Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems
Abstract The terrestrial carbon and water cycles are deeply intertwined, and their coupling is critical to shaping ecosystem processes and land-atmosphere feedback. Understanding how the carbon-water coupling (CWC) changes, which remains rarely explored, is essential for predicting eco-hydrological...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01059-z |
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| author | Fubo Zhao Wenbo Shi Jingfeng Xiao Meng Zhao Xing Li Yiping Wu |
| author_facet | Fubo Zhao Wenbo Shi Jingfeng Xiao Meng Zhao Xing Li Yiping Wu |
| author_sort | Fubo Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The terrestrial carbon and water cycles are deeply intertwined, and their coupling is critical to shaping ecosystem processes and land-atmosphere feedback. Understanding how the carbon-water coupling (CWC) changes, which remains rarely explored, is essential for predicting eco-hydrological responses to climate change. Here, using data from eddy covariance towers and remote sensing, we demonstrate a substantial decline in the CWC strength—measured as the correlation between gross primary production and evapotranspiration—across northern ecosystems over the past two decades. This weakening is primarily driven by rising CO₂ levels, with temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation playing secondary roles. Land surface models in the TRENDY project fail to capture this weakening synchronization, primarily due to their inadequate representation of the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 levels. The weakening of this synchronous variation between water and carbon may signify that the ecosystems are reshaping their eco-hydrological balances across the Northern Hemisphere. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-673f31d694cd44aba987a03f6b35864c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2397-3722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-673f31d694cd44aba987a03f6b35864c2025-08-20T02:10:49ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate and Atmospheric Science2397-37222025-04-018111010.1038/s41612-025-01059-zRecent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystemsFubo Zhao0Wenbo Shi1Jingfeng Xiao2Meng Zhao3Xing Li4Yiping Wu5Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong UniversityInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong UniversityEarth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New HampshireDepartment of Earth and Spatial Sciences, University of IdahoSchool of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen UniversityInstitute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong UniversityAbstract The terrestrial carbon and water cycles are deeply intertwined, and their coupling is critical to shaping ecosystem processes and land-atmosphere feedback. Understanding how the carbon-water coupling (CWC) changes, which remains rarely explored, is essential for predicting eco-hydrological responses to climate change. Here, using data from eddy covariance towers and remote sensing, we demonstrate a substantial decline in the CWC strength—measured as the correlation between gross primary production and evapotranspiration—across northern ecosystems over the past two decades. This weakening is primarily driven by rising CO₂ levels, with temperature, solar radiation, and precipitation playing secondary roles. Land surface models in the TRENDY project fail to capture this weakening synchronization, primarily due to their inadequate representation of the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 levels. The weakening of this synchronous variation between water and carbon may signify that the ecosystems are reshaping their eco-hydrological balances across the Northern Hemisphere.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01059-z |
| spellingShingle | Fubo Zhao Wenbo Shi Jingfeng Xiao Meng Zhao Xing Li Yiping Wu Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| title | Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| title_full | Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| title_short | Recent weakening of carbon-water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| title_sort | recent weakening of carbon water coupling in northern ecosystems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01059-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fubozhao recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems AT wenboshi recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems AT jingfengxiao recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems AT mengzhao recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems AT xingli recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems AT yipingwu recentweakeningofcarbonwatercouplinginnorthernecosystems |