Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America
Biomass burning is an important source of tropospheric ozone (O<sub>3</sub>) and aerosols. These air pollutants can affect vegetation photosynthesis through stomatal uptake (for O<sub>3</sub>) and light scattering and absorption (for aerosols). Wildfire area burned is proj...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/13699/2017/acp-17-13699-2017.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811314280853667840 |
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| author | X. Yue X. Yue S. Strada N. Unger A. Wang |
| author_facet | X. Yue X. Yue S. Strada N. Unger A. Wang |
| author_sort | X. Yue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biomass burning is an important source of tropospheric ozone
(O<sub>3</sub>) and aerosols. These air pollutants can affect vegetation
photosynthesis through stomatal uptake (for O<sub>3</sub>) and light scattering and
absorption (for aerosols). Wildfire area burned is projected to increase
significantly in boreal North America by the mid-century, while little is
known about the impacts of enhanced emissions on the terrestrial carbon
budget. Here, combining site-level and satellite observations and a
carbon–chemistry–climate model, we estimate the impacts of fire emitted
O<sub>3</sub> and aerosols on net primary productivity (NPP) over boreal North
America. Fire emissions are calculated based on an ensemble projection from
13 climate models. In the present day, wildfire enhances surface O<sub>3</sub> by
2 ppbv (7 %) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm by 0.03
(26 %) in the summer. By mid-century, area burned is predicted to increase
by 66 % in boreal North America, contributing more O<sub>3</sub> (13 %) and
aerosols (37 %). Fire O<sub>3</sub> causes negligible impacts on NPP because
ambient O<sub>3</sub> concentration (with fire contributions) is below the damage
threshold of 40 ppbv for 90 % summer days. Fire aerosols reduce surface
solar radiation but enhance atmospheric absorption, resulting in enhanced air
stability and intensified regional drought. The domain of this drying is
confined to the north in the present day but extends southward by 2050 due
to increased fire emissions. Consequently, wildfire aerosols enhance NPP by
72 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> in the present day but decrease NPP by
118 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> in the future, mainly because of the soil moisture
perturbations. Our results suggest that future wildfire may accelerate boreal
carbon loss, not only through direct emissions increasing from
68 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> at present day to 130 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> by mid-century
but also through the biophysical impacts of fire aerosols. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:10:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-95d28d5ae60145878baa94cbdad2f976 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:10:13Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-95d28d5ae60145878baa94cbdad2f9762022-12-22T02:49:10ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242017-11-0117136991371910.5194/acp-17-13699-2017Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North AmericaX. Yue0X. Yue1S. Strada2N. Unger3A. Wang4Climate Change Research Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, ChinaNansen-Zhu International Research Centre, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, ChinaLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, L'Orme des Merisiers – Bat 712, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, FranceCollege of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UKNansen-Zhu International Research Centre, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, ChinaBiomass burning is an important source of tropospheric ozone (O<sub>3</sub>) and aerosols. These air pollutants can affect vegetation photosynthesis through stomatal uptake (for O<sub>3</sub>) and light scattering and absorption (for aerosols). Wildfire area burned is projected to increase significantly in boreal North America by the mid-century, while little is known about the impacts of enhanced emissions on the terrestrial carbon budget. Here, combining site-level and satellite observations and a carbon–chemistry–climate model, we estimate the impacts of fire emitted O<sub>3</sub> and aerosols on net primary productivity (NPP) over boreal North America. Fire emissions are calculated based on an ensemble projection from 13 climate models. In the present day, wildfire enhances surface O<sub>3</sub> by 2 ppbv (7 %) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm by 0.03 (26 %) in the summer. By mid-century, area burned is predicted to increase by 66 % in boreal North America, contributing more O<sub>3</sub> (13 %) and aerosols (37 %). Fire O<sub>3</sub> causes negligible impacts on NPP because ambient O<sub>3</sub> concentration (with fire contributions) is below the damage threshold of 40 ppbv for 90 % summer days. Fire aerosols reduce surface solar radiation but enhance atmospheric absorption, resulting in enhanced air stability and intensified regional drought. The domain of this drying is confined to the north in the present day but extends southward by 2050 due to increased fire emissions. Consequently, wildfire aerosols enhance NPP by 72 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> in the present day but decrease NPP by 118 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> in the future, mainly because of the soil moisture perturbations. Our results suggest that future wildfire may accelerate boreal carbon loss, not only through direct emissions increasing from 68 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> at present day to 130 Tg C yr<sup>−1</sup> by mid-century but also through the biophysical impacts of fire aerosols.https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/13699/2017/acp-17-13699-2017.pdf |
| spellingShingle | X. Yue X. Yue S. Strada N. Unger A. Wang Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America |
| title_full | Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America |
| title_fullStr | Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America |
| title_short | Future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal North America |
| title_sort | future inhibition of ecosystem productivity by increasing wildfire pollution over boreal north america |
| url | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/13699/2017/acp-17-13699-2017.pdf |
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