Photosynthetic C18OO fractionation (Δ18O) has been used to estimate mesophyll conductance (gm) in C3 and C4 species. However, this requires knowledge of the degree of isotopic equilibration (θr) between leaf water and the CO2 molecules penetrating the leaf interior and re-escaping without being assimilated (Fretro). Here, we re-examine the theory of Δ18O-gm estimation and its sensitivity to changes

Predicting the influence of worldwide drought on forests remains constrained by lacking of mechanistic understanding of trait interactions in defining physiological dysfunction under water stress, particularly with respect to the interaction between plant stomatal regulation and hydraulics. In this study, we investigated key stomatal and hydraulic traits of leaves and stems for 17 temperate woody species

Prolonging drought periods and more extreme heatwaves limit tree species adaptation to environmental changes. Silver fir (Abies alba, Mill.) has been considered one of the species suitable for forest ecosystem adaptation and mitigation strategies in future climate conditions. Here, we present a dendroecological study of the joint effects of droughts and heatwaves on the radial growth of silver fir

Frequent and intense adverse weather resulting from climate change can lead to high fluctuations in crop yields. However, sowing dates can be adjusted to avoid adverse weather and thereby mitigate crop yield fluctuation. To elucidate the relationship between the sowing date and fluctuations in maize (Zea mays L.) yield, this study evaluated the effect of weather conditions, including adverse weather

Haloxylon ammodendron as a key sand - fixing tree species in the oasis - desert ecotone of arid regions, its degradation seriously threatens regional ecological security. In this study, by integrating heat diffusion technology, isotope tracing, and multi - environmental factor monitoring, the water - use strategies of H. ammodendron forests with different degradation degrees and their response mechanisms

Root water uptake and leaf-level intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) and their temporal variations are important determinates of plant water balance and carbon fixation, yet these processes in humid forest trees are much less explored. We investigated the monthly variations in xylem and soil water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H), leaf carbon isotope (δ13C), soil, xylem and leaf water contents as well as the

Climate has a profound impact on crop productivity, but its effects are difficult to measure due to significant spatial and temporal variability. This study explores a wide range of climatic indices that represent the various conditions affecting corn growth across the United States. By employing clustering techniques, we categorized rainfed corn-growing regions into distinct zones based on similar

Knowledge of the vertical plant area index (PAI) profile is critical for understanding the forest structural and functional characteristics. Vertical PAI profile has been retrieved by the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne LiDAR. However, large-scale validation of the GEDI PAI profile products is limited, and their performance has yet to be clearly established. This study aims

Eddy covariance (EC) measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes are commonly used to determine CO2 balances of ecosystems. However, comparisons between experimental treatments, environmental controls or measurement sites are not meaningful without proper uncertainty estimates for the balances. We studied how random and systematic errors depend on the amount of missing data and whether the uncertainty

The Grain for Green Project in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) has greatly increased vegetation cover and altered land use patterns. However, the effects of evapotranspiration (ET) from different vegetation types on local and downwind precipitation remain unclear. In this study, we employed a moisture tracking model to quantify the contributions of ET-driven moisture recycling to precipitation change

Iceland’s natural woodlands are dominated by the downy birch (Betula pubescens), while the dwarf birch (B. nana) is common in shrublands. These two species are the local sources of allergenic pollen that, however, may also be transported from outside Iceland (distant sources). This study aims to detect long-distance pollen transport, elucidate its mechanisms, and assess the relative contributions of

The vapor pressure deficit (VPD), an indicator of atmospheric dryness, is a critical environmental factor influencing terrestrial ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET), with the energy required for ET being supplied by latent heat flux (LE). VPD significantly affects regional and global climate systems by altering surface energy allocation. Under ongoing global warming, VPD is expected to increase continuously

Understanding the responses of vegetation phenology to climate change is of great importance in predicting land-atmosphere carbon and water exchange. Previous studies have revealed a delayed start of the growing season (SOS) in most African regions over the past three decades, contrasting with the advancing trend observed in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the climatic drivers of this SOS delay in

The moisture content of litter, woody debris and living vegetation controls the ignition and spread of fires and the composition of fire emissions. Since many forests in Central Europe were not considered fire-prone, very few observations and knowledge about fuel moisture content (FMC) are available. In this study, we aim to evaluate the representativeness of (i) continuous FMC measurements from in

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of drought episodes, altering regional aridity levels. Previous studies have focused on the temporary impacts of seasonal drought on nocturnal sap flow, but how long-term site aridity levels and species-specific stomatal behaviors influence nocturnal sap flow remains unclear. Here, we monitored sap flux density and relevant environmental factors

Agrivoltaics (AVs) has emerged as a promising solution to address the competing demands for land, energy, and food production within the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) nexus. However, its effects depend on climate, crops and local conditions, requiring large-scale models capable of capturing these variations. For this purpose, our study introduces a new regional-scale AV model, at the interface

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, where most of the interactions between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface occur. Within this layer, the air movements and the turbulent processes facilitate the dispersion and transport of particles. This work quantifies the effect of ABL-dynamics related variables on the surface pollen concentrations in the city of Granada

Fire severity, or how an environment is affected by fire, can be estimated over large areas using remotely sensed indices like the Relative Burnt Ratio (RBR). RBR predictions typically rely on data from a single date just before the fire. However, predicting RBR accurately in both time and space remains challenging. To improve RBR predictability, we developed new models using time series data spanning

This study uses multi-source, multi-temporal remote sensing imagery to compare the effects of invasive Heterotheca subaxillaris and Acacia saligna and natural vegetation on microclimate conditions in Israeli coastal plain. The overall accuracy of the classification and mapping of invasive species and other land covers was 85 %, with optimal performance observed using late autumn imagery. Among the

Understanding of the carbon cycling in subtropical humid alpine meadows is still limited due to the scarcity of observations in this area. It is crucial to quantify the temporal dynamics and factors influencing CO2 fluxes in order to predict ecosystems CO2 budgets accurately under climate change. This study utilized 11 years (2012–2022) of eddy covariance observation data to investigate CO2 fluxes

Root: shoot (RS) ratios are widely used to estimate global and regional forest carbon stocks and to model the forest carbon cycle. However, limited knowledge is available regarding factors that determine RS spatial patterns, particularly in high-latitude temperate regions. Therefore, in this study, we compiled 189 measurements of forest RSs across Northeast China to evaluate the main drivers of RS

Global warming has significantly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as drought and drought-flood abrupt alternation (DFAA). Vegetation, a crucial component of terrestrial ecosystems, contributes greatly to agricultural production and economic development. Assessing the impacts of droughts and DFAA on vegetation is essential for ecological environment protection, food security

Subsurface drainage is a key loss pathway for water and nutrients from agricultural land in Eastern Canada. Winter is a dominant period of subsurface drainage and nutrient loss in cold climates. Under climate change, however, future winter drainage patterns may change significantly due to reductions in snow cover and soil freezing. This study evaluated the performance of four machine-learning (ML)

Studying growth declines and the factors that cause them, such as droughts or late spring frosts, is key to understanding their influence on forest productivity. However, most of the currently used methodologies to assess these events have drawbacks that can lead to erroneous conclusions. The increasing frequency and importance of these growth declines is linked to a higher climate variability and

Clouds and aerosols can increase canopy photosynthesis relative to clear-sky values through changes in total and diffuse solar radiation: the diffuse fertilization effect (DFE). DFE varies across observational sites due to (a) inconsistent definitions and quantifications of DFE, (b) unexplored relationships between DFE and cloudiness type, and (c) insufficient knowledge of the effect of site characteristics

Early-stage plant stress detection is a key measure for sustainable agriculture management. Mineral dust as an abiotic stressor affects the physical, chemical, and physiological characteristics of plants, which are linked to the plant's visible and near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance. However, considering the intensity of plant exposure to dust and associated spectral feedback remain unclear. This study

The sensitivity of vegetation productivity to precipitation (Sppt) is crucial for grasping how vegetation responds to changing precipitation and forecasting future shifts in ecosystem function. However, comprehensive assessment of Sppt globally is limited by specific technical defects or objective limitations, leading to a poor understanding of its spatial distribution and temporal variations. In this

