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Contrasting age-dependent leaf acclimation strategies drive vegetation greening across deciduous broadleaf forests in mid- to high latitudes

Journal Article · · Nature Plants (Online)
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  1. Sun Yat-Sen Univ., Zhuhai (China)
  2. State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)
  3. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
  4. Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), Gif sur Yvette (France). Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE); Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Gif sur Yvette (France); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Gif sur Yvette (France); Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Gif sur Yvette (France); Université Paris-Saclay, Gif sur Yvette (France)
  5. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Univ. of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN (United States)
  6. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Ottawa, ON (Canada). Ottawa Research and Development Centre
  7. Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada)
  8. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  9. Peking University, Beijing (China)
  10. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
  11. East China Normal Univ. (ECNU), Shanghai (China)
  12. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)
  13. Univ. of Hong Kong, Pokfulam (Hong Kong)
  14. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ganzhou (China)
  15. China Agricultural Univ., Beijing (China)
  16. Beijing Normal University, Beijing (China)
  17. Univ. of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy)
  18. Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei (China)
  19. Northeast Forestry Univ., Harbin (China)
Increasing leaf area and extending vegetation growing seasons are two primary drivers of global greening, which has emerged as one of the most significant responses to climate change. However, it remains unclear how these two leaf acclimation strategies would vary across forests at a large spatial scale. Here, in this study, using multiple satellite-based datasets and field measurements, we analysed the temporal changes (Δ) in maximal leaf area index (LAImax) and length of the growing season (LOS) from 2002 to 2021 across deciduous broadleaf forests (DBFs) in the middle to high latitudes. Contrary to the widely held assumption of coordination, our results revealed a negative correlation between ΔLAImax and ΔLOS. Notably, the trade-offs between ΔLAImax and ΔLOS were strongly explained by stand age. Younger DBFs, with lower baseline LAImax, predominantly located in eastern Asia, displayed an increase in LAImax with small changes in LOS. This acquisitive strategy facilitated younger DBFs to grow more photosynthetically efficient leaves with low leaf mass per area, enhancing their light use efficiency. Conversely, older DBFs with a higher baseline LAImax, primarily located in North America and Europe, extended their LOS by increasing leaf mass per area. This conservative strategy facilitated older DBFs to produce thicker, but less photosynthetically efficient leaves, resulting in decreased light use efficiency. Our findings offer new insights into the contrasting changes in leaf area and growing season length and highlight their divergent impacts on ecosystem functioning.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
3006339
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--206252
Journal Information:
Nature Plants (Online), Journal Name: Nature Plants (Online) Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 11; ISSN 2055-0278
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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