Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades

Abstract Projected increases in precipitation variability are expected to profoundly impact terrestrial vegetation productivity. Notably, the absolute change in ecosystem productivity to same amount of precipitation increase versus decrease may not be same. However, the generalization of this asymme...

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Main Authors: Licong Dai, Minqi Liang, Anping Chen, Guojiao Yang, Chuan Jin, Wenping Yuan, Zhongmin Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113861
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author Licong Dai
Minqi Liang
Anping Chen
Guojiao Yang
Chuan Jin
Wenping Yuan
Zhongmin Hu
author_facet Licong Dai
Minqi Liang
Anping Chen
Guojiao Yang
Chuan Jin
Wenping Yuan
Zhongmin Hu
author_sort Licong Dai
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Projected increases in precipitation variability are expected to profoundly impact terrestrial vegetation productivity. Notably, the absolute change in ecosystem productivity to same amount of precipitation increase versus decrease may not be same. However, the generalization of this asymmetry, as well as its potential spatiotemporal variations, has rarely been assessed at the global scale. Here, we used multiple streams of satellite observation and found that asymmetry decreased along the humidity index gradient, indicating higher productivity pulse than decrease under dry climate conditions, and the asymmetry shifted from positive in dry areas to weakly negative in wet areas. Furthermore, the asymmetry increased significantly over the past two decades across most ecosystems. Climate change, particularly changes in precipitation, was the dominating factor behind the increasing global asymmetry over the last two decades. Our results suggest that increased precipitation variability may enhance vegetation productivity in arid regions, grassland, and shrub ecosystems, but could reduce productivity in forests.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0094-8276
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language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-9cb5ae443546472480fb224969a09bda2025-08-20T03:52:32ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-03-01526n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113861Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two DecadesLicong Dai0Minqi Liang1Anping Chen2Guojiao Yang3Chuan Jin4Wenping Yuan5Zhongmin Hu6Hainan Baoting Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station School of Ecology Hainan University Haikou ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai ChinaDepartment of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USAHainan Baoting Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station School of Ecology Hainan University Haikou ChinaHainan Baoting Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station School of Ecology Hainan University Haikou ChinaCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing ChinaHainan Baoting Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station School of Ecology Hainan University Haikou ChinaAbstract Projected increases in precipitation variability are expected to profoundly impact terrestrial vegetation productivity. Notably, the absolute change in ecosystem productivity to same amount of precipitation increase versus decrease may not be same. However, the generalization of this asymmetry, as well as its potential spatiotemporal variations, has rarely been assessed at the global scale. Here, we used multiple streams of satellite observation and found that asymmetry decreased along the humidity index gradient, indicating higher productivity pulse than decrease under dry climate conditions, and the asymmetry shifted from positive in dry areas to weakly negative in wet areas. Furthermore, the asymmetry increased significantly over the past two decades across most ecosystems. Climate change, particularly changes in precipitation, was the dominating factor behind the increasing global asymmetry over the last two decades. Our results suggest that increased precipitation variability may enhance vegetation productivity in arid regions, grassland, and shrub ecosystems, but could reduce productivity in forests.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113861precipitation variabilityspatial patterntemporal trendvegetation productivity
spellingShingle Licong Dai
Minqi Liang
Anping Chen
Guojiao Yang
Chuan Jin
Wenping Yuan
Zhongmin Hu
Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
Geophysical Research Letters
precipitation variability
spatial pattern
temporal trend
vegetation productivity
title Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
title_full Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
title_fullStr Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
title_full_unstemmed Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
title_short Increased Asymmetry of Ecosystem Productivity Responses to Precipitation in Recent Two Decades
title_sort increased asymmetry of ecosystem productivity responses to precipitation in recent two decades
topic precipitation variability
spatial pattern
temporal trend
vegetation productivity
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113861
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AT anpingchen increasedasymmetryofecosystemproductivityresponsestoprecipitationinrecenttwodecades
AT guojiaoyang increasedasymmetryofecosystemproductivityresponsestoprecipitationinrecenttwodecades
AT chuanjin increasedasymmetryofecosystemproductivityresponsestoprecipitationinrecenttwodecades
AT wenpingyuan increasedasymmetryofecosystemproductivityresponsestoprecipitationinrecenttwodecades
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