Journal Article
Climate change increases carbon allocation to leaves in early leaf green‐up
Fandong Meng; Songbai Hong; Jiawei Wang; Anping Chen; Yao Zhang; Yichen Zhang; Ivan A. Janssens; Jiafu Mao; Ranga B. Myneni; Josep Peñuelas; Shilong Piao
Ecology Letters · Vol. 26, Issue 5 · pp. 816-826 · 2023
Abstract
Global greening, characterized by an increase in leaf area index (LAI), implies an increase in foliar carbon (C). Whether this increase in foliar C under climate change is due to higher photosynthesis or to higher allocation of C to leaves remains unknown. Here, we explored the trends in foliar C accumulation and allocation during leaf green‐up from 2000 to 2017 using satellite‐derived LAI and solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) across the Northern Hemisphere. The accumulation of foliar C accelerated in the early green‐up period due to both increased photosynthesis and higher foliar C allocation driven by climate change. In the late stage of green‐up, however, we detected decreasing trends in foliar C accumulation and foliar C allocation. Such stage‐dependent trends in the accumulation and allocation of foliar C are not represented in current terrestrial biosphere models. Our results highlight that a better representation of C allocation should be incorporated into models.