The role of well-aerated forest soils as sinks for atmospheric methane (CH4) and their impact on mitigating climate warming have gained attention recently. However, there is a lack of continuous time series data on net soil CH4 flux in these forest soils, making annual budget estimates uncertain. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal variations and driving factors of soil CH4 uptake in

Accurate rice yield estimation is vital for agricultural planning and food security, especially in Northeast China, a key rice-producing region. This study presents an integrated framework combining multi-source remote sensing data, crop growth modeling, and deep learning techniques to enhance rice yield prediction accuracy. We utilized Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Sentinel-2

Static chamber-based flux measurements with gas chromatography are commonly used to estimate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from arable soils. The LI-COR 7820 N2O/H2O (LI-7820) enables higher-frequency in situ measurements, but side-by-side comparisons with traditional methods are limited. To address this gap, we compared non-steady-state chamber methods including non-flow-through (NFT) and flow-through

Process-based model simulation studies using legacy data can be used to expand LTAR (Long-Term Agroecosystem Research) enabling exploration of factors otherwise difficult to measure in the field. Management strategies to improve yield stability in response to long-term weather variability can be readily evaluated. MAIZSIM is a coupled crop and soil simulation model that simulates processes at an hourly

Responding to the urgent need for precise, one-month-ahead crop growth predictions in Central Southwestern Asia (CSWA), this study introduces a fully operational convolutional neural network (CNN)-climate dynamical hybrid model designed for real-time agricultural planning and management. It is engineered to accurately forecast the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a vital indicator of

Large solitary trees are keystone features for biodiversity in many urban and rural landscapes around the world. Yet, because of their isolation, they do not benefit from the buffering effect of neighbouring trees as in forests. As they are more exposed, solitary trees are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme droughts, heat waves, and wind gusts. Research on microclimates

This LETTER discusses metrics that can be used to quantify plant response to fluctuating elevated CO2 such as in Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) compared to that at constant elevated CO2, both with the same average elevated CO2 concentration. The concept of Reduction in CO2-stimulated uptake rate in oscillating elevated CO2 (Holtum and Winter, 2003), abbreviated as RCS, value = 0.33, is the FIRST METRIC

Previous studies have shown significant variation in drought effects on forest productivity, potentially linked to differing structural attributes among forest ecosystems. However, the influences of tree size and structural diversity, especially across different species, remain poorly understood. We analyzed large-scale forest survey data to examine the interactive effects of structural attributes

Prairie Pothole wetlands have large temporal changes in water status. The wetlands are often flooded, with water above the soil surface during the early growing season, while becoming dry during the later growing season or for years under strong drought. We used the eddy covariance technique to assess the potential for ecosystem carbon sequestration as a natural climate solution in a large Prairie

Vegetation, soil, and hydrological processes interact with each other in the Earth's ecosystem. The coupling of leaf area index (LAI) and evapotranspiration (ET), cor(LAI,ET), is a critical process for controlling water, carbon, and energy cycles during these interactions. However, current land surface models (LSMs) inadequately reproduce cor(LAI,ET) owing to plant water stress (β)-induced uncertainty

Experimental and observational evidence indicates that spring warming advances the green-up onset of woody plants, while winter warming delays it. However, evidence for herbaceous plants is limited, leaving a gap in our understanding of how their green-up onset respond to winter warming, which complicates predictions of phenological shifts under long-term climate change. Particularly in the alpine

An estimate of the gross primary productivity (GPP) of rice fields is instrumental for understanding both their harvest yield and landscape greenhouse gas dynamics. Rice contributes $1.7 billion annually to Arkansas’s economy, however, there is a lack of understanding of the spatial variation of rice’s GPP and its predictors. We employ the satellite-based vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM) to estimate

About half of Brazil’s water demand is for irrigation, which has expanded greatly in Central Brazil in the last several decades. This study aims to estimate the feedback of irrigation on the regional climate system. More specifically, we estimate the amount of water withdrawals for irrigation in four irrigation zones in Central Brazil reprecipitate locally and in downwind regions. First, we used satellite

This study presents an in-depth analysis of precipitation patterns, surface energy balance (SEB) components, and atmospheric vertical gradients (AVG) in the Huancayo Geophysical Observatory (HYGO) situated in an agricultural region inside the Mantaro valley within the central Andes of Peru, utilizing data from January 2018 to April 2022 and climatic-scale data from 1965 to 2018. Our findings reveal

