Shree R. S. Dangal

Responses of global terrestrial evapotranspiration to climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2 in the 21st century

Quantifying the spatial and temporal patterns of the water lost to the atmosphere through land surface evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for understanding the global hydrological cycle, but remains much uncertain. In this study, we use the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model to estimate the global terrestrial ET during 2000–2009 and project its changes in response to climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2 under two IPCC SRES scenarios (A2 and B1) during 2010–2099. Modeled results show a mean annual global terrestrial ET of about 549 (545–552) mm yr−1 during 2000–2009. Relative to the 2000s, global terrestrial ET for the 2090s would increase by 30.7 mm yr−1 (5.6%) and 13.2 mm yr−1 (2.4%) under the A2 and B1 scenarios, respectively. About 60% of global land area would experience increasing ET at rates of over 9.5 mm decade−1 over the study period under the A2 scenario. The Arctic region would have the largest ET increase (16% compared with the 2000s level) due to larger increase in temperature than other regions. Decreased ET would mainly take place in regions like central and western Asia, northern Africa, Australia, eastern South America, and Greenland due to declines in soil moisture and changing rainfall patterns. Our results indicate that warming temperature and increasing precipitation would result in large increase in ET by the end of the 21st century, while increasing atmospheric CO2 would be responsible for decrease in ET, given the reduction of stomatal conductance under elevated CO2.

Modeling and Monitoring Terrestrial Primary Production in a Changing Global Environment: Toward a Multiscale Synthesis of Observation and Simulation

There is a critical need to monitor and predict terrestrial primary production, the key indicator of ecosystem functioning, in a changing global environment. Here we provide a brief review of three major approaches to monitoring and predicting terrestrial primary production: (1) ground-based field measurements, (2) satellite-based observations, and (3) process-based ecosystem modelling. Much uncertainty exists in the multi-approach estimations of terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) and net primary production (NPP). To improve the capacity of model simulation and prediction, it is essential to evaluate ecosystem models against ground and satellite-based measurements and observations. As a case, we have shown the performance of the dynamic land ecosystem model (DLEM) at various scales from site to region to global. We also discuss how terrestrial primary production might respond to climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2 and uncertainties associated with model and data. Further progress in monitoring and predicting terrestrial primary production requires a multiscale synthesis of observations and model simulations. In the Anthropocene era in which human activity has indeed changed the Earth’s biosphere, therefore, it is essential to incorporate the socioeconomic component into terrestrial ecosystem models for accurately estimating and predicting terrestrial primary production in a changing global environment.

Complex Spatiotemporal Responses of Global Terrestrial Primary Production to Climate Change and Increasing Atmospheric CO2 in the 21st Century

Quantitative information on the response of global terrestrial net primary production (NPP) to climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2 is essential for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the 21st century. Using a process-based ecosystem model (the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM), we quantified the magnitude and spatiotemporal variations of contemporary (2000s) global NPP, and projected its potential responses to climate and CO2 changes in the 21st century under the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2 and B1 of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We estimated a global terrestrial NPP of 54.6 (52.8–56.4) PgC yr−1 as a result of multiple factors during 2000–2009. Climate change would either reduce global NPP (4.6%) under the A2 scenario or slightly enhance NPP (2.2%) under the B1 scenario during 2010–2099. In response to climate change, global NPP would first increase until surface air temperature increases by 1.5°C (until the 2030s) and then level-off or decline after it increases by more than 1.5°C (after the 2030s). This result supports the Copenhagen Accord Acknowledgement, which states that staying below 2°C may not be sufficient and the need to potentially aim for staying below 1.5°C. The CO2 fertilization effect would result in a 12%–13.9% increase in global NPP during the 21st century. The relative CO2 fertilization effect, i.e. change in NPP on per CO2 (ppm) bases, is projected to first increase quickly then level off in the 2070s and even decline by the end of the 2080s, possibly due to CO2 saturation and nutrient limitation. Terrestrial NPP responses to climate change and elevated atmospheric CO2 largely varied among biomes, with the largest increases in the tundra and boreal needleleaf deciduous forest. Compared to the low emission scenario (B1), the high emission scenario (A2) would lead to larger spatiotemporal variations in NPP, and more dramatic and counteracting impacts from climate and increasing atmospheric CO2.

