Acclimation of phenology relieves leaf longevity constraints in deciduous forests
OPEN ACCESS
Author / Producer
Date
2022-01-20
Publication Type
Working Paper
ETH Bibliography
yes
Citations
Altmetric
OPEN ACCESS
Data
Abstract
Leaf phenology is key for regulating total growing season mass and energy fluxes. Long-term temporal trends towards earlier leaf unfolding are observed across Northern Hemisphere forests. Phenological dates also vary between years, whereby end-of-season (EOS) dates correlate positively with start-of-season (SOS) dates and negatively with growing season total net CO2 assimilation (Anet). These associations have been interpreted as the effect of a constrained leaf longevity or of premature carbon (C) sink saturation - with far-reaching consequences for long-term phenology projections under climate change and rising CO2. Here, we use multi-decadal ground and remote-sensing observations to show that the relationships between Anet and EOS are opposite at the interannual and the decadal time scales. A decadal trend towards later EOS persists in parallel with a trend towards increasing Anet - in spite of the negative Anet-EOS relationship at the interannual scale. This indicates that acclimation of phenology has enabled plants to transcend a constrained leaf longevity or premature C sink saturation over the course of several decades, leading to a more effective use of available light and a sustained extension of the vegetation CO2 uptake season over time.
Permanent link
Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Organisational unit
09678 - Stocker, Benjamin David (ehemalig) / Stocker, Benjamin David (former)
03535 - Bugmann, Harald / Bugmann, Harald
Notes
Funding
181115 - next-generation Modelling of the biosphere - Including New Data streams and optimality approaches (SNF)
193646 - Forest growth and carbon balance in a warming world: Predicting the growing season lengths of temperate forests (SNF)
193646 - Forest growth and carbon balance in a warming world: Predicting the growing season lengths of temperate forests (SNF)
Related publications and datasets
Is previous version of: