Post-drought decline of the Amazon carbon sink

Yang, Yan; Saatchi, Sassan; Xu, Liang; Yu, Yifan; Choi, Sungho; Phillips, N.; Kennedy, Robert E.; Keller, Michael; Knyazikhin, Yuri; Myneni, Ranga B.

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05668-6

Cited by 134 publications

(145 citation statements)

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“…Hence, highlighting the underlying concepts and complex impacts of drought on the land ecosystem carbon cycle has substantial societal benefits. Studies suggest that the response of terrestrial ecosystems to drought has been challenging in quantifying the carbon cycle (Anderegg et al, 2015;Leitold et al, 2018;Stocker et al, 2018Stocker et al, , 2019Yang et al, 2018). Different studies have been conducted to understand the carbon cycle feedbacks to drought events (Anderegg et al, 2015;Stocker et al, 2018;Xiao et al, 2009).…”

Section: Impacts Of Drought On Carbon Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

“…With increasing climate change, the intensity and frequency of droughts will likely increase (Brando et al, 2019;Sippel et al, 2018). As a result, forests may lose their role as a robust sink of carbon, which will exacerbate potential warming trends (Yang et al, 2018). In the Amazon, even a single season of drought can reduce CO 2 absorption ability for years to come (Yang et al, 2018).…”

Section: Impacts Of Drought On Carbon Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, ecosystem responses can exceed the duration of the climate impacts, as delayed effects on the carbon cycle persist due to drought (Frank et al, 2015). For instance, a post-drought decline in carbon sinking ability is observed in Amazonia (Yang et al, 2018) due to the shifting of carbon from the roots towards the canopy (Doughty et al, 2015). Hence, incorporating forest legacy effects into climate-carbon cycle models are important for capturing the effects of drought in carbon cycling (Anderegg et al, 2015;van der Molen et al, 2011).…”

Section: Drought Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought: Progress in broadening its understanding

et al. 2019

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Drought affects many aspects of society and its impact is global. To this end, rendering recurrent drought occurrences is a key research focus. Recently, in addition to existing knowledge, progress in scientific advancements regarding drought have been observed on a regional and global scale. Here, we reviewed and outlined current and emerging scientific developments in drought, focusing on progress made in recent years. In the human‐modified world, the anthropogenic effects on drought were dominant and drought‐frequency showed a prominent increase. In this study, we have identified the development of drought concepts, types, and indices, and their indicators were developed as sector‐specific, comprehensive, and oriented towards multiple scales. Anthropogenic changes have enhanced hydrological processes and affected the development of drought. Urbanization, deforestation, and related human activities have aggravated drought. Climate change has had an exacerbating role in drought, which is expected to increase during the 21st century. Human communities, in particular, are undertaking activities that cause droughts; suffering from and coping with their impact. In addition, the direct and indirect effects of drought need reconsideration. As such, the health impact of droughts is a concern in drought‐vulnerable societies and its burden on public health is largely unknown. The need for drought recovery to aid in effective ecosystem functioning in the aftermath of the drought and the development of mitigation measures to alleviate recurrent drought is critical. Enhanced drought monitoring and management options are required under existing environmental and socio‐economic setups in the 21st century. This article is characterized under: Science of Water > Water Extremes Engineering Water > Planning Water Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems

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Section: Impacts Of Drought On Carbon Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impacts Of Drought On Carbon Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drought Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought: Progress in broadening its understanding

et al. 2019

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“…Indeed, legacy effects in growth can accumulate over time and increase the likelihood of mortality (Berdanier & Clark 2016; Vanoni et al 2016). These lagged mortality events (Bigler et al 2007) constitute important and severe legacies of drought, negatively impacting the C balance of the forests in the short‐term (Anderegg et al 2016; Yang et al 2018) and facilitating the changes in species composition that are ongoing in many forests (Fei et al 2017). However, the impacts of legacy effects on forest C cycling are influenced by a complex suite of mechanisms at both tree and ecosystem scales and depend on the nature of the linkage between radial growth of individual trees and other aspects of forest demography and C cycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ghosts of the past: how drought legacy effects shape forest functioning and carbon cycling

