Articles | Volume 18, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-5895-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-5895-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Data description article
| 
18 Aug 2026
Data description article |
| 18 Aug 2026
| 18 Aug 2026
A global dataset of forest disturbance regimes derived from satellite biomass observations
Siyuan Wang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
TU Dresden, Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Dresden, Germany
Hui Yang
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
Sujan Koirala
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Maurizio Santoro
Gamma Remote Sensing, Gümligen, Switzerland
Anna Candotti
Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Ulrich Weber
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Department of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
Claire Robin
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Felix Cremer
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Matthias Forkel
TU Dresden, Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Dresden, Germany
Markus Reichstein
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
Nuno Carvalhais
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
ELLIS Unit Jena, Jena, Germany
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Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2785–2815, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2785-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2785-2026, 2026
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Forest health is increasingly threatened, but disturbances like wind damage and insect outbreaks are hard to track. Our Sentinel-1 Disturbance Mapping (S1DM) approach combines satellite radar with survey data, improving detection for wind and bark beetle impacts and often spotting them earlier. Defoliators remain difficult to capture, but this method strengthens monitoring and supports better forest management.
Andreia F. S. Ribeiro, Maik Biling, Kirsten Thonicke, Werner von Bloh, Jakob Wessel, Sabine Undorf, Matthias Forkel, and Jakob Zscheischler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2952, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2952, 2026
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Wildfires are becoming more extreme, yet our state-of-the-art tools fail to capture the full risk. We simulate a large ensemble of wildfire simulations capturing a broader range of physically plausible extreme wildfire events beyond what observations alone can reveal. Extreme fire danger alone does not explain the worst impacts: ignitions, fuel and vegetation-fire feedback need to be incorporated. This modelling framework is transferable to other climate-impact sectors beyond wildfires.
Zavud Baghirov, Markus Reichstein, Basil Kraft, Bernhard Ahrens, Marco Körner, and Martin Jung
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 4467–4496, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-4467-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-4467-2026, 2026
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We introduce a new global model that links how water and carbon move through land ecosystems. By combining process knowledge with artificial intelligence that learns from observations, we model daily changes in vegetation, water and carbon cycle processes. This model outperforms both purely data-driven and traditional process models, especially in dry and tropical regions. This advance could improve current understanding of water–carbon cycle relationships.
Guohua Liu, Philippe Ciais, Shengli Tao, Hui Yang, Chenwei Xiao, and Ana Bastos
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-246, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-246, 2026
Preprint under review for ESSD
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We developed a long-term, moderate-resolution global dataset of forest above ground biomass, from satellite radar data and machine learning. The significance of this dataset lies in its ability to provide a continuous, moderate-resolution view of biomass carbon dynamics, offering a valuable resource for supporting studies of climate change, disturbance, and land use, and will help improve Earth System models and future carbon cycle.
Tazio Strozzi, Erik Schytt Mannerfelt, Oliver Cartus, Maurizio Santoro, Thomas Schellenberger, and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 20, 1679–1697, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1679-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1679-2026, 2026
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By analysing 30 years of satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data, we have found that the number of glacier surges over Svalbard has tripled since 2015. We show that this increase is unlikely to be explained solely by improvements in data quality or by random fluctuations in surge frequency, suggesting that this trend is caused by an external forcing mechanism. Given our incomplete understanding of surge initiation, the cause of the observed threefold increase remains however uncertain.
Olivia Hau, Matthias Forkel, Wolfgang Buermann, Johanna Kranz, Mirco Migliavacca, Ulrich Weber, and Alexander Josef Winkler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-910, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-910, 2026
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Shifts in spring and autumn growth due to climate warming change how plants reflect sunlight and release heat and moisture into the air, modulating surface warming. The strength of these effects and their regional variability remain poorly understood. Using satellite and climate data, we show that earlier spring growth increases moisture release, especially in forests, while autumn changes are smaller and less consistent. Impacts on land-atmosphere interactions vary by ecosystem and data source.
Samuel Upton, Markus Reichstein, Wouter Peters, Santiago Botía, Jacob A. Nelson, Sophia Walther, Martin Jung, Fabian Gans, László Haszpra, and Ana Bastos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 2561–2595, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2561-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-2561-2026, 2026
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We create a hybrid ecosystem-level carbon flux model using both eddy-covariance observations and observations of the atmospheric mole fraction of CO2 at three tall-tower observatories. Our study uses an atmospheric transport model (STILT) to connect the atmospheric signal to the ecosystem-level model. We show that this inclusion of atmospheric information meaningfully improves the model's representation of the interannual variability of the global net flux of CO2.
