Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #263505
Title: Thermal optimality of net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and underlying mechanisms

Author
item NIU, S. - University Of Oklahoma
item LUO, Y. - University Of Oklahoma
item FEI, S. - University Of Oklahoma
item YUAN, W. - University Of Oklahoma
item ZHANG, Z. - University Of Oklahoma
item SCHIMEL, D. - Neon, Inc
item AMIRO, B. - University Of Manitoba
item AMMANN, C. - Agroscope
item ARAIN, M. - McMaster University
item ARNETH, A. - Lund University
item AUBINET, M. - Gembloux Agricultural University
item BARR, A. - Environment Canada
item BERINGER, J. - Monash University
item BERNHOFER, C - Dresdan University Of Technology
item BLACK, A. - University Of British Columbia
item BUCHMANN, N. - Eldgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH)
item CESCATTI, A. - European Commission-Joint Research Centre (JRC)
item CHEN, J. - University Of Toledo
item DAVIS, K. - Pennsylvania State University
item DELLLWIK, E. - Pennsylvania State University
item DESAI, A. - University Of Wisconsin
item DOLMAN, H. - University Of Amsterdam
item DRAKE, B. - Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
item ETZOLD, S. - Eth Zurich
item FRANCOIS, L. - Universite De Liege
item GIANELE, D. - Iasma Research Center
item GOLDSTEIN, A - University Of California
item GU, LIANHONG - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
item HANAN, N. - South Dakota State University
item HELFER, C. - Centre For Ecology And Hydrology
item HIRANO, T. - Hokkaido University
item HOLLINGER, D. - Us Forest Service (FS)
item LINDROTH, A. - Lund University
item JANSSENS, I. - University Of Antwerpen
item JONES, M. - Trinity College
item KIELY, G. - University College Cork
item KOLB, T. - Northern Arizona University
item KUTSCH, W. - Federal Research Institute For Rural Areas, Forestry And Fisheries
item LAFLEUR, P. - Trent University
item LAW, B. - Oregon State University
item LITVAK, M. - University Of New Mexico
item LOUSTAU, D. - Institut National De La Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
item LUND, M. - Lund University
item MAREK, M. - Academy Of Sciences Of The Czech Republic (ASCR)
item MATTEUCCI, G. - National Research Council - Italy
item MARTIN, T. - University Of Florida
item MONTAGNANI, LEONARDO - Forestry Services
item MOORS, E. - Agro Business Netherlands
item MUNGER, J. - Harvard University
item NOORMETS, A. - North Carolina State University
item OECHEL, W. - San Diego State University
item OLEJNIK, J. - Poznan University Of Life Sciences
item PAW U, K. - University Of California
item PILEGAARD, K. - Technical University Of Denmark
item RAMBAL, S. - National Center For Scientific Research
item SALESKA, S. - University Of Arizona
item Scott, Russell - Russ
item SEUFERT, G. - Institute For Agro Environmental And Forestry Biology (IBAF-CNR)
item SPANO, D. - University Of Sassari
item STOY, P. - Montana State University
item SUTTON, M. - Centre For Ecology And Hydrology
item VARLAGIN, A. - Russian Academy Of Sciences
item VESALA, T. - University Of Helsinki
item WOHFAHRT, G. - University Of Innsbruck
item YAKIR, D. - Weizmam Institute
item YANG, B. - Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2012
Publication Date: 8/1/2012
Citation: Niu, S., Luo, Y., Fei, S., Yuan, W., Zhang, Z., Schimel, D., Amiro, B., Ammann, C., Arain, M.A., Arneth, A., Aubinet, M., Barr, A., Beringer, J., Bernhofer, C., Black, A.T., Buchmann, N., Cescatti, A., Chen, J., Davis, K.J., Delllwik, E., Desai, A.R., Dolman, H., Drake, B.G., Etzold, S., Francois, L., Gianele, D., Goldstein, A., Gu, L., Hanan, N., Helfer, C., Hirano, T., Hollinger, D.Y., Lindroth, A., Janssens, I., Jones, M., Kiely, G., Kolb, T.E., Kutsch, W.L., Lafleur, P., Law, B.E., Litvak, M., Loustau, D., Lund, M., Marek, M., Matteucci, G., Martin, T.A., Montagnani, L., Moors, E., Munger, J.W., Noormets, A., Oechel, W., Olejnik, J., Paw U, K.T., Pilegaard, K., Rambal, S., Saleska, S., Scott, R.L., Seufert, G., Spano, D., Stoy, P., Sutton, M.A., Varlagin, A., Vesala, T., Wohfahrt, G., Yakir, D., Yang, B. 2012. Thermal optimality of net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and underlying mechanisms. New Phytologist. 194(3):775-783.

Interpretive Summary: Ecosystems provide multiple services to humans. Models that represent ecosystem functioning, such as the cycling of carbon, are based on relationships with temperature that have been developed for enzyme- or leaf-level processes. The response of the ecosystem in total to changes in temperature, however, is not known. In this paper, data from a large network of carbon dioxide exchange measurement sites are used to see how this net carbon dioxide exchange varies with temperature. It is found that peak uptake of carbon dioxide by an ecosystem is strongly related to a site’s average growing season temperature, which may indicate an adaptation of plants and organisms within an ecosystem to temperature. This finding is a novel property of ecosystems that was unknown prior to this synthesis effort and can be useful for the testing of ecosystem models used to predict the response to global climate change.

Technical Abstract: It has been well established that individual organisms can acclimate and adapt to temperature change to optimize their performance (i.e., achieve thermal optimality). However, whether ecosystems with an assembly of organisms would also undergo thermal optimization has not been examined on a broader basis. Our synthesis of 638 site-years of eddy covariance data shows that the temperature response curves of net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide are parabolic, with their thermal optima being strongly correlated with growing season mean temperature across the globe and with the annual mean temperatures over years at individual sites. Ecosystem-level thermal optimality is a newly discovered emergent property with its mechanisms yet to be further understood but has important implications for modeling analysis of ecosystem-climate feedbacks.