Xianjin Zhu

High carbon dioxide uptake by subtropical forest ecosystems in the East Asian monsoon region

Significance Understanding the location of carbon sources and sinks is essential for accurately predicting future changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate. Mid- to high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems are well known to be the principal carbon sink regions, yet less attention has been paid to the mid- to low-latitude ecosystems. In this study, long-term eddy covariance observations demonstrate that there is a high carbon dioxide uptake (net ecosystem productivity) by the mid- to low-latitude East Asian monsoon subtropical forests that were shaped by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Increasing nitrogen deposition, a young forest age structure, and sufficient water and heat availability combined to contribute to this large carbon dioxide uptake. Temperate- and high-latitude forests have been shown to contribute a carbon sink in the Northern Hemisphere, but fewer studies have addressed the carbon balance of the subtropical forests. In the present study, we integrated eddy covariance observations established in the 1990s and 2000s to show that East Asian monsoon subtropical forests between 20°N and 40°N represent an average net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of 362 ± 39 g C m−2 yr−1 (mean ± 1 SE). This average forest NEP value is higher than that of Asian tropical and temperate forests and is also higher than that of forests at the same latitudes in Europe–Africa and North America. East Asian monsoon subtropical forests have comparable NEP to that of subtropical forests of the southeastern United States and intensively managed Western European forests. The total NEP of East Asian monsoon subtropical forests was estimated to be 0.72 ± 0.08 Pg C yr−1, which accounts for 8% of the global forest NEP. This result indicates that the role of subtropical forests in the current global carbon cycle cannot be ignored and that the regional distributions of the Northern Hemispheres terrestrial carbon sinks are needed to be reevaluated. The young stand ages and high nitrogen deposition, coupled with sufficient and synchronous water and heat availability, may be the primary reasons for the high NEP of this region, and further studies are needed to quantify the contribution of each underlying factor.

Hysteresis responses of evapotranspiration to meteorological factors at a diel timescale: patterns and causes.

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. Understanding the ways in which ET changes with meteorological factors is central to a better understanding of ecological and hydrological processes. In this study, we used eddy covariance measurements of ET from a typical alpine shrubland meadow ecosystem in China to investigate the hysteresis response of ET to environmental variables including air temperature (T a), vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and net radiation (R n) at a diel timescale. Meanwhile, the simulated ET by Priestly-Taylor equation was used to interpret the measured ET under well-watered conditions. Pronounced hysteresis was observed in both T a and VPD response curves of ET. At a similar T a and VPD, ET was always significantly depressed in the afternoon compared with the morning. But the hysteresis response of ET to R n was not evident. Similar hysteresis patterns were also observed in the T a/VPD response curves of simulated ET. The magnitudes of the measured and simulated hysteresis loops showed similar seasonal variation, with relatively smaller values occurring from May to September, which agreed well with the lifetime of plants and the period of rainy season at this site. About 62% and 23% of changes in the strength of measured ET-T a and ET-VPD loops could be explained by the changes in the strength of simulated loops, respectively. Thus, the time lag between R n and T a/VPD is the most important factor generating and modulating the ET-T a/VPD hysteresis, but plants and water status also contribute to the hysteresis response of ET. Our research confirmed the different hysteresis in the responses of ET to meteorological factors and proved the vital role of R n in driving the diel course of ET.

Roles of Climate, Vegetation and Soil in Regulating the Spatial Variations in Ecosystem Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in the Northern Hemisphere

Climate, vegetation, and soil characteristics play important roles in regulating the spatial variation in carbon dioxide fluxes, but their relative influence is still uncertain. In this study, we compiled data from 241 eddy covariance flux sites in the Northern Hemisphere and used Classification and Regression Trees and Redundancy Analysis to assess how climate, vegetation, and soil affect the spatial variations in three carbon dioxide fluxes (annual gross primary production (AGPP), annual ecosystem respiration (ARE), and annual net ecosystem production (ANEP)). Our results showed that the spatial variations in AGPP, ARE, and ANEP were significantly related to the climate and vegetation factors (correlation coefficients, R = 0.22 to 0.69, P < 0.01) while they were not related to the soil factors (R = -0.11 to 0.14, P > 0.05) in the Northern Hemisphere. The climate and vegetation together explained 60 % and 58 % of the spatial variations in AGPP and ARE, respectively. Climate factors (mean annual temperature and precipitation) could account for 45 - 47 % of the spatial variations in AGPP and ARE, but the climate constraint on the vegetation index explained approximately 75 %. Our findings suggest that climate factors affect the spatial variations in AGPP and ARE mainly by regulating vegetation properties, while soil factors exert a minor effect. To more accurately assess global carbon balance and predict ecosystem responses to climate change, these discrepant roles of climate, vegetation, and soil are required to be fully considered in the future land surface models. Moreover, our results showed that climate and vegetation factors failed to capture the spatial variation in ANEP and suggest that to reveal the underlying mechanism for variation in ANEP, taking into account the effects of other factors (such as climate change and disturbances) is necessary.

