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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Stressors Reveal Ecosystems' Hidden Characteristics

Abstract Vegetation responds dynamically to local microclimates at both short and long time scales via mechanisms ranging from physiological behaviors, such as stomatal closure, to acclimation and adaptation. These responses influence the carbon, water, and energy cycles directly and are therefore crucial to understanding and predicting Earth system responses to a changing climate. Several recent studies have demonstrated that differences in microclimate can induce structural and functional acclimations, and potentially adaptations, within the same ecosystem. Such microclimate divergence can be caused by variability in slopes, disturbance history, or even localized resource availability. Ecosystem stressors such as low soil water availability, limited photoperiod, or high vapor pressure deficit have been shown to reveal the large impact of the subtle differences within these systems such as the number of sun versus shade leaves or differences in whole‐plant water acquisition and use. These findings highlight the linkages between plant canopy structure and ecosystem function, alongside the need for comprehensive analyses of vegetation within the broader context of its environment. This commentary addresses some of the key implications of ecosystem stress responses and accompanying acclimations across three ecosystem types for ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, ecohydrology and trait‐based modeling of vegetation‐climate dynamics.

Matheny, Ashley M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Climate Change Will Increase Biomass Proportion of Global Forest Carbon Stocks Under an SSP5–8.5 Climate Trajectory

Abstract A large amount of carbon is stored in global forests. However, the fraction of carbon stored as plant biomass versus soil organic carbon (SOC) varies among forest types, and potential changes over the 21st century are uncertain. Here, we used extensive data derived from inventories and remote sensing and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models to examine the current and 21st century dynamics in the proportion of biomass and SOC across global forests. We found that precipitation, elevation, soil, and wildfire were the primary controls of these differences in carbon pools. Under the SSP5–8.5 climate scenario, CMIP6 models project that the ratio of biomass to ecosystem carbon in global forests will increase across the 21st century, with the largest increases in boreal forests (95 ± 37%) compared to moist tropical forests (16 ± 15%). Changes in forest carbon pools resulting in greater biomass fraction will affect disturbance, and ecosystem carbon and energy balances, all of which interact with the climate system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Large historical growth in global terrestrial gross primary production

Growth in terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) may provide a negative feedback for climate change. It remains uncertain, however, to what extent biogeochemical processes can suppress global GPP growth. In consequence, model estimates of terrestrial carbon storage and carbon cycle –climate feedbacks remain poorly constrained. Here we present a global, measurement-based estimate of GPP growth during the twentieth century based on long-term atmospheric carbonyl sulphide (COS) records derived from ice core, firn, and ambient air samples. Here, we interpret these records using a model that simulates changes in COS concentration due to changes in its sources and sinks, including a large sink that is related to GPP. We find that the COS record is most consistent with climate-carbon cycle model simulations that assume large GPP growth during the twentieth century (31% ± 5%; mean ± 95% confidence interval). Finally, while this COS analysis does not directly constrain estimates of future GPP growth it provides a global-scale benchmark for historical carbon cycle simulations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Emerging multiscale insights on microbial carbon use efficiency in the land carbon cycle

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) affects the fate and storage of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, but its global importance remains uncertain. Accurately modeling and predicting CUE on a global scale is challenging due to inconsistencies in measurement techniques and the complex interactions of climatic, edaphic, and biological factors across scales. The link between microbial CUE and soil organic carbon relies on the stabilization of microbial necromass within soil aggregates or its association with minerals, necessitating an integration of microbial and stabilization processes in modeling approaches. In this perspective, we propose a comprehensive framework that integrates diverse data sources, ranging from genomic information to traditional soil carbon assessments, to refine carbon cycle models by incorporating variations in CUE, thereby enhancing our understanding of the microbial contribution to carbon cycling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A compendium of bacterial and archaeal single-cell amplified genomes from oxygen deficient marine waters

