Open AccessUpdated respiration routines alter spatio-temporal patterns of carbon cycling in a global land surface model
Author(s) -
Ethan E. Butler,
Kirk R. Wythers,
Habacuc FloresMoreno,
Ming Chen,
Abhirup Datta,
Daniel M. Ricciuto,
Owen K. Atkin,
Jens Kattge,
P. E. Thornton,
Arindam Banerjee,
Peter B. Reich
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac2528
Subject(s) - primary production , carbon cycle , environmental science , tropics , temperate climate , cycling , atmospheric sciences , global change , carbon fibers , range (aeronautics) , computer science , algorithm , climatology , ecosystem , ecology , forestry , physics , climate change , geography , biology , geology , materials science , composite number , composite material
We updated the routines used to estimate leaf maintenance respiration (MR) in the Energy Land Model (ELM) using a comprehensive global respiration data base. The updated algorithm includes a temperature acclimating base rate, an updated instantaneous temperature response, and new plant functional type specific parameters. The updated MR algorithm resulted in a very large increase in global MR of 16.1 Pg (38%), but the signal was not geographically uniform. The increase was concentrated in the tropics and humid warm-temperate forests. The increase in MR led to large but proportionally smaller decreases in global net primary production (19%) and in average global leaf area index (15%). The effect on global gross primary production (GPP) was a more modest 5.7 Pg (4%). A detailed site level analysis also demonstrated a wide range of effects the updated algorithm can have on the seasonal cycle of GPP. Output from the updated and old models did not differ markedly in how closely they matched a suite of benchmarks. Given the substantial impact on the land surface carbon cycle, a neutral influence on model benchmarks, and better alignment with empirical evidence, an MR algorithm similar to the one presented here should be adopted into ELM.