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At least 1,765 records · Page 98
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Hydroclimatology of the Mississippi River Basin

Abstract Model estimated monthly water balance (WB) components (i.e., potential evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration, and runoff [ R ]) for 848 United States (U.S.) Geological Survey 8‐digit hydrologic units located in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB) are used to examine the temporal and spatial variability of the MRB WB for water years 1901 through 2014. Results indicate the MRB can be divided into nine subregions with similar temporal variability in R . The WB analyses indicated ~79% of total water‐year MRB runoff is generated by four of the nine subregions and most of the R in the basin is derived from surplus ( S ) water during the months of December through May. Furthermore, the analyses showed temporal variability in S is largely controlled by the occurrence of negative atmospheric pressure anomalies over the western U.S. and positive atmospheric pressure anomalies over the eastern U.S. coast. This combination of atmospheric pressure anomalies results in an anomalous flow of moist air from the Gulf of Mexico into the MRB. In the context of paleo‐climate reconstructions of the Palmer Drought Severity Index, since about 1900 the MRB has experienced wetter conditions than were experienced during the previous 500 years.

McCabe, Gregory J.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Woody plants optimise stomatal behaviour relative to hydraulic risk

Abstract Stomatal response to environmental conditions forms the backbone of all ecosystem and carbon cycle models, but is largely based on empirical relationships. Evolutionary theories of stomatal behaviour are critical for guarding against prediction errors of empirical models under future climates. Longstanding theory holds that stomata maximise fitness by acting to maintain constant marginal water use efficiency over a given time horizon, but a recent evolutionary theory proposes that stomata instead maximise carbon gain minus carbon costs/risk of hydraulic damage. Using data from 34 species that span global forest biomes, we find that the recent carbon‐maximisation optimisation theory is widely supported, revealing that the evolution of stomatal regulation has not been primarily driven by attainment of constant marginal water use efficiency. Optimal control of stomata to manage hydraulic risk is likely to have significant consequences for ecosystem fluxes during drought, which is critical given projected intensification of the global hydrological cycle.

Anderegg, William R. L.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Soil–plant–atmosphere conditions regulating convective cloud formation above southeastern US pine plantations

Abstract Loblolly pine trees ( Pinus taeda L.) occupy more than 20% of the forested area in the southern United States, represent more than 50% of the standing pine volume in this region, and remove from the atmosphere about 500 g C m per year through net ecosystem exchange. Hence, their significance as a major regional carbon sink can hardly be disputed. What is disputed is whether the proliferation of young plantations replacing old forest in the southern United States will alter key aspects of the hydrologic cycle, including convective rainfall, which is the focus of the present work. Ecosystem fluxes of sensible ( ) and latent heat (LE) and large‐scale, slowly evolving free atmospheric temperature and water vapor content are known to be first‐order controls on the formation of convective clouds in the atmospheric boundary layer. These controlling processes are here described by a zero‐order analytical model aimed at assessing how plantations of different ages may regulate the persistence and transition of the atmospheric system between cloudy and cloudless conditions. Using the analytical model together with field observations, the roles of ecosystem and LE on convective cloud formation are explored relative to the entrainment of heat and moisture from the free atmosphere. Our results demonstrate that cloudy–cloudless regimes at the land surface are regulated by a nonlinear relation between the Bowen ratio and root‐zone soil water content, suggesting that young/mature pines ecosystems have the ability to recirculate available water (through rainfall predisposition mechanisms). Such nonlinearity was not detected in a much older pine stand, suggesting a higher tolerance to drought but a limited control on boundary layer dynamics. These results enable the generation of hypotheses about the impacts on convective cloud formation driven by afforestation/deforestation and groundwater depletion projected to increase following increased human population in the southeastern United States.

