Regional ecosystem productivity is highly sensitive to inter-annual climate variability, both within and outside the primary carbon uptake period. However, Earth system models lack sufficient spatial scales and ecosystem processes to resolve how these processes may change in a warming climate. Here, we show, how for the European Alps, mid-latitude Atlantic ocean winter circulation anomalies drive high-altitude summer forest and grassland productivity, through feedbacks among orographic wind circulation patterns, snowfall, winter and spring temperatures, and vegetation activity. Therefore, to understand future global climate change influence to regional ecosystem productivity, Earth systems models need to focus on improvements towards topographic downscaling of changes in regional atmospheric circulation patterns and to lagged responses in vegetation dynamics to non-growing season climate anomalies.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Departrment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 1549, 1225 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53706, USA;Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), KIT Campus Alpin, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany;University of Innsbruck, Institute of Ecology, Sternwartestraße 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria;European Academy of Bolzano, Drususallee 1, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy;Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), KIT Campus Alpin, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany;Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), KIT Campus Alpin, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany;Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Naka, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan;ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland;Forest Services, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Via Brennero 6, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy;Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano, Piazza Università 1, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy;Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Center, Fondazione Edmund Mach, I-38010 S. Michele all’ Adige Trento, Italy;Foxlab Joint CNR-FEM Initiative, Via E. Mach 1, I-38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy;Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), KIT Campus Alpin, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany;Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), KIT Campus Alpin, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Recommended Citation:
A R Desai,G Wohlfahrt,M J Zeeman,et al. Montane ecosystem productivity responds more to global circulation patterns than climatic trends[J]. Environmental Research Letters,2016-01-01,11(2)