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTFs) may act as considerable carbon sinks, regulating the atmospheric and terrestrial carbon storage and fluxes with implications for local, regional and global climates. In the Caatinga, an endemic Brazilian SDTF, the research on the magnitude of the CO2 sink is still incipient. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of observed CO2 fluxes using

Crop quality is a critical aspect of food security, impacting end-use applications and market competitiveness. There is a well-established understanding of the impacts of climate change on crop yields, while its impacts on crop quality are often overlooked. Given the critical role of wheat in global food security and the ongoing climate change, it is essential to explore the climate drivers in shaping

Restoration of degraded grasslands can enhance productivity and promote carbon and water cycling, but changes in energy fluxes and the partitioning of net radiation (Rn) during restoration remain poorly understood. Clarifying the role of vegetation structural and physiological regulations of energy partitioning in semiarid grasslands is critical for advancing our understanding of ecosystem functioning

Drought-related forest mortality or dieback is increasing with climate warming. Previous studies have showed canopy height was one of the most important factors that related to forest survival and growth under drought, but the mechanism of this canopy height-dependency is still unclear. Based on standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) data, gross primary productivity (GPP) data and

The authors regret that the acknowledgments section did not conform to the requirements of the funding agencies, and should read as follows:

Biochar is applied worldwide as an effective tool for improving rice yield and increasing soil carbon pools while contributing to greenhouse gas emission reduction. However, there is a knowledge gap concerning the effects of biochar application on rice yield, soil carbon pools, and greenhouse gas emissions in rice fields under varying environmental conditions. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive

Remote sensing estimation of aerial net primary production (ANPP) is a key challenge in precision agriculture and environmental monitoring. The Monteith model serves as the main conceptual frameworkin pastures.Sun-induced fluorescence (SIF), closely linked to photosynthesis, is a promising candidate for ANPP estimations when radiation use efficiency (RUE) undergoes physiological changes.

Climate change amplifies the frequency and severity of fires in tropical regions, particularly in savanna ecosystems. Amidst these changes, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of future fire risks in northern South American tropical savanna ecosystems under diverse climate scenarios. Utilizing a compounded-event framework, we not only assess but also predict fire risks in savannas under varying

Terrestrial ecosystems play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and provide vital ecosystem services such as food, energy, and raw materials. Climate change, through rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme events, threatens the carbon sink potential of these ecosystems, with forests and grasslands particularly at risk. Long-term data from flux tower networks offer valuable

Rising vapor pressure deficit (VPD) due to warming has increased global land surface soil evaporation (E), whereas reduced soil moisture (SM) from global drying has suppressed E. However, the relative contributions of these two factors to global E remain poorly understood, creating significant uncertainty regarding its long-term trends. This study constructed an E model that integrated physical processes

Canopy and ecosystem water use efficiency (WUET and WUEE) measure the trade-off between carbon gain and water loss at canopy and ecosystem scale respectively, and provide vital information for water resource management in drylands. But the assessment of environmental controls on WUET and WUEE on the decadal scale in drylands remains limited. Here, using eddy covariance (2014–2023) and sap-flow measurements

Integrating genomic prediction (GP) and biophysical crop models has the potential to support plant breeding in defining adapting strategies to climate change. However, whether this integrated approach can actually broaden the prediction domain to unexplored environments is still unclear. We showed how crop models can extend GP to new environments and capture genotype-specific response to future climate

Process-based models (PBMs) and artificial intelligence models (AIMs) are both widely used to simulate crop growth under various environmental conditions and farm management practices. PBMs offer the advantage of interpretable simulations due to their mechanistic underpinnings, but the latest insights from crop growth mechanism research are often not promptly incorporated into PBMs. Further, while

The seasonal dynamics and interannual variation of gross primary production (GPP, g C/m2/day) of evergreen needleleaf forest (ENF) are important but most of models underestimate ENF GPP. In this work, we selected three ENF sites with 10+ years of data from the eddy flux towers and investigated temporal dynamics of GPP, climate, and vegetation greenness (as measured by vegetation indices from MODIS