Enhanced net CO<sub>2</sub> exchange of a semideciduous forest in the southern Amazon due to diffuse radiation from biomass burning
<p>Carbon cycling in the Amazon fundamentally depends on the functioning of ecosystems and atmospheric dynamics, which are highly intricate. Few studies have hitherto investigated or measured the radiative effects of aerosols on the Amazon and Cerrado. This study examines the effects of atmosp...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/21/843/2024/bg-21-843-2024.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Carbon cycling in the Amazon fundamentally depends on the functioning of ecosystems and atmospheric dynamics, which are highly intricate. Few studies have hitherto investigated or measured the radiative effects of aerosols on the Amazon and Cerrado. This study examines the effects of atmospheric aerosols on solar radiation and their effects on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in an area of semideciduous tropical forest in the north of Mato Grosso. Our results show that for a relative irradiance (<span class="inline-formula"><i>f</i></span>) 1.10–0.67, a decrease in incident solar radiation is associated with a reduction in the NEE. However, an average increase of 25 %–110 % in NEE was observed when pollution levels and aerosol optical depth (AOD) were above <span class="inline-formula">≈ 1.25</span> and <span class="inline-formula"><i>f</i></span> <span class="inline-formula"><</span> 0.5. The increase NEE was attributed to the increase of up to 60 % in the diffuse fraction of photosynthetically active radiation. The change in AOD and <span class="inline-formula"><i>f</i></span> was mainly attributable to biomass burning organic aerosols from fires. Important influences on vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as well as air temperature (<span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i><sub>air</sub></span>) and canopy (LC<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>T</i></sub></span>), induced by the interaction between solar radiation and high aerosol load in the observation area, were also noticed. On average, a cooling of about 3–4 <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C was observed for <span class="inline-formula"><i>T</i><sub>air</sub></span> and LC<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>T</i></sub></span>, and a decrease of up to 2–3 hPa was observed for VPD. Given the long-distance transport of aerosols emitted by burning biomass, significant changes in atmospheric optical properties and irradiance will impact the CO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>2</sub></span> flux of semideciduous forests distributed in the region.</p> |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |