Satellite-based solar-induced fluorescence tracks seasonal and elevational patterns of photosynthesis in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains

Bibliographic Data

ID15544741
AuthorsLewis Kunik (0000-0001-9638-0543, University of Utah, corresponding author), D R Bowling (0000-0002-3864-4042, University of Utah), Brett Raczka (0000-0003-0582-1118, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research), Christian Frankenberg (0000-0002-0546-5857, California Institute of Technology), Philipp Köhler (0000-0003-0427-8934, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), Rui Cheng (0000-0003-4348-0350, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Kenneth R Smith (0000-0003-1966-3042, University of Utah), Michael L Goulden (0000-0002-9379-3948, University of California, Irvine), Martin Jung (0000-0002-7569-1390, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), John C Lin (0000-0003-2794-184X, University of Utah)
Year2023
Volume19
Issue1
Pages014008-014008
Publication date2023-10-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/ad07b4
OpenAlexW4387968488
LanguageEN
References cited88

Robust carbon monitoring systems are needed for land managers to assess and mitigate the changing effects of ecosystem stress on western United States forests, where most aboveground carbon is stored in mountainous areas. Atmospheric carbon uptake via gross primary productivity (GPP) is an important indicator of ecosystem function and is particularly relevant to carbon monitoring systems. However, limited ground-based observations in remote areas with complex topography represent a significant challenge for tracking regional-scale GPP. Satellite observations can help bridge these monitoring gaps, but the accuracy of remote sensing methods for inferring GPP is still limited in montane evergreen needleleaf biomes, where (a) photosynthetic activity is largely decoupled from canopy structure and chlorophyll content, and (b) strong heterogeneity in phenology and atmospheric conditions is difficult to resolve in space and time. Using monthly solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) sampled at ∼4 km from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), we show that high-resolution satellite-observed SIF followed ecological expectations of seasonal and elevational patterns of GPP across a 3000 m elevation gradient in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. After accounting for the effects of high reflected radiance in TROPOMI SIF due to snow cover, the seasonal and elevational patterns of SIF were well correlated with GPP estimates from a machine-learning model (FLUXCOM) and a land surface model (CLM5.0-SP), outperforming other spectral vegetation indices. Differences in the seasonality of TROPOMI SIF and GPP estimates were likely attributed to misrepresentation of moisture limitation and winter photosynthetic activity in FLUXCOM and CLM5.0 respectively, as indicated by discrepancies with GPP derived from eddy covariance observations in the southern Sierra Nevada. These results suggest that satellite-observed SIF can serve as a useful diagnostic and constraint to improve upon estimates of GPP toward multiscale carbon monitoring systems in montane, evergreen conifer biomes at regional scales

Atmospheric sciences · Biome · Biosphere · Boreal ecosystem · Chlorophyll fluorescence · Climatology · Ecosystem · Eddy covariance · FluxNet · Geography · Land cover · Land use · Photosynthesis · Primary production · Radiance · Remote sensing · Satellite · Terrestrial ecosystem · Vegetation (pathology · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Environmental Science · Remote Sensing in Agriculture · Species Distribution and Climate Change · Ecology · Geology

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