Evaluation of trends in boreal forest CO2 exchange by novel satellite data analysis

Hemispheric satellite data analysis shows that increase in gross primary production of boreal forests across 1981-2018 is balanced out by increase in ecosystem respiration.

FMI-Space led investigation reveals that the variability in annual weather conditions affect more than earlier expected to the CO2 balance of evergreen boreal forests. In practice, increase in CO2 uptake (gross primary production) is balanced out by the concurrent increase of autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration by plants and soil.

The developed novel methodology combines landscape freeze-that status information retrieved from passive microwave radiometry, optical satellite data-based NDVI information on vegetation with in situ observations of CO2 fluxes from Eurasian and North American Eddy Covariance flux stations. The developed technique provides estimates on annual CO2 flux exchange independent of climate and ecosystem models.

Results show that during 2010’s winter period did not shorten anymore as in decades preceding it, resulting in a stable CO2 sink instead of a steadily increasing sink.

The research was carried out in co-operation with University of Helsinki, University of Eastern Finland, Finnish Environment Agency, Natural Resources Finland, Environment and Climate Change Canada, University of Montreal, Dalhousie University, University of Lundin, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Eesti Maaülikool and Max-Planck Institute.

More information

Research professor Jouni Pulliainen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, jouni.pulliainen@fmi.fi

Access the research: Remote Sensing of Environment

Reference:

Jouni Pulliainen, Mika Aurela, Tuula Aalto, Kristin Böttcher, Juval Cohen, Chris Derksen, Martin Heimann, Manuel Helbig, Pasi Kolari, Anna Kontu, Alisa Krasnova, Samuli Launiainen, Juha Lemmetyinen, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Anders Lindroth, Annalea Lohila, Kari Luojus, Ivan Mammarella, Tiina Markkanen, Elma Nevala, Steffen Noe, Matthias Peichl, Jukka Pumpanen, Kimmo Rautiainen, Miia Salminen, Oliver Sonnentag, Matias Takala, Tea Thum, Timo Vesala, Patrik Vestin, Increase in gross primary production of boreal forests balanced out by increase in ecosystem respiration, Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 313, 2024, 114376, ISSN 0034-4257, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114376