2020

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Multi-year lags in tree drought recovery, termed 'drought legacy effects', are important for understanding the impacts of drought on forest ecosystems, including carbon (C) cycle feedbacks to climate change. Despite the ubiquity of lags in drought recovery, large uncertainties remain regarding the mechanistic basis of legacy effects and their importance for the C cycle. In this review, we identify the approaches used to study legacy effects, from tree rings to whole forests. We then discuss key knowledge gaps pertaining to the causes of legacy effects, and how the various mechanisms that may contribute these lags in drought recovery could have contrasting implications for the C cycle. Furthermore, we conduct a novel data synthesis and find that legacy effects differ drastically in both size and length across the US depending on if they are identified in tree rings versus gross primary productivity. Finally, we highlight promising approaches for future research to improve our capacity to model legacy effects and predict their impact on forest health. We emphasise that a holistic view of legacy effectsfrom tissues to whole forestswill advance our understanding of legacy effects and stimulate efforts to investigate drought recovery via experimental, observational and modelling approaches.

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“…Before I use the simple model to explore some idealized scenarios, I discuss many factors that could cause natural mitigation processes to stop or even lead to CO 2 release. Carbon sequestration could decrease in the future in tropical forests if droughts occur, as they have in recent decades (Feldpausch et al, 2016; Yang et al, 2018), because droughts have been shown to reduce carbon storage in tropical forests (Feldpausch et al, 2016; Gatti et al, 2014; Qie et al, 2017; Schwalm et al, 2017; Yang et al, 2018) and in savannahs (Liu et al, 2015). Furthermore, carbon stored in tropical forests could be released to the atmosphere in the event of fire, an important contributor to recent deforestation in the Amazon region (Gatti et al, 2014).…”

Section: Scenarios In Which Natural Mitigation Ceasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Natural” Climate Solutions Could Speed Up Mitigation, With Risks. Additional Options Are Needed.

Crusius

2020

Earth's Future

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Mitigation of climate change by intentionally storing carbon in tropical forests, soils, and wetlands and by reducing greenhouse gas fluxes from these settings has been promoted as rapidly deployable and cost-effective. This approach, sometimes referred to as "natural climate solutions," could keep post-industrialization warming below 1.5°C, when coupled with reductions in fossil fuel emissions, as confirmed here with a simple numerical model of future emissions. However, such mitigation could cease in response to changes in future climate, land use, or natural resource policies, or there could be CO 2 released from reservoirs of stored carbon. Model simulations suggest cumulative emissions could be similar, under scenarios where carbon storage ceases, or stored carbon is released, to emissions expected in the absence of any natural mitigation. If climate change is to be minimized, no-regrets approaches to natural mitigation should be considered (e.g., by reducing deforestation), as emissions targets that could limit warming to 1.5°C cannot be met without mitigation of this magnitude. However, additional mitigation options should also be evaluated that can reduce CO 2 emissions and remove CO 2 from the air (and store it permanently).Plain Language Summary One option for fighting climate change involves "natural climate solutions" that would remove atmospheric CO 2 by storing carbon in tropical forests, soils, and wetlands and would minimize greenhouse gas fluxes from such environments. With a simple computer code to predict future emissions, I confirm that such natural mitigation could, along with reductions in fossil fuel emissions, help keep the average global post-industrialization temperature rise below 1.5°C and could help delay impacts of climate change. However, future changes in climate, land use, or natural resource policies could cause natural mitigation to cease and emissions to increase, and modeling suggests levels could approach those expected in the absence of natural mitigation, which would negate much of the intended benefit. We should prioritize "no-regrets" natural mitigation, including stopping deforestation, that can provide time to develop other needed mitigation options to remove atmospheric CO 2 and permanently store it.

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Post-drought decline of the Amazon carbon sink

Cited by 134 publications

References 77 publications

Drought: Progress in broadening its understanding

Drought: Progress in broadening its understanding

Ghosts of the past: how drought legacy effects shape forest functioning and carbon cycling

“Natural” Climate Solutions Could Speed Up Mitigation, With Risks. Additional Options Are Needed.

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