Achim Grelle

Energy balance closure at FLUXNET sites

A comprehensive evaluation of energy balance closure is performed across 22 sites and 50 site-years in FLUXNET, a network of eddy covariance sites measuring long-term carbon and energy fluxes in contrasting ecosystems and climates. Energy balance closure was evaluated by statistical regression of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation, less the energy stored) and by solving for the energy balance ratio, the ratio of turbulent energy fluxes to available energy. These methods indicate a general lack of closure at most sites, with a mean imbalance in the order of 20%. The imbalance was prevalent in all measured vegetation types and in climates ranging from Mediterranean to temperate and arctic. There were no clear differences between sites using open and closed path infrared gas analyzers. At a majority of sites closure improved with turbulent intensity (friction velocity), but lack of total closure was still prevalent under most conditions. The imbalance was greatest during nocturnal periods. The results suggest that estimates of the scalar turbulent fluxes of sensible and LE are underestimated and/or that available energy is overestimated. The implications on interpreting long-term CO2 fluxes at FLUXNET sites depends on whether the imbalance results primarily from general errors associated

Estimates of the annual net carbon and water exchange of forests: The EUROFLUX methodology

Publisher Summary The chapter has described the measurement system and the procedure followed for the computation of the fluxes and the procedure of flux summation, including data gap filling strategy, night flux corrections and error estimation. It begins with the introduction of estimates of the annual net carbon and water exchange of forests using the EUROFLUX methodology. The chapter then provides us with the theory and moves on to discuss the eddy covariance system and its sonic anemometer, temperature fluctuation measurements, infrared gas analyser, air transport system, and tower instrumentation. Additional measurements are also given in the chapter. Data acquisition and its computation and correction is discussed next in the chapter by giving its general procedure, half-hourly means (co-)variances and uncorrected fluxes, intercomparison of software, and correction for frequency response losses. The chapter has also discussed about quality control and four criteria are investigated here for the same. Spatial representativeness of measured fluxes and summation procedure are reviewed. The chapter then moves on to the discussion of data gap filling through interpolation and parameterization and neural networks. Corrections to night-time data and error estimation are also explored in the chapter. Finally, the chapter closes with conclusions.

Respiration as the main determinant of carbon balance in European forests

Carbon exchange between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is one of the key processes that need to be assessed in the context of the Kyoto Protocol. Several studies suggest that the terrestrial biosphere is gaining carbon, but these estimates are obtained primarily by indirect methods, and the factors that control terrestrial carbon exchange, its magnitude and primary locations, are under debate. Here we present data of net ecosystem carbon exchange, collected between 1996 and 1998 from 15 European forests, which confirm that many European forest ecosystems act as carbon sinks. The annual carbon balances range from an uptake of 6.6 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year to a release of nearly 1 t C ha -1 yr-1, with a large variability between forests. The data show a significant increase of carbon uptake with decreasing latitude, whereas the gross primary production seems to be largely independent of latitude. Our observations indicate that, in general, ecosystem respiration determines net ecosystem carbon exchange. Also, for an accurate assessment of the carbon balance in a particular forest ecosystem, remote sensing of the normalized difference vegetation index or estimates based on forest inventories may not be sufficient.

The human footprint in the carbon cycle of temperate and boreal forests

Temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere cover an area of about 2 × 107 square kilometres and act as a substantial carbon sink (0.6–0.7 petagrams of carbon per year). Although forest expansion following agricultural abandonment is certainly responsible for an important fraction of this carbon sink activity, the additional effects on the carbon balance of established forests of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures, changes in management practices and nitrogen deposition are difficult to disentangle, despite an extensive network of measurement stations. The relevance of this measurement effort has also been questioned, because spot measurements fail to take into account the role of disturbances, either natural (fire, pests, windstorms) or anthropogenic (forest harvesting). Here we show that the temporal dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances do indeed account for a very large fraction of the overall variability in forest carbon sequestration. After the confounding effects of disturbance have been factored out, however, forest net carbon sequestration is found to be overwhelmingly driven by nitrogen deposition, largely the result of anthropogenic activities. The effect is always positive over the range of nitrogen deposition covered by currently available data sets, casting doubts on the risk of widespread ecosystem nitrogen saturation under natural conditions. The results demonstrate that mankind is ultimately controlling the carbon balance of temperate and boreal forests, either directly (through forest management) or indirectly (through nitrogen deposition).