Oxygen-deficient marine waters referred to as oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) or anoxic marine zones (AMZs) are common oceanographic features. They host both cosmopolitan and endemic microorganisms adapted to low oxygen conditions. Microbial metabolic interactions within OMZs and AMZs drive coupled biogeochemical cycles resulting in nitrogen loss and climate active trace gas production and consumption. Global warming is causing oxygen-deficient waters to expand and intensify. Therefore, studies focused on microbial communities inhabiting oxygen-deficient regions are necessary to both monitor and model the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystem functions and services. Here we present a compendium of 5,129 single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs) from marine environments encompassing representative OMZ and AMZ geochemical profiles. Of these, 3,570 SAGs have been sequenced to different levels of completion, providing a strain-resolved perspective on the genomic content and potential metabolic interactions within OMZ and AMZ microbiomes. Hierarchical clustering confirmed that samples from similar oxygen concentrations and geographic regions also had analogous taxonomic compositions, providing a coherent framework for comparative community analysis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

CO2 refixation is higher in leaves of woody species with high mesophyll and stomatal resistances to CO2 diffusion

Abstract The percentage of respiratory and photorespiratory CO2 refixed in leaves (Pr) represents part of the CO2 used in photosynthesis. The importance of Pr as well as differences between species and functional types are still not well investigated. In this study, we examine how Pr differs between six temperate and boreal woody species: Betula pendula, Quercus robur, Larix decidua, Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies and Vaccinium vitis-idaea. The study covers early and late successional species, deciduous broadleaves, deciduous conifers, evergreen conifers and evergreen broadleaves. We investigated whether some species or functional types had higher refixation percentages than others, whether leaf traits could predict higher Pr and whether these traits and their impact on Pr changed during growing seasons. Photosynthesis CO2 response (A/Ci)-curves, measured early, mid and late season, were used to estimate and compare Pr, mesophyll resistance (rm) and stomatal resistance (rs) to CO2 diffusion. Additionally, light images and transmission electron microscope images were used to approximate the fraction of intercellular airspace and cell wall thickness. We found that evergreens, especially late successional species, refixed a significantly higher amount of CO2 than the other species throughout the entire growing season. In addition, rm, rs and leaf mass per area, traits that typically are higher in evergreen species, were also significantly, positively correlated with Pr. We suggest that this is due to higher rm decreasing diffusion of (photo) respiratory CO2 out of the leaf. Cell wall thickness had a positive effect on Pr and rm, while the fraction of intercellular airspace had no effect. Both were significantly different between evergreen conifers and other types. Our findings suggest that species with a higher rm use a greater fraction of mitochondria-derived CO2, especially when stomatal conductance is low. This should be taken into account when modeling the overall CO2 fertilization effect for terrestrial ecosystems dominated by high rm species.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Litter Production and Foliar Nutrient Resorption in Pioneer and Non-Pioneer Species in a Selective Logging Experiment in the Central Amazon, BIONTE, ZF-2, Manaus, 2022-23

This dataset was collected near the city of Manaus, Brazil, at the Experimental Station of Tropical Forestry (EEST, aka “ZF2”), inside the BIONTE (BIOmass and NuTrient Experiment). The experiment included three levels of increasing selective logging intensity, along with control, with 1-hectare permanent plots (12 total) located at the center of 4-hectare treatment plots. The vegetation has a high floristic diversity, the soils of the region are poor in nutrients, and the topography is characterized by plateaus (where BIONTE is located), and also valley bottoms and slopes. Three treatments of differing logging intensities were applied in the BIONTE experiment (T1, T2 and T3). The study was conducted in Treatment 3 (Block I – permanent plot), which represents the most intensive logging treatment, with 69% of the basal area (m²∙ha⁻¹) removed in 1988. The present dataset spans the period from May 1, 2022, to May 1, 2023. The data package includes leaf_nutrient_data, litterfall_total_data, leaf_litterfall_species_specific_data, and species_info, all provided in .csv format. These formats allow users to process and analyze the data in various software applications and programming languages, such as Python and R. This dataset was collected to advance knowledge on nutrient cycling in Amazonian forests, specifically distinguishing between species with two distinct functional traits: fast-growing and slow-growing. It also aims to improve Earth System Models, such as the E3SM Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES). Additionally, it was used in a paper currently in preparation (Carvalho et al., in prep.), which aims to quantify seasonal litter production and foliar nutrient resorption in pioneer (fast-growing) and non-pioneer (slow-growing) tree species in the central Amazon. Specifically, it seeks to answer two key questions: 1) Is there a difference in leaf litter production, leaf nutrient flux and leaf nutrient concentration between pioneers and non-pioneers species? Is there a difference in the efficiency of foliar nutrient resorption between pioneers and non-pioneers species?