Min Feng, Joseph O. Sexton, Panshi Wang, Paul M. Montesano, Leonardo Calle, Nuno Carvalhais, Benjamin Poulter, Matthew J. Macander, Michael A. Wulder, Margaret Wooten, William Wagner, Akiko Elders, Saurabh Channan, and Christopher S. R. Neigh
Biogeosciences, 23, 1089–1101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1089-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1089-2026, 2026
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Analysis of 36 years of satellite tree cover data provide the first comprehensive confirmation of the northward advance of the boreal forest. Boreal tree cover expanded by 0.84 million km² (12%) from 1985 to 2020 and shifted northward by 0.43°. Gains outpaced losses across most latitudes, confirming a biome-wide poleward shift. Young forests now comprise 15% of the area of the world’s largest forest biome, storing 1–6 Pg C and potentially sequestering an additional 2–4 Pg C as they mature.
Na Li, Sebastian Sippel, Nora Linscheid, Miguel D. Mahecha, Markus Reichstein, and Ana Bastos
Biogeosciences, 23, 767–792, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-767-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-767-2026, 2026
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We study when anthropogenic signal becomes detectable in the global land carbon sink, which has risen since the 1950s due to CO₂ fertilization and mid- to high-latitude warming. The signal emerges earlier at the global than at regional scales. Future scenarios (2016–2100) take longer to detect than the historical period (1851–2014) because the signal is weaker relative to larger natural variability. Removing circulation-induced variability with dynamical adjustment shortens the detection time.
Simon Besnard, Alba Viana-Soto, Henrik Hartmann, Marco Patacca, Viola H. A. Heinrich, Katja Kowalski, Maurizio Santoro, Wanda De Keersmaecker, Ruben Van De Kerchove, Martin Herold, and Cornelius Senf
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6288, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6288, 2025
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Europe’s forests store vast amounts of carbon, but climate-driven disturbances are becoming more frequent. By combining satellite records with information on forest age and structure, we show that recent disturbances increasingly affect the oldest and most carbon-rich forests, particularly spruce forests in Central Europe. This emerging pattern puts long-accumulated carbon at risk and may reduce the long-term climate benefits provided by Europe’s forests.
Mélanie Weynants, Chaonan Ji, Nora Linscheid, Ulrich Weber, Miguel D. Mahecha, and Fabian Gans
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 6621–6645, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-6621-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-6621-2025, 2025
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The impacts of climate extremes such as heatwaves and droughts can be made worse when they happen at the same time. Dheed is a global database of dry and hot compound extreme events from 1950 to 2023. It can be combined with other data to study the impacts of those events on terrestrial ecosystems, specific species or human societies. Dheed's analysis confirms that extremely dry and hot days have become more common on all continents in recent decades, especially in Europe and Africa.
Evripidis Avouris, Christopher Marrs, Kristina Beetz, Lucie Kudláčková, Markéta Poděbradská, Miroslav Trnka, and Matthias Forkel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4859, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4859, 2025
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Wildfires are increasing in Central Europe. We studied how they could threaten settlements in the Saxon–Czech border region. Using satellite information, local data, and computer simulations, we mapped where fires are most likely and how intense they could be. We tested the model against a destructive fire that occurred in 2022. The results are shared in an interactive web map with the aim of helping residents and agencies improve preparedness and coordinate cross-border disaster response.
Wenli Zhao, Alexander J. Winkler, Markus Reichstein, Rene Orth, and Pierre Gentine
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4082, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4082, 2025
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We used explainable machine learning that incorporates memory effects to study how plants respond to weather and drought. Using data from 90 sites worldwide, we show that memory plays a key role in regulating plant water stress. Forests and savannas rely on longer past conditions than grasslands, reflecting differences in rooting depth and water use. These insights improve our ability to anticipate ecosystem vulnerability as droughts intensify.
Basil Kraft, Jacob A. Nelson, Sophia Walther, Fabian Gans, Ulrich Weber, Gregory Duveiller, Markus Reichstein, Weijie Zhang, Marc Rußwurm, Devis Tuia, Marco Körner, Zayd Hamdi, and Martin Jung
Biogeosciences, 22, 3965–3987, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3965-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3965-2025, 2025
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This study evaluates machine learning approaches for upscaling evapotranspiration from the site to the global scale. Sequential models capture temporal dynamics better, especially with precipitation data, but all models show biases in data-scarce regions. Improved upscaling requires richer training data, informed covariate selection, and physical constraints to enhance robustness and reduce extrapolation errors.