Manoli, Gabriele↗
DOE OSTI2016

Gross primary production responses to warming, elevated CO 2 , and irrigation: quantifying the drivers of ecosystem physiology in a semiarid grassland

Determining whether the terrestrial biosphere will be a source or sink of carbon (C) under a future climate of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and warming requires accurate quantification of gross primary production (GPP), the largest flux of C in the global C cycle. We evaluated six years (2007-2012) of flux-derived GPP data from the Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment (PHACE) experiment, situated in a mixed prairie grassland in Wyoming (USA). The GPP data were fitted to a mixed effects model that extended a light response model to include the effects of environmental (soil water content, vegetation greenness, nitrogen) and meteorological data (air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, photosynthetically active radiation) at current and past times. The stimulation of the cumulative six-year GPP by warming (20%, P=0.06) and eCO2 (19%, P=0.14) were primarily driven by enhanced C uptake during spring (96%, P=0.003) and fall (115%, P=0.001), respectively. These enhancements were consistent across each year, suggesting mechanisms for extending the growing season. Vapor pressure deficit from 1-3 days prior was the most significant predictor of temporalvariability in GPP and for explaining treatment differences in GPP, suggesting that atmospheric drought plays an important role for predicting GPP now and under future climate conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Asymmetric responses of primary productivity to precipitation extremes: A synthesis of grassland precipitation manipulation experiments

Climatic changes are altering Earth's hydrological cycle, resulting in altered precipitation amounts, increased interannual variability of precipitation, and more frequent extreme precipitation events. These trends will likely continue into the future, having substantial impacts on net primary productivity (NPP) and associated ecosystem services such as food production and carbon sequestration. Frequently, experimental manipulations of precipitation have linked altered precipitation regimes to changes in NPP. Yet, findings have been diverse and substantial uncertainty still surrounds generalities describing patterns of ecosystem sensitivity to altered precipitation. Additionally, we do not know whether previously observed correlations between NPP and precipitation remain accurate when precipitation changes become extreme. We synthesized results from 83 case studies of experimental precipitation manipulations in grasslands worldwide. Here, we used meta-analytical techniques to search for generalities and asymmetries of aboveground NPP (ANPP) and belowground NPP (BNPP) responses to both the direction and magnitude of precipitation change. Sensitivity (i.e., productivity response standardized by the amount of precipitation change) of BNPP was similar under precipitation additions and reductions, but ANPP was more sensitive to precipitation additions than reductions; this was especially evident in drier ecosystems. Additionally, overall relationships between the magnitude of productivity responses and the magnitude of precipitation change were saturating in form. The saturating form of this relationship was likely driven by ANPP responses to very extreme precipitation increases, although there were limited studies imposing extreme precipitation change, and there was considerable variation among experiments. Finally, this highlights the importance of incorporating gradients of manipulations, ranging from extreme drought to extreme precipitation increases into future climate change experiments. Additionally, policy and land management decisions related to global change scenarios should consider how ANPP and BNPP responses may differ, and that ecosystem responses to extreme events might not be predicted from relationships found under moderate environmental changes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Climatically driven changes in primary production propagate through trophic levels

Abstract Climate and land‐use change are the major drivers of global biodiversity loss. Their effects are particularly acute for wide‐ranging consumers, but little is known about how these factors interact to affect the abundance of large carnivores and their herbivore prey. We analyzed population densities of a primary and secondary consumer (mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus , and mountain lion, Puma concolor ) across a climatic gradient in western North America by combining satellite‐based maps of plant productivity with estimates of animal abundance and foraging area derived from Global Positioning Systems telemetry data (GPS). Mule deer density exhibited a positive, linear relationship with plant productivity ( r 2 = 0.58), varying by a factor of 18 across the climate‐vegetation gradient (range: 38–697 individuals/100 km 2 ). Mountain lion home range size decreased in response to increasing primary productivity and consequent changes in the abundance of their herbivore prey (range: 20–450 km 2 ). This pattern resulted in a strong, positive association between plant productivity and mountain lion density ( r 2 = 0.67). Despite varying densities, the ratio of prey to predator remained constant across the climatic gradient (mean ± SE = 363 ± 29 mule deer/mountain lion), suggesting that the determinacy of the effect of primary productivity on consumer density was conserved across trophic levels. As droughts and longer term climate changes reduce the suitability of marginal habitats, consumer home ranges will expand in order for individuals to meet basic nutritional requirements. These changes portend decreases in the abundance of large‐bodied, wide‐ranging wildlife through climatically driven reductions in carrying capacity, as well as increased human–wildlife interactions stemming from anthropogenic land use and habitat fragmentation.

