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Response of Net Ecosystem Productivity of Three Boreal Forest Stands to Drought

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Abstract

In 2001–03, continuous eddy covariance measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) flux were made above mature boreal aspen, black spruce, and jack pine forests in Saskatchewan, Canada, prior to and during a 3−year drought. During the 1st drought year, ecosystem respiration (R) was reduced at the aspen site due to the drying of surface soil layers. Gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) increased as a result of a warm spring and a slow decrease of deep soil moisture. These conditions resulted in the highest annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in the 9 years of flux measurements at this site. During 2002 and 2003, a reduction of 6% and 34% in NEP, respectively, compared to 2000 was observed as the result of reductions in both R and GEP, indicating a conservative response to the drought. Although the drought affected most of western Canada, there was considerable spatial variability in summer rainfall over the 100−km extent of the study area; summer rainfalls in 2001 and 2002 at the two conifer sites minimized the impact of the drought. In 2003, however, precipitation was similarly low at all three sites. Due to low topographic position and consequent poor drainage at the black spruce site and the coarse soil with low water-holding capacity at the jack pine site almost no reduction in R, GEP, and NEP was observed at these two sites. This study shows that the impact of drought on carbon sequestration by boreal forest ecosystems strongly depends on rainfall distribution, soil characteristics, topography, and the presence of vegetation that is well adapted to these conditions.

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AcknowledgEments

Financial support was provided by the Climate Research Branch of the Meteorological Service of Canada, the Canadian Forest Service, Parks Canada, the Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change, the Program of Energy Research and Development, the Climate Change Action Fund, through funding for the Fluxnet Canada Research Network (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, BioCap Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Science), by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.We sincerely thank Barry Goodison and Bob Stewart for their support and encouragement. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance, support, and suggestions of Dell Bayne, Bruce Cole, Joe Eley, Steve Enns, Charmaine Hrynkiw, Rachhpal Jassal, Rick Ketler, Shawn O’Neil, Andrew Sauter, Dave Wieder, and two anonymous reviewers.

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Author notes

  1. N. Kljun

    Present address: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstr. 16, ETH Zentrum, CH-8092, CHN, Zurich, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biometeorology Group, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    N. Kljun, T. A. Black, D. Gaumont-Guay, K. Morgenstern & Z. Nesic

  2. Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA

    T. J. Griffis

  3. Meteorological Service of Canada, 11 Innovation Blvd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 3H5, Canada

    A. G. Barr

  4. Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada

    J. H. McCaughey

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  1. N. Kljun
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Correspondence to N. Kljun.

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Kljun, N., Black, T.A., Griffis, T.J. et al. Response of Net Ecosystem Productivity of Three Boreal Forest Stands to Drought. Ecosystems 9, 1128–1144 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0082-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0082-x

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