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Unveiling Microbial Carbon Cycling Processes in Key U.S. Soils using ''Omics''

Soils process and store large amounts of C; however, considerable uncertainty still exists about the details of that influence microbial partitioning of C into soil C pools, and what are the main influential forces that control the fraction of the C input that is stabilized. The soil microbial community is genotypically and phenotypically diverse. Despite our ability to predict the kinds of regional environmental changes that will accompany global climate change, it is not clear how the microbial community will respond to climate-induced modification of precipitation and inter-precipitation intervals, and if this response will affect the fate of C deposited into soil by the local plant community. Part of this uncertainty lies with our ignorance of how the microbial community adapts genotypically and physiologically to changes in soil moisture brought about by shifts in precipitation. Our overarching goal is to harness the power of multiple meta-omics tools to gain greater understanding of the functioning of whole-soil microbial communities and their role in C cycling. We will do this by meeting the following three objectives: 1. Further develop and optimize a combination of meta-omics approaches to study how environmental factors affect microbially-mediated C cycling processes. 2. Determine the impacts of long-term changes in precipitation timing on microbial C cycling using an existing long-term field manipulation of a tallgrass prairie soil. 3. Conduct laboratory experiments that vary moisture and C inputs to confirm field observations of the linkages between microbial communities and C cycling processes. We took advantage of our state-of-the-art expertise in community “omics” to better understand the functioning soil C cycling within the Great Prairie ecosystem, including our ongoing Konza Prairie soil metagenome flagship project at JGI and the unique rainfall manipulation plots (RaMPs) established at this site more than a decade ago. We employed a systems biology approach, considering the complex soil microbial community as a functioning system and using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomic, metaproteomic, and metabolomic approaches. These omics tools were refined, applied to field experiments, and confirmed with controlled laboratory studies. Our experiments were designed to specifically identify microbial community members and processes that are instrumental players in processing of C in the prairie soils and how these processes are impacted by wetting and drying events. This project addresses a key ecosystem in the United States that current climate models predict will be subjected to dramatic changes in rainfall patterns as a result of global warming. Currently Mollisols, such as those of the tallgrass prairie, are thought to sequester more C than is released into the atmosphere, but it is not known what changes in rainfall patterns will have on future C fluxes. Through an analysis of the molecular response of the soil microbial community to shifts in precipitation cycles that are accompanied by phenologically driven changes in quality of plant C rhizodeposits, we gained deeper insight into how the metabolism of microbes has adapted to different precipitation regimes and the impact of this adaption on the fate of C deposited into soil. In doing so, we addressed key questions about the microbial cycling of C in soils that have been identified by the DOE.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Workshop Summary for Maintaining Innovation and Security in Biotechnology: Lessons Learned from Nuclear, Chemical, and Informational Technologies

In the fast-paced field of biotechnology where innovation has such far-reaching impacts on human health and the environment, dealing with the implications of possible illicit activities, accidents or unintended research consequences with potential detrimental societal impacts tends to remain in the background. While controls may be inevitable for the biotech industry, workshop attendees agreed that the way in which controls are implemented will play a major role in the agility and innovation of the biotechnology industry. There is little desire to slow down the pace of the gains while dealing with the security issues that arise. As was seen from the brief examinations of the Nuclear, Chemical, and Information Technology sectors explored in this workshop, establishing a regulatory regime needs to be a partnership between the public, corporate interests, scientists, and the government. Regulation is often written to combat perceived risk rather than actual risk—the public’s perceptions (occasionally even fictional portrayals) can spur regulatory efforts. This leads to the need for a thorough and continuing assessment of the risks posed by modern biotechnology. Inadequate or minimal risk assessment might expedite development in the short term but has potential negative long-term security and economic consequences. Industry and the technical community also often have a large role in setting regulatory policy, especially when well-crafted incentives are incorporated into the regulations. Such incentives might actually lead to enhanced innovation while poorly designed incentives can actually reduce safety and security. Any regulations should be as agile and flexible as the technology they regulate and when applied to biotechnologies they will need a new framework for thinking and implementing. The new framework should consider biotechnology as a technology and not simply a science since it is an extremely complex and adaptive system. This suggests the need to invest in social and political systems, rather than exclusively in technology, as a part of maintaining not only robust, but agile regulation. Modeling and simulations to illustrate how the biotech ecosystem might respond to new policies may be a promising approach to crafting regulations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improving tide-estuary representation in MPAS-Ocean (Final Report)

The overarching goal of this research is to produce a skill-assessed tide-estuary representation, including BGC (biogeochemistry) components of the ecosystem, into the MPAS-O global climate modeling system. Specifically, in the original proposal we proposed one-way nesting, into global MPAS-O, of a high-resolution model for TES (tidal and estuary systems) including the coupling of the BGC components. We have completed the proposed tasks during the past 4 years. Specifically, after extensive consultation with the MPAS-O group during the first year, we have decided to go beyond the original proposal and to two-way nest SCHISM into MPAS-O. As a result, SCHISM-CoSiNE (with CoSiNE being the BGC model) is now fully integrated into MPAS-O as a subroutine (more precisely, an analysis member) and can be invoked as MPAS-O is running with two-way exchange of information between the TES and global models (with proper spatial interpolation done on the fly). As originally proposed, we have also developed the new finite-volume (FV) model MPAS-OI (aka ELCIRC-sub) for TES. We have conducted several tests using the coupled MPAS-SCHISM- CoSiNE model and also MPAS-OI for Columbia River, San Francisco Bay and Chesapeake Bay. Four journal publications have been produced so far as the result of the project and 1 is under review (cf. Publication section). With these achievements, we will be ready to conduct fully coupled simulations of TES and global ocean anywhere, as soon as some missing capabilities in MPAS-O (e.g. tides, improved ability to handle the boundary conditions, and streamlining of the global BGC model) are worked out. The significance of the outcome of this project cannot be overstated. It marks the first time, as far as we know, that a global climate model is tightly coupled to a bona fide nearshore and terrestrial model (SCHISM system); in fact SCHISM is the first bona fide compound flooding model that seamlessly covers the coastal ocean, estuaries, rivers and watersheds (Ye et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2020). The coupled model will reduce the errors and uncertainties of the MPAS-O global climate model system. It also complements and extends on-going E3SM project, as the latter seeks in the long-term to include components required to simulate impacts of sea-level change and storm surge on coastal regions, including wave models and focusing resolution in coastal and storm-track regions, as an important component of the Cryosphere-ocean system. Note that a spectral wave model (the unstructured-grid version of Wave Watch III, aka Wind Wave Model) is already incorporated inside the SCHISM system and is therefore directly accessible in the coupled system.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Deep learning techniques to disentangle water use efficiency, climate change, and carbon sequestration across ecosystem scales

Focal Areas: We plan to use machine learning (ML) to disentangle the impact of climate change on plant water use efficiency (WUE) across the leaf level, structured canopy, and community ecosystem scales. Due to the complex behavior of modeling plant WUE’s connection to carbon storage (and hidden co-varying interactions) we suggest that physics-based deep learning must be utilized. The second topic we propose is, based on a better understanding of WUE response to climate change, there is a need to predict how WUE will limit or enhance the recycling of water from transpiration by vegetation back to the land surface worldwide, and thus impact water storage capacity (i.e., natural and reservoirs), using machine learning optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding the impacts of elevated CO2 and vapor pressure deficit on tree mortality - CRADA 599 (Abstract)