Stoner, David C.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Strong photosynthetic acclimation and enhanced water‐use efficiency in grassland functional groups persist over 21 years of CO 2 enrichment, independent of nitrogen supply

Abstract Uncertainty about long‐term leaf‐level responses to atmospheric CO 2 rise is a major knowledge gap that exists because of limited empirical data. Thus, it remains unclear how responses of leaf gas exchange to elevated CO 2 (eCO 2 ) vary among plant species and functional groups, or across different levels of nutrient supply, and whether they persist over time for long‐lived perennials. Here, we report the effects of eCO 2 on rates of net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in 14 perennial grassland species from four functional groups over two decades in a Minnesota Free‐Air CO 2 Enrichment experiment, BioCON. Monocultures of species belonging to C 3 grasses, C 4 grasses, forbs, and legumes were exposed to two levels of CO 2 and nitrogen supply in factorial combinations over 21 years. eCO 2 increased photosynthesis by 12.9% on average in C 3 species, substantially less than model predictions of instantaneous responses based on physiological theory and results of other studies, even those spanning multiple years. Acclimation of photosynthesis to eCO 2 was observed beginning in the first year and did not strengthen through time. Yet, contrary to expectations, the response of photosynthesis to eCO 2 was not enhanced by increased nitrogen supply. Differences in responses among herbaceous plant functional groups were modest, with legumes responding the most and C 4 grasses the least as expected, but did not further diverge over time. Leaf‐level water‐use efficiency increased by 50% under eCO 2 primarily because of reduced stomatal conductance. Our results imply that enhanced nitrogen supply will not necessarily diminish photosynthetic acclimation to eCO 2 in nitrogen‐limited systems, and that significant and consistent declines in stomatal conductance and increases in water‐use efficiency under eCO 2 may allow plants to better withstand drought.

Pastore, Melissa A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Altered climate leads to positive density‐dependent feedbacks in a tropical wet forest

Abstract Climate change is predicted to result in warmer and drier Neotropical forests relative to current conditions. Negative density‐dependent feedbacks, mediated by natural enemies, are key to maintaining the high diversity of tree species found in the tropics, yet we have little understanding of how projected changes in climate are likely to affect these critical controls. Over 3 years, we evaluated the effects of a natural drought and in situ experimental warming on density‐dependent feedbacks on seedling demography in a wet tropical forest in Puerto Rico. In the +4°C warming treatment, we found that seedling survival increased with increasing density of the same species (conspecific). These positive density‐dependent feedbacks were not associated with a decrease in aboveground natural enemy pressure. If positive density‐dependent feedbacks are not transient, the diversity of tropical wet forests, which may rely on negative density dependence to drive diversity, could decline in a future warmer, drier world.

Bachelot, Benedicte↗
DOE OSTI2020

Low–severity fire as a mechanism of organic matter protection in global peatlands: Thermal alteration slows decomposition

Worldwide, regularly-recurring wildfires shape many peatland ecosystems to the extent that fire-adapted species often dominate plant communities, suggesting that wildfire is an integral part of peatland ecology rather than an anomaly. The most destructive blazes are smoldering fires that are usually initiated in periods of drought and can combust entire peatland carbon stores. However, peatland wildfires more typically occur as low-severity surface-burns that arise in the dormant season when vegetation is desiccated, and soil moisture is high. In such low-severity fires, surface layers experience flash heating, but there is little loss of underlying peat to combustion. This study examines the potential importance of such processes in several peatlands that span a gradient from hemiboreal to tropical ecozones and experience a wide range of fire return intervals. We show that low-severity fires can increase the pool of stable soil carbon by thermally altering the chemistry of soil organic matter (SOM), thereby reducing rates of microbial respiration. Using XPS and FTIR, we demonstrate that low-severity fires significantly increase the degree of carbon-condensation and aromatization of SOM functional groups, particularly on the surface of peat aggregates. Laboratory incubations show lower CO 2 emissions from peat subjected to low-severity fire, and predict lower cumulative CO 2 emissions from burned peat after one to three years. Also, low-severity fires reduce the temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) of peat, indicating that these fires can inhibit microbial access to SOM. The increased stability of thermally-altered SOM may allow a greater proportion of organic matter to survive vertical migration into saturated and anaerobic zones of peatlands where environmental conditions physiochemically protect carbon stores from decomposition for thousands of years. Furthermore, across latitudes, low-severity fire is an overlooked factor influencing carbon cycling in peatlands, which is relevant to global carbon budgets as climate-change alters fire regimes worldwide.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Remote sensing of cytotype and its consequences for canopy damage in quaking aspen

