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Title: Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data

Abstract

Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) for a wide range of climate and biome types. However, these measurements only represent the carbon fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. To quantify the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere for regions or continents, flux tower measurements need to be extrapolated to these large areas. Here we used remotely sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on board the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Terra satellite to scale up AmeriFlux NEE measurements to the continental scale.We first combined MODIS and AmeriFlux data for representative U.S. ecosystems to develop a predictive NEE model using a modified regression tree approach. The predictive model was trained and validated using eddy flux NEE data over the periods 2000 2004 and 2005 2006, respectively. We found that the model predicted NEE well (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). We then applied the model to the continental scale and estimated NEE for each 1 km 1 km cell across the conterminous U.S. for each 8-day interval in 2005 using spatially explicit MODIS data. The model generally captured the expectedmore » spatial and seasonal patterns of NEE as determined from measurements and the literature. Our study demonstrated that our empirical approach is effective for scaling up eddy flux NEE measurements to the continental scale and producing wall-to-wall NEE estimates across multiple biomes. Our estimates may provide an independent dataset from simulations with biogeochemical models and inverse modeling approaches for examining the spatiotemporal patterns of NEE and constraining terrestrial carbon budgets over large areas.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [1]
  1. ORNL
  2. Purdue University
  3. University of California, Berkeley
  4. Oregon State University
  5. University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1015036
DOE Contract Number:  
DE-AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 148; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-1923
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
Net ecosystem carbon exchange; MODIS; AmeriFlux; NEE; Regression tree; Eddy covariance

Citation Formats

Xiao, Jingfeng, Zhuang, Qianlai, Baldocchi, Dennis, Ma, Siyan, Law, Beverly E, Richardson, Andrew D, Chen, Jiquan, and Oren, Ram. Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.06.015.
Xiao, Jingfeng, Zhuang, Qianlai, Baldocchi, Dennis, Ma, Siyan, Law, Beverly E, Richardson, Andrew D, Chen, Jiquan, & Oren, Ram. Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.06.015
Xiao, Jingfeng, Zhuang, Qianlai, Baldocchi, Dennis, Ma, Siyan, Law, Beverly E, Richardson, Andrew D, Chen, Jiquan, and Oren, Ram. 2008. "Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.06.015.
@article{osti_1015036,
title = {Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data},
author = {Xiao, Jingfeng and Zhuang, Qianlai and Baldocchi, Dennis and Ma, Siyan and Law, Beverly E and Richardson, Andrew D and Chen, Jiquan and Oren, Ram},
abstractNote = {Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) for a wide range of climate and biome types. However, these measurements only represent the carbon fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. To quantify the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere for regions or continents, flux tower measurements need to be extrapolated to these large areas. Here we used remotely sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on board the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Terra satellite to scale up AmeriFlux NEE measurements to the continental scale.We first combined MODIS and AmeriFlux data for representative U.S. ecosystems to develop a predictive NEE model using a modified regression tree approach. The predictive model was trained and validated using eddy flux NEE data over the periods 2000 2004 and 2005 2006, respectively. We found that the model predicted NEE well (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). We then applied the model to the continental scale and estimated NEE for each 1 km 1 km cell across the conterminous U.S. for each 8-day interval in 2005 using spatially explicit MODIS data. The model generally captured the expected spatial and seasonal patterns of NEE as determined from measurements and the literature. Our study demonstrated that our empirical approach is effective for scaling up eddy flux NEE measurements to the continental scale and producing wall-to-wall NEE estimates across multiple biomes. Our estimates may provide an independent dataset from simulations with biogeochemical models and inverse modeling approaches for examining the spatiotemporal patterns of NEE and constraining terrestrial carbon budgets over large areas.},
doi = {10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.06.015},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1015036}, journal = {Agricultural and Forest Meteorology},
issn = {0168-1923},
number = 11,
volume = 148,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008},
month = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008}
}