Global convergence in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at ecosystem level

Miguel D. Mahecha; Markus Reichstein; Nuno Carvalhais; Gitta Lasslop; Holger Lange; Sonia I. Seneviratne; Rodrigo Vargas; Christof Ammann; M. Altaf Arain; Alessandro Cescatti; Ivan A. Janssens; Mirco Migliavacca; Leonardo Montagnani; Andrew D. Richardson

doi:10.1126/science.1189587

Global convergence in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at ecosystem level

Miguel D. Mahecha, Markus Reichstein, Nuno Carvalhais, Gitta Lasslop, Holger Lange, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Rodrigo Vargas, Christof Ammann, M. Altaf Arain, Alessandro Cescatti, Ivan A. Janssens, Mirco Migliavacca, Leonardo Montagnani, Andrew D. Richardson

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Abstract

The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the land surface is a major flux in the global carbon cycle, antipodal to photosynthetic CO₂ uptake. Understanding the sensitivity of respiratory processes to temperature is central for quantifying the climate-carbon cycle feedback. We approximated the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystem respiration to air temperature (Q₁₀) across 60 FLUXNET sites with the use of a methodology that circumvents confounding effects. Contrary to previous findings, our results suggest that Q₁₀ is independent of mean annual temperature, does not differ among biomes, and is confined to values around 1.4 ± 0.1. The strong relation between photosynthesis and respiration, by contrast, is highly variable among sites. The results may partly explain a less pronounced climate-carbon cycle feedback than suggested by current carbon cycle climate models.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	838-840
Number of pages	3
Journal	Science
Volume	329
Issue number	5993
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189587
State	Published - Aug 13 2010
Externally published	Yes

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Mahecha, M. D., Reichstein, M., Carvalhais, N., Lasslop, G., Lange, H., Seneviratne, S. I., Vargas, R., Ammann, C., Arain, M. A., Cescatti, A., Janssens, I. A., Migliavacca, M., Montagnani, L., & Richardson, A. D. (2010). Global convergence in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at ecosystem level. Science, 329(5993), 838-840. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189587

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abstract = "The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the land surface is a major flux in the global carbon cycle, antipodal to photosynthetic CO2 uptake. Understanding the sensitivity of respiratory processes to temperature is central for quantifying the climate-carbon cycle feedback. We approximated the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystem respiration to air temperature (Q10) across 60 FLUXNET sites with the use of a methodology that circumvents confounding effects. Contrary to previous findings, our results suggest that Q10 is independent of mean annual temperature, does not differ among biomes, and is confined to values around 1.4 ± 0.1. The strong relation between photosynthesis and respiration, by contrast, is highly variable among sites. The results may partly explain a less pronounced climate-carbon cycle feedback than suggested by current carbon cycle climate models.",

author = "Mahecha, {Miguel D.} and Markus Reichstein and Nuno Carvalhais and Gitta Lasslop and Holger Lange and Seneviratne, {Sonia I.} and Rodrigo Vargas and Christof Ammann and Arain, {M. Altaf} and Alessandro Cescatti and Janssens, {Ivan A.} and Mirco Migliavacca and Leonardo Montagnani and Richardson, {Andrew D.}",

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T1 - Global convergence in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at ecosystem level

AU - Mahecha, Miguel D.

AU - Reichstein, Markus

AU - Carvalhais, Nuno

AU - Lasslop, Gitta

AU - Lange, Holger

AU - Seneviratne, Sonia I.

AU - Vargas, Rodrigo

AU - Ammann, Christof

AU - Arain, M. Altaf

AU - Cescatti, Alessandro

AU - Janssens, Ivan A.

AU - Migliavacca, Mirco

AU - Montagnani, Leonardo

AU - Richardson, Andrew D.

PY - 2010/8/13

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AB - The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the land surface is a major flux in the global carbon cycle, antipodal to photosynthetic CO2 uptake. Understanding the sensitivity of respiratory processes to temperature is central for quantifying the climate-carbon cycle feedback. We approximated the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystem respiration to air temperature (Q10) across 60 FLUXNET sites with the use of a methodology that circumvents confounding effects. Contrary to previous findings, our results suggest that Q10 is independent of mean annual temperature, does not differ among biomes, and is confined to values around 1.4 ± 0.1. The strong relation between photosynthesis and respiration, by contrast, is highly variable among sites. The results may partly explain a less pronounced climate-carbon cycle feedback than suggested by current carbon cycle climate models.

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Global convergence in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at ecosystem level

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