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How Robust Is the Apparent Break‐Down of Northern High‐Latitude Temperature Control on Spring Carbon Uptake?
Author(s) -
Joyce Peter,
Brienen Roel,
Buermann Wolfgang,
Wilson Chris,
Chipperfield Martyn P.,
Claret Mariona,
Gloor Manuel
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl091601
Subject(s) - environmental science , spring (device) , latitude , carbon dioxide , vegetation (pathology) , atmospheric sciences , climatology , ecosystem , productivity , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , climate change , geology , oceanography , ecology , mechanical engineering , medicine , macroeconomics , geodesy , pathology , engineering , economics , biology
Vegetation growth in northern high‐latitudes during springtime is strongly temperature limited, and thus anomalously warm springs are expected to result in an increased drawdown of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). However, a recent analysis of the relationship between spring temperature anomalies and atmospheric CO 2 anomalies at Point Barrow, Alaska, suggests that the link between spring carbon uptake by northern ecosystems and temperature anomalies has been weakening over recent decades due to a diminishing control of temperature on plant productivity. Upon further analysis, covering the 1982–2015 period, we found no significant change in the relationship between spring vegetation productivity derived from remote sensing data and air temperature. We showed that a reduction in spatial coherence of temperature anomalies, alongside a significant sensitivity to atmospheric transport, is likely responsible for the apparent weakening. Our results, therefore, suggest that spring temperature remains as an important control of northern high‐latitude CO 2 uptake.