Abstract Mapping geographic mosaics of genetic variation and their consequences via genotype x environment interactions at large extents and high resolution has been limited by the scalability of DNA sequencing. Here, we address this challenge for cytotype (chromosome copy number) variation in quaking aspen, a drought‐impacted foundation tree species. We integrate airborne imaging spectroscopy data with ground‐based DNA sequencing data and canopy damage data in 391 km 2 of southwestern Colorado. We show that (1) aspen cover and cytotype can be remotely sensed at 1 m spatial resolution, (2) the geographic mosaic of cytotypes is heterogeneous and interdigitated, (3) triploids have higher leaf nitrogen, canopy water content, and carbon isotope shifts (δ 13 C) than diploids, and (4) canopy damage varies among cytotypes and depends on interactions with topography, canopy height, and trait variables. Triploids are at higher risk in hotter and drier conditions.

Blonder, Benjamin↗
DOE OSTI2022

Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality

Observations of woody plant mortality in coastal ecosystems are globally widespread, but the overarching processes and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This knowledge deficiency, combined with rapidly changing water levels, storm surges, atmospheric CO 2 , and vapor pressure deficit, creates large predictive uncertainty regarding how coastal ecosystems will respond to global change. Here we synthesize the literature on the mechanisms that underlie coastal woody-plant mortality, with the goal of producing a testable hypothesis framework. The key emergent mechanisms underlying mortality include hypoxic, osmotic, and ionic-driven reductions in whole-plant hydraulic conductance and photosynthesis that ultimately drive the coupled processes of hydraulic failure and carbon starvation. The relative importance of these processes in driving mortality, their order of progression, and their degree of coupling depends on the characteristics of the anomalous water exposure, on topographic effects, and on taxa-specific variation in traits and trait acclimation. Greater inundation exposure could accelerate mortality globally; however, the interaction of changing inundation exposure with elevated CO 2 , drought, and rising vapor pressure deficit could influence mortality likelihood. Models of coastal forests that incorporate the frequency and duration of inundation, the role of climatic drivers, and the processes of hydraulic failure and carbon starvation can yield improved estimates of inundation-induced woody-plant mortality.

salinity↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microbially mediated climate feedbacks from wetland ecosystems

Wetlands are crucial nodes in the carbon cycle, emitting approximately 20% of global CH4 while also sequestering 20%–30% of all soil carbon. Both greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon storage are driven by microbial communities in wetland soils. However, these key players are often overlooked or overly simplified in current global climate models. Here, we first integrate microbial metabolisms with biological, chemical, and physical processes occurring at scales from individual microbial cells to ecosystems. This conceptual scale-bridging framework guides the development of feedback loops describing how wetland-specific climate impacts (i.e., sea level rise in estuarine wetlands, droughts and floods in inland wetlands) will affect future climate trajectories. Furthermore, these feedback loops highlight knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to develop predictive models of future climates capturing microbial contributions. We propose a roadmap connecting environmental scientific disciplines to address these knowledge gaps and improve the representation of microbial processes in climate models. Together, this paves the way to understand how microbially mediated climate feedbacks from wetlands will impact future climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Constraining long‐term model predictions for woody growth using tropical tree rings

