Cross-biome synthesis of source vs sink limits to tree growth

• Main Authors: Cabon, Antoine, Kannenberg, Steven, Babst, Flurin, Baldocchi, Dennis, Belmecheri, Soumaya, Delpierre, Nicolas, Guerrieri, Rossella, Maxwell, Justin, McKenzie, Shawn, Pappas, Chritoforos, Rocha, Adrian, Szejner, Paul, Ueyama, Masahito, Ulrich, Danielle, Vincke, Caroline, Wei, Jingshu, Woodruff, David, Arain, Altaf, Meinzer, Rick, Moore, David J. P., Voelker, Steven L., Anderegg, William R. L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2022
• Subjects: carbon cycle; photosynthesis; tree growth; gross primary production; ring width; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6267352; https://zenodo.org/record/6267352

Uncertainties surrounding tree carbon allocation to growth are a major limitation to projections of forest carbon sequestration and response to climate change. The prevalence and extent to which carbon assimilation (source) or cambial activity (sink) mediate wood production is fundamentally important and remains elusive. Here we quantify source-sink relations across biomes by combining eddy-covariance gross primary production with extensive on-site and regional tree-ring observations. We find widespread temporal decoupling between carbon assimilation and tree growth, underpinned by contrasting climatic sensitivities of these two processes. We elucidate substantial decoupling differences between angiosperms and gymnosperms and stronger decoupling with canopy closure, aridity, and decreasing temperatures. Our results reveal pervasive sink control over tree growth that is likely to be further exacerbated by global change. : Funding provided by: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005825 Award Number: 2018-67019-27850Funding provided by: David and Lucille Packard Foundation and US National Science Foundation* Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: 1714972Funding provided by: National Science Foundation Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001 Award Number: 1753845Funding provided by: U.S. Forest Service Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100006959 Award Number: 19-05Funding provided by: U.S. Department of Energy Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000015 Award Number: DE-SC0022052Funding provided by: Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II* Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: JPMXD1420318865Funding provided by: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005825 Award Number: 2017‐67013‐26191Funding provided by: U.S. Department of Energy Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000015 Award Number: AmeriFluxFunding provided by: U.S. Department of Energy Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000015 Award Number: DE-SC0010611Funding provided by: NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences* Crossref Funder Registry ID: Award Number: 1241851