Net carbon dioxide losses of northern ecosystems in response to autumn warming

The carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems is particularly sensitive to climatic changes in autumn and spring, with spring and autumn temperatures over northern latitudes having risen by about 1.1 °C and 0.8 °C, respectively, over the past two decades. A simultaneous greening trend has also been observed, characterized by a longer growing season and greater photosynthetic activity. These observations have led to speculation that spring and autumn warming could enhance carbon sequestration and extend the period of net carbon uptake in the future. Here we analyse interannual variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration data and ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes. We find that atmospheric records from the past 20 years show a trend towards an earlier autumn-to-winter carbon dioxide build-up, suggesting a shorter net carbon uptake period. This trend cannot be explained by changes in atmospheric transport alone and, together with the ecosystem flux data, suggest increasing carbon losses in autumn. We use a process-based terrestrial biosphere model and satellite vegetation greenness index observations to investigate further the observed seasonal response of northern ecosystems to autumnal warming. We find that both photosynthesis and respiration increase during autumn warming, but the increase in respiration is greater. In contrast, warming increases photosynthesis more than respiration in spring. Our simulations and observations indicate that northern terrestrial ecosystems may currently lose carbon dioxide in response to autumn warming, with a sensitivity of about 0.2 PgC °C-1, offsetting 90% of the increased carbon dioxide uptake during spring. If future autumn warming occurs at a faster rate than in spring, the ability of northern ecosystems to sequester carbon may be diminished earlier than previously suggested.

Energy exchange and water budget partitioning in a boreal minerogenic mire

This study investigated patterns and controls of the seasonal and inter-annual variations in energy fluxes (i.e., sensible heat, H, and latent heat, lambda E) and partitioning of the water budget (i.e., precipitation, P; evapotranspiration, ET; discharge, Q; and soil water storage, Delta S) over five years (2001-2005) in a boreal oligotrophic fen in northern Sweden based on continuous eddy covariance, water table level (WTL), and weir measurements. For the growing season (May 1 to September 31), the 5 year averages (+/- standard deviation) of the midday (10:00 to 14:00 h) Bowen ratio (beta, i.e., H/lambda E) was 0.86 +/- 0.08. Seasonal and inter-annual variability of beta was mainly driven by lambda E which itself was strongly controlled by both weather (i.e., vapor pressure deficit, D, and net radiation, R-n) and physiological parameters (i.e., surface resistance). During the growing season, surface resistance largely exceeded aerodynamic resistance, which together with low mean values of the actual ET to potential ET ratio (0.55 +/- 0.05) and Priestley-Taylor alpha (0.89) suggests significant physiological constrains on ET in this well-watered fen. Among the water budget components, the inter-annual variability of ET was lower (199 to 298 mm) compared to Q (225 to 752 mm), with each accounting on average for 34 and 65% of the ecosystem water loss, respectively. The fraction of P expended into ET was negatively correlated to P and positively to R-n. Although a decrease in WTL caused a reduction of the surface conductance, the overall effect of WTL on ET was limited. Non-growing season (October 1 to April 30) fluxes of H, lambda E, and Q were significant representing on average -67%, 13%, and 61%, respectively, of their growing season sums (negative sign indicates opposite flux direction between the two seasons). Overall, our findings suggest that plant functional type composition, P and R-n dynamics (i.e., amount and timing) were the major controls on the partitioning of the mire energy and water budgets. This has important implications for the regional climate as well as for ecosystem development, nutrient, and carbon dynamics. Citation: Peichl, M., J. Sagerfors, A. Lindroth, I. Buffam, A. Grelle, L. Klemedtsson, H. Laudon, and M. B. Nilsson (2013), Energy exchange and water budget partitioning in a boreal minerogenic mire, J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci., 118, 1-13, doi:10.1029/2012JG002073.

Energy Partitioning Between Latent And Sensible Heat Flux During The Warm Season At Fluxnet Sites

The warm season (mid-June through late August) partitioning between sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat flux, or the Bowen ratio (beta=H/LE), was investigated at 27 sites over 66 site years within the international network of eddy covariance sites (FLUXNET). Variability in beta across ecosystems and climates was analyzed by quantifying general climatic and surface characteristics that control flux partitioning. The climatic control on beta was quantified using the climatological resistance (R-i), which is proportional to the ratio of vapor pressure deficit (difference between saturation vapor pressure and atmospheric vapor pressure) to net radiation (large values of R-i decrease beta). The control of flux partitioning by the vegetation and underlying surface was quantified by computing the surface resistance to water vapor transport (R-c, with large values tending to increase beta). There was a considerable range in flux partitioning characteristics (R-c, R-i and beta) among sites, but it was possible to define some general differences between vegetation types and climates. Deciduous forest sites and the agricultural site had the lowest values of R-c and beta (0.25-0.50). Coniferous forests typically had a larger R-c and higher beta (typically between 0.50 and 1.00 but also much larger). However, there was notable variability in R-c and R-i between coniferous site years, most notably differences between oceanic and continental climates and sites with a distinct dry summer season (Mediterranean climate). Sites with Mediterranean climates generally had the highest net radiation, R-c, R-i, and beta. There was considerable variability in beta between grassland site years, primarily the result of interannual differences in soil water content and R-c

Phase and amplitude of ecosystem carbon release and uptake potentials as derived from FLUXNET measurements

