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- Title
Recent decrease of the impact of tropical temperature on the carbon cycle linked to increased precipitation.
- Authors
Zhang, Wenmin; Schurgers, Guy; Peñuelas, Josep; Fensholt, Rasmus; Yang, Hui; Tang, Jing; Tong, Xiaowei; Ciais, Philippe; Brandt, Martin
- Abstract
The atmospheric CO2 growth rate (CGR) variability is largely controlled by tropical temperature fluctuations. The sensitivity of CGR to tropical temperature γ CGR T has strongly increased since 1960, but here we show that this trend has ceased. Here, we use the long-term CO2 records from Mauna Loa and the South Pole to compute CGR, and show that γ CGR T increased by 200% from 1960–1979 to 1979–2000 but then decreased by 117% from 1980–2001 to 2001–2020, almost returning back to the level of the 1960s. Variations in γ CGR T are significantly correlated with changes in precipitation at a bi-decadal scale. These findings are further corroborated by results from a dynamic vegetation model, collectively suggesting that increases in precipitation control the decreased γ CGR T during recent decades. Our results indicate that wetter conditions have led to a decoupling of the impact of the tropical temperature variation on the carbon cycle. The authors show a recent decoupling of the tropical temperature variations and the carbon cycle that is driven by wetter conditions in the tropics.
- Subjects
MAUNA Loa (Hawaii Island, Hawaii); TEMPERATURE control; CARBON cycle; TRAFFIC safety; TEMPERATURE; DYNAMIC models; GROWTH rate
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2023, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-36727-2