Drought–induced increase in tree mortality and corresponding decrease in the carbon sink capacity of Canada's boreal forests from 1970 to 2020

Liu, Qiuyu; Peng, Changhui; Schneider, Robert; Cyr, Dominic; McDowell, Nate G.; Kneeshaw, Daniel

doi:10.1111/gcb.16599

Drought–induced increase in tree mortality and corresponding decrease in the carbon sink capacity of Canada's boreal forests from 1970 to 2020

Journal Article · Sun Jan 29 00:00:00 UTC 2023 · Global Change Biology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16599· OSTI ID:1962503

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Univ. of Quebec, Montreal, QC (Canada)
Univ. of Quebec, Rimouski, QC (Canada)
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Gatineau, QC (Canada)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)

Canada's boreal forests, which occupy approximately 30% of boreal forests world wide, play an important role in the global carbon budget. However, there is lit tle quantitative information available regarding the spatiotemporal changes in the drought-induced tree mortality of Canada's boreal forests overall and their associ ated impacts on biomass carbon dynamics. Here, we develop spatiotemporally ex plicit estimates of drought-induced tree mortality and corresponding biomass carbon sink capacity changes in Canada's boreal forests from 1970 to 2020. We show that the average annual tree mortality rate is approximately 2.7%. Approximately 43% of Canada's boreal forests have experienced significantly increasing tree mortality trends (71% of which are located in the western region of the country), and these trends have accelerated since 2002. This increase in tree mortality has resulted in sig nificant biomass carbon losses at an approximate rate of 1.51±0.29 MgC ha^-1 year^-1 (95% confidence interval) with an approximate total loss of 0.46±0.09 PgC year^-1 (95% confidence interval). Under the drought condition increases predicted for this century, the capacity of Canada's boreal forests to act as a carbon sink will be further reduced, potentially leading to a significant positive climate feedback effect

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1962503

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-182985

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology, Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 29; ISSN 1354-1013

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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