Legacy effects of spring temperature anomalies on seasonal productivities in northern ecosystems

• Main Author: Marsh, Hanna
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Lunds universitet/Institutionen för naturgeografi och ekosystemvetenskap 2021
• Subjects: Physical geography; Ecosystem analysis; Northern ecosystems; Legacy effects; Climate Change; Gross Primary Production; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Synes; Climate change
• Online Access: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9056562

Legacy effects of spring temperature anomalies on seasonal productivities in northern ecosystems Direct and lagged effects from spring temperature anomalies for the time-period 2001-2018 have been investigated for northern ecosystems (> 30°N). Three different data sets of Gross Primary Production (GPP) estimates (GOSIF, NIRvGPP and FLUX GPP) have been used in tandem with concurrent climate data to find significant correlations between spring growth and temperature anomalies and subsequent growing seasons. Estimates show lagged effects from spring temperature (Tspring) anomalies are most pronounced in the summer season and affect the arctic plant production positively; spring warming possibly lessens the harsh climatic constraints that normally govern arctic grasslands and shrub-lands. Below the arctic circle, lagged effects are mainly negative; this strengthens the hypothesis that warm springs and increased vegetation in spring will increase transpiration rates and increase water demands, leading to increased water-stress in summer and autumn. Soil moisture is the dominant control of summer vegetation growth in temperate regions. However, the signal of climate variables controlling vegetation growth also seems to differ depending on the methods used to estimate GPP, which highlights the importance of higher resolution datasets to fully understand the underlying mechanisms affecting plant production and plant phenology. Klimatförändringar förväntas ha en stor inverkan jordens ekosystem i framtiden och till en viss grad har en sådan påverkan redan börjat märkas av. Exempelvis har man märkt att trädens lövknoppar brister ut allt tidigare om vårarna, samtidigt som vissa flyttfåglar väljer att stanna i Norden över de mildare vintrarna, i stället för att flytta till sydligare breddgrader. Det här är troligtvis en konsekvens av ett varmare klimat och vi kan nog vänta oss ännu fler förändringar i framtiden. Ekosystem är komplexa; en liten och till synes obetydlig förändring kan föra med sig stora konsekvenser i ett ...