The strength and persistence of the tropical carbon sink hinges on the long-term responses of woody growth to climatic variations and increasing CO 2 . However, the sensitivity of tropical woody growth to these environmental changes is poorly understood, leading to large uncertainties in growth predictions. Here, we used tree ring records from a Southeast Asian tropical forest to constrain ED2.2-hydro, a terrestrial biosphere model with explicit vegetation demography. Specifically, we assessed individual-level woody growth responses to historical climate variability and increases in atmospheric CO 2 (C a ). When forced with historical C a , ED2.2-hydro reproduced the magnitude of increases in intercellular CO 2 concentration (a major determinant of photosynthesis) estimated from tree ring carbon isotope records. In contrast, simulated growth trends were considerably larger than those obtained from tree rings, suggesting that woody biomass production efficiency (WBPE = woody biomass production:gross primary productivity) was overestimated by the model. The estimated WBPE decline under increasing C a based on model-data discrepancy was comparable to or stronger than (depending on tree species and size) the observed WBPE changes from a multi-year mature-forest CO 2 fertilization experiment. In addition, we found that ED2.2-hydro generally overestimated climatic sensitivity of woody growth, especially for late-successional plant functional types. The model-data discrepancy in growth sensitivity to climate was likely caused by underestimating WBPE in hot and dry years due to commonly used model assumptions on carbon use efficiency and allocation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to constrain model predictions of individual tree-level growth sensitivity to C a and climate against tropical tree-ring data. Our results suggest that improving model processes related to WBPE is crucial to obtain better predictions of tropical forest responses to droughts and increasing C a . Finally, more accurate parameterization of WBPE will likely reduce the stimulation of woody growth by C a rise predicted by biosphere models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evapotranspiration of annual and perennial biofuel crops in a variable climate

Eddy covariance measurements were made in seven fields in the Midwest USA over 4 years (including the 2012 drought year) to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) of newly established rain-fed cellulosic and grain biofuel crops. Four of the converted fields had been managed as grasslands under the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 22 years, and three had been in conventional agriculture (AGR) soybean/corn rotation prior to conversion. In 2009, all sites were planted to no-till soybean except one CRP grassland that was left unchanged as a reference site; in 2010, three of the former CRP sites and the three former AGR sites were planted to annual (corn) and perennial (switchgrass and mixed-prairie) grasslands. The annual ET over the 4 years ranged from 45% to 77% (mean = 60%) of the annual precipitation (848–1063 mm; November–October), with the unconverted CRP grassland having the highest ET (622–706 mm). In the fields converted to annual and perennial crops, the annual ET ranged between 480 and 639 mm despite the large variations in growing-season precipitation and in soil water contents, which had strong effects on regional crop yields. Results suggest that in this humid temperate climate, which represents the US Corn Belt, water use by annual and perennial crops is not greatly different across years with highly variable precipitation and soil water availability. Thus, large-scale conversion of row crops to perennial biofuel cropping systems may not strongly alter terrestrial water balances.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bioenergy sorghum’s deep roots: A key to sustainable biomass production on annual cropland

Abstract Bioenergy sorghum has high biomass yield potential, drought resilience, good nitrogen use efficiency, and a root system that contributes to the accumulation of soil organic carbon. In this study, field grown bioenergy sorghum root systems were analyzed during the growing season to characterize their depth, biomass, morphology, anatomy, and gene expression profiles. Bioenergy sorghum roots grew continuously during a 155‐day growing season producing ~175 nodal roots, accumulating ~7 Mg of dry biomass per hectare, and reaching >2 m deep in the soil profile. Nodal roots within 20 cm of the stem were 1–5 mm in diameter, whereas roots deeper in soil profiles were enriched in lateral roots with small diameters (~30–500 µm) enabling growth through soil macropores. In older field‐grown plants, roots with intact endodermal, vascular and inner root tissues were surrounded by degraded or aerenchyma‐filled epidermal and cortical cell layers. Transcriptome analysis of nodal, surface, and deep roots identified >2,500 differentially expressed genes involved in root growth, transport, adaptation, defense, and AMF–root interaction. Deep roots (180–240 cm) differentially expressed genes that regulate lateral root growth. Surface roots (0–20 cm) located mid‐row differentially expressed genes involved in nitrate transport, whereas ammonium transport genes were expressed in surface and deep roots and genes involved in phosphate transport were expressed in nodal, surface, and deep roots. Overall, bioenergy sorghum's long growing season enables root systems to grow deeper and accumulate more biomass than annual grain crops such as maize, attributes that could help restore annual cropland soil organic carbon levels and improve soil productivity. Deep roots active in nutrient transport are positioned to take‐up fertilizer leached deep into soil profiles mitigating potential nutrient run‐off. Bioenergy sorghum's large and deep root system is a key to sustainable production of biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts on annual cropland.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

