Coupling of Tree Growth and Photosynthetic Carbon Uptake Across Six North American Forests

Aaron Teets; David J. P. Moore; M. Ross Alexander; Peter D. Blanken; Gil Bohrer; Sean P. Burns; Mariah S. Carbone; Mark J. Ducey; Shawn Fraver; Christopher M. Gough; David Hollinger; George Koch; Thomas Kolb; J. William Munger; Kimberly A. Novick; Scott V Ollinger; Andrew Ouimette; Neil Pederson; Daniel M. Ricciuto; Bijan Seyednasrollah; Christoph S. Vogel; Andrew D. Richardson

doi:10.1029/2021JG006690

Treesearch

Coupling of Tree Growth and Photosynthetic Carbon Uptake Across Six North American Forests

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Aaron Teets, David J. P. Moore, M. Ross Alexander, Peter D. Blanken, Gil Bohrer, Sean P. Burns, Mariah S. Carbone, Mark J. Ducey, Shawn Fraver, Christopher M. Gough, David Hollinger, George Koch, Thomas Kolb, J. William Munger, Kimberly A. Novick, Scott V Ollinger, Andrew Ouimette, Neil Pederson, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Bijan Seyednasrollah, Christoph S. Vogel, Andrew D. Richardson

Year:

2022

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Northern Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006690

Source:

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

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Download (PDF 1.50 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/69483.pdf

Abstract

We compared the interannual variability of stand-level biomass growth (estimated from annual tree-level measurements) to carbon uptake (measured from towers monitoring gas exchange over forest canopies) to identify temporal mismatches between the two processes. We used data from multiple forested sites with long-term measurements of carbon uptake to ask the question: is there a consistent temporal offset between the uptake of carbon and the allocation to plant biomass? We found that the relationship between growth and carbon uptake varies among sites, and there was no consistent temporal offset between the uptake of carbon and allocation to biomass growth. Sites with higher growth rates had higher interannual variability, and more apparent coupling between biomass growth and carbon uptake from the previous year. Forests with lower growth rates had weaker relationships with carbon uptake and stronger coupling with current year environmental conditions. We demonstrate that temporal lags between carbon uptake and allocation to growth are not universal among these temperate forests, and the carry-over of uptake stored from the previous year is not as critical in slow-growing forests, compared to fast-growing forests, likely due to lower demands for growth. This work helps to clarify the limitations on the growth of slow-turnover wood biomass.

Keywords

biomass, carbon, sequestration, tree growth

Citation

Teets, Aaron; Moore, David J. P.; Alexander, M. Ross; Blanken, Peter D.; Bohrer, Gil; Burns, Sean P.; Carbone, Mariah S.; Ducey, Mark J.; Fraver, Shawn; Gough, Christopher M.; Hollinger, David Y.; Koch, George; Kolb, Thomas; Munger, J. William; Novick, Kimberly A.; Ollinger, Scott V.; Ouimette, Andrew P.; Pederson, Neil; Ricciuto, Daniel M.; Seyednasrollah, Bijan; Vogel, Christoph S.; Richardson, Andrew D. 2022. Coupling of Tree Growth and Photosynthetic Carbon Uptake Across Six North American Forests. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 127: e2021JG006690. 20 p. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006690.