Journal Article

Coupling of ecosystem-scale plant water storage and leaf phenology observed by satellite

Kerr, Yann, Brandt, Martin, Tagesson, Torbern, Rodriguez-Fernandez, Nemesio, Peñuelas, Josep, Myneni, Ranga B., Fensholt, Rasmus, Chen, Chi, Tian, Feng, Ardö, Jonas, Mialon, Arnaud, Tong, Xiaoye, Wigneron, Jean-Pierre, Ciais, Philippe, Domec, Jean-Christophe, Al-Yaari, Amen, Ogée, Jérôme, Chave, Jérôme, Zhang, Wenmin, Ræbild, Anders

2018

Overview

Plant water storage is fundamental to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems by participating in plant metabolism, nutrient and sugar transport, and maintenance of the integrity of the hydraulic system of the plant. However, a global view of the size and dynamics of the water pools stored in plant tissues is still lacking. Here, we report global patterns of seasonal variations in ecosystem-scale plant water storage and their relationship with leaf phenology, based on space-borne measurements of L-band vegetation optical depth. We find that seasonal variations in plant water storage are highly synchronous with leaf phenology for the boreal and temperate forests, but asynchronous for the tropical woodlands, where the seasonal development of plant water storage lags behind leaf area by up to 180 days. Contrasting patterns of the time lag between plant water storage and terrestrial groundwater storage are also evident in these ecosystems. A comparison of the water cycle components in seasonally dry tropical woodlands highlights the buffering effect of plant water storage on the seasonal dynamics of water supply and demand. Our results offer insights into ecosystem-scale plant water relations globally and provide a basis for an improved parameterization of eco-hydrological and Earth system models. Low-frequency vegetation optical depth (L-VOD) sensing reveals global patterns of seasonal variations in ecosystem-scale plant water storage and relationships with leaf phenology; results vary between tropical and temperate–boreal zones.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature
• Subject: 631/449/2668 / 704/106/242 / 704/158/2445 / 704/158/852 / Biodiversity and Ecology / Biological and Physical Anthropology / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Earth and Related Environmental Sciences / Ecology / Ecology, environment / Ecosystem / Ecosystems / Environmental Sciences / Evolutionary Biology / Geovetenskap och relaterad miljövetenskap / Groundwater / Groundwater storage / Hydraulic equipment / Hydrologic cycle / Hydrology / Leaf area / Leaves / Life Sciences / Multidisciplinary Geosciences / Multidisciplinär geovetenskap / Natural Sciences / Naturvetenskap / Nutrient transport / Optical analysis / Optical thickness / Paleontology / Parameterization / Phenology / Plant Leaves - metabolism / Plant metabolism / Plant tissues / Plants / Reservoirs / Satellite Imagery / Satellite observation / Seasonal variations / Seasons / Temperate forests / Terrestrial ecosystems / Time lag / Vegetation / Water - metabolism / Water depth / Water relations / Water storage / Water supply / Woodlands / Zoology