BibTex format
@article{Zhang:2025:10.1126/science.adr9978,
author = {Zhang, H and Wang, H and Wright, IJ and Prentice, IC and Harrison, SP and Smith, NG and Westerband, AC and Rowland, L and Plavcova, L and Morris, H and Reich, PB and Jansen, S and Keenan, T and Nguyen, NB},
doi = {10.1126/science.adr9978},
journal = {Science},
pages = {984--988},
title = {Thermal acclimation of stem respiration implies a weaker carbon-climate feedback},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adr9978},
volume = {388},
year = {2025}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - The efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) from woody stems, a proxy for stem respiration, is a critical carbon flux from ecosystems to the atmosphere, which increases with temperature on short timescales. However, plants acclimate their respiratory response to temperature on longer timescales, potentially weakening the carbon-climate feedback. The magnitude of this acclimation is uncertain despite its importance for predicting future climate change. We develop an optimality-based theory dynamically linking stem respiration with leaf water supply to predict its thermal acclimation. We show that the theory accurately reproduces observations of spatial and seasonal change. We estimate the global value for current annual stem CO2 efflux as 27.4 ± 5.9 PgC. By 2100, incorporating thermal acclimation reduces projected stem respiration without considering acclimation by 24 to 46%, thus reducing land ecosystem carbon emissions.
AU - Zhang,H
AU - Wang,H
AU - Wright,IJ
AU - Prentice,IC
AU - Harrison,SP
AU - Smith,NG
AU - Westerband,AC
AU - Rowland,L
AU - Plavcova,L
AU - Morris,H
AU - Reich,PB
AU - Jansen,S
AU - Keenan,T
AU - Nguyen,NB
DO - 10.1126/science.adr9978
EP - 988
PY - 2025///
SN - 0036-8075
SP - 984
TI - Thermal acclimation of stem respiration implies a weaker carbon-climate feedback
T2 - Science
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.adr9978
VL - 388
ER -