their suitability for oceanographic applications and soil moisture estimation, microwave remote sensing observations are also sensitive to plant water content (Mw ). Since Mw depends on both plant water status and biomass, these observations have the potential to be useful for a range of plant drought response studies. In this paper, we introduce the principles behind microwave remote sensing observations to illustrate how they are sensitive to plant water content and discuss the relationship between landscape-scale Mw and common stand-scale metrics, including plant-scale relative water content, live fuel moisture content and leaf water potential. Lastly, we discuss how various sensor types can be leveraged for specific applications depending on the spatio-temporal resolution needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra G Konings
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Room 140, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Krishna Rao
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Room 140, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Susan C Steele-Dunne
- Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Stevinweg 1, Delft, 2628 CN, the Netherlands
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38
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Brandt M, Hiernaux P, Rasmussen K, Tucker CJ, Wigneron JP, Diouf AA, Herrmann SM, Zhang W, Kergoat L, Mbow C, Abel C, Auda Y, Fensholt R. Changes in rainfall distribution promote woody foliage production in the Sahel. Commun Biol 2019; 2:133. [PMID: 31044158 PMCID: PMC6478729 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0383-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Dryland ecosystems comprise a balance between woody and herbaceous vegetation. Climate change impacts rainfall timing, which may alter the respective contributions of woody and herbaceous plants on the total vegetation production. Here, we apply 30 years of field-measured woody foliage and herbaceous mass from Senegal and document a faster increase in woody foliage mass (+17 kg ha-1 yr-1) as compared to herbaceous mass (+3 kg ha-1 yr-1). Annual rainfall trends were partitioned into core wet-season rains (+0.7 mm yr-1), supporting a weak but periodic (5-year cycles) increase in herbaceous mass, and early/late rains (+2.1 mm yr-1), explaining the strongly increased woody foliage mass. Satellite observations confirm these findings for the majority of the Sahel, with total herbaceous/woody foliage mass increases by 6%/20%. We conclude that the rainfall recovery in the Sahel does not benefit herbaceous vegetation to the same extent as woody vegetation, presumably favoured by increased early/late rains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Brandt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Pierre Hiernaux
- Pastoralisme Conseil, 30 chemin de Jouanal, 82160 Caylus, France
| | - Kjeld Rasmussen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Compton J. Tucker
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 610.9, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
| | | | | | - Stefanie M. Herrmann
- Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Wenmin Zhang
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laurent Kergoat
- Geosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, UMR 5563 (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Cheikh Mbow
- START International Inc., 2000 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
| | - Christin Abel
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yves Auda
- Geosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, UMR 5563 (CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES), 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Rasmus Fensholt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
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39
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Davies AB, Asner GP. Elephants limit aboveground carbon gains in African savannas. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1368-1382. [PMID: 30723962 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of vegetation carbon dynamics is essential for climate change mitigation and effective policy formulation. However, most efforts focus on abiotic drivers of plant biomass change, with little consideration for functional roles performed by animals, particularly at landscape scales. We combined repeat airborne Light Detection and Ranging with measurements of elephant densities, abiotic factors, and exclusion experiments to determine the relative importance of drivers of change in aboveground woody vegetation carbon stocks in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Despite a growing elephant population, aboveground carbon density (ACD) increased across most of the landscape over the 6-year study period, but at fine scales, bull elephant density was the most important factor determining carbon stock change, with ACD losses recorded only where bull densities exceeded 0.5 bulls/km2 . Effects of bull elephants were, however, spatially restricted and landscape dependent, being especially pronounced along rivers, at mid-elevations, and on steeper slopes. In contrast, elephant herds and abiotic drivers had a comparatively small influence on the direction or magnitude of carbon stock change. Our findings demonstrate that animals can have a substantive influence on regional-scale carbon dynamics and warrant consideration in carbon cycling models and policy formulation aimed at carbon management and climate change mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B Davies
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Gregory P Asner
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
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40
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Qi H, Huang F, Zhai H. Monitoring Spatio-Temporal Changes of Terrestrial Ecosystem Soil Water Use Efficiency in Northeast China Using Time Series Remote Sensing Data. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19061481. [PMID: 30917616 PMCID: PMC6471096 DOI: 10.3390/s19061481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Soil water use efficiency (SWUE) was proposed as an effective proxy of ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE), which reflects the coupling of the carbon–water cycle and function of terrestrial ecosystems. The changes of ecosystem SWUE at the regional scale and their relationships with the environmental and biotic factors are yet to be adequately understood. Here, we aim to estimate SWUE over northeast China using time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) gross primary productivity data and European Space Agency climate change initiative (ESA CCI) soil moisture product during 2007–2015. The spatio-temporal variations in SWUE and their linkages to multiple factors, especially the phenological metrics, were investigated using trend and correlation analysis. The results showed that the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem SWUE in northeast China was obvious. SWUE distribution varied among vegetation types, soil types, and elevation. Forests might produce higher photosynthetic productivity by utilizing unit soil moisture. The seasonal variations of SWUE were consistent with the vegetation growth cycle. Changes in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature, and precipitation exerted positive effects on SWUE variations. The earlier start (SOS) and later end (EOS) of the growing season would contribute to the increase in SWUE. Our results help complement the knowledge of SWUE variations and their driving forces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Qi
- School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Renmin Street No. 5268, Changchun 130024, China.
