Although Arctic tundra has been estimated to cover only 8% of the global land surface, the large and potentially labile carbon pools currently stored in tundra soils have the potential for large emissions of carbon (C) under a warming climate. These emissions as radiatively active greenhouse gases in the form of both CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> could amplify global warming. Given the potential sensitivity of these ecosystems to climate change and the expectation that the Arctic will experience appreciable warming over the next century, it is important to assess whether responses of C exchange in tundra regions are likely to enhance or mitigate warming. In this study we compared analyses of C exchange of Arctic tundra between 1990 and 2006 among observations, regional and global applications of process-based terrestrial biosphere models, and atmospheric inversion models. Syntheses of flux observations and inversion models indicate that the annual exchange of CO<sub>2</sub> between Arctic tundra and the atmosphere has large uncertainties that cannot be distinguished from neutral balance. The mean estimate from an ensemble of process-based model simulations suggests that Arctic tundra has acted as a sink for atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> in recent decades, but based on the uncertainty estimates it cannot be determined with confidence whether these ecosystems represent a weak or a strong sink. Tundra was 0.6 °C warmer in the 2000s compared to the 1990s. The central estimates of the observations, process-based models, and inversion models each identify stronger sinks in the 2000s compared with the 1990s. Some of the process models indicate that this occurred because net primary production increased more in response to warming than heterotrophic respiration. Similarly, the observations and the applications of regional process-based models suggest that CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from Arctic tundra have increased from the 1990s to 2000s because of the sensitivity of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions to warmer temperatures. Based on our analyses of the estimates from observations, process-based models, and inversion models, we estimate that Arctic tundra was a sink for atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> of 110 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> (uncertainty between a sink of 291 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> and a source of 80 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup>) and a source of CH<sub>4</sub> to the atmosphere of 19 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> (uncertainty between sources of 8 and 29 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup>). The suite of analyses conducted in this study indicate that it is important to reduce uncertainties in the observations, process-based models, and inversions in order to better understand the degree to which Arctic tundra is influencing atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> concentrations. The reduction of uncertainties can be accomplished through (1) the strategic placement of more CO<sub&g...
Models of stomatal conductance (gs) are based on coupling between gs and CO2 assimilation (Anet), and it is often assumed that the slope of this relationship ('g1') is constant across species. However, if different plant species have adapted to different access costs of water, then there will be differences in g1 among species. We hypothesized that g1 should vary among species adapted to different climates, and tested the theory and its linkage to plant hydraulics using four Eucalyptus species from different climatic origins in a common garden.Optimal stomatal theory predicts that species from subhumid zones have a lower marginal water cost of C gain, hence lower g1 than humid-zone species. In agreement with the theory that g1 is related to tissue carbon costs for water supply, we found a relationship between wood density and g1 across Eucalyptus species of contrasting climatic origins. There were significant reductions in the parameter g1 during drought in humid but not sub-humid species, with the latter group maintaining g1 in drought. There are strong differences in stomatal behaviour among related tree species in agreement with optimal stomatal theory, and these differences are consistent with the economics involved in water uptake and transport for carbon gain.Key-words: drought; leaf gas exchange models; net photosynthesis; plant hydraulic conductance; stomatal optimization theory.Abbreviations: G, CO2 compensation point of Anet; G*, CO2 compensation point of Anet in the absence of dark respiration; l, unit marginal water cost of plant carbon assimilation; Yl, leaf water potential; Anet, rate of net photosynthetic CO2 assimilation; Ca, CO2 mole fraction in air at the leaf surface; Cst, CO2 mole fraction in the substomatal cavity; E, transpiration rate; D, leaf-air vapour pressure difference. D0, parameter for base level of the D response; g0, stomatal conductance when net photosynthesis is zero; g1, slope of the unified stomatal optimisation model; gs, stomatal conductance; KL, soil-to-leaf hydraulic conductance; kstem, stem specific hydraulic conductivity measured on branches; Q, quantum flux density inside the leaf cuvette.
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