Lei Zhu, Philippe Ciais, Yitong Yao, Daniel Goll, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Isabel Martínez Cano, Arthur Fendrich, Laurent Li, Hui Yang, Sassan Saatchi, Ricardo Dalagnol, and Wei Li
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 4915–4933, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4915-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4915-2025, 2025
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This study enhances the accuracy of modeling the carbon dynamics of the Amazon rainforest by optimizing key model parameters based on satellite data. Using spatially varying parameters for tree mortality and photosynthesis, we improved predictions of biomass, productivity, and tree mortality. Our findings highlight the critical role of wood density and water availability in forest processes, offering insights to use in refining global carbon cycle models.
Theertha Kariyathan, Ana Bastos, Markus Reichstein, Wouter Peters, and Julia Marshall
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7863–7878, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7863-2025, 2025
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The carbon uptake period (CUP) is the time period when land absorbs more CO2 than it emits. While atmospheric CO2 mole fraction measurements can be used to assess CUP changes, atmospheric transport and asynchronous timing across regions reduce the accuracy of the estimates. Forward model experiments show that only ~ 50 % of prescribed shifts in CUP timing applied to surface fluxes (ΔCUPNEE) are captured in simulated CO2 mole fraction data at monitoring sites like the Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory.
Guohua Liu, Philippe Ciais, Shengli Tao, Hui Yang, and Ana Bastos
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-330, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-330, 2025
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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We have developed a long-term and high-resolution global map of above-ground biomass changes from 1993 to 2020 using radar data and machine learning approach. This dataset can help understand the effects of disturbances, land-use changes, and extreme events on global carbon cycle, and enhance the representation of these processes in Earth System Models.
Laura Nadolski, Tarek S. El-Madany, Jacob Nelson, Arnaud Carrara, Gerardo Moreno, Richard Nair, Yunpeng Luo, Anke Hildebrandt, Victor Rolo, Markus Reichstein, and Sung-Ching Lee
Biogeosciences, 22, 2935–2958, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2935-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2935-2025, 2025
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Semi-arid ecosystems are crucial for Earth's carbon balance and are sensitive to changes in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels. Their carbon dynamics are complex and not fully understood. We studied how long-term nutrient changes affect carbon exchange. In summer, the addition of N+P changed plant composition and productivity. In transitional seasons, carbon exchange was less weather-dependent with N. The addition of N and N+P increases carbon-exchange variability, driven by grass greenness.
Friedrich J. Bohn, Ana Bastos, Romina Martin, Anja Rammig, Niak Sian Koh, Giles B. Sioen, Bram Buscher, Louise Carver, Fabrice DeClerck, Moritz Drupp, Robert Fletcher, Matthew Forrest, Alexandros Gasparatos, Alex Godoy-Faúndez, Gregor Hagedorn, Martin C. Hänsel, Jessica Hetzer, Thomas Hickler, Cornelia B. Krug, Stasja Koot, Xiuzhen Li, Amy Luers, Shelby Matevich, H. Damon Matthews, Ina C. Meier, Mirco Migliavacca, Awaz Mohamed, Sungmin O, David Obura, Ben Orlove, Rene Orth, Laura Pereira, Markus Reichstein, Lerato Thakholi, Peter H. Verburg, and Yuki Yoshida
Biogeosciences, 22, 2425–2460, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2425-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2425-2025, 2025
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An interdisciplinary collaboration of 36 international researchers from 35 institutions highlights recent findings in biosphere research. Within eight themes, they discuss issues arising from climate change and other anthropogenic stressors and highlight the co-benefits of nature-based solutions and ecosystem services. Based on an analysis of these eight topics, we have synthesized four overarching insights.
Zavud Baghirov, Martin Jung, Markus Reichstein, Marco Körner, and Basil Kraft
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 2921–2943, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2921-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2921-2025, 2025
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We use an innovative approach to studying the Earth's water cycle by integrating advanced machine learning techniques with a traditional water cycle model. Our model is designed to learn from observational data, with a particular emphasis on understanding the influence of vegetation on water movement. By closely aligning with real-world observations, our model offers new possibilities for enhancing our understanding of the water cycle and its interactions with vegetation.
