Premium
Different determinants of radiation use efficiency in cold and temperate forests
Author(s) -
Balzarolo Manuela,
Valdameri Nadia,
Fu Yongshuo H.,
Schepers Lennert,
Janssens Ivan A.,
Campioli Matteo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
global ecology and biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.164
H-Index - 152
eISSN - 1466-8238
pISSN - 1466-822X
DOI - 10.1111/geb.12985
Subject(s) - temperate climate , temperate forest , temperate rainforest , temperate deciduous forest , deciduous , evergreen , environmental science , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , geography , ecosystem , biology , medicine , pathology , geology
Aim To verify which vegetation and environmental factors are the most important in determining the spatial and temporal variability of average and maximum values of radiation use efficiency (RUE ann and RUE max , respectively) of cold and temperate forests. Location Forty‐eight cold and temperate forests distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Major taxa studied Evergreen and deciduous trees. Time period 2000–2011. Methods We analysed the impact of 17 factors as potential determinants of mean RUE (at 8 days interval, annual and interannual level) and RUE max (at annual and interannual level) in cold and temperate forests by using linear regression and random forests models. Results Mean annual RUE (RUE ann , c. 1.1 gC/MJ) and RUE max ( c. 0.8 gC/MJ) did not differ between cold and temperate forests. However, for cold forests, RUE ann was affected by temperature‐related variables, while for temperate forests RUE ann was affected by drought‐related variables. Leaf area index (LAI) was important for both forest types, while N deposition only for cold forests and cloud cover only for temperate forest. RUE max of cold forests was mainly driven by N deposition and LAI, whereas for temperate forests only a weak relationship between RUE max and CO 2 concentration was found. Short‐term variability of RUE was strongly related to the meteorological variables and varied during the season and was stronger in summer than spring or autumn. Interannual variability of RUE ann and RUE max was only weakly related to the interannual variability of the environmental drivers. Main conclusions Cold and temperate forests show different relationships with the environment and vegetation properties. Among the RUE drivers observed, the least anticipated was N deposition. RUE is strongly related to short‐term and seasonal changes in meteorological variables among seasons and among sites. Our results should be considered in the formulation of climate zone‐specific tools for remote sensing and global models.