| | - Fang Huang
- School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Renmin Street No. 5268, Changchun 130024, China.
| | - Huan Zhai
- School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Renmin Street No. 5268, Changchun 130024, China.
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41
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Satellite and In Situ Observations for Advancing Global Earth Surface Modelling: A Review. REMOTE SENSING 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/rs10122038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we review the use of satellite-based remote sensing in combination with in situ data to inform Earth surface modelling. This involves verification and optimization methods that can handle both random and systematic errors and result in effective model improvement for both surface monitoring and prediction applications. The reasons for diverse remote sensing data and products include (i) their complementary areal and temporal coverage, (ii) their diverse and covariant information content, and (iii) their ability to complement in situ observations, which are often sparse and only locally representative. To improve our understanding of the complex behavior of the Earth system at the surface and sub-surface, we need large volumes of data from high-resolution modelling and remote sensing, since the Earth surface exhibits a high degree of heterogeneity and discontinuities in space and time. The spatial and temporal variability of the biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and anthroposphere calls for an increased use of Earth observation (EO) data attaining volumes previously considered prohibitive. We review data availability and discuss recent examples where satellite remote sensing is used to infer observable surface quantities directly or indirectly, with particular emphasis on key parameters necessary for weather and climate prediction. Coordinated high-resolution remote-sensing and modelling/assimilation capabilities for the Earth surface are required to support an international application-focused effort.
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42
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Feldman AF, Short Gianotti DJ, Konings AG, McColl KA, Akbar R, Salvucci GD, Entekhabi D. Moisture pulse-reserve in the soil-plant continuum observed across biomes. NATURE PLANTS 2018; 4:1026-1033. [PMID: 30518832 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0304-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The degree to which individual pulses of available water drive plant activity across diverse biomes and climates is not well understood. It has previously only been investigated in a few dryland locations. Here, plant water uptake following pulses of surface soil moisture, an indicator for the pulse-reserve hypothesis, is investigated across South America, Africa and Australia with satellite-based estimates of surface soil and canopy water content. Our findings show that this behaviour is widespread: occurring over half of the vegetated landscapes. We estimate spatially varying soil moisture thresholds at which plant water uptake ceases, noting dependence on soil texture and proximity to the wilting point. The soil type and biome-dependent soil moisture threshold and the plant soil water uptake patterns at the scale of Earth system models allow a unique opportunity to test and improve model parameterization of vegetation function under water limitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F Feldman
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
| | - Daniel J Short Gianotti
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alexandra G Konings
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kaighin A McColl
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ruzbeh Akbar
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Guido D Salvucci
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dara Entekhabi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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43
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The AQUI Soil Moisture Network for Satellite Microwave Remote Sensing Validation in South-Western France. REMOTE SENSING 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/rs10111839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Global soil moisture (SM) products are currently available thanks to microwave remote sensing techniques. Validation of these satellite-based SM products over different vegetation and climate conditions is a crucial step. INRA (National Institute of Agricultural Research) has set up the AQUI SM and soil temperature in situ network (composed of three main sites Bouron, Bilos, and Hermitage), over a flat area of dense pine forests, in South-Western France (the Bordeaux–Aquitaine region) to validate the Soil Moisture and Ocean salinity (SMOS) satellite SM products. SMOS was launched in 2009 by the European Space Agency (ESA). The aims of this study are to present the AQUI network and to evaluate the SMOS SM product (in the new SMOS-IC version) along with other microwave SM products such as the active ASCAT (Advanced Scatterometer) and the ESA combined (passive and active) CCI (Climate Change Initiative) SM retrievals. A first comparison, using Pearson correlation, Bias, RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), and Un biased RMSE (ubRMSE) scores, between the 0–5 cm AQUI network and ASCAT, CCI, and SMOS SM products was conducted. In general all the three products were able to reproduce the annual cycle of the AQUI in situ observations. CCI and ASCAT had best and similar correlations (R~0.72) over the Bouron and Bilos sites. All had comparable correlations over the Hermitage sites with overall average values of 0.74, 0.68, and 0.69 for CCI, SMOS-IC, and ASCAT, respectively. Considering anomalies, correlation values decreased for all products with best ability to capture day to day variations obtained by ASCAT. CCI (followed by SMOS-IC) had the best ubRMSE values (mostly < 0.04 m3/m3) over most of the stations. Although the region is highly impacted by radio frequency interferences, SMOS-IC followed correctly the in situ SM dynamics. All the three remotely-sensed SM products (except SMOS-IC over some stations) overestimated the AQUI in situ SM observations. These results demonstrate that the AQUI network is likely to be well-suited for satellite microwave remote sensing evaluations/validations.
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44
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Bastos A, Friedlingstein P, Sitch S, Chen C, Mialon A, Wigneron JP, Arora VK, Briggs PR, Canadell JG, Ciais P, Chevallier F, Cheng L, Delire C, Haverd V, Jain AK, Joos F, Kato E, Lienert S, Lombardozzi D, Melton JR, Myneni R, Nabel JEMS, Pongratz J, Poulter B, Rödenbeck C, Séférian R, Tian H, van Eck C, Viovy N, Vuichard N, Walker AP, Wiltshire A, Yang J, Zaehle S, Zeng N, Zhu D. Impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial carbon cycle constrained by bottom-up and top-down approaches. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2017.0304. [PMID: 30297465 PMCID: PMC6178442 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Evaluating the response of the land carbon sink to the anomalies in temperature and drought imposed by El Niño events provides insights into the present-day carbon cycle and its climate-driven variability. It is also a necessary step to build confidence in terrestrial ecosystems models' response to the warming and drying stresses expected in the future over many continents, and particularly in the tropics. Here we present an in-depth analysis of the response of the terrestrial carbon cycle to the 2015/2016 El Niño that imposed extreme warming and dry conditions in the tropics and other sensitive regions. First, we provide a synthesis of the spatio-temporal evolution of anomalies in net land–atmosphere CO2 fluxes estimated by two in situ measurements based on atmospheric inversions and 16 land-surface models (LSMs) from TRENDYv6. Simulated changes in ecosystem productivity, decomposition rates and fire emissions are also investigated. Inversions and LSMs generally agree on the decrease and subsequent recovery of the land sink in response to the onset, peak and demise of El Niño conditions and point to the decreased strength of the land carbon sink: by 0.4–0.7 PgC yr−1 (inversions) and by 1.0 PgC yr−1 (LSMs) during 2015/2016. LSM simulations indicate that a decrease in productivity, rather than increase in respiration, dominated the net biome productivity anomalies in response to ENSO throughout the tropics, mainly associated with prolonged drought conditions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Bastos
- Department of Geography, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Luisenstr. 37, Munich D-80333, Germany .,Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Pierre Friedlingstein
- College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK
| | - Stephen Sitch
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Chi Chen
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Arnaud Mialon
- CESBIO, Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/IRD/UPS, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | | | - Vivek K Arora
- Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment and Climate Change Canada, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W2Y2
| | - Peter R Briggs
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Josep G Canadell
- Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Frédéric Chevallier
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Lei Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of China
| | - Christine Delire
- Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, CNRM, Unité 3589 CNRS/Meteo-France/Université Fédérale de Toulouse, Av G Coriolis, Toulouse 31057, France
| | - Vanessa Haverd
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Atul K Jain
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Fortunat Joos
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland
| | - Etsushi Kato
- Institute of Applied Energy (IAE), Minato, Tokyo 105-0003, Japan
| | - Sebastian Lienert
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland
| | - Danica Lombardozzi
- Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - Joe R Melton
- Climate Processes Section, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Downsview, Ontario, Canada V8W2Y2
| | - Ranga Myneni
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Julia Pongratz
- Department of Geography, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Luisenstr. 37, Munich D-80333, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg 20146, Germany
| | - Benjamin Poulter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Biospheric Sciences Lab, Greenbelt, MD 20816, USA
| | | | - Roland Séférian
- Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, CNRM, Unité 3589 CNRS/Meteo-France/Université Fédérale de Toulouse, Av G Coriolis, Toulouse 31057, France
| | - Hanqin Tian
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Christel van Eck
- Department of Geoscience, Environment and Society, CP 160/02, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Viovy
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Nicolas Vuichard
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Anthony P Walker
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | | | - Jia Yang
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Sönke Zaehle
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Ning Zeng
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 100029, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modelling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing 20740, People's Republic of China
| | - Dan Zhu
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
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