Marleen Pallandt, Marion Schrumpf, Holger Lange, Markus Reichstein, Lin Yu, and Bernhard Ahrens
Biogeosciences, 22, 1907–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1907-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1907-2025, 2025
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As soils warm due to climate change, soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposes faster due to increased microbial activity, given sufficient available moisture. We modelled the microbial decomposition of plant litter and residue at different depths and found that deep soil layers are more sensitive than topsoils. Warming causes SOC loss, but its extent depends on the litter type and its temperature sensitivity, which can either counteract or amplify losses. Droughts may also counteract warming-induced SOC losses.
Wenli Zhao, Alexander J. Winkler, Markus Reichstein, Rene Orth, and Pierre Gentine
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-365, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-365, 2025
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We developed a machine learning model that accounts for the memory effects of soil moisture and vegetation to predict Evaporative Fraction (EF) without relying on soil moisture as a direct input. The model accurately predicts EF during dry periods for the unseen sites, highlighting the key of meteorological memory effects. The learned memory effect related to rooting depth and soil water holding capacity could potentially serve as proxies for assessing the plant water stress.
Jacob A. Nelson, Sophia Walther, Fabian Gans, Basil Kraft, Ulrich Weber, Kimberly Novick, Nina Buchmann, Mirco Migliavacca, Georg Wohlfahrt, Ladislav Šigut, Andreas Ibrom, Dario Papale, Mathias Göckede, Gregory Duveiller, Alexander Knohl, Lukas Hörtnagl, Russell L. Scott, Jiří Dušek, Weijie Zhang, Zayd Mahmoud Hamdi, Markus Reichstein, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, Jonas Ardö, Maarten Op de Beeck, Dave Billesbach, David Bowling, Rosvel Bracho, Christian Brümmer, Gustau Camps-Valls, Shiping Chen, Jamie Rose Cleverly, Ankur Desai, Gang Dong, Tarek S. El-Madany, Eugenie Susanne Euskirchen, Iris Feigenwinter, Marta Galvagno, Giacomo A. Gerosa, Bert Gielen, Ignacio Goded, Sarah Goslee, Christopher Michael Gough, Bernard Heinesch, Kazuhito Ichii, Marcin Antoni Jackowicz-Korczynski, Anne Klosterhalfen, Sara Knox, Hideki Kobayashi, Kukka-Maaria Kohonen, Mika Korkiakoski, Ivan Mammarella, Mana Gharun, Riccardo Marzuoli, Roser Matamala, Stefan Metzger, Leonardo Montagnani, Giacomo Nicolini, Thomas O'Halloran, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Matthias Peichl, Elise Pendall, Borja Ruiz Reverter, Marilyn Roland, Simone Sabbatini, Torsten Sachs, Marius Schmidt, Christopher R. Schwalm, Ankit Shekhar, Richard Silberstein, Maria Lucia Silveira, Donatella Spano, Torbern Tagesson, Gianluca Tramontana, Carlo Trotta, Fabio Turco, Timo Vesala, Caroline Vincke, Domenico Vitale, Enrique R. Vivoni, Yi Wang, William Woodgate, Enrico A. Yepez, Junhui Zhang, Donatella Zona, and Martin Jung
Biogeosciences, 21, 5079–5115, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5079-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5079-2024, 2024
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The movement of water, carbon, and energy from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere, or flux, is an important process to understand because it impacts our lives. Here, we outline a method called FLUXCOM-X to estimate global water and CO2 fluxes based on direct measurements from sites around the world. We go on to demonstrate how these new estimates of net CO2 uptake/loss, gross CO2 uptake, total water evaporation, and transpiration from plants compare to previous and independent estimates.
Guohua Liu, Mirco Migliavacca, Christian Reimers, Basil Kraft, Markus Reichstein, Andrew D. Richardson, Lisa Wingate, Nicolas Delpierre, Hui Yang, and Alexander J. Winkler
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 6683–6701, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6683-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6683-2024, 2024
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Our study employs long short-term memory (LSTM) networks to model canopy greenness and phenology, integrating meteorological memory effects. The LSTM model outperforms traditional methods, enhancing accuracy in predicting greenness dynamics and phenological transitions across plant functional types. Highlighting the importance of multi-variate meteorological memory effects, our research pioneers unlock the secrets of vegetation phenology responses to climate change with deep learning techniques.