Impacts of climate variability and extremes on global net primary production in the first decade of the 21st century

A wide variety of studies have estimated the magnitude of global terrestrial net primary production (NPP), but its variations, both spatially and temporally, still remain uncertain. By using an improved process-based terrestrial ecosystem model (DLEM, Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model), we provide an estimate of global terrestrial NPP induced by multiple environmental factors and examine the response of terrestrial NPP to climate variability at biome and global levels and along latitudes throughout the first decade of the 21st century. The model simulation estimates an average global terrestrial NPP of 54.6 Pg C yr–1 during 2000–2009, varying from 52.8 Pg C yr–1 in the dry year of 2002 to 56.4 Pg C yr–1 in the wet year of 2008. In wet years, a large increase in terrestrial NPP compared to the decadal mean was prevalent in Amazonia, Africa and Australia. In dry years, however, we found a 3.2% reduction in global terrestrial NPP compared to the decadal mean, primarily due to limited moisture supply in tropical regions. At a global level, precipitation explained approximately 63% of the variation in terrestrial NPP, while the rest was attributed to changes in temperature and other environmental factors. Precipitation was the major factor determining inter-annual variation in terrestrial NPP in low-latitude regions. However, in mid- and high-latitude regions, temperature variability largely controlled the magnitude of terrestrial NPP. Our results imply that projected climate warming and increasing climate extreme events would alter the magnitude and spatiotemporal patterns of global terrestrial NPP.

Amazon drought and forest response: Largely reduced forest photosynthesis but slightly increased canopy greenness during the extreme drought of 2015/2016

Amazon droughts have impacted regional ecosystem functioning as well as global carbon cycling. The severe dry-season droughts in 2005 and 2010, driven by Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly, have been widely investigated in terms of drought severity and impacts on ecosystems. Although the influence of Pacific SST anomaly on wet-season precipitation has been well recognized, it remains uncertain to what extent the droughts driven by Pacific SST anomaly could affect forest greenness and photosynthesis in the Amazon. Here, we examined the monthly and annual dynamics of forest greenness and photosynthetic capacity when Amazon ecosystems experienced an extreme drought in 2015/2016 driven by a strong El Niño event. We found that the drought during August 2015-July 2016 was one of the two most severe meteorological droughts since 1901. Due to the enhanced solar radiation during this drought, overall forest greenness showed a small increase, and 21.6% of forests even greened up (greenness index anomaly ≥1 standard deviation). In contrast, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), an indicator of vegetation photosynthetic capacity, showed a significant decrease. Responses of forest greenness and photosynthesis decoupled during this drought, indicating that forest photosynthesis could still be suppressed regardless of the variation in canopy greenness. If future El Niño frequency increases as projected by earth system models, droughts would result in persistent reduction in Amazon forest productivity, substantial changes in tree composition, and considerable carbon emissions from Amazon.

Recent patterns of terrestrial net primary production in Africa influenced by multiple environmental changes

Abstract Terrestrial net primary production (NPP) is of fundamental importance to food security and ecosystem sustainability. However, little is known about how terrestrial NPP in African ecosystems has responded to recent changes in climate and other environmental factors. Here, we used an integrated ecosystem model (the dynamic land ecosystem model; DLEM) to simulate the dynamic variations in terrestrial NPP of African ecosystems driven by climate and other environmental factors during 1980–2009. We estimate a terrestrial NPP of 10.22 (minimum–maximum range of 8.9–11.3) Pg C/yr during the study period. Our results show that precipitation variability had a significant effect on terrestrial NPP, explaining 74% of interannual variations in NPP. Over the 30‐yr period, African ecosystems experienced an increase in NPP of 0.03 Pg C/yr, resulting from the combined effects of climate variability, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, and nitrogen deposition. Our further analyses show that there is a difference in NPP of 1.6 Pg C/yr between wet and dry years, indicating that interannual climatic variations play an important role in determining the magnitude of terrestrial NPP. Central Africa, dominated by tropical forests, was the most productive region and accounted for 50% of the carbon sequestered as NPP in Africa. Our results indicate that warmer and wetter climatic conditions, together with elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition, have resulted in a significant increase in African terrestrial NPP during 1980–2009, with the largest contribution from tropical forests.

Responses of global terrestrial water use efficiency to climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 concentration in the twenty-first century

ABSTRACT Terrestrial ecosystems play a significant role in global carbon and water cycles because of the substantial amount of carbon assimilated through net primary production and large amount of water loss through evapotranspiration (ET). Using a process-based ecosystem model, we investigate the potential effects of climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 concentration on global terrestrial ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE) during the twenty-first century. Future climate change would reduce global WUE by 16.3% under high-emission climate change scenario (A2) and 2.2% under low-emission climate scenario (B1) during 2010–2099. However, the combination of rising atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change would increase global WUE by 7.9% and 9.4% under A2 and B1 climate scenarios, respectively. This suggests that rising atmospheric CO2 concentration could ameliorate climate change-induced WUE decline. Future WUE would increase significantly at the high-latitude regions but decrease at the low-latitude regions under combined changes in climate and atmospheric CO2. The largest increase of WUE would occur in tundra and boreal needleleaf deciduous forest under the combined A2 climate and atmospheric CO2 scenario. More accurate prediction of WUE requires deeper understanding on the responses of ET to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations and its interactions with climate.