As length and timing of the growing season are major factors explaining differences in carbon exchange of ecosystems, we analyzed seasonal patterns of net ecosystem carbon exchange (FNEE) using eddy covariance data of the FLUXNET data base (http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/FLUXNET). The study included boreal and temperate, deciduous and coniferous forests, Mediterranean evergreen systems, rainforest, native and managed temperate grasslands, tundra, and C3 and C4 crops. Generalization of seasonal patterns are useful for identifying functional vegetation types for global dynamic vegetation models, as well as for global inversion studies, and can help improve phenological modules in SVAT or biogeochemical models. The results of this study have important validation potential for global carbon cycle modeling. The phasing of respiratory and assimilatory capacity differed within forest types: for temperate coniferous forests seasonal uptake and release capacities are in phase, for temperate deciduous and boreal coniferous forests, release was delayed compared to uptake. According to seasonal pattern of maximum nighttime release (evaluated over 15-day periods, Fmax) the study sites can be grouped in four classes: (1) boreal and high altitude conifers and grasslands; (2) temperate deciduous and temperate conifers; (3) tundra and crops; (4) evergreen Mediterranean and tropical forests. Similar results are found for maximum daytime uptake (Fmin) and the integral net carbon flux, but temperate deciduous forests fall into class 1. For forests, seasonal amplitudes of Fmax and Fmin increased in the order tropical C3-crops>temperate deciduous forests>temperate conifers>boreal conifers>tundra ecosystems. Due to data restrictions, our analysis centered mainly on Northern Hemisphere temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Grasslands, crops, Mediterranean ecosystems, and rainforests are under-represented, as are savanna systems, wooded grassland, shrubland, or year-round measurements in tundra systems. For regional or global estimates of carbon sequestration potentials, future investigations of eddy covariance should expand in these systems.

Continuous long-term measurements of soil-plant-atmosphere variables at a forest site

It is a major challenge in modern science to decrease the uncertainty in predictions of global climate change. One of the largest uncertainties in present-day global climate models resides with the understanding of processes in the soil-vegetationatmosphere-transfer (SVAT) system. Continuous, long-term data are needed in order to correctly quantify balances of water, energy and CO2 in this system and to correctly model it. It is the objective of this paper to demonstrate how a combined system of existing sensor, computer, and network technologies could be set up to provide continuous and reliable long-term SVAT-process data from a forested site under almost all environmental conditions. The Central Tower Site (CTS) system was set up in 1993‐1994 in a 25 m high boreal forest growing on a highly heterogeneous till soil with a high content of stones and blocks. It has successfully monitored relevant states and fluxes in the system, such as atmospheric fluxes of momentum, heat, water vapour and CO2, atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapour, CO2, short-and long-wave radiation, heat storage in soil and trees, sap-flow and a variety of ecophysiological properties, soil-water contents and tensions, and groundwater levels, rainfall and throughfall. System uptime has been more than 90% for most of its components during the first 5 years of operation. Results from the first 5 years of operation include e.g., budgets for energy, water and CO2, information on important but rarely occurring events such as evaporation from snow-covered canopies, and reactions of the forest to extreme drought. The carbon budget shows that the forest may be a sink of carbon although it is still growing. The completeness of the data has made it possible to test the internal consistency of SVAT models. The pioneering set-up at the CTS has been adopted by a large number of SVAT-monitoring sites around the world. Questions concerning tower maintenance, long-term calibration plans, maintenance of sensors and data-collection system, and continuous development of the computer network to keep it up to date are, however, only partly of interest as a research project in itself. It is thus difficult to get it funded from usual researchfunding agencies.

Canopy transpiration from a boreal forest in Sweden during a dry year

Abstract Estimation of areal evapotranspiration is crucial for the parameterization of the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface in climate models and for the assessment of land-use changes on water resources. Present knowledge on how areal forest evapotranspiration depends on forest species composition and age is insufficient. In this study, transpiration of 50- and 100-year-old coniferous stands was estimated on the basis of sap-flow measurements on 24 trees, 12 in each stand. The measured samples represented the size distribution of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies trees. Daily canopy transpiration (EQ) was scaled from individual tree flow rates using the quotients of stem circumferences of the sample trees to those of the stands. EQ was used in a rearranged Penman equation to deduce a potential canopy conductance, valid for non-limiting soil-water conditions, from a period when soil-water storage was not limiting transpiration. This enabled quantification of the seasonal transpiration deficit, which in both stands reached at least one fifth of the total potential transpiration over the growth season. The estimated fluxes of EQ were low with a maximum daily value of about 2.8 mm in the 50-year-old stand. For dry-weather days, EQ was well correlated to daily sums of stand evapotranspiration estimated from eddy-correlation measurements. Responses to drought were species specific. Transpiration in pines from the 50-year-old stand was less affected by drought relative to spruce or older pine trees, which was also reflected by stem increment during the season.