Many studies have examined the effects of rising CO2 on gas exchange and growth of plants. However, concurrent with the rise in CO2 has been the rise in temperature and associated drying of the atmosphere, or vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which increases tree mortality. Little attention has been given to the net outcome of these antagonistic drivers of plant performance. The net balance of rising CO2 and VPD upon plant and ecosystem function is possibly the largest uncertainty in model projections of the terrestrial carbon and water cycles. The purpose of this CRADA is to improve our predictive understanding of tree mortality under our changing environment. We will collaborate with WSU to provide a mechanistic understanding of the relative impacts of CO2 and VPD on tree mortality that scales across the globe. Ultimately, we will understand the potential impacts and mechanisms underlying CO2 and VPD responses and will enable improved prediction of future tree mortality.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

CMIP7 data request: land and land ice priorities and opportunities

The Land and Land Ice Theme in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 7 (CMIP7) represents the current understanding of physical processes in land surface ecosystems, hydrology, cryosphere, and their physical interactions with other Earth system components. Simulations from Earth system models (ESMs) could provide crucial information for assessing planetary safety, such as critical tipping elements, and be used to inform climate risks for improving climate impact assessments and policy decisions. This paper presents a collaborative effort to identify scientific opportunities in the Land and Land Ice Theme of the CMIP7 Data Request. The proposed opportunities build upon advances in ESMs, including new freshwater system and land ice processes being included in CMIP7, as well as the scientific community's demand for high-frequency and sub-grid-scale land surface outputs. In total, 25 variable groups that contain 716 variables have been identified to be potentially available to the broad scientific audience for performing analysis in land–atmosphere coupling, hydrological processes and freshwater systems, glacier and ice sheet mass balance and their influence on the sea levels, land use, and plant phenology. Key reflections from this data request effort include advocacy for closer engagement between the user community and modeling groups, reduction in the technical barriers to tracking existing parameters and defining new variables, and more streamlined variable management. These will be essential to enhance the usability and reliability of CMIP7 outputs for climate and Earth system research and applications to a broad audience that relies on the CMIP7 endeavor.

Li, Yue [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (Uni↗
NASA NTRS2003

Biogeochemistry of hypersaline microbial mats illustrates the dynamics of modern microbial ecosystems and the early evolution of the biosphere

Photosynthetic microbial mats are remarkably complete self-sustaining ecosystems at the millimeter scale, yet they have substantially affected environmental processes on a planetary scale. These mats may be direct descendents of the most ancient biological communities in which even oxygenic photosynthesis might have developed. Photosynthetic mats are excellent natural laboratories to help us to learn how microbial populations associate to control dynamic biogeochemical gradients.

