Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations

The pan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change. However, critical uncertainties remain regarding the relationship between vegetation photosynthesis and greenness and their climate sensitivities under accelerating climate change. Here, we conducted the first investigati...

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Main Authors: Mihang Jiang, Liangyun Liu, Xinjie Liu, Chu Zou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-12-01
Series:Ecological Informatics
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954125003218
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author Mihang Jiang
Liangyun Liu
Xinjie Liu
Chu Zou
author_facet Mihang Jiang
Liangyun Liu
Xinjie Liu
Chu Zou
author_sort Mihang Jiang
collection DOAJ
description The pan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change. However, critical uncertainties remain regarding the relationship between vegetation photosynthesis and greenness and their climate sensitivities under accelerating climate change. Here, we conducted the first investigation of their climate responses by synergistically analyzing solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), a direct indicator of photosynthesis from the GOME-2A satellite, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS observations during the summers of 2007–2021. Our results demonstrate that both photosynthesis and greenness exhibited increasing trends, where 70.05 % of the vegetation pixels showed a consistent change, but with significant differences in growth magnitudes. Specifically, the growth magnitudes of SIF and NDVI were 6.09 % and 3.31 %, respectively, with the increase in SIF being approximately twice that of NDVI. Mechanistically, the accelerated rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration (Δ33.27 ppm), and climate warming jointly enhanced the apparent SIFyield by 4.82 %, thereby directly amplifying SIF's stronger climate sensitivity. Structural equation modeling further quantified this disparity, revealing that SIF responded to climatic factors about 1.5 times stronger than NDVI. This study provides the first evidence from satellite SIF observations that vegetation photosynthesis exhibits larger growth magnitudes and more vigorous responses to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic ecosystems, suggesting a new perspective on the traditional NDVI-centered framework in climate impact assessment. By integrating vegetation structural and functional dynamics, our findings provide critical physiological benchmarks to refine carbon-climate feedback projections.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1574-9541
language English
publishDate 2025-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ecological Informatics
spelling doaj-art-39d6df340ff04700aaeb27e699f623492025-08-20T05:05:42ZengElsevierEcological Informatics1574-95412025-12-019010331210.1016/j.ecoinf.2025.103312Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observationsMihang Jiang0Liangyun Liu1Xinjie Liu2Chu Zou3Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing 100094, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing 100094, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China.Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing 100094, ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China; International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing 100094, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaThe pan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change. However, critical uncertainties remain regarding the relationship between vegetation photosynthesis and greenness and their climate sensitivities under accelerating climate change. Here, we conducted the first investigation of their climate responses by synergistically analyzing solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), a direct indicator of photosynthesis from the GOME-2A satellite, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS observations during the summers of 2007–2021. Our results demonstrate that both photosynthesis and greenness exhibited increasing trends, where 70.05 % of the vegetation pixels showed a consistent change, but with significant differences in growth magnitudes. Specifically, the growth magnitudes of SIF and NDVI were 6.09 % and 3.31 %, respectively, with the increase in SIF being approximately twice that of NDVI. Mechanistically, the accelerated rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration (Δ33.27 ppm), and climate warming jointly enhanced the apparent SIFyield by 4.82 %, thereby directly amplifying SIF's stronger climate sensitivity. Structural equation modeling further quantified this disparity, revealing that SIF responded to climatic factors about 1.5 times stronger than NDVI. This study provides the first evidence from satellite SIF observations that vegetation photosynthesis exhibits larger growth magnitudes and more vigorous responses to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic ecosystems, suggesting a new perspective on the traditional NDVI-centered framework in climate impact assessment. By integrating vegetation structural and functional dynamics, our findings provide critical physiological benchmarks to refine carbon-climate feedback projections.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954125003218Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)Climate changeGrowth magnitudesPan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems
spellingShingle Mihang Jiang
Liangyun Liu
Xinjie Liu
Chu Zou
Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
Ecological Informatics
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)
Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)
Climate change
Growth magnitudes
Pan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems
title Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
title_full Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
title_fullStr Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
title_full_unstemmed Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
title_short Stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan-Arctic region: First evidence from SIF satellite observations
title_sort stronger response of vegetation photosynthesis to climate change than greenness in pan arctic region first evidence from sif satellite observations
topic Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF)
Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)
Climate change
Growth magnitudes
Pan-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954125003218
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