Spatial variation in annual actual evapotranspiration of terrestrial ecosystems in China: Results from eddy covariance measurements

Understanding the spatial variation in annual actual evapotranspiration (AET) and its influencing factors is crucial for a better understanding of hydrological processes and water resources management. By synthesizing ecosystem-level observations of eddy-covariance flux sites in China (a total of 61 sites), we constructed the most complete AET dataset in China up to now. Based on this dataset, we quantified the statistic characteristics of AET and water budgets (defined as the ratio of AET to annual mean precipitation (MAP), AET/MAP) of terrestrial ecosystems in China. Results showed that AET differed significantly among both different vegetation types and climate types in China, with overall mean AET of 534.7±232.8 mm yr-1. AET/MAP also differed significantly among different climate types, but there were no distinct differences in AET/MAP values across vegetation types, with mean AET/MAP of 0.82±0.28 for non-irrigated ecosystems. We further investigated how the main climatic factors and vegetation attributes control the spatial variation in AET. Our findings revealed that the spatial variation of AET in China was closely correlated with the geographical patterns of climate and vegetation, in which the effects of total annual net radiation (Rn), MAP and mean annual air temperature (MAT) were dominant. Thus, we proposed an empirical equation to describe the spatial patterns of AET in China, which could explain about 84% of the spatial variation in AET of terrestrial ecosystems in China. Based on the constructed dataset, we also evaluated the uncertainties of five published global evapotranspiration products in simulating site-specific AET in China. Results showed that large biases in site-specific AET values existed for all five global evapotranspiration products, which indicated that it is necessary to involve more observation data of China in their parameterization or validation, while our AET dataset would provide a data source for it.

Modeling and Partitioning of Regional Evapotranspiration Using a Satellite-Driven Water-Carbon Coupling Model

The modeling and partitioning of regional evapotranspiration (ET) are key issues in global hydrological and ecological research. We incorporated a stomatal conductance model and a light-use efficiency-based gross primary productivity (GPP) model into the Shuttleworth–Wallace model to develop a simplified carbon-water coupling model, SWH, for estimating ET using meteorological and remote sensing data. To enable regional application of the SWH model, we optimized key parameters with measurements from global eddy covariance (EC) tower sites. In addition, we estimated soil water content with the principle of the bucket system. The model prediction of ET agreed well with the estimates obtained with the EC measurements, with an average R2 of 0.77 and a root mean square error of 0.72 mm·day−1. The model performance was generally better for woody ecosystems than herbaceous ecosystems. Finally, the spatial patterns of ET and relevant model outputs (i.e., GPP, water-use efficiency and the ratio of soil water evaporation to ET) in China with the model simulations were assessed.

Assessing the regional carbon sink with its forming processes- a case study of Liaoning province, China

Assessing the regional carbon sink sets the basis of regional carbon management, which involves many measures but has large uncertainties. Carbon sink assessment scheme based on its forming processes (CSF) is a recently proposed measure but repeatly calculates emission from water erosion and ignored human inducing carbon inputs. Therefore, we revised the CSF by calculating the direct outputs from land surface and adding human returned carbon (HC) to the input. The revised CSF thus involved gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), carbon removal from cropland (CRC), emission from reactive carbon (ERC), emission from water erosion (Ewat), and HC, which can be obtained from public data sources. Then the revised CSF was applied to the Liaoning province of China. The estimated carbon input of Liaoning province during 2000–2014 was 114.77 ± 8.41 TgC yr−1, while the carbon output was 110.48 ± 8.38 TgC yr−1. The difference between input and output induced a carbon sink of 4.30 ± 2.20 TgC yr−1, accounting for 3.75% of total carbon input. The carbon sink spatially decreased from northeast to southwest, which was highly correlated with that of GPP. However, though its forming fluxes significantly increased from 2000 to 2014, the carbon sink showed a decreasing trend. In addition, the revised scheme only needed published and public data, which made it serve as an alternative approach for regional carbon budget assessment.