Jasper M. C. Denissen, Adriaan J. Teuling, Sujan Koirala, Markus Reichstein, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Martha M. Vogel, Xin Yu, and René Orth
Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 717–734, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-717-2024, 2024
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Heat extremes have severe implications for human health and ecosystems. Heat extremes are mostly introduced by large-scale atmospheric circulation but can be modulated by vegetation. Vegetation with access to water uses solar energy to evaporate water into the atmosphere. Under dry conditions, water may not be available, suppressing evaporation and heating the atmosphere. Using climate projections, we show that regionally less water is available for vegetation, intensifying future heat extremes.
Bjorn Stevens, Stefan Adami, Tariq Ali, Hartwig Anzt, Zafer Aslan, Sabine Attinger, Jaana Bäck, Johanna Baehr, Peter Bauer, Natacha Bernier, Bob Bishop, Hendryk Bockelmann, Sandrine Bony, Guy Brasseur, David N. Bresch, Sean Breyer, Gilbert Brunet, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Junji Cao, Christelle Castet, Yafang Cheng, Ayantika Dey Choudhury, Deborah Coen, Susanne Crewell, Atish Dabholkar, Qing Dai, Francisco Doblas-Reyes, Dale Durran, Ayoub El Gaidi, Charlie Ewen, Eleftheria Exarchou, Veronika Eyring, Florencia Falkinhoff, David Farrell, Piers M. Forster, Ariane Frassoni, Claudia Frauen, Oliver Fuhrer, Shahzad Gani, Edwin Gerber, Debra Goldfarb, Jens Grieger, Nicolas Gruber, Wilco Hazeleger, Rolf Herken, Chris Hewitt, Torsten Hoefler, Huang-Hsiung Hsu, Daniela Jacob, Alexandra Jahn, Christian Jakob, Thomas Jung, Christopher Kadow, In-Sik Kang, Sarah Kang, Karthik Kashinath, Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw, Daniel Klocke, Uta Kloenne, Milan Klöwer, Chihiro Kodama, Stefan Kollet, Tobias Kölling, Jenni Kontkanen, Steve Kopp, Michal Koran, Markku Kulmala, Hanna Lappalainen, Fakhria Latifi, Bryan Lawrence, June Yi Lee, Quentin Lejeun, Christian Lessig, Chao Li, Thomas Lippert, Jürg Luterbacher, Pekka Manninen, Jochem Marotzke, Satoshi Matsouoka, Charlotte Merchant, Peter Messmer, Gero Michel, Kristel Michielsen, Tomoki Miyakawa, Jens Müller, Ramsha Munir, Sandeep Narayanasetti, Ousmane Ndiaye, Carlos Nobre, Achim Oberg, Riko Oki, Tuba Özkan-Haller, Tim Palmer, Stan Posey, Andreas Prein, Odessa Primus, Mike Pritchard, Julie Pullen, Dian Putrasahan, Johannes Quaas, Krishnan Raghavan, Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Markus Rapp, Florian Rauser, Markus Reichstein, Aromar Revi, Sonakshi Saluja, Masaki Satoh, Vera Schemann, Sebastian Schemm, Christina Schnadt Poberaj, Thomas Schulthess, Cath Senior, Jagadish Shukla, Manmeet Singh, Julia Slingo, Adam Sobel, Silvina Solman, Jenna Spitzer, Philip Stier, Thomas Stocker, Sarah Strock, Hang Su, Petteri Taalas, John Taylor, Susann Tegtmeier, Georg Teutsch, Adrian Tompkins, Uwe Ulbrich, Pier-Luigi Vidale, Chien-Ming Wu, Hao Xu, Najibullah Zaki, Laure Zanna, Tianjun Zhou, and Florian Ziemen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2113–2122, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2113-2024, 2024
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To manage Earth in the Anthropocene, new tools, new institutions, and new forms of international cooperation will be required. Earth Virtualization Engines is proposed as an international federation of centers of excellence to empower all people to respond to the immense and urgent challenges posed by climate change.
Sinikka J. Paulus, Rene Orth, Sung-Ching Lee, Anke Hildebrandt, Martin Jung, Jacob A. Nelson, Tarek Sebastian El-Madany, Arnaud Carrara, Gerardo Moreno, Matthias Mauder, Jannis Groh, Alexander Graf, Markus Reichstein, and Mirco Migliavacca
Biogeosciences, 21, 2051–2085, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2051-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2051-2024, 2024
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Porous materials are known to reversibly trap water from the air, even at low humidity. However, this behavior is poorly understood for soils. In this analysis, we test whether eddy covariance is able to measure the so-called adsorption of atmospheric water vapor by soils. We find that this flux occurs frequently during dry nights in a Mediterranean ecosystem, while EC detects downwardly directed vapor fluxes. These results can help to map moisture uptake globally.
