The effects of selective logging in Argentinean native subtropical forests or its replacement by pine plantations on carbon and hydrological cycles is of importance for developing strategies for a sustainable use of water resources and climate mitigation in subtropical humid regions. Ecosystem-level gross primary productivity (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) were assessed

Understanding the key processes and potential mechanisms of crops in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and drought may further shed lights on the impacts of climate change on the global agriculture ecosystems. This study examined the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on the growth of winter wheat under different soil water conditions (full irrigation, mild water stress

This study compared the energy budget components of latent heat flux (LE), sensible heat flux (H), net radiation (Rn) and ground heat flux (G) between an undisturbed bog and an adjacent abandoned peatland pasture within the same peatland complex in western Newfoundland, Canada. The analysis was based on the period of April 2014 to August 2015 when measurements were concurrent at both sites, thus encompassing

Phenology is an important indicator of the biological responses to climate change, and previous studies have reported divergent phenological responses of grasslands in Inner Mongolia from the analyses of in-situ measurements and satellite observations; thus, robust phenology models are required to understand and simulate the relationship between ecosystems and climate change. However, phenology models

Timely and accurate crop monitoring and yield forecasting before harvesting are valuable for precision management, policy and decision making, and marketing. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of fusing spectral and structural information extracted from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based images in the whole growth period of rice to improve the grain yield prediction. A UAV platform

Altered precipitation regimes and increased temperatures can enhance wildfire risk, particularly in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. Since these ecosystems occupy a third of the earth's land area, the immediate loss of carbon and the post fire reduction in carbon sequestration will significantly affect regional and global carbon budgets. However, there are few studies that quantify the recovery of ecosystem

Wine production is intricately dependant on the evolution of weather conditions in a given year. Therefore, seasonal weather forecasts coupled with empirical wine production models can play a critical role in the short to medium-term management of vineyards and wineries. The implementation of suitable and timely adaptation measures based on predicted wine productions may contribute to risk reduction

The main feed crops on dairy farms in the northeastern U.S. are alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). Projected changes in climate along with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration will affect future production of these crops. We evaluated maize and alfalfa yield and evapotranspiration response to CO2 enrichment predicted by three process-based cropping system models

Continuous N2O flux acquisition is crucial to enrich our knowledge of the complex mechanisms underlying the annual greenhouse gas budget and to refine their estimation. N2O flux measurement methodologies at high temporal resolution, i.e. micro-meteorology methodologies, are still scarce and may exacerbate the lack of important data, especially during the night if the required turbulent conditions are

Snowmelt is a major source for summer soil water storage that supports tree growth in the Mediterranean climate of the Sierra Nevada, California. The timing and magnitude of snow-water contributions to soil moisture are controlled by energy and water availability that varies based on climate (and thus weather) and topography (i.e. elevation, slope, and aspect). Few studies, thus far, have explored

The influence of landscape features on the occurrence and size of forest fires in Northern Europe has not been well-studied. In this paper, we analyzed the impact of human-related landscape properties (road and human population density), biotic features (amount of firebreak area and vegetation zone) and fire weather indices (Buildup Index, BUI and Initial Spread Index, ISI) on the occurrence and size

Heat waves are problematic for grazing livestock systems in regions dependant on temperate (cool-season) pasture species, owing to the often minimal heat tolerance (thermotolerance) of these pastures. A field experiment in north-west Tasmania, Australia, tested the hypothesis irrigating more frequently reduces detrimental heat wave effects on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) above-ground growth

Characterization of LWD (Leaf Wetness Duration) is essential when simulating the spread of phytopathogenic fungi. No standard for leaf wetness measurement exists and a wide range of sensors and models are currently available for estimating LWD. While the vast majority of models use hourly climate data (temperature, relative humidity, etc.) this time step is not widely available in historical records

This study investigates the spatiotemporal relationships between growing season precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature anomalies on yield for corn (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), cotton (Gossypium), peanut (arachis hypogaea), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) crops in the southeastern United States (SEUS). Detrended county-level yield data (1981–2018) were analyzed alongside

Alpine grassland ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is highly sensitive to climate change and plays a critical role in terrestrial carbon cycle. However, the long-term responses of alpine grassland ecosystem carbon fluxes to climate change at different growth stages and their controlling mechanisms have not been well understood. In this study, we quantified the spatial and temporal variations of

Predictions of hydrological states and fluxes, especially transpiration, are poorly constrained in hydrological models due to large uncertainties in parameterization and process description. Novel technologies like remote sensing of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)—which provides information from the photosynthetic apparatus—may help in constraining water cycle components. This paper discusses

Assimilating remote sensing data with crop growth model is a promising method to estimate crop yields over a large area. However, the method is always subject to the problems with biases in remote sensing products and assimilation weights in practical applications. In this study, we demonstrated the robustness of a ‘spatial assimilation’ method in dealing with the biases in three different remote sensing

One of the key strategies to alleviate negative impacts of climate change on crop production is the development of new cultivars better adapted to the conditions expected in the future. Despite the role of legumes as protein sources, medium- and long-term strategies currently debated mainly focus on agricultural policies and on improved management practices, whereas ideotyping studies using climate

The Common Land Model (CoLM) has been widely used to estimate carbon and water fluxes at site or regional scales, but the model is still underperforming in dryland ecosystems. Our research focuses on the joint analysis of both modifying the model process and using parameter optimization techniques to improve the model's performance in a semi-arid grassland ecosystem in Xinjiang, China. The study presents

This study aims to ascertain the uncertainties related to the spatiotemporal estimation of net radiation, and its components, using remote sensing data. Geographical focus is an irrigated agricultural hotspot of the Brazilian semiarid region, for which we also investigate the impact that contrasting land-cover types have on the upwelling radiation balance components, and hence on net radiation. Instantaneous

Drought-induced dieback episodes are globally reported among forest ecosystems but they have been understudied in scrublands. Chronically-stressed individuals are supposed to be more vulnerable prior to drought which triggers death. We analyzed drought-triggered dieback and mortality events affecting Mediterranean Juniperus phoenicea scrublands in two sites with contrasting climate and soil conditions

Climate warming has induced substantial advances in the onset of vegetation green-up in the northern hemisphere during recent decades. To date, however, the temporal changes in green-up date have not been adequately explained by the statistical relationships between green-up date and climatic factors, posing challenges in the attribution and prediction of phenological change. In this study, we thus

The objective of the following paper is to identify weather-related thresholds for wildfire danger, i.e., the potential extent of fire, based on local weather conditions. The target area is Greece, a wildfire prone Mediterranean country which experienced on average 2000 wildfires annually over the last two decades. Initially, the Fire Weather Index (FWI) component of the Canadian Fire Weather Index

Knowledge of the dynamics of methane (CH4) fluxes across coastal freshwater forested wetlands, such as those found in the southeastern US remains limited. In the current study, we look at the spectral properties of ecosystem net CH4 exchange (NEECH4) time series, and its cospectral behavior with key environmental conditions (temperature (Ts5), water table (WTD) and atmospheric pressure (Pa)) and physiological

In a drip-irrigated vineyard soil evaporation (E) can reach up to 30-40% of the seasonal grapevine crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Vineyard soil management can be used as a technique to reduce soil E for improving crop water use efficiency. The aim of this experiment was to analyze the effect of using pruning waste as an organic mulching on vineyard ETc. During three experimental seasons, several cycles

The goal of this study was to determine the topographically induced pattern of ground vegetation in managed Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands on inland dunes and to link the pattern to the spatial variation of environmental agents (microclimatic and soil conditions). The study was conducted in the Toruń Basin (N. Poland), which is located in one of the biggest inland dune fields of the European

Ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented climate change during the past decades, which drove evident shifts in ecosystem states, processes and functions. Understanding ecosystem stability is critical for accurately assessing and predicting ecosystem state shifts when exposed to climate fluctuations. Here, we disentangled and evaluated the dimensionality of ecosystem stability in terms of productivity

The length of the wildfire season has become longer in many regions around the world under climate change. This study investigated changes in fire season pattern (i.e., the number of separate periods of a year when wildfires are most likely to ignite, spread, and affect resources) and the contributions of climate change in Daxing'anling, Northeast China. An expanded fire dataset in both spatial and

On vegetation-covered land surfaces, tree transpiration, compared to soil and canopy evaporation, is a major process that sends large amounts of water back to the atmosphere. While the driving forces of tree transpiration have been studied over a range of tree species across an array of ecosystems, no work has been done on balsam fir and black spruce in the humid boreal forest of eastern Canada.We

Present investigations aimed at developing a unified cumulative degree day based model approach allowing for (i) a precise simulation of grapevine phenological development of a broad range of cultivars and (ii) a classification of the cultivar specific relative precocity of different cultivars at different stages of grape development. Based on a long-term (7-year) data set of high-resolution phenological

Atmospheric precipitation removes the majority of biological and chemical pollutants from the lower parts of the troposphere. However, some studies infer increasing atmospheric pollen concentrations during precipitation events and/or thunderstorms, which are known to trigger allergic reactions (referred to as thunderstorm-triggered asthma). The aim of this study was to determine the impacts of precipitation

Plants rely on spectral cues present in their surroundings, generated by the constantly changing light environment, to guide their growth and reproduction. Photoreceptors mediate the capture of information by plants from the light environment over a wide range of wavelengths, but despite extensive evidence that plants respond to various light cues, only fragmentary data have been published showing

Understanding the drivers of net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) between forests and the atmosphere is crucial for the prediction of future global carbon dynamics. We therefore analyzed the long-term (1999–2014) ecosystem carbon fluxes of a mixed coniferous/deciduous forest (Brasschaat forest) in the Campine ecoregion of Belgium. The carbon uptake of this forest increased over the 16-year study

Current crop models usually need a lot of input information to simulate crop leaf area index and have relatively large simulation errors under soil water stress, which need to be improved. In this study, based on experiments conducted in glass soil columns and field under rainout shelters in four years (2012-2016) in Yangling, Shaanxi Province in China, we attempted to establish a dynamic model for

