Biogeosciences (Jun 2018)
Asymmetric responses of primary productivity to altered precipitation simulated by ecosystem models across three long-term grassland sites
- D. Wu,
- P. Ciais,
- N. Viovy,
- A. K. Knapp,
- K. Wilcox,
- M. Bahn,
- M. D. Smith,
- S. Vicca,
- S. Fatichi,
- J. Zscheischler,
- Y. He,
- X. Li,
- A. Ito,
- A. Arneth,
- A. Harper,
- A. Ukkola,
- A. Paschalis,
- B. Poulter,
- C. Peng,
- C. Peng,
- D. Ricciuto,
- D. Reinthaler,
- G. Chen,
- H. Tian,
- H. Genet,
- J. Mao,
- J. Ingrisch,
- J. E. S. M. Nabel,
- J. Pongratz,
- L. R. Boysen,
- M. Kautz,
- M. Schmitt,
- P. Meir,
- P. Meir,
- Q. Zhu,
- R. Hasibeder,
- S. Sippel,
- S. R. S. Dangal,
- S. R. S. Dangal,
- S. Sitch,
- X. Shi,
- Y. Wang,
- Y. Luo,
- Y. Luo,
- Y. Liu,
- S. Piao
Affiliations
- D. Wu
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- P. Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-Sur-Yvette 91191, France
- N. Viovy
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-Sur-Yvette 91191, France
- A. K. Knapp
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- K. Wilcox
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
- M. Bahn
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- M. D. Smith
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- S. Vicca
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
- S. Fatichi
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- J. Zscheischler
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
- Y. He
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- X. Li
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- A. Ito
- National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
- A. Arneth
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- A. Harper
- College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK
- A. Ukkola
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
- A. Paschalis
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- B. Poulter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- C. Peng
- Institute of Environment Sciences, Biology Science Department, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montréal H3C 3P8, Québec, Canada
- C. Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
- D. Ricciuto
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6301, USA
- D. Reinthaler
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- G. Chen
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- H. Tian
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- H. Genet
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA
- J. Mao
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6301, USA
- J. Ingrisch
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- J. E. S. M. Nabel
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
- J. Pongratz
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
- L. R. Boysen
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
- M. Kautz
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- M. Schmitt
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- P. Meir
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
- P. Meir
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Q. Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
- R. Hasibeder
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- S. Sippel
- Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 Ås, Norway
- S. R. S. Dangal
- International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- S. R. S. Dangal
- Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, Massachusetts 02540-1644, USA
- S. Sitch
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
- X. Shi
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6301, USA
- Y. Wang
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, PMB #1, Aspendale, Victoria 3195, Australia
- Y. Luo
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
- Y. Luo
- Center for Ecosystem Sciences and Society, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
- Y. Liu
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- S. Piao
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3421-2018
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15
pp. 3421 – 3437
Abstract
Field measurements of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in temperate grasslands suggest that both positive and negative asymmetric responses to changes in precipitation (P) may occur. Under normal range of precipitation variability, wet years typically result in ANPP gains being larger than ANPP declines in dry years (positive asymmetry), whereas increases in ANPP are lower in magnitude in extreme wet years compared to reductions during extreme drought (negative asymmetry). Whether the current generation of ecosystem models with a coupled carbon–water system in grasslands are capable of simulating these asymmetric ANPP responses is an unresolved question. In this study, we evaluated the simulated responses of temperate grassland primary productivity to scenarios of altered precipitation with 14 ecosystem models at three sites: Shortgrass steppe (SGS), Konza Prairie (KNZ) and Stubai Valley meadow (STU), spanning a rainfall gradient from dry to moist. We found that (1) the spatial slopes derived from modeled primary productivity and precipitation across sites were steeper than the temporal slopes obtained from inter-annual variations, which was consistent with empirical data; (2) the asymmetry of the responses of modeled primary productivity under normal inter-annual precipitation variability differed among models, and the mean of the model ensemble suggested a negative asymmetry across the three sites, which was contrary to empirical evidence based on filed observations; (3) the mean sensitivity of modeled productivity to rainfall suggested greater negative response with reduced precipitation than positive response to an increased precipitation under extreme conditions at the three sites; and (4) gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), aboveground NPP (ANPP) and belowground NPP (BNPP) all showed concave-down nonlinear responses to altered precipitation in all the models, but with different curvatures and mean values. Our results indicated that most models overestimate the negative drought effects and/or underestimate the positive effects of increased precipitation on primary productivity under normal climate conditions, highlighting the need for improving eco-hydrological processes in those models in the future.