Cover Image

Interannual variability in African regional ecosystem carbon fluxes and their drivers revealed by satellite observations

The sparseness of ground-based observations hinders our ability to understand the processes driving the interannual variability (IAV) of the African ecosystem carbon cycle. This study explores the regional pattern of the IAV in net biosphere exchange (NBE), defined as the sum of gross primary produc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yun, Jeongmin (Author) , Liu, Junjie (Author) , Baker, David F. (Author) , Basu, Sourish (Author) , Chevallier, Frédéric (Author) , Jiang, Fei (Author) , Johnson, Matthew S. (Author) , Li, Xing (Author) , Liu, Zhiqiang (Author) , Miller, Scot M. (Author) , Philip, Sajeev (Author) , Vardag, Sanam Noreen (Author) , Xiao, Jingfeng (Author) , Zeng, Ning (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: July 2025
In: Global biogeochemical cycles
Year: 2025, Volume: 39, Issue: 7, Pages: 1-18
ISSN:1944-9224
DOI:10.1029/2025GB008597
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GB008597
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2025GB008597
Get full text
Author Notes:Jeongmin Yun, Junjie Liu, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Frédéric Chevallier, Fei Jiang, Matthew S. Johnson, Xing Li, Zhiqiang Liu, Scot M. Miller, Sajeev Philip, Sanam N. Vardag, Jingfeng Xiao, and Ning Zeng
Description
Summary:The sparseness of ground-based observations hinders our ability to understand the processes driving the interannual variability (IAV) of the African ecosystem carbon cycle. This study explores the regional pattern of the IAV in net biosphere exchange (NBE), defined as the sum of gross primary production (GPP), respiration, and biomass burning emissions, across Africa and its climate drivers from 2015 to 2021, by integrating satellite-derived carbon flux estimates. Our analysis reveals that moisture-driven IAV of GPP determines the IAV of total NBE in Africa, but the magnitude of NBE IAV is not uniformly proportional to the GPP IAV across regions. Though IAV of NBE in eastern and southern grasslands is comparable, the IAV of GPP in the east is 29% ± 9% greater, offset by respiration with higher moisture sensitivity. By contrast, the IAV of NBE in northern forests is around twice that of southern forests, despite a smaller IAV of GPP. The larger NBE IAV is attributed to the higher moisture sensitivity of biomass burning emissions and the stronger temperature sensitivity of respiration in northern forests, which prevents respiration from declining despite significant GPP reductions under dry and warm conditions (e.g., the 2016 El Niño year). We also find that in northern grasslands, unlike other regions, IAV of NBE is primarily determined by respiration, which responds strongly to soil rewetting in the late dry season. Our results underscore the potential of satellite observations in uncovering the drivers of the IAV in the African ecosystem carbon cycle at regional as well as continental scales.
Item Description:Zuerst veröffentlicht: 18. Juli 2025
Gesehen am 27.11.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1944-9224
DOI:10.1029/2025GB008597

Similar Items