The Response of Daily Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor Fluxes to Temperature and Precipitation Extremes in Temperate and Boreal Forests

Abstract

Forest ecosystems in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere are significantly affected by frequent extreme weather events. How different forest ecosystems respond to these changes is a major challenge. This study aims to assess differences in the response of daily net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 and latent heat flux (LE) between different boreal and temperate ecosystems and the atmosphere to extreme weather events (e.g., anomalous temperature and precipitation). In order to achieve the main objective of our study, we used available reanalysis data and existing information on turbulent atmospheric fluxes and meteorological parameters from the global and regional FLUXNET databases. The analysis of NEE and LE responses to high/low temperature and precipitation revealed a large diversity of flux responses in temperate and boreal forests, mainly related to forest type, geographic location, regional climate conditions, and plant species composition. During the warm and cold seasons, the extremely high temperatures usually lead to increased CO2 release in all forest types, with the largest response in coniferous forests. The decreasing air temperatures that occur during the warm season mostly lead to higher CO2 uptake, indicating more favorable conditions for photosynthesis at relatively low summer temperatures. The extremely low temperatures in the cold season are not accompanied by significant NEE anomalies. The response of LE to temperature variations does not change significantly throughout the year, with higher temperatures leading to LE increases and lower temperatures leading to LE reductions. The immediate response to heavy precipitation is an increase in CO2 release and a decrease in evaporation. The cumulative effect of heavy precipitations is opposite to the immediate effect in the warm season and results in increased CO2 uptake due to intensified photosynthesis in living plants under sufficient soil moisture conditions.