The Science

An innovative and low-cost field experiment provided new results regarding the fundamental process of photosynthetic carbon uptake in the face of varying levels of nutrient limitation. Experimental results refute current modeling approach for instantaneous downregulation of carbon uptake and support new hypothesis for long-term storage and release of excess carbon.

The Impact

This new hypothesis has significant impact on the seasonal cycle of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), an important performance metric for global carbon cycle models. The fate of excess carbon can have significant impact on other ecosystem processes.

Summary

Models predicting ecosystem CO₂ exchange under future climate change rely on relatively few real-world tests of their assumptions and outputs. This work demonstrated a rapid and cost-effective method to estimate CO₂ exchange from intact vegetation patches under varying atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Findings showed that net ecosystem CO₂ uptake (NEE) in a boreal forest rose linearly by 4.7% ± 0.2% of the current ambient rate for every 10 ppm CO₂ increase, with no detectable influence of foliar biomass, season, or nitrogen fertilization. The lack of any clear short-term NEE response to fertilization in such a nitrogen-limited system is inconsistent with the instantaneous downregulation of photosynthesis formalized in many global models. Incorporating an alternative mechanism with considerable empirical support—diversion of excess carbon to storage compounds—into an existing Earth system model brings the model output into closer agreement with the team’s field measurements. A global simulation incorporating this modified model reduced a long-standing mismatch between the modeled and observed seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO₂. Wider application of this chamber approach would provide critical data needed to further improve modeled projections of biosphere-atmosphere CO₂ exchange in a changing climate.

Principal Investigator

Peter E. Thornton
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
thorntonpe@ornl.gov

Program Manager

Daniel Stover
U.S. Department of Energy, Biological and Environmental Research (SC-33)
Environmental System Science
daniel.stover@science.doe.gov

Funding

This work was supported by the Earth System Modeling (ACME project) and Terrestrial Ecosystem Science program (ORNL TES SFA) of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.

References