Toward accounting for ecoclimate teleconnections: intra- and inter-continental consequences of altered energy balance after vegetation change

Author(s):Show less -

Stark, Scott C. ^[1] ; Breshears, David D. ^{[2, 3]} ; Garcia, Elizabeth S. ^[4] ; Law, Darin J. ^[5] ; Minor, David M. ^[1] ; Saleska, Scott R. ^[2] ; Swann, Abigail L. S. ^{[6, 4]} ; Camilo Villegas, Juan ^{[7, 8]} ; Aragao, Luiz E. O. C. ^{[9, 10]} ; Bella, Elizabeth M. ^{[11, 12]} ; Borma, Laura S. ^[13] ; Cobb, Neil S. ^[14] ; Litvak, Marcy E. ^[15] ; Magnusson, William E. ^[16] ; Morton, John M. ^[11] ; Redmond, Miranda D. ^[17]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Michigan State Univ, Dept Forestry, E Lansing, MI 48824 - USA

^[2] Univ Arizona, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Tucson, AZ 85721 - USA

^[3] Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm & Joint, Tucson, AZ 85721 - USA

^[4] Univ Washington, Dept Atmospher Sci, Seattle, WA 98195 - USA

^[5] Sch Nat Resources & Environm, Tucson, AZ 85721 - USA

^[6] Univ Washington, Dept Biol, Seattle, WA 98195 - USA

^[7] Univ Antioquia, Sch Environm, GIGA Grp, Medellin - Colombia

^[8] Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm, Tucson, AZ 85721 - USA

^[9] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[10] Natl Inst Space Res, Remote Sensing Div, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

^[11] US Fish & Wildlife Serv, Kenai Natl Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK 99669 - USA

^[12] AECOM, Anchorage, AK 99501 - USA

^[13] Natl Inst Space Res, Ctr Earth Syst Sci, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

^[14] No Arizona Univ, Merriam Powell Ctr Environm Res, Flagstaff, AZ 86011 - USA

^[15] Univ New Mexico, Dept Biol, Albuquerque, NM 87131 - USA

^[16] Natl Inst Amazonian Res INPA, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

^[17] Univ Colorado, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Boulder, CO 80309 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY; v. 31, n. 1, p. 181-194, JAN 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 20

Abstract

Vegetation is projected to continue to undergo major structural changes in coming decades due to land conversion and climate change, including widespread forest die-offs. These vegetation changes are important not only for their local or regional climatic effects, but also because they can affect climate and subsequently vegetation in other regions or continents through ``ecoclimate teleconnections{''}. We propose that ecoclimate teleconnections are a fundamental link among regions within and across continents, and are central to advancing large-scale macrosystems ecology. We illustrate potential ecoclimate teleconnections in a bounding simulation that assumes complete tree cover loss in western North America due to tree die-off, and which predicts subsequent drying and reduced net primary productivity in other areas of North America, the Amazon and elsewhere. Central to accurately modeling such ecoclimate teleconnections is characterizing how vegetation change alters albedo and other components of the land-surface energy balance and then scales up to impact the climate system. We introduce a framework for rapid field-based characterization of vegetation structure and energy balance to help address this challenge. Ecoclimate teleconnections are likely a fundamental aspect of macrosystems ecology needed to account for alterations to large-scale atmospheric-ecological couplings in response to vegetation change, including deforestation, afforestation and die-off. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50531-2 - Ecophysiological controls on Amazonian precipitation seasonality and variability
• Grantee: Laura de Simone Borma
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Regular Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50533-5 - Understanding the response of photosynthetic metabolism in tropical forests to seasonal climate variations
• Grantee: Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragão
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants