Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2021JG006441 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
| Volume | 126 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Oct 2021 |
Abstract
Over the past decades, human-induced climate change has led to a widespread wetting and warming of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), affecting both ecosystems and the carbon cycling therein. Whether the previously observed climate changes stimulate carbon uptake via enhanced photosynthesis or carbon loss via enhanced soil respiration remains unclear. Here we present 14 years of observations of carbon fluxes, meteorological variables and remotely sensed plant cover estimations from a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem at Nam Co, the third largest lake on the TP. Using modified Mann-Kendall trend tests, we found a significant increasing daily net carbon uptake of 0.5 g C m −2 decade −1, which can be explained by a widespread greening at the southern shore of lake Nam Co. The Plateau-wide changes in temperature and precipitation are locally expressed as an increasing diurnal temperature range during winter, higher water availability during spring, higher cloud cover during early summer and less water availability during late summer. While these changes differ over the course of the year, they tend to stimulate plant growth more than microbial respiration, leading to an increased carbon uptake during all seasons. This study indicates that during the 14 years study period, a higher amplitude in winter temperatures and an earlier summer monsoon promote carbon uptake in a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem.
Keywords
- alpine steppe, carbon dioxide, climate change, eddy covariance, plant cover, tibetan plateau
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Soil Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Forestry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Palaeontology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Atmospheric Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Aquatic Science
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 126, No. 10, e2021JG006441, 11.10.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Winter Daytime Warming and Shift in Summer Monsoon Increase Plant Cover and Net CO 2 Uptake in a Central Tibetan Alpine Steppe Ecosystem
AU - Nieberding, Felix
AU - Wille, Christian
AU - Ma, Yaoming
AU - Wang, Yuyang
AU - Maurischat, Philipp
AU - Lehnert, Lukas
AU - Sachs, Torsten
N1 - Funding Information: The authors like to express our gratitude to Eike Reinosch for producing the overview map (Figure 2 ). Furthermore, the authors would like to express our cordial thanks to Vinzenz Zerres for processing and quality checking the annual plant cover estimates. The authors warmly thank Inge Wiekenkamp for revising the original draft. This research is a contribution to the International Research Training Group “Geo‐ecosystems in transition on the Tibetan Plateau (TransTiP),” funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant no. 317513741/GRK 2309). It was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program (grant no. 2019‐QZKK0103), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDA20060101) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 91837208). The authors acknowledge support from the open‐access publication funds of the Technische Universität Braunschweig. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
PY - 2021/10/11
Y1 - 2021/10/11
N2 - Over the past decades, human-induced climate change has led to a widespread wetting and warming of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), affecting both ecosystems and the carbon cycling therein. Whether the previously observed climate changes stimulate carbon uptake via enhanced photosynthesis or carbon loss via enhanced soil respiration remains unclear. Here we present 14 years of observations of carbon fluxes, meteorological variables and remotely sensed plant cover estimations from a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem at Nam Co, the third largest lake on the TP. Using modified Mann-Kendall trend tests, we found a significant increasing daily net carbon uptake of 0.5 g C m −2 decade −1, which can be explained by a widespread greening at the southern shore of lake Nam Co. The Plateau-wide changes in temperature and precipitation are locally expressed as an increasing diurnal temperature range during winter, higher water availability during spring, higher cloud cover during early summer and less water availability during late summer. While these changes differ over the course of the year, they tend to stimulate plant growth more than microbial respiration, leading to an increased carbon uptake during all seasons. This study indicates that during the 14 years study period, a higher amplitude in winter temperatures and an earlier summer monsoon promote carbon uptake in a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem.
AB - Over the past decades, human-induced climate change has led to a widespread wetting and warming of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), affecting both ecosystems and the carbon cycling therein. Whether the previously observed climate changes stimulate carbon uptake via enhanced photosynthesis or carbon loss via enhanced soil respiration remains unclear. Here we present 14 years of observations of carbon fluxes, meteorological variables and remotely sensed plant cover estimations from a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem at Nam Co, the third largest lake on the TP. Using modified Mann-Kendall trend tests, we found a significant increasing daily net carbon uptake of 0.5 g C m −2 decade −1, which can be explained by a widespread greening at the southern shore of lake Nam Co. The Plateau-wide changes in temperature and precipitation are locally expressed as an increasing diurnal temperature range during winter, higher water availability during spring, higher cloud cover during early summer and less water availability during late summer. While these changes differ over the course of the year, they tend to stimulate plant growth more than microbial respiration, leading to an increased carbon uptake during all seasons. This study indicates that during the 14 years study period, a higher amplitude in winter temperatures and an earlier summer monsoon promote carbon uptake in a central Tibetan alpine steppe ecosystem.
KW - alpine steppe
KW - carbon dioxide
KW - climate change
KW - eddy covariance
KW - plant cover
KW - tibetan plateau
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119355049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2021JG006441
DO - 10.1029/2021JG006441
M3 - Article
VL - 126
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
SN - 2169-8953
IS - 10
M1 - e2021JG006441
ER -