High temperatures and low soil moisture synergistically reduce switchgrass yields from marginal field sites and inhibit fermentation

‘Marginal lands’ are low productivity sites abandoned from agriculture for reasons such as low or high soil water content, challenging topography, or nutrient deficiency. To avoid competition with crop production, cellulosic bioenergy crops have been proposed for cultivation on marginal lands, however on these sites they may be more strongly affected by environmental stresses such as low soil water content. In this study we used rainout shelters to induce low soil moisture on marginal lands and determine the effect of soil water stress on switchgrass growth and the subsequent production of bioethanol. Five marginal land sites that span a latitudinal gradient in Michigan and Wisconsin were planted to switchgrass in 2013 and during the 2018–2021 growing seasons were exposed to reduced precipitation under rainout shelters in comparison to ambient precipitation. The effect of reduced precipitation was related to the environmental conditions at each site and biofuel production metrics (switchgrass biomass yields and composition and ethanol production). During the first year (2018), the rainout shelters were designed with 60% rain exclusion, which did not affect biomass yields compared to ambient conditions at any of the field sites, but decreased switchgrass fermentability at the Wisconsin Central–Hancock site. In subsequent years, the shelters were redesigned to fully exclude rainfall, which led to reduced biomass yields and inhibited fermentation for three sites. When switchgrass was grown in soils with large reductions in moisture and increases in temperature, the potential for biofuel production was significantly reduced, exposing some of the challenges associated with producing biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass grown under drought conditions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Water use and radiation balance of miscanthus and corn on marginal land in the coastal plain region of North Carolina

Abstract Miscanthus is a perennial grass that can yield substantial amounts of biomass in land areas considered marginal. In the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina, marginal lands are typically located in coarse‐textured soils with low nutrient retention and water‐holding capacity, and high erosivity potential. Little is known about miscanthus water use under these conditions. We conducted a study to better understand the efficiency with which miscanthus uses natural resources such as water and radiant energy to produce harvestable dry biomass in comparison to corn, a typical commodity crop grown in the region. We hypothesized that under non‐limiting soil water conditions, miscanthus would have greater available energy and water use rates owing to its greater leaf area, thus leading to greater agronomic yields. Conversely, these effects would be negated under drought conditions. Our measurements showed that miscanthus intercepted more radiant energy than corn, which led to greater albedo (by 0.05), lower net radiation (by 4% or 0.4 MJ m −2 day −1 ), and lower soil heat flux (by 69% or 1.0 MJ m −2 day −1 ) than corn on average. Consequently, miscanthus had greater available energy (by 7% or 0.6 MJ m −2 day −1 ) and water use rates (by 14% or 0.5 mm day −1 ) than corn throughout the growing season on average, which partially confirmed our hypothesis. Greater water use rates and radiation interception by miscanthus did not translate to greater water‐use (1.5 g kg −1 vs. 1.6 g kg −1 ) and radiation‐use (0.9 g MJ −1 vs. 1.1 g MJ −1 ) efficiencies than corn. Compared to literature values, our data indicated that water and radiation availability were not limiting at our study site. Thus, it is likely that marginal land features present at the Coastal Plain region such as low soil fertility and high air temperatures throughout the growing season may constrain agronomic yields even if soil water and radiant energy are non‐limiting.

Carvalho, Henrique D. R.↗