Changes in the seasonal amplitude of northern ecosystem productivity under future global warming

Observations have shown a largely enhanced seasonal amplitude of northern atmospheric CO2 in the past several decades, and this enhancement is attributable to the increased seasonal amplitude of northern net ecosystem productivity (NEP amplitude). In the future, however, the changes in NEP amplitude are not clear, because of the uncertainties in climate change and vegetation dynamics. This study investigated the changes in NEP amplitude north of 45 degrees N under future global warming by using a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM). The authors conducted two sets of simulations: a present-day simulation (1981-2000) and future simulations (2081-2100) forced by RCP8.5 outputs from CMIP5. The results showed an overall enhanced northern NEP amplitude under the RCP8.5 scenario because of the increased maximum NEP and the decreased minimum NEP. The increases (decreases) in the maximum (minimum) NEP resulted from stronger (weaker) positive changes in gross primary production (GPP) than ecosystem respiration (ER). Changes in GPP and ER are both dominantly driven by surface air temperature and vegetation dynamics. This work highlights the key role of vegetation dynamics in regulating the northern terrestrial carbon cycle and the importance of including a DGVM in Earth system models.