Recent decrease of the impact of tropical temperature on the carbon cycle linked to increased precipitation

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Zhang, Wenmin, Schurgers, Guy, Peñuelas, Josep, Fensholt, Rasmus, Yang, Hui, Tang, Jing, Tong, Xiaowei, Ciais, Philippe, Brandt, Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2023
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences; Climate Research; Physical Geography; South pole
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/91db500d-655e-41d1-bdad-3cf120741b1e; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36727-2

The atmospheric CO2 growth rate (CGR) variability is largely controlled by tropical temperature fluctuations. The sensitivity of CGR to tropical temperature (γCGRT) has strongly increased since 1960, but here we show that this trend has ceased. Here, we use the long-term CO2 records from Mauna Loa and the South Pole to compute CGR, and show that γCGRT increased by 200% from 1960–1979 to 1979–2000 but then decreased by 117% from 1980–2001 to 2001–2020, almost returning back to the level of the 1960s. Variations in γCGRT are significantly correlated with changes in precipitation at a bi-decadal scale. These findings are further corroborated by results from a dynamic vegetation model, collectively suggesting that increases in precipitation control the decreased γCGRT during recent decades. Our results indicate that wetter conditions have led to a decoupling of the impact of the tropical temperature variation on the carbon cycle.