Increased nitrogen enrichment and shifted patterns in the world’s grassland: 1860–2014

Abstract. As the largest sector on the Earth’s land surface, the livestock system is not only a major contributor to global manure excreta that perturbs the global nutrient balance, but also a major emitter of greenhouse gases that warms the climate. Much attention has been paid to nitrogen (N) fertilizer and manure N applications to global croplands, however, there is still a lack of spatially-explicit estimates of continuous time-series datasets of manure and fertilizer N inputs in global grasslands. In this study, we therefore developed three global gridded datasets at a resolution of 0.5 degree × 0.5 degree for the period 1860–2014 (i.e., annual manure N deposition rate, synthetic N fertilizer use rate, and manure N application rate) by combining annual and 5-arc minute spatial data on pasture and rangeland with country-level manure and synthetic fertilizer N data from the Food and Agricultural Organization database (FAOSTAT). We found that total N inputs, sum of manure N deposition, manure and fertilizer N application to global grassland systems increased from 15.5 to 103.8 Tg N yr −1 during 1860–2014. Manure N deposition accounted for 83.7 % of the total N inputs, whereas manure and fertilizer N application accounted for 7.7 % and 8.6 %, respectively, during 2000–2014. At the regional scale, hotspots of manure N deposition remained the same during 1860–2014 (i.e., southern Asia, Africa, and South America), but hotspots of manure and fertilizer N application have shifted from Europe to southern Asia in the early 21st century. These three datasets could fill data gaps of N inputs in global and regional grasslands and serve as input drivers for ecosystem and biogeochemistry models to investigate the impacts of N enrichment on the global grassland system, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental sustainability. Datasets available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.892940 .

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into a Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into the Earth System: PLUGGING ANIMALS INTO THE EARTH SYSTEM

Mammalian herbivores are an essential component of grassland and savanna ecosystems, and with feedbacks to the climate system. To date, the response and feedbacks of mammalian herbivores to changes in both abiotic and biotic factors are poorly quantified and not adequately represented in the current global land surface modeling framework. In this study, we coupled herbivore population dynamics in a global land model (the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM 3.0) to simulate populations of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and their responses to changes in multiple environmental factors at the site level across different continents during 1980–2010. Simulated results show that the model is capable of reproducing observed herbivore population dynamics across all sites for these animal groups. Our simulation results also indicate that during this period, climate extremes led to a maximum mortality of 27% of the total herbivores in Mongolia. Across all sites, herbivores reduced aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) by 14% and 15%, respectively (p < 0.05). With adequate parameterization, the model can be used for historical assessment and future prediction of mammalian herbivore populations and their relevant impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Our simulation results demonstrate a strong coupling between primary producers and consumers, indicating that inclusion of herbivores into the global land modeling framework is essential to better understand the potentially large effect of herbivores on carbon cycles in grassland and savanna ecosystems.

Half‐Century Ammonia Emissions From Agricultural Systems in Southern Asia: Magnitude, Spatiotemporal Patterns, and Implications for Human Health

Abstract Much concern has been raised about the increasing threat to air quality and human health due to ammonia (NH3) emissions from agricultural systems, which is associated with the enrichment of reactive nitrogen (N) in southern Asia (SA), home of more than 60% the worlds population (i.e., the people of West, central, East, South, and Southeast Asia). Southern Asia consumed more than half of the global synthetic N fertilizer and was the dominant region for livestock waste production since 2004. Excessive N application could lead to a rapid increase of NH3 in the atmosphere, resulting in severe air and water pollution in this region. However, there is still a lack of accurate estimates of NH3 emissions from agricultural systems. In this study, we simulated the agricultural NH3 fluxes in SA by coupling the Bidirectional NH3 exchange module (Bi‐NH3) from the Community Multi‐scale Air Quality model with the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model. Our results indicated that NH3 emissions were 21.3 ± 3.9 Tg N yr−1 from SA agricultural systems with a rapidly increasing rate of ~0.3 Tg N yr−2 during 1961−2014. Among the emission sources, 10.8 Tg N yr−1 was released from synthetic N fertilizer use, and 10.4 ± 3.9 Tg N yr−1 was released from manure production in 2014. Ammonia emissions from China and India together accounted for 64% of the total amount in SA during 2000−2014. Our results imply that the increased NH3 emissions associated with high N inputs to croplands would likely be a significant threat to the environment and human health unless mitigation efforts are applied to reduce these emissions.