Journal article
Differentiating moss from higher plants is critical in studying the carbon cycle of the boreal biome
Beijing Normal University1
University of California at Irvine2
University of Helsinki3
Lund University4
Université Laval5
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute6
Wageningen University & Research7
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam8
Nagoya University9
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark10
Ecosystems Programme, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark11
United States Geological Survey12
Russian Academy of Sciences13
University of Maryland, College Park14
Peking University15
University of Toronto16
Chinese Academy of Sciences17
Climate Research Division18
University of British Columbia19
Central South University of Forestry & Technology20
...and 10 moreThe satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is used for estimating gross primary production (GPP), often includes contributions from both mosses and vascular plants in boreal ecosystems. For the same NDVI, moss can generate only about one-third of the GPP that vascular plants can because of its much lower photosynthetic capacity.
Here, based on eddy covariance measurements, we show that the difference in photosynthetic capacity between these two plant functional types has never been explicitly included when estimating regional GPP in the boreal region, resulting in a substantial overestimation. The magnitude of this overestimation could have important implications regarding a change from a current carbon sink to a carbon source in the boreal region.
Moss abundance, associated with ecosystem disturbances, needs to be mapped and incorporated into GPP estimates in order to adequately assess the role of the boreal region in the global carbon cycle.
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Pages: | 4270 |
| ISSN: | 20411723 |
| Types: | Journal article |
| DOI: | 10.1038/ncomms5270 |
| ORCIDs: | Pilegaard, Kim |
07502, Ecology: environmental biology - General and methods 07506, Ecology: environmental biology - Plant 10510, Biophysics - Bioenergetics: electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation 50528, Botany: general and systematic - Floristics and distribution 51506, Plant physiology - Photosynthesis ABSORBED PAR Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Bioenergetics Biogeography Bryophyta Plantae (Bryophytes, Nonvascular Plants, Plants) - Musci [21600] moss common CLIMATE-CHANGE CO2 FLUX Canada North America Nearctic region Ecology, Environmental Sciences FOREST ECOSYSTEM LEAF-AREA LIGHT-USE EFFICIENCY MULTIDISCIPLINARY NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION PRODUCTIVITY Plantae (Plants, Vascular Plants) - Tracheophyta [22000] vascular plant common Population Studies SATELLITE SDG 13 - Climate Action SDG 15 - Life on Land TERRESTRIAL BIOSPHERE Terrestrial Ecology boreal biome carbon 7440-44-0 signaling gross primary production\ photosynthesis satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index mathematical and computer techniques
