DOE OSTI · 2557489
Coupling Remote Sensing With a Process Model for the Simulation of Rangeland Carbon Dynamics
Abstract
Rangelands provide significant environmental benefits through many ecosystem services, which may include soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. However, quantifying SOC stocks and monitoring carbon (C) fluxes in rangelands are challenging due to the considerable spatial and temporal variability tied to rangeland C dynamics as well as limited data availability. We developed the Rangeland Carbon Tracking and Management (RCTM) system to track long-term changes in SOC and ecosystem C fluxes by leveraging remote sensing inputs and environmental variable data sets with algorithms representing terrestrial C-cycle processes. Bayesian calibration was conducted using quality-controlled C flux data sets obtained from 61 Ameriflux and NEON flux tower sites from Western and Midwestern US rangelands to parameterize the model according to dominant vegetation classes (perennial and/or annual grass, grass-shrub mixture, and grass-tree mixture). The resulting RCTM system produced higher model accuracy for estimating annual cumulative gross primary productivity (GPP) (R 2 > 0.6, RMSE <390 g C m -2 ) relative to net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 (NEE) (R 2 > 0.4, RMSE <180 g C m -2 ). Model performance in estimating rangeland C fluxes varied by season and vegetation type. The RCTM captured the spatial variability of SOC stocks with R 2 = 0.6 when validated against SOC measurements across 13 NEON sites. Model simulations indicated slightly enhanced SOC stocks for the flux tower sites during the past decade, which is mainly driven by an increase in precipitation. Future efforts to refine the RCTM system will benefit from long-term network-based monitoring of vegetation biomass, C fluxes, and SOC stocks.
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Xia, Yushu [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000282505381), Sanderman, Jonathan [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States)], Watts, Jennifer D. [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States); Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000172078999), Machmuller, Megan B. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)], Mullen, Andrew L. [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States)], Rivard, Charlotte [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States); Brookings Institution, Washington, DC (United States)] (ORCID:0009000299693654), Endsley, Arthur [Univ. of Montana, Missoula, MT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197228092), Hernandez, Haydee [Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States); Nature Conservancy, Boulder, CO (United States)], Kimball, John [Univ. of Montana, Missoula, MT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000254935878), Ewing, Stephanie A. [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000307134266), Litvak, Marcy [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000242552263), Duman, Tomer [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000275504874), Krishnan, Praveena [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000257603254), Meyers, Tilden [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Brunsell, Nathaniel A. [Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States)] (ORCID:0000000244608283), Mohanty, Binayak [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)], Liu, Heping [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221846924), Gao, Zhongming [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Sun Yat-Sen Univ. (China)] (ORCID:000000024390753X), Chen, Jiquan [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000307619458), Abraha, Michael [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)], Scott, Russell L. [US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Tucson, AZ (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS)] (ORCID:0000000329875380), Flerchinger, Gerald N. [US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Boise, ID (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS)], Clark, Patrick E. [US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Boise, ID (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS)] (ORCID:0000000342991853), Stoy, Paul C. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000260536232), Khan, Anam M. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000220787942), Brookshire, E. Jack [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)] (ORCID:0000000204127696), Zhang, Quan [Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Wuhan Univ. (China)] (ORCID:0000000233562996), Cook, David R. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)], Thienelt, Thomas [Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg (Germany)], Mitra, Bhaskar [James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000266170884), Mauritz‐Tozer, Marguerite [Univ. of Texas at El Paso, TX (United States)] (ORCID:0000000187339119), Tweedie, Craig E. [Univ. of Texas at El Paso, TX (United States)], Torn, Margaret S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000281740099), Billesbach, Dave [Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)]. 2025-03-15. Coupling Remote Sensing With a Process Model for the Simulation of Rangeland Carbon Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024ms004342
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