The sensitivity of carbon exchanges in Great Plains grasslands to precipitation variability
Abstract
Abstract In the Great Plains, grassland carbon dynamics differ across broad gradients of precipitation and temperature, yet finer‐scale variation in these variables may also affect grassland processes. Despite the importance of grasslands, there is little information on how fine‐scale relationships compare between them regionally. We compared grassland C exchanges, energy partitioning and precipitation variability in eight sites in the eastern and western Great Plains using eddy covariance and meteorological data. During our study, both eastern and western grasslands varied between an average net carbon sink and a net source. Eastern grasslands had a moderate vapor pressure deficit (VPD = 0.95 kPa) and high growing season gross primary productivity (GPP = 1010 ± 218 g C m −2 yr −1 ). Western grasslands had a growing season with higher VPD (1.43 kPa) and lower GPP (360 ± 127 g C m −2 yr −1 ). Western grasslands were sensitive to precipitation at daily timescales, whereas eastern grasslands were sensitive at monthly and seasonal timescales. Our results support the expectation that C exchanges in these grasslands differ as a result of varying precipitation regimes. Because eastern grasslands are less influenced by short‐term variability in rainfall than western grasslands, the effects of precipitation change are likely to be more predictable in eastern grasslands because the timescales of variability thatmore »
- Authors:
-
- Department of Botany University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming USA, USGS Colorado Plateau Research Station Flagstaff Arizona USA
- Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science University of Kansas Lawrence Kansas USA
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico USA
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Lethbridge Lethbridge Alberta Canada
- Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence SDSU Brookings South Dakota USA
- School of Natural Resources University of Nebraska Lincoln Nebraska USA
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1402318
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences Journal Volume: 121 Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-8953
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Petrie, M. D., Brunsell, N. A., Vargas, R., Collins, S. L., Flanagan, L. B., Hanan, N. P., Litvak, M. E., and Suyker, A. E. The sensitivity of carbon exchanges in Great Plains grasslands to precipitation variability. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1002/2015JG003205.
Petrie, M. D., Brunsell, N. A., Vargas, R., Collins, S. L., Flanagan, L. B., Hanan, N. P., Litvak, M. E., & Suyker, A. E. The sensitivity of carbon exchanges in Great Plains grasslands to precipitation variability. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003205
Petrie, M. D., Brunsell, N. A., Vargas, R., Collins, S. L., Flanagan, L. B., Hanan, N. P., Litvak, M. E., and Suyker, A. E. Tue .
"The sensitivity of carbon exchanges in Great Plains grasslands to precipitation variability". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003205.
@article{osti_1402318,
title = {The sensitivity of carbon exchanges in Great Plains grasslands to precipitation variability},
author = {Petrie, M. D. and Brunsell, N. A. and Vargas, R. and Collins, S. L. and Flanagan, L. B. and Hanan, N. P. and Litvak, M. E. and Suyker, A. E.},
abstractNote = {Abstract In the Great Plains, grassland carbon dynamics differ across broad gradients of precipitation and temperature, yet finer‐scale variation in these variables may also affect grassland processes. Despite the importance of grasslands, there is little information on how fine‐scale relationships compare between them regionally. We compared grassland C exchanges, energy partitioning and precipitation variability in eight sites in the eastern and western Great Plains using eddy covariance and meteorological data. During our study, both eastern and western grasslands varied between an average net carbon sink and a net source. Eastern grasslands had a moderate vapor pressure deficit (VPD = 0.95 kPa) and high growing season gross primary productivity (GPP = 1010 ± 218 g C m −2 yr −1 ). Western grasslands had a growing season with higher VPD (1.43 kPa) and lower GPP (360 ± 127 g C m −2 yr −1 ). Western grasslands were sensitive to precipitation at daily timescales, whereas eastern grasslands were sensitive at monthly and seasonal timescales. Our results support the expectation that C exchanges in these grasslands differ as a result of varying precipitation regimes. Because eastern grasslands are less influenced by short‐term variability in rainfall than western grasslands, the effects of precipitation change are likely to be more predictable in eastern grasslands because the timescales of variability that must be resolved are relatively longer. We postulate increasing regional heterogeneity in grassland C exchanges in the Great Plains in coming decades.},
doi = {10.1002/2015JG003205},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences},
number = 2,
volume = 121,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Tue Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}
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