More frequent and severe disturbances increasingly open the forest canopy and initiate tree regeneration. Simultaneously, increasing weather extremes, such as drought and heat, are threatening species adapted to cool and moist climate. The magnitude of the microclimatic buffering capacity of forest canopies to mitigate hot and dry weather conditions and its disturbance-induced reduction remains poorly

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water cycle and surface energy balance system. Accurate measurements and estimations of ET can be used to manage and allocate regional water resources and in agricultural water management under climate change. Satellite-based ET models extrapolate site ET values to regional scales, but there are uncertainties in their simulations. In this study

The frequency of recurrence of drought has major societal, economical, and environmental impacts. However, our ability to capture drought conditions accurately are limited due to the uncertainties in current drought indices. In the present study, we proposed a Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) total water storage (TWS) based drought severity index (DSI) using the detrended GRACE-TWS time

Australia is one of the top wheat exporting countries in the world and the reliable prediction of wheat production plays a key role in ensuring regional and global food security. However, wheat yield in Australia is highly exposed to the impacts of climate variability, especially seasonal rainfall, as wheat is mostly grown in the drylands. Previous studies showed that El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Stem water content (θ) is an important state variable in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC), and varies temporally and spatially in response to environmental factors and plant growth stages. However, it is difficult to measure θ distribution in living trees in a manner that is not destructive. In this study, temporal and spatial variations in θ within living tree stems were examined based on

The objective of this work was to study the effect of the decrease in incident solar radiation on leaf senescence, its consequence on the fraction of radiation intercepted by the leaves and on the grain and oil yield in sunflower. Five field experiments were conducted in Balcarce, with three hybrids, maintaining non limiting soil water conditions and nutritional status, and controlling weeds and insects

Seasonal climate forecasts can improve the accuracy of early-season estimates of crop yield and influence seasonal crop management decisions. Climate forecasting centres around the globe now routinely run global climate models (GCMs) to provide ensemble forecasts. However, raw GCM forecasts require post-processing to improve their reliability and to enable systematic integration with crop models. Post-processing

Climate change will likely intensify water shortages, so more attention should be given to the efficient use of agricultural water in agricultural production, especially under rainfed conditions. Therefore, studying and understanding crop water consumption amounts and patterns is of great importance. However, the amount of water consumed by the component crops in strip intercropping systems has received

The boreal biome accounts for approximately one third of the terrestrial carbon (C) sink. However, estimates of its individual C pools remain uncertain. Here, focusing on the southern boreal forest, we quantified the magnitude and temporal dynamics of C allocation to aboveground tree growth at a mature black spruce (Picea mariana)-dominated forest stand in Saskatchewan, Canada. We reconstructed aboveground

Tree heights are pivotal for assessing forest ecology and carbon management, but conventional field methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive, making them impractical for regional monitoring and long-term repeated measurements. Retrieving surface height (digital surface model, DSM) from point cloud data using a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been a prevailing technology. With the availability

We explored the inter-individual variability in bud-burst and its potential drivers, in homogeneous mature stands of temperate deciduous trees. Phenological observations of leaves and wood formation were performed weekly from summer 2017 to summer 2018 for pedunculate oak, European beech and silver birch in Belgium. The variability of bud-burst was correlated to previous’ year autumn phenology (i.e

Time series of stem diameter variations (SDVs) recorded by dendrometers are composed of two components: (i) irreversible radial stem growth and (ii) reversible stem shrinking and swelling caused by dynamics in water storage in elastic tissues outside the cambium. However, SDVs measured over dead outer bark (periderm) could also be affected by absorption and evaporation of water from remaining dead

Soil vegetation atmosphere transport (SVAT) models are important for the quantification of water fluxes, soil water availability, drought stress and their uncertainties under climate change. We present LWFBrook90R, an enhanced implementation of the well-established, process-based SVAT model LWF-Brook90 for the R environment for statistical computing. The package provides new functions and sub-models

Eddy-covariance based carbon flux datasets spanning decades are becoming available worldwide due to the effort of associated scientists. Tall tower based monitoring stations are relatively rare, but provide important information about the carbon balance of a larger region surrounding the tower. In this study we report and analyze the 21-year-long dataset provided by the Hungarian tall tower site, Hegyhátsál

The addition of measurements of downward-looking infrared surface temperature to the standard suite of Bowen Ratio Energy Balance observations permits a direct examination of the adequacy of fetch. Furthermore, when the observed rates of change of surface temperature are examined (using multiple regression) in the light of the total turbulent heat exchange (the sum of sensible and latent heats) and

An experiment was conducted to assess a modified Priestley and Taylor calculation (developed in a companion paper) that utilises surface temperature (Ts) to estimate evapotranspiration (ETMPT) and to assess the benefits of variable rate irrigation (VRI) based on ETMPT measurements. A ryegrass seed field with Low, Mid and High available water capacity soil zones was used. Four replicates of two irrigation