Amazon rainforest photosynthesis increases in response to atmospheric dryness

Green, J. K.; Berry, J.; Ciais, P.; Zhang, Y.; Gentine, P.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abb7232

Amazon rainforest photosynthesis increases in response to atmospheric dryness

Journal Article · Fri Nov 20 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Science Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb7232· OSTI ID:1766521

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Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Lab. des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USA.
Lab. des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). The Earth Inst.

Earth system models predict that increases in atmospheric and soil dryness will reduce photosynthesis in the Amazon rainforest, with large implications for the global carbon cycle. Using in situ observations, solar-induced fluorescence, and nonlinear machine learning techniques, we show that, in reality, this is not necessarily the case: In many of the wettest parts of this region, photosynthesis and biomass tend to increase with increased atmospheric dryness, despite the associated reductions in canopy conductance to CO₂. These results can be largely explained by changes in canopy properties, specifically, new leaves flushed during the dry season have higher photosynthetic capacity than the leaves they replace, compensating for the negative stomatal response to increased dryness. As atmospheric dryness will increase with climate change, our study highlights the importance of reframing how we represent the response of ecosystem photosynthesis to atmospheric dryness in very wet regions, to accurately quantify the land carbon sink.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1766521

Journal Information:: Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Issue: 47 Vol. 6; ISSN 2375-2548

Publisher:: AAASCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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