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- Title
Predicting Ecosystem Net Primary Productivity by Percolation Theory and Optimality Principle.
- Authors
Hunt, Allen G.; Sahimi, Muhammad; Ghanbarian, Behzad; Poveda, German
- Abstract
The basic partitioning of precipitation P into evapotranspiration ET and run‐off Q is known as the "central problem of hydrology." ET depends primarily on precipitation, P, and potential evapotranspiration, PET, which are connected by the biological process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the fundamental step underlying the productivity of plant ecosystems. An important measure of plant productivity is the creation of plant biomass, which is quantified by net primary productivity, NPP. NPP is most parsimoniously related simply to the evapotranspiration, ET. The dependence of NPP (ET) appears to be in the form of a power law with an upper limit derived from the maximum plant‐available solar energy accessible on Earth. However, theoretical, rather than phenomenological, treatments relating ET and its complementary variable, run‐off (P − ET ≡ Q) to climate variables that measure the available energy (PET) and available water (P) (known as the water balance) are, at best, scarce, and their continued application to predicting NPP (P, PET) even more so. One theory developed recently to predict the water balance is based on determining how to divide P into Q and ET in such a way as to maximize NPP. Substitution of the resulting optimized ET (P, PET) into the function NPP (ET) then yields NPP (P, PET). We investigate the possibility that this new theoretical framework, which yields ET(P, PET) based on ecological optimality and percolation theory, can predict the dependence of NPP (P, PET). If the prediction of NPP (P, PET) is verified, this result may lead to significant progress in other areas, including the problem of the chief causes of geographical variability of species richness. Key Points: A novel approach linking evapotranspiration ET to climate variables is now applied to net primary productivity NPPET was obtained from the maximum NPP for given climatic conditions, consistent with maximum diversityResulting predictions of NPP as functions of precipitation P and potential evapotranspiration PET agree with observation
- Subjects
PERCOLATION theory; PLANT biomass; SPECIES diversity; SOLAR energy; DEFICIT irrigation; EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
- Publication
Water Resources Research, 2024, Vol 60, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
0043-1397
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2023WR036340