Adrianus de Laat, Vincent Huijnen, Niels Andela, and Matthias Forkel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-732, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-732, 2024
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This study assesses state-of-the art and more advanced and innovative satellite-observation-based (bottom-up) wildfire emission estimates. They are evaluated by comparison with satellite observation of single fire emission plumes. Results indicate that more advanced fire emission estimates – more information – are more realistic but that especially for a limited number of very large fires certain differences remain – for unknown reasons.
Martin Jung, Jacob Nelson, Mirco Migliavacca, Tarek El-Madany, Dario Papale, Markus Reichstein, Sophia Walther, and Thomas Wutzler
Biogeosciences, 21, 1827–1846, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1827-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1827-2024, 2024
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We present a methodology to detect inconsistencies in perhaps the most important data source for measurements of ecosystem–atmosphere carbon, water, and energy fluxes. We expect that the derived consistency flags will be relevant for data users and will help in improving our understanding of and our ability to model ecosystem–climate interactions.
Samuel Upton, Markus Reichstein, Fabian Gans, Wouter Peters, Basil Kraft, and Ana Bastos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2555–2582, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2555-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2555-2024, 2024
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Data-driven eddy-covariance upscaled estimates of the global land–atmosphere net CO2 exchange (NEE) show important mismatches with regional and global estimates based on atmospheric information. To address this, we create a model with a dual constraint based on bottom-up eddy-covariance data and top-down atmospheric inversion data. Our model overcomes shortcomings of each approach, producing improved NEE estimates from local to global scale, helping to reduce uncertainty in the carbon budget.
Hui Yang, Krzysztof Stereńczak, Zbigniew Karaszewski, and Nuno Carvalhais
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2691, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2691, 2023
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Wood density is crucial for ecological and carbon stock assessment, yet its labor-intensive analysis limits studies across species and spaces. Our study, based on 48,000 samples from Central Europe, reveals that, even without species information, 91% of inter-tree variations can be predicted by vegetation indexes, topography, and soil texture. Importantly, we highlight neglected intra-tree variation, showing substantial variations vertically along the height and radially from the center to bark.
Richard Nair, Yunpeng Luo, Tarek El-Madany, Victor Rolo, Javier Pacheco-Labrador, Silvia Caldararu, Kendalynn A. Morris, Marion Schrumpf, Arnaud Carrara, Gerardo Moreno, Markus Reichstein, and Mirco Migliavacca
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2434, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2434, 2023
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We studied a Mediterranean ecosystem to understand carbon uptake efficiency and its controls. These ecosystems face potential nitrogen-phosphorus imbalances due to pollution. Analysing six years of carbon data, we assessed controls at different timeframes. This is crucial for predicting such vulnerable regions. Our findings revealed N limitation on C uptake, not N:P imbalance, and strong influence of water availability. whether drought or wetness promoted net C uptake depended on timescale.
Theertha Kariyathan, Ana Bastos, Julia Marshall, Wouter Peters, Pieter Tans, and Markus Reichstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3299–3312, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3299-2023, 2023
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The timing and duration of the carbon uptake period (CUP) are sensitive to the occurrence of major phenological events, which are influenced by recent climate change. This study presents an ensemble-based approach for quantifying the timing and duration of the CUP and their uncertainty when derived from atmospheric CO2 measurements with noise and gaps. The CUP metrics derived with the approach are more robust and have less uncertainty than when estimated with the conventional methods.
Hoontaek Lee, Martin Jung, Nuno Carvalhais, Tina Trautmann, Basil Kraft, Markus Reichstein, Matthias Forkel, and Sujan Koirala
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1531–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1531-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1531-2023, 2023
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We spatially attribute the variance in global terrestrial water storage (TWS) interannual variability (IAV) and its modeling error with two data-driven hydrological models. We find error hotspot regions that show a disproportionately large significance in the global mismatch and the association of the error regions with a smaller-scale lateral convergence of water. Our findings imply that TWS IAV modeling can be efficiently improved by focusing on model representations for the error hotspots.
