Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming

Yun, Hanbo; Ciais, Philippe; Zhu, Qing; Chen, Deliang; Zohner, Constantin M.; Tang, Jing; Qu, Yang; Zhou, Hao; Schimel, Joshua; Zhu, Peng; Shao, Ming; Christensen, Jens Hesselbjerg; Wu, Qingbai; Chen, Anping; Elberling, Bo

doi:10.1073/pnas.2314036121

Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming

Journal Article · Mon Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2314036121· OSTI ID:2406938

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]; Zohner, Constantin M. ^[5]; ^[6]; Qu, Yang ^[7]; ^[8]; ^[9]; Zhu, Peng ^[10]; Shao, Ming ^[11]; ^[12]; Wu, Qingbai ^[11]; ^[13]; ^[14]

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China); Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Gif‐sur‐Yvette (France). Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Gif‐sur‐Yvette (France); Univ. of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Gif‐sur‐Yvette (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Univ. of Gothenburg (Sweden)
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland)
Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark); Lund Univ. (Sweden)
East China Normal Univ. (ECNU), Shanghai (China)
Lund Univ. (Sweden)
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Univ. of Hong Kong, Pokfulam (Hong Kong)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China)
Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark). The Niels Bohr Inst.
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark)

Permafrost regions contain approximately half of the carbon stored in land ecosystems and have warmed at least twice as much as any other biome. This warming has influenced vegetation activity, leading to changes in plant composition, physiology, and biomass storage in aboveground and belowground components, ultimately impacting ecosystem carbon balance. Yet, little is known about the causes and magnitude of long-term changes in the above- to belowground biomass ratio of plants (η). Here, in this study, we analyzed η values using 3,013 plots and 26,337 species-specific measurements across eight sites on the Tibetan Plateau from 1995 to 2021. Our analysis revealed distinct temporal trends in η for three vegetation types: a 17% increase in alpine wetlands, and a decrease of 26% and 48% in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, respectively. These trends were primarily driven by temperature-induced growth preferences rather than shifts in plant species composition. Our findings indicate that in wetter ecosystems, climate warming promotes aboveground plant growth, while in drier ecosystems, such as alpine meadows and alpine steppes, plants allocate more biomass belowground. Furthermore, we observed a threefold strengthening of the warming effect on η over the past 27 y. Soil moisture was found to modulate the sensitivity of η to soil temperature in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but not in alpine wetlands. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the processes driving the response of biomass distribution to climate warming, which is crucial for predicting the future carbon trajectory of permafrost ecosystems and climate feedback.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

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

Sponsoring Organization:: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth & Environmental Systems Science (EESS)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2406938

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2499763

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 25 Vol. 121; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming

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