Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest: Test Model in Ecosystem Functional Space
Abstract
Abstract Testing complex land surface models has often proceeded by asking the question: does the model prediction agree with the observation? Such an approach has yet led to high‐performance terrestrial models that meet the challenges of climate and ecological studies. Here we test the Community Land Model (CLM) by asking the question: does the model behave like an ecosystem? We pursue its answer by testing CLM in the ecosystem functional space (EFS) at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) forest site in the Central U.S., focusing on carbon and water flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses. In the observed EFS, precipitation regimes and associated water and heat stresses controlled seasonal and interannual variations of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 and evapotranspiration in this deciduous forest ecosystem. Such controls were exerted more strongly by precipitation variability than by the total precipitation amount per se. A few simply constructed climate variability indices captured these controls, suggesting a high degree of potential predictability. While the interannual fluctuation in NEE was large, a net carbon sink was maintained even during an extreme drought year. Although CLM predicted seasonal and interanual variations in evapotranspiration reasonably well, its predictions of net carbon uptakemore »
- Authors:
-
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Inst.
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States). Dept. of Forestry
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Jackson School of Geosciences
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1352763
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1402131
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; FG02-03ER63683; DE‐AC05‐00OR22725; DE‐FG02‐03ER63683
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 121; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-8953
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES
Citation Formats
Gu, Lianhong, Pallardy, Stephen G., Yang, Bai, Hosman, Kevin P., Mao, Jiafu, Ricciuto, Daniel, Shi, Xiaoying, and Sun, Ying. Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest: Test Model in Ecosystem Functional Space. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1002/2015JG003302.
Gu, Lianhong, Pallardy, Stephen G., Yang, Bai, Hosman, Kevin P., Mao, Jiafu, Ricciuto, Daniel, Shi, Xiaoying, & Sun, Ying. Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest: Test Model in Ecosystem Functional Space. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003302
Gu, Lianhong, Pallardy, Stephen G., Yang, Bai, Hosman, Kevin P., Mao, Jiafu, Ricciuto, Daniel, Shi, Xiaoying, and Sun, Ying. Thu .
"Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest: Test Model in Ecosystem Functional Space". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003302. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1352763.
@article{osti_1352763,
title = {Testing a land model in ecosystem functional space via a comparison of observed and modeled ecosystem flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses in a Central U.S. forest: Test Model in Ecosystem Functional Space},
author = {Gu, Lianhong and Pallardy, Stephen G. and Yang, Bai and Hosman, Kevin P. and Mao, Jiafu and Ricciuto, Daniel and Shi, Xiaoying and Sun, Ying},
abstractNote = {Abstract Testing complex land surface models has often proceeded by asking the question: does the model prediction agree with the observation? Such an approach has yet led to high‐performance terrestrial models that meet the challenges of climate and ecological studies. Here we test the Community Land Model (CLM) by asking the question: does the model behave like an ecosystem? We pursue its answer by testing CLM in the ecosystem functional space (EFS) at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) forest site in the Central U.S., focusing on carbon and water flux responses to precipitation regimes and associated stresses. In the observed EFS, precipitation regimes and associated water and heat stresses controlled seasonal and interannual variations of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 and evapotranspiration in this deciduous forest ecosystem. Such controls were exerted more strongly by precipitation variability than by the total precipitation amount per se. A few simply constructed climate variability indices captured these controls, suggesting a high degree of potential predictability. While the interannual fluctuation in NEE was large, a net carbon sink was maintained even during an extreme drought year. Although CLM predicted seasonal and interanual variations in evapotranspiration reasonably well, its predictions of net carbon uptake were too small across the observed range of climate variability. Also, the model systematically underestimated the sensitivities of NEE and evapotranspiration to climate variability and overestimated the coupling strength between carbon and water fluxes. We suspect that the modeled and observed trajectories of ecosystem fluxes did not overlap in the EFS and the model did not behave like the ecosystem it attempted to simulate. A definitive conclusion will require comprehensive parameter and structural sensitivity tests in a rigorous mathematical framework. We suggest that future model improvements should focus on better representation and parameterization of process responses to environmental stresses and on more complete and robust representations of carbon‐specific processes so that adequate responses to climate variability and a proper degree of coupling between carbon and water exchanges are captured.},
doi = {10.1002/2015JG003302},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences},
number = 7,
volume = 121,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jul 14 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Jul 14 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 26 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Linking plant and ecosystem functional biogeography
journal, September 2014
- Reichstein, M.; Bahn, M.; Mahecha, M. D.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 38
Response of a Deciduous Forest to the Mount Pinatubo Eruption: Enhanced Photosynthesis
journal, March 2003
- Gu, L.
- Science, Vol. 299, Issue 5615
Environmental controls on water use efficiency during severe drought in an Ozark Forest in Missouri, USA: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL ON WATER USE EFFICIENCY
journal, December 2009
- Yang, Bai; Pallardy, Stephen G.; Meyers, Tilden P.
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 16, Issue 8
Impacts of precipitation variability on plant species and community water stress in a temperate deciduous forest in the central US
journal, February 2016
- Gu, Lianhong; Pallardy, Stephen G.; Hosman, Kevin P.
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 217
Unprecedented 21st century drought risk in the American Southwest and Central Plains
journal, February 2015
- Cook, Benjamin I.; Ault, Toby R.; Smerdon, Jason E.
- Science Advances, Vol. 1, Issue 1
Fast labile carbon turnover obscures sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration from soil to temperature: A model analysis: LABILE CARBON DYNAMICS
journal, February 2004
- Gu, Lianhong; Post, Wilfred M.; King, Anthony W.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 18, Issue 1
Comprehensive comparison of gap-filling techniques for eddy covariance net carbon fluxes
journal, December 2007
- Moffat, Antje M.; Papale, Dario; Reichstein, Markus
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 147, Issue 3-4
Global warming and changes in drought
journal, December 2013
- Trenberth, Kevin E.; Dai, Aiguo; van der Schrier, Gerard
- Nature Climate Change, Vol. 4, Issue 1
An eddy covariance theory of using O2 to CO2 exchange ratio to constrain measurements of net ecosystem exchange of any gas species
journal, July 2013
- Gu, Lianhong
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 176, p. 104-110
Improving canopy processes in the Community Land Model version 4 (CLM4) using global flux fields empirically inferred from FLUXNET data
journal, January 2011
- Bonan, Gordon B.; Lawrence, Peter J.; Oleson, Keith W.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue G2
Correction of flux measurements for density effects due to heat and water vapour transfer
journal, January 1980
- Webb, E. K.; Pearman, G. I.; Leuning, R.
- Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 106, Issue 447, p. 85-100
Keeping a positive carbon balance under adverse conditions: responses of photosynthesis and respiration to water stress
journal, February 2006
- Flexas, Jaume; Bota, Josefina; Galmés, Jeroni
- Physiologia Plantarum, Vol. 127, Issue 3
Successional trends and apparent Acer saccharum regeneration failure in an oak-hickory forest in central Missouri, USA
journal, March 2009
- Belden, Angela C.; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Plant Ecology, Vol. 204, Issue 2
Advantages of diffuse radiation for terrestrial ecosystem productivity: ADVANTAGES OF DIFFUSE RADIATION
journal, March 2002
- Gu, Lianhong; Baldocchi, Dennis; Verma, Shashi B.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 107, Issue D6
Reliable estimation of biochemical parameters from C3 leaf photosynthesis-intercellular carbon dioxide response curves: Estimating FvCB model parameters
journal, June 2010
- Gu, Lianhong; Pallardy, Stephen G.; Tu, Kevin
- Plant, Cell & Environment, Vol. 33, Issue 11
The influence of drought on red oak group species growth and mortality in the Missouri Ozarks
journal, July 1995
- Jenkins, Michael A.; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 25, Issue 7
Scaling of respiration to nitrogen in leaves, stems and roots of higher land plants
journal, August 2008
- Reich, Peter B.; Tjoelker, Mark G.; Pregitzer, Kurt S.