Luisa Schmidt, Matthias Forkel, Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Samuel Scherrer, Wouter A. Dorigo, Alexander Kuhn-Régnier, Robin van der Schalie, and Marta Yebra
Biogeosciences, 20, 1027–1046, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1027-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1027-2023, 2023
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Vegetation attenuates natural microwave emissions from the land surface. The strength of this attenuation is quantified as the vegetation optical depth (VOD) parameter and is influenced by the vegetation mass, structure, water content, and observation wavelength. Here we model the VOD signal as a multi-variate function of several descriptive vegetation variables. The results help in understanding the effects of ecosystem properties on VOD.
Robert Vautard, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, Rémy Bonnet, Sihan Li, Yoann Robin, Sarah Kew, Sjoukje Philip, Jean-Michel Soubeyroux, Brigitte Dubuisson, Nicolas Viovy, Markus Reichstein, Friederike Otto, and Iñaki Garcia de Cortazar-Atauri
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1045–1058, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1045-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1045-2023, 2023
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A deep frost occurred in early April 2021, inducing severe damages in grapevine and fruit trees in France. We found that such extreme frosts occurring after the start of the growing season such as those of April 2021 are currently about 2°C colder [0.5 °C to 3.3 °C] in observations than in preindustrial climate. This observed intensification of growing-period frosts is attributable, at least in part, to human-caused climate change, making the 2021 event 50 % more likely [10 %–110 %].
Matthias Forkel, Luisa Schmidt, Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Wouter Dorigo, and Marta Yebra
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 39–68, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-39-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-39-2023, 2023
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The live fuel moisture content (LFMC) of vegetation canopies is a driver of wildfires. We investigate the relation between LFMC and passive microwave satellite observations of vegetation optical depth (VOD) and develop a method to estimate LFMC from VOD globally. Our global VOD-based estimates of LFMC can be used to investigate drought effects on vegetation and fire risks.
Sinikka Jasmin Paulus, Tarek Sebastian El-Madany, René Orth, Anke Hildebrandt, Thomas Wutzler, Arnaud Carrara, Gerardo Moreno, Oscar Perez-Priego, Olaf Kolle, Markus Reichstein, and Mirco Migliavacca
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6263–6287, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6263-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6263-2022, 2022
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In this study, we analyze small inputs of water to ecosystems such as fog, dew, and adsorption of vapor. To measure them, we use a scaling system and later test our attribution of different water fluxes to weight changes. We found that they occur frequently during 1 year in a dry summer ecosystem. In each season, a different flux seems dominant, but they all mainly occur during the night. Therefore, they could be important for the biosphere because rain is unevenly distributed over the year.
Na Li, Sebastian Sippel, Alexander J. Winkler, Miguel D. Mahecha, Markus Reichstein, and Ana Bastos
Earth Syst. Dynam., 13, 1505–1533, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1505-2022, 2022
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Quantifying the imprint of large-scale atmospheric circulation dynamics and associated carbon cycle responses is key to improving our understanding of carbon cycle dynamics. Using a statistical model that relies on spatiotemporal sea level pressure as a proxy for large-scale atmospheric circulation, we quantify the fraction of interannual variability in atmospheric CO2 growth rate and the land CO2 sink that are driven by atmospheric circulation variability.
Melissa Ruiz-Vásquez, Sungmin O, Alexander Brenning, Randal D. Koster, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Ulrich Weber, Gabriele Arduini, Ana Bastos, Markus Reichstein, and René Orth
Earth Syst. Dynam., 13, 1451–1471, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1451-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1451-2022, 2022
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Subseasonal forecasts facilitate early warning of extreme events; however their predictability sources are not fully explored. We find that global temperature forecast errors in many regions are related to climate variables such as solar radiation and precipitation, as well as land surface variables such as soil moisture and evaporative fraction. A better representation of these variables in the forecasting and data assimilation systems can support the accuracy of temperature forecasts.
Xin Yu, René Orth, Markus Reichstein, Michael Bahn, Anne Klosterhalfen, Alexander Knohl, Franziska Koebsch, Mirco Migliavacca, Martina Mund, Jacob A. Nelson, Benjamin D. Stocker, Sophia Walther, and Ana Bastos
Biogeosciences, 19, 4315–4329, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4315-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4315-2022, 2022
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Identifying drought legacy effects is challenging because they are superimposed on variability driven by climate conditions in the recovery period. We develop a residual-based approach to quantify legacies on gross primary productivity (GPP) from eddy covariance data. The GPP reduction due to legacy effects is comparable to the concurrent effects at two sites in Germany, which reveals the importance of legacy effects. Our novel methodology can be used to quantify drought legacies elsewhere.
