Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions
Abstract Across Eastern Canada (EC), taiga forests represent an important carbon reservoir, but the extent to which climate variability affects this ecosystem over decades remains uncertain. Here, we analyze an extensive network of black spruce (Picea mariana Mill.) ring width and wood density measu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2017-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02580-9 |
| _version_ | 1819036040108703744 |
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| author | Etienne Boucher Antoine Nicault Dominique Arseneault Yves Bégin Mehdi Pasha Karami |
| author_facet | Etienne Boucher Antoine Nicault Dominique Arseneault Yves Bégin Mehdi Pasha Karami |
| author_sort | Etienne Boucher |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Across Eastern Canada (EC), taiga forests represent an important carbon reservoir, but the extent to which climate variability affects this ecosystem over decades remains uncertain. Here, we analyze an extensive network of black spruce (Picea mariana Mill.) ring width and wood density measurements and provide new evidence that wood biomass production is influenced by large-scale, internal ocean-atmosphere processes. We show that while black spruce wood biomass production is primarily governed by growing season temperatures, the Atlantic ocean conveys heat from the subtropics and influences the decadal persistence in taiga forests productivity. Indeed, we argue that 20–30 years periodicities in Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) as part of the the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) directly influence heat transfers to adjacent lands. Winter atmospheric conditions associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) might also impact EC’s taiga forests, albeit indirectly, through its effect on SSTs and sea ice conditions in surrounding seas. Our work emphasizes that taiga forests would benefit from the combined effects of a warmer atmosphere and stronger ocean-to-land heat transfers, whereas a weakening of these transfers could cancel out, for decades or longer, the positive effects of climate change on Eastern Canada’s largest ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T07:59:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55750bfcd5994703b83c332784d8d4aa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T07:59:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-55750bfcd5994703b83c332784d8d4aa2022-12-21T19:10:56ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222017-05-017111310.1038/s41598-017-02580-9Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere InteractionsEtienne Boucher0Antoine Nicault1Dominique Arseneault2Yves Bégin3Mehdi Pasha Karami4University du Québec à Montreal, Dépt. of Geography and GEOTOPECCOREV, FR 3098, CNRS/Aix-Marseille UniversitéUniversity du Québec à Rimouski, Dept. of Chemistry, Biology and Geography, Centre d’études nordiquesCentre Eau Terre Environnement, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre d’études nordiquesDept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill UniversityAbstract Across Eastern Canada (EC), taiga forests represent an important carbon reservoir, but the extent to which climate variability affects this ecosystem over decades remains uncertain. Here, we analyze an extensive network of black spruce (Picea mariana Mill.) ring width and wood density measurements and provide new evidence that wood biomass production is influenced by large-scale, internal ocean-atmosphere processes. We show that while black spruce wood biomass production is primarily governed by growing season temperatures, the Atlantic ocean conveys heat from the subtropics and influences the decadal persistence in taiga forests productivity. Indeed, we argue that 20–30 years periodicities in Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) as part of the the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) directly influence heat transfers to adjacent lands. Winter atmospheric conditions associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) might also impact EC’s taiga forests, albeit indirectly, through its effect on SSTs and sea ice conditions in surrounding seas. Our work emphasizes that taiga forests would benefit from the combined effects of a warmer atmosphere and stronger ocean-to-land heat transfers, whereas a weakening of these transfers could cancel out, for decades or longer, the positive effects of climate change on Eastern Canada’s largest ecosystem.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02580-9 |
| spellingShingle | Etienne Boucher Antoine Nicault Dominique Arseneault Yves Bégin Mehdi Pasha Karami Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Scientific Reports |
| title | Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions |
| title_full | Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions |
| title_fullStr | Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions |
| title_short | Decadal Variations in Eastern Canada’s Taiga Wood Biomass Production Forced by Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions |
| title_sort | decadal variations in eastern canada s taiga wood biomass production forced by ocean atmosphere interactions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02580-9 |
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