Fires increase Amazon forest productivity through increases in diffuse radiation

Author(s):Show less -

Rap, A. ^[1] ; Spracklen, D. V. ^[1] ; Mercado, L. ^{[2, 3]} ; Reddington, C. L. ^[1] ; Haywood, J. M. ^[4] ; Ellis, R. J. ^[3] ; Phillips, O. L. ^[5] ; Artaxo, P. ^[6] ; Bonal, D. ^[7] ; Coupe, N. Restrepo ^[8] ; Butt, N. ^[9]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Leeds, Sch Earth & Environm, Leeds, W Yorkshire - England

^[2] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[3] Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, Wallingford, Oxon - England

^[4] Univ Exeter, Coll Engn Math & Phys Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[5] Univ Leeds, Sch Geog, Leeds LS2 9JT, W Yorkshire - England

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[7] INRA UMR Ecol & Ecophysiol Forestieres, Champenoux - France

^[8] Univ Technol Sydney, Plant Funct Biol & Climate Change Cluster, Ultimo, NSW - Australia

^[9] Univ Queensland, Sch Biol Sci, St Lucia, Qld - Australia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Geophysical Research Letters; v. 42, n. 11, p. 4654-4662, JUN 16 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 32

Abstract

Atmospheric aerosol scatters solar radiation increasing the fraction of diffuse radiation and the efficiency of photosynthesis. We quantify the impacts of biomass burning aerosol (BBA) on diffuse radiation and plant photosynthesis across Amazonia during 1998-2007. Evaluation against observed aerosol optical depth allows us to provide lower and upper BBA emissions estimates. BBA increases Amazon basin annual mean diffuse radiation by 3.4-6.8% and net primary production (NPP) by 1.4-2.8%, with quoted ranges driven by uncertainty in BBA emissions. The enhancement of Amazon basin NPP by 78-156TgCa(-1) is equivalent to 33-65% of the annual regional carbon emissions from biomass burning. This NPP increase occurs during the dry season and acts to counteract some of the observed effect of drought on tropical production. We estimate that 30-60TgCa(-1) of this NPP enhancement is within woody tissue, accounting for 8-16% of the observed carbon sink across mature Amazonian forests. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50297-2 - Combined Aerosol Mass Spectrometry in the Amazon
• Grantee: Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/05014-0 - GoAmazon: interactions of the urban plume of Manaus with biogenic forest emissions in Amazonia
• Grantee: Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants