Analyzing the major drivers of NEE in a Mediterranean alpine shrubland

Two years of continuous measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) using the eddy covariance technique were made over a Mediterranean alpine shrubland. This ecosystem was found to be a net source of CO2 (+ 52 ± 7 g C m−2 and + 48 ± 7 g C m−2 for 2007 and 2008) during the two-year study period. To understand the reasons underlying this net release of CO2 into the atmosphere, we analysed the drivers of seasonal variability in NEE over these two years. We observed that the soil water availability – driven by the precipitation pattern – and the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) are the key factors for understanding both the carbon sequestration potential and the duration of the photosynthetic period during the growing season. Finally, the effects of the self-heating correction to CO2 and H2O fluxes measured with the open-path infrared gas analyser were evaluated. Applying the correction turned the annual CO2 budget in 2007 from a sink (− 135 ± 7 g C m−2) to a source (+ 52 ± 7 g C m−2). The magnitude of this change is larger than reported previously and is shown to be due to the low air density and cold temperatures at this high elevation study site.This research was supported by the regional government Junta de Andalucía, project BACAEMÁ (RNM-332) and the Spanish National flux tower network CARBORED-ES (CGL2006-14195-C02-01/CLI)

Bridging the genotype-phenotype gap for a Mediterranean pine by semi‐automatic crown identification and multispectral imagery

Summary: Progress in high‐throughput phenotyping and genomics provides the potential to understand the genetic basis of plant functional differentiation. We developed a semi‐automatic methodology based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery for deriving tree‐level phenotypes followed by genome‐wide association study (GWAS). An RGB‐based point cloud was used for tree crown identification in a common garden of Pinus halepensis in Spain. Crowns were combined with multispectral and thermal orthomosaics to retrieve growth traits, vegetation indices and canopy temperature. Thereafter, GWAS was performed to analyse the association between phenotypes and genomic variation at 235 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Growth traits were associated with 12 SNPs involved in cellulose and carbohydrate metabolism. Indices related to transpiration and leaf water content were associated with six SNPs involved in stomata dynamics. Indices related to leaf pigments and leaf area were associated with 11 SNPs involved in signalling and peroxisome metabolism. About 16-20% of trait variance was explained by combinations of several SNPs, indicating polygenic control of morpho‐physiological traits. Despite a limited availability of markers and individuals, this study is provides a successful proof‐of‐concept for the combination of high‐throughput UAV‐based phenotyping with cost‐effective genotyping to disentangle the genetic architecture of phenotypic variation in a widespread conifer.This work was supported by the Spanish Government, grant number RTI2018‐094691‐B‐C31 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, EU)

Shear viscosity of hot scalar field theory in the real-time formalism

Within the closed time path formalism a general nonperturbative expression is derived which resums through the Bethe-Salpter equation all leading order contributions to the shear viscosity in hot scalar field theory. Using a previously derived generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem for nonlinear response functions in the real-time formalism, it is shown that the Bethe-Salpeter equation decouples in the so-called (r,a) basis. The general result is applied to scalar field theory with pure lambda*phi**4 and mixed g*phi**3+lambda*phi**4 interactions. In both cases our calculation confirms the leading order expression for the shear viscosity previously obtained in the imaginary time formalism.Comment: Expanded introduction and conclusions. Several references and a footnote added. Fig.5 and its discussion in the text modified to avoid double counting. Signs in Eqs. (45) and (53) correcte

Hydraulic and photosynthetic limitations prevail over root non-structural carbohydrate reserves as drivers of resprouting in two Mediterranean oaks

Resprouting is an ancestral trait in angiosperms that confers resilience after perturbations. As climate change increases stress, resprouting vigor is declining in many forest regions, but the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Resprouting in woody plants is thought to be primarily limited by the availability of non-structural carbohydrate reserves (NSC), but hydraulic limitations could also be important. We conducted a multifactorial experiment with two levels of light (ambient, 2–3% of ambient) and three levels of water stress (0, 50 and 80 percent losses of hydraulic conductivity, PLC) on two Mediterranean oaks (Quercus ilex and Q. faginea) under a rain-out shelter (n = 360). The proportion of resprouting individuals after canopy clipping declined markedly as PLC increased for both species. NSC concentrations affected the response of Q. ilex, the species with higher leaf construction costs, and its effect depended on the PLC. The growth of resprouting individuals was largely dependent on photosynthetic rates for both species, while stored NSC availability and hydraulic limitations played minor and non-significant roles, respectively. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our results indicate that resprouting in oaks may be primarily driven by complex interactions between hydraulics and carbon sources, whereas stored NSC play a significant but secondary role

J-PAS: forecasts on dark energy and modified gravity theories

The next generation of galaxy surveys will allow us to test one of the most fundamental assumptions of the standard cosmology, i.e. that gravity is governed by the general theory of relativity (GR). In this paper, we investigate the ability of the Javalambre Physics of the AcceleratingUniverseAstrophysical Survey (J-PAS) to constrainGR and its extensions. Based on the J-PAS information on clustering and gravitational lensing, we perform a Fisher matrix forecast on the effective Newton constant, mu, and the gravitational slip parameter, eta, whose deviations from unity would indicate a breakdown of GR. Similar analysis is also performed for the DESI and Euclid surveys and compared to J-PAS with two configurations providing different areas, namely an initial expectation with 4000 deg(2) and the future best case scenario with 8500 deg(2). We show that J-PAS will be able to measure the parameters mu and eta at a sensitivity of 2-7 per cent, and will provide the best constraints in the interval z = 0.3-0.6, thanks to the large number of ELGs detectable in that redshift range. We also discuss the constraining power of J-PAS for dark energy models with a time-dependent equation-of-state parameter of the type w(a) = w(0) + w(a)(1 - a), obtaining Delta w(0) = 0.058 and Delta w(a) = 0.24 for the absolute errors of the dark energy parameters.© 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical SocietyWe are thankful to our colleagues of J-PAS Theory Working Group for useful discussions and to Ricardo Landim for his comments. MAR and ALM acknowledge support from MINECO (Spain) project FIS2016-78859-P (AEI/FEDER, UE), Red Consolider MultiDark FPA2017-90566-REDC, and UCM pre-doctoral grant. JSA acknowledges support from FAPERJ grant no. E-26/203.024/2017; CNPq grant no. 310790/2014-0 and 400471/2014-0; and the Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos -FINEP grants REF. 1217/13-01.13.0279.00 and REF0859/10-01.10.0663.00. SC acknowledges support from CNPq grant nos 307467/2017-1 and 420641/2018-1. This paper has gone through internal review by the J-PAS collaboration. Funding for the J-PAS Project has been provided by the Governments of Espana and Aragon through the Fondo de Inversion de Teruel, European FEDER funding, the MINECO projects AYA2015-66211-C2-1- P, AYA2015-66211-C2-2, and AYA2012-30789; the Brazilian agencies FINEP, FAPESP, FAPERJ and by the National Observatory of Brazil.Peer reviewe

Circadian rhythms have significant effects on leaf-to-canopy scale gas exchange under field conditions

Background Molecular clocks drive oscillations in leaf photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and other cell and leaf-level processes over ∼24 h under controlled laboratory conditions. The influence of such circadian regulation over whole-canopy fluxes remains uncertain; diurnal CO2 and H2O vapor flux dynamics in the field are currently interpreted as resulting almost exclusively from direct physiological responses to variations in light, temperature and other environmental factors. We tested whether circadian regulation would affect plant and canopy gas exchange at the Montpellier European Ecotron. Canopy and leaf-level fluxes were constantly monitored under field-like environmental conditions, and under constant environmental conditions (no variation in temperature, radiation, or other environmental cues). Results We show direct experimental evidence at canopy scales of the circadian regulation of daytime gas exchange: 20–79 % of the daily variation range in CO2 and H2O fluxes occurred under circadian entrainment in canopies of an annual herb (bean) and of a perennial shrub (cotton). We also observed that considering circadian regulation improved performance by 8–17 % in commonly used stomatal conductance models. Conclusions Our results show that circadian controls affect diurnal CO2 and H2O flux patterns in entire canopies in field-like conditions, and its consideration significantly improves model performance. Circadian controls act as a ‘memory’ of the past conditions experienced by the plant, which synchronizes metabolism across entire plant canopies

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data

The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as gap-filled time series, ecosystem respiration and photosynthetic uptake estimates, estimation of uncertainties, and metadata about the measurements, presented for the first time in this paper. In addition, 206 of these sites are for the first time distributed under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) license. This paper details this enhanced dataset and the processing methods, now made available as open-source codes, making the dataset more accessible, transparent, and reproducible.Peer reviewe