- Ecology Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 8
Summarizing multiple aspects of model performance in a single diagram
journal, April 2001
- Taylor, Karl E.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 106, Issue D7
A novel approach for identifying the true temperature sensitivity from soil respiration measurements: IDENTIFYING TRUE TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY
journal, November 2008
- Gu, Lianhong; Hanson, Paul J.; Mac Post, W.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 22, Issue 4
Europe-wide reduction in primary productivity caused by the heat and drought in 2003
journal, September 2005
- Ciais, Ph.; Reichstein, M.; Viovy, N.
- Nature, Vol. 437, Issue 7058
Impact of mesophyll diffusion on estimated global land CO2 fertilization
journal, October 2014
- Sun, Y.; Gu, L.; Dickinson, R. E.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 44
Plant Responses to Water Stress
journal, June 1973
- Hsiao, Theodore C.
- Annual Review of Plant Physiology, Vol. 24, Issue 1
Sensitivity of African biomes to changes in the precipitation regime
journal, May 2006
- Hély, Christelle; Bremond, Laurent; Alleaume, Samuel
- Global Ecology and Biogeography, Vol. 15, Issue 3
A framework for benchmarking land models
journal, January 2012
- Luo, Y. Q.; Randerson, J. T.; Abramowitz, G.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 9, Issue 10
A model-data intercomparison of CO 2 exchange across North America: Results from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis
journal, January 2010
- Schwalm, Christopher R.; Williams, Christopher A.; Schaefer, Kevin
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115
Responses of net ecosystem exchanges of carbon dioxide to changes in cloudiness: Results from two North American deciduous forests
journal, December 1999
- Gu, Lianhong; Fuentes, Jose D.; Shugart, Herman H.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 104, Issue D24
Contribution of semi-arid ecosystems to interannual variability of the global carbon cycle
journal, May 2014
- Poulter, Benjamin; Frank, David; Ciais, Philippe
- Nature, Vol. 509, Issue 7502
Water stress integral--a link between short-term stress and long-term growth
journal, December 1988
- Myers, B. J.
- Tree Physiology, Vol. 4, Issue 4
Examining soil carbon uncertainty in a global model: response of microbial decomposition to temperature, moisture and nutrient limitation
journal, January 2013
- Exbrayat, J. -F.; Pitman, A. J.; Zhang, Q.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 11
A Model Predicting Stomatal Conductance and its Contribution to the Control of Photosynthesis under Different Environmental Conditions
book, January 1987
- Ball, J. Timothy; Woodrow, Ian E.; Berry, Joseph A.
- Progress in Photosynthesis Research
Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents
journal, July 2010
- Yi, Chuixiang; Ricciuto, Daniel; Li, Runze
- Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 3
Increase in forest water-use efficiency as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations rise
journal, July 2013
- Keenan, Trevor F.; Hollinger, David Y.; Bohrer, Gil
- Nature, Vol. 499, Issue 7458
Determining the relationship between tree-stem respiration and CO2 efflux by δO2/Ar measurements: Determining the ratio of tree-stem respiration to CO2 efflux
journal, May 2011
- Angert, Alon; Sherer, Yossi
- Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol. 25, Issue 12
Interpreting, measuring, and modeling soil respiration
journal, March 2005
- Ryan, Michael G.; Law, Beverly E.
- Biogeochemistry, Vol. 73, Issue 1
A critical appraisal of a combined stomatal-photosynthesis model for C3 plants
journal, April 1995
- Leuning, R.
- Plant, Cell and Environment, Vol. 18, Issue 4
A Vegetational Description of a Mid-Missouri Forest Using Gradient Analysis Techniques
journal, April 1972
- Rochow, John J.
- American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 87, Issue 2
Influences of biomass heat and biochemical energy storages on the land surface fluxes and radiative temperature
journal, January 2007
- Gu, Lianhong; Meyers, Tilden; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 112, Issue D2
Changing Frequency of Heavy Rainfall over the Central United States
journal, January 2013
- Villarini, Gabriele; Smith, James A.; Vecchi, Gabriel A.
- Journal of Climate, Vol. 26, Issue 1
Representing northern peatland microtopography and hydrology within the Community Land Model
journal, January 2015
- Shi, X.; Thornton, P. E.; Ricciuto, D. M.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 12, Issue 21
Consequences of More Extreme Precipitation Regimes for Terrestrial Ecosystems
journal, October 2008
- Knapp, Alan K.; Beier, Claus; Briske, David D.
- BioScience, Vol. 58, Issue 9
Changes in Intense Precipitation over the Central United States
journal, February 2012
- Groisman, Pavel Ya.; Knight, Richard W.; Karl, Thomas R.
- Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 13, Issue 1
The fundamental equation of eddy covariance and its application in flux measurements
journal, January 2012
- Gu, Lianhong; Massman, William J.; Leuning, Ray
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 152, p. 135-148
New Particle Formation and Growth in an Isoprene-Dominated Ozark Forest: From Sub-5 nm to CCN-Active Sizes
journal, November 2014
- Yu, Huan; Ortega, John; Smith, James N.
- Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 12
Biases of CO 2 storage in eddy flux measurements in a forest pertinent to vertical configurations of a profile system and CO 2 density averaging
journal, January 2007
- Yang, Bai; Hanson, Paul J.; Riggs, Jeffery S.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 112, Issue D20
Injury and Death or Recovery of Trees in Prairie Climate
journal, February 1945
- Albertson, F. W.; Weaver, J. E.
- Ecological Monographs, Vol. 15, Issue 4
More Intense, More Frequent, and Longer Lasting Heat Waves in the 21st Century
journal, August 2004
- Meehl, G. A.
- Science, Vol. 305, Issue 5686
Unprecedented 21st century drought risk in the American Southwest and Central Plains
text, January 2015
- Cook, Benjamin I.; Ault, Toby R.; Smerdon, Jason E.
- Columbia University
Representing northern peatland microtopography and hydrology within the Community Land Model
journal, January 2015
- Shi, X.; Thornton, P. E.; Ricciuto, D. M.
- Biogeosciences Discussions, Vol. 12, Issue 4
Changes in Forest Composition in Central Missouri: 1968-1982
journal, October 1988
- Pallardy, S. G.; Nigh, T. A.; Garrett, H. E.
- American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 120, Issue 2
Correction of Flow Resistances of Plants Measured From Covered and Exposed Leaves
journal, November 1981
- Turner, Neil C.
- Plant Physiology, Vol. 68, Issue 5
Climate–Carbon Cycle Feedback Analysis: Results from the C 4 MIP Model Intercomparison
journal, July 2006
- Friedlingstein, P.; Cox, P.; Betts, R.
- Journal of Climate, Vol. 19, Issue 14
Ecosystem model spin-up: Estimating steady state conditions in a coupled terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycle model
journal, November 2005
- Thornton, Peter E.; Rosenbloom, Nan A.
- Ecological Modelling, Vol. 189, Issue 1-2
Gap filling strategies for defensible annual sums of net ecosystem exchange
journal, March 2001
- Falge, Eva; Baldocchi, Dennis; Olson, Richard
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 107, Issue 1
Observational- and model-based trends and projections of extreme precipitation over the contiguous United States: JANSSEN ET AL.
journal, February 2014
- Janssen, Emily; Wuebbles, Donald J.; Kunkel, Kenneth E.
