Snowmelt‐Driven Trade‐Offs Between Early and Late Season Productivity Negatively Impact Forest Carbon Uptake During Drought

Knowles, John F.; Molotch, Noah P.; Trujillo, Ernesto; Litvak, Marcy E.

doi:10.1002/2017GL076504

Title: Snowmelt‐Driven Trade‐Offs Between Early and Late Season Productivity Negatively Impact Forest Carbon Uptake During Drought

Journal Article · Fri Apr 06 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076504· OSTI ID:1432132

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Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA, School of Geography and Development University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA, Department of Geography University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM USA

Abstract Future projections of declining snowpack and increasing potential evaporation are predicted to advance the timing of snowmelt in mountain ecosystems globally with unknown implications for snowmelt‐driven forest productivity. Accordingly, this study combined satellite‐ and tower‐based observations to investigate the forest productivity response to snowpack and potential evaporation variability between 1989 and 2012 throughout the Southern Rocky Mountain ecoregion, United States. Our results show that early and late season productivity were significantly and inversely related and that future shifts toward earlier and/or reduced snowmelt could decrease snowmelt water use efficiency and thus restrict productivity despite a longer growing season. This was explained by increasing snow aridity, which incorporated evaporative demand and snow water supply, and was modified by summer precipitation to determine total annual productivity. The combination of low snow accumulation and record high potential evaporation in 2012 resulted in the 34 year minimum ecosystem productivity that could be indicative of future conditions.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: A14‐0146‐009 (13‐0594); 7094866

OSTI ID:: 1432132

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Vol. 45 Journal Issue: 7; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 28 works

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