Ecosystem↗
NASA NTRS2004

Spatially Complete Global Surface Albedos Derived from Terra/MODIS Data

Spectral land surface albedo is an important parameter for describing the radiative properties of the Earth. Accordingly it reflects the consequences of natural and human interactions, such as anthropogenic, meteorological, and phenological effects, on global and local climatological trends. Consequently, albedos are integral parts in a variety of research areas, such as general circulation models (GCMs), energy balance studies, modeling of land use and land use change, and biophysical, oceanographic, and meteorological studies. Recent production of land surface anisotropy, diffuse bihemispherical (white-sky) albedo and direct beam directional hemispherical (black-sky) albedo from observations acquired by the MODIS instruments aboard NASA s Terra and Aqua satellite platforms have provided researchers with unprecedented spatial, spectral, and temporal information on the land surface's radiative characteristics. Cloud cover, which cutails retrievals, and the presence of ephemeral and seasonal snow limit the snow-free data to approximately half the global land surfaces on an annual equal-angle basis. This precludes the MOD43B3 albedo products from being used in some remote sensing and ground-based applications, climate models, and global change research projects. An ecosystem-dependent temporal interpolation technique is described that has been developed to fill missing or seasonally snow-covered data in the official MOD43B3 albedo product. The method imposes pixel-level and local regional ecosystem-dependent phenological behavior onto retrieved pixel temporal data in such a way as to maintain pixel-level spatial and spectral detail and integrity. The phenological curves are derived from statistics based on the MODIS MOD12Q1 IGBP land cover classification product geolocated with the MOD43B3 data. The resulting snow-free value-added products provide the scientific community with spatially and temporally complete global white- and black-sky surface albedo maps and statistics. These products are stored on 1'(approximately 10 km) and coarser resolution equal-angle grids, and are computed for the first seven MODIS wavelengths, ranging from 0.47 through 2.1 microns, and for three broadband wavelengths, 0.3-0.7,0.3-5.0 and 0.7-5.0 microns.

King, Michael D.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Twentieth Century Redistribution in Climatic Drivers of Global Tree Growth

Energy and water limitations of tree growth remain insufficiently understood at large spatiotemporal scales, hindering model representation of interannual or longer-term ecosystem processes. By assessing and statistically scaling the climatic drivers from 2710 tree-ring sites, we identified the boreal and temperate land areas where tree growth during 1930–1960 CE responded positively to temperature (20.8 ± 3.7 Mio km2; 25.9 ± 4.6%), precipitation (77.5 ± 3.3 Mio km2; 96.4 ± 4.1%), and other parameters. The spatial manifestation of this climate response is determined by latitudinal and altitudinal temperature gradients, indicating that warming leads to geographic shifts in growth limitations. We observed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in temperature response at cold-dry sites between 1930–1960 and 1960–1990 CE, and the total temperature-limited area shrunk by −8.7 ± 0.6 Mio km2. Simultaneously, trees became more limited by atmospheric water demand almost worldwide. These changes occurred under mild warming, and we expect that continued climate change will trigger a major redistribution in growth responses to climate.

Babst, Flurin↗
DOE OSTI2019

Land carbon models underestimate the severity and duration of drought’s impact on plant productivity

The ability to precisely predict ecosystem drought response and recovery is necessary to produce reliable forecasts of land carbon uptake and future climate. Using a suite of models from the Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP), we assessed modeled net primary productivity (NPP) response to, and recovery from, drought events against a benchmark derived from tree ring observations between 1948 and 2008 across forested regions of the US and Europe. We find short lag times (0–6 months) between climate anomalies and modeled NPP response. Even though models accurately simulate the direction of drought legacy effects (i.e. NPP decreases), projected effects are approximately four times shorter and four times weaker than observations suggest. This discrepancy between observed and simulated vegetation recovery from drought reveals a potential critical model deficiency. Since productivity is a crucial component of the land carbon balance, models that underestimate drought recovery time could overestimate predictions of future land carbon sink strength and, consequently, underestimate forecasts of atmospheric CO 2 .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2019

Land carbon models underestimate the severity and duration of drought’s impact on plant productivity

The ability to accurately predict ecosystem drought response and recovery is necessary to produce reliable forecasts of land carbon uptake and future climate. Using a suite of models from the Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP), we assessed modeled net primary productivity (NPP) response to, and recovery from, drought events against a benchmark derived from tree ring observations between 1948 and 2008 across forested regions of the US and Europe. We find short lag times (0–6 months) between climate anomalies and modeled NPP response. Although models accurately simulate the direction of drought legacy effects (i.e. NPP decreases), projected effects are approximately four times shorter and four times weaker than observations suggest. This discrepancy between observed and simulated vegetation recovery from drought reveals a potential critical model deficiency. Since productivity is a crucial component of the land carbon balance, models that underestimate drought recovery time could overestimate predictions of future land carbon sink strength and, consequently, underestimate forecasts of atmospheric CO2.

carbon cycle↗