- Earth's Future, Vol. 2, Issue 2
Drought-influenced mortality of tree species with different predawn leaf water dynamics in a decade-long study of a central US forest
journal, January 2015
- Gu, L.; Pallardy, S. G.; Hosman, K. P.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 12, Issue 10
Changes in extremes and hydroclimatic regimes in the CREMA ensemble projections
journal, April 2014
- Giorgi, Filippo; Coppola, Erika; Raffaele, Francesca
- Climatic Change, Vol. 125, Issue 1
Evaluating the Community Land Model in a pine stand with 13 CO 2 labeling and shading manipulations
journal, January 2015
- Mao, J.; Ricciuto, D. M.; Thornton, P. E.
- Biogeosciences Discussions, Vol. 12, Issue 9
Observed and modeled ecosystem isoprene fluxes from an oak-dominated temperate forest and the influence of drought stress
journal, February 2014
- Potosnak, Mark J.; LeStourgeon, Lauren; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 84
FLUXNET: A New Tool to Study the Temporal and Spatial Variability of Ecosystem–Scale Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor, and Energy Flux Densities
journal, November 2001
- Baldocchi, Dennis; Falge, Eva; Gu, Lianhong
- Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 82, Issue 11
Objective threshold determination for nighttime eddy flux filtering
journal, February 2005
- Gu, Lianhong; Falge, Eva M.; Boden, Tom
- Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 128, Issue 3-4
Terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics and climate feedbacks
journal, January 2008
- Heimann, Martin; Reichstein, Markus
- Nature, Vol. 451, Issue 7176
A model-data comparison of gross primary productivity: Results from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis: A MODEL-DATA COMPARISON OF GPP
journal, July 2012
- Schaefer, Kevin; Schwalm, Christopher R.; Williams, Chris
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 117, Issue G3
Direct and indirect effects of atmospheric conditions and soil moisture on surface energy partitioning revealed by a prolonged drought at a temperate forest site
journal, January 2006
- Gu, Lianhong; Meyers, Tilden; Pallardy, Stephen G.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue D16
Measuring fluxes of trace gases and energy between ecosystems and the atmosphere - the state and future of the eddy covariance method
journal, June 2014
- Baldocchi, Dennis
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 20, Issue 12
Asymmetrical effects of mesophyll conductance on fundamental photosynthetic parameters and their relationships estimated from leaf gas exchange measurements: Asymmetrical mesophyll conductance effects
journal, November 2013
- Sun, Ying; Gu, Lianhong; Dickinson, Robert E.
- Plant, Cell & Environment, Vol. 37, Issue 4
Responses of net ecosystem exchanges of carbon dioxide to changes in cloudiness: Results from two North American deciduous forests
text, January 1999
- Gu, Lianhong; Fuentes, Jose D.; Shugart, Herman H.
- American Geophysical Union
Examining soil carbon uncertainty in a global model: response of microbial decomposition to temperature, moisture and nutrient limitation
posted_content, June 2013
- Exbrayat, J. -F.; Pitman, A. J.; Zhang, Q.
- Biogeosciences Discussions
Sensitivity of African biomes to changes in the precipitation regime
journal, May 2006
- Hely, Christelle; Bremond, Laurent; Alleaume, Samuel
- Global Ecology and Biogeography, Vol. 15, Issue 3
Works referencing / citing this record:
Evaluation and uncertainty analysis of regional-scale CLM4.5 net carbon flux estimates
journal, January 2018
- Post, Hanna; Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan; Han, Xujun
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 15, Issue 1
The importance of drought–pathogen interactions in driving oak mortality events in the Ozark Border Region
journal, December 2017
- Wood, Jeffrey D.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; Muzika, Rose-Marie
- Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 1
Evaluating the E3SM land model version 0 (ELMv0) at a temperate forest site using flux and soil water measurements
journal, January 2019
- Liang, Junyi; Wang, Gangsheng; Ricciuto, Daniel M.
- Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 12, Issue 4