The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades

Gross primary productivity (GPP) is jointly controlled by the structural and physiological properties of the vegetation canopy and the changing environment. Recent studies showed notable changes in global GPP during recent decades and attributed it to dramatic environmental changes. Environmental ch...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yue Chen, Zaichun Zhu, Weiqing Zhao, Muyi Li, Sen Cao, Yaoyao Zheng, Feng Tian, Ranga B Myneni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2023-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad107f
_version_ 1797387700790099968
author Yue Chen
Zaichun Zhu
Weiqing Zhao
Muyi Li
Sen Cao
Yaoyao Zheng
Feng Tian
Ranga B Myneni
author_facet Yue Chen
Zaichun Zhu
Weiqing Zhao
Muyi Li
Sen Cao
Yaoyao Zheng
Feng Tian
Ranga B Myneni
author_sort Yue Chen
collection DOAJ
description Gross primary productivity (GPP) is jointly controlled by the structural and physiological properties of the vegetation canopy and the changing environment. Recent studies showed notable changes in global GPP during recent decades and attributed it to dramatic environmental changes. Environmental changes can affect GPP by altering not only the biogeochemical characteristics of the photosynthesis system (direct effects) but also the structure of the vegetation canopy (indirect effects). However, comprehensively quantifying the multi-pathway effects of environmental change on GPP is currently challenging. We proposed a framework to analyse the changes in global GPP by combining a nested machine-learning model and a theoretical photosynthesis model. We quantified the direct and indirect effects of changes in key environmental factors (atmospheric CO _2 concentration, temperature, solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and soil moisture (SM)) on global GPP from 1982 to 2020. The results showed that direct and indirect absolute contributions of environmental changes on global GPP were 0.2819 Pg C yr ^−2 and 0.1078 Pg C yr ^−2. Direct and indirect effects for single environmental factors accounted for 1.36%–51.96% and 0.56%–18.37% of the total environmental effect. Among the direct effects, the positive contribution of elevated CO _2 concentration on GPP was the highest; and warming-induced GPP increase counteracted the negative effects. There was also a notable indirect effect, mainly through the influence of the leaf area index. In particular, the rising VPD and declining SM negatively impacted GPP more through the indirect pathway rather than the direct pathway, but not sufficient to offset the boost of warming over the past four decades. We provide new insights for understanding the effects of environmental changes on vegetation photosynthesis, which could help modelling and projection of the global carbon cycle in the context of dramatic global environmental change.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T22:28:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e7096824fd52439b815c52cb7f096eb5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1748-9326
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T22:28:50Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series Environmental Research Letters
spelling doaj.art-e7096824fd52439b815c52cb7f096eb52023-12-18T08:12:25ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-0119101405210.1088/1748-9326/ad107fThe direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decadesYue Chen0Zaichun Zhu1Weiqing Zhao2Muyi Li3Sen Cao4Yaoyao Zheng5Feng Tian6Ranga B Myneni7School of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Human-Earth Relations, Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University , Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Earth and Environment, Boston University , Boston, MA, United States of AmericaGross primary productivity (GPP) is jointly controlled by the structural and physiological properties of the vegetation canopy and the changing environment. Recent studies showed notable changes in global GPP during recent decades and attributed it to dramatic environmental changes. Environmental changes can affect GPP by altering not only the biogeochemical characteristics of the photosynthesis system (direct effects) but also the structure of the vegetation canopy (indirect effects). However, comprehensively quantifying the multi-pathway effects of environmental change on GPP is currently challenging. We proposed a framework to analyse the changes in global GPP by combining a nested machine-learning model and a theoretical photosynthesis model. We quantified the direct and indirect effects of changes in key environmental factors (atmospheric CO _2 concentration, temperature, solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and soil moisture (SM)) on global GPP from 1982 to 2020. The results showed that direct and indirect absolute contributions of environmental changes on global GPP were 0.2819 Pg C yr ^−2 and 0.1078 Pg C yr ^−2. Direct and indirect effects for single environmental factors accounted for 1.36%–51.96% and 0.56%–18.37% of the total environmental effect. Among the direct effects, the positive contribution of elevated CO _2 concentration on GPP was the highest; and warming-induced GPP increase counteracted the negative effects. There was also a notable indirect effect, mainly through the influence of the leaf area index. In particular, the rising VPD and declining SM negatively impacted GPP more through the indirect pathway rather than the direct pathway, but not sufficient to offset the boost of warming over the past four decades. We provide new insights for understanding the effects of environmental changes on vegetation photosynthesis, which could help modelling and projection of the global carbon cycle in the context of dramatic global environmental change.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad107fgross primary productivityleaf area indexclimate changeCO2 fertilizationrandom forests
spellingShingle Yue Chen
Zaichun Zhu
Weiqing Zhao
Muyi Li
Sen Cao
Yaoyao Zheng
Feng Tian
Ranga B Myneni
The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
Environmental Research Letters
gross primary productivity
leaf area index
climate change
CO2 fertilization
random forests
title The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
title_full The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
title_fullStr The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
title_full_unstemmed The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
title_short The direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
title_sort direct and indirect effects of the environmental factors on global terrestrial gross primary productivity over the past four decades
topic gross primary productivity
leaf area index
climate change
CO2 fertilization
random forests
url https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad107f
work_keys_str_mv AT yuechen thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT zaichunzhu thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT weiqingzhao thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT muyili thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT sencao thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT yaoyaozheng thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT fengtian thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT rangabmyneni thedirectandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT yuechen directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT zaichunzhu directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT weiqingzhao directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT muyili directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT sencao directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT yaoyaozheng directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT fengtian directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades
AT rangabmyneni directandindirecteffectsoftheenvironmentalfactorsonglobalterrestrialgrossprimaryproductivityoverthepastfourdecades