Sophia Walther, Simon Besnard, Jacob Allen Nelson, Tarek Sebastian El-Madany, Mirco Migliavacca, Ulrich Weber, Nuno Carvalhais, Sofia Lorena Ermida, Christian Brümmer, Frederik Schrader, Anatoly Stanislavovich Prokushkin, Alexey Vasilevich Panov, and Martin Jung
Biogeosciences, 19, 2805–2840, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2805-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2805-2022, 2022
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Satellite observations help interpret station measurements of local carbon, water, and energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere and are indispensable for simulations of the same in land surface models and their evaluation. We propose generalisable and efficient approaches to systematically ensure high quality and to estimate values in data gaps. We apply them to satellite data of surface reflectance and temperature with different resolutions at the stations.
Philip J. Ward, James Daniell, Melanie Duncan, Anna Dunne, Cédric Hananel, Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler, Annegien Tijssen, Silvia Torresan, Roxana Ciurean, Joel C. Gill, Jana Sillmann, Anaïs Couasnon, Elco Koks, Noemi Padrón-Fumero, Sharon Tatman, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Adewole Adesiyun, Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, Alexander Alabaster, Bernard Bulder, Carlos Campillo Torres, Andrea Critto, Raúl Hernández-Martín, Marta Machado, Jaroslav Mysiak, Rene Orth, Irene Palomino Antolín, Eva-Cristina Petrescu, Markus Reichstein, Timothy Tiggeloven, Anne F. Van Loon, Hung Vuong Pham, and Marleen C. de Ruiter
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1487–1497, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1487-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1487-2022, 2022
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The majority of natural-hazard risk research focuses on single hazards (a flood, a drought, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, etc.). In the international research and policy community it is recognised that risk management could benefit from a more systemic approach. In this perspective paper, we argue for an approach that addresses multi-hazard, multi-risk management through the lens of sustainability challenges that cut across sectors, regions, and hazards.
Basil Kraft, Martin Jung, Marco Körner, Sujan Koirala, and Markus Reichstein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1579–1614, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1579-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1579-2022, 2022
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We present a physics-aware machine learning model of the global hydrological cycle. As the model uses neural networks under the hood, the simulations of the water cycle are learned from data, and yet they are informed and constrained by physical knowledge. The simulated patterns lie within the range of existing hydrological models and are plausible. The hybrid modeling approach has the potential to tackle key environmental questions from a novel perspective.
Benjamin Wild, Irene Teubner, Leander Moesinger, Ruxandra-Maria Zotta, Matthias Forkel, Robin van der Schalie, Stephen Sitch, and Wouter Dorigo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1063–1085, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1063-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1063-2022, 2022
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Gross primary production (GPP) describes the conversion of CO2 to carbohydrates and can be seen as a filter for our atmosphere of the primary greenhouse gas CO2. We developed VODCA2GPP, a GPP dataset that is based on vegetation optical depth from microwave remote sensing and temperature. Thus, it is mostly independent from existing GPP datasets and also available in regions with frequent cloud coverage. Analysis showed that VODCA2GPP is able to complement existing state-of-the-art GPP datasets.
Tina Trautmann, Sujan Koirala, Nuno Carvalhais, Andreas Güntner, and Martin Jung
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1089–1109, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1089-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1089-2022, 2022
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We assess the effect of how vegetation is defined in a global hydrological model on the composition of total water storage (TWS). We compare two experiments, one with globally uniform and one with vegetation parameters that vary in space and time. While both experiments are constrained against observational data, we found a drastic change in the partitioning of TWS, highlighting the important role of the interaction between groundwater–soil moisture–vegetation in understanding TWS variations.
J. Pacheco-Labrador, U. Weber, X. Ma, M. D. Mahecha, N. Carvalhais, C. Wirth, A. Huth, F. J. Bohn, G. Kraemer, U. Heiden, FunDivEUROPE members, and M. Migliavacca
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVI-1-W1-2021, 49–55, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-1-W1-2021-49-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-1-W1-2021-49-2022, 2022
Simon Besnard, Sujan Koirala, Maurizio Santoro, Ulrich Weber, Jacob Nelson, Jonas Gütter, Bruno Herault, Justin Kassi, Anny N'Guessan, Christopher Neigh, Benjamin Poulter, Tao Zhang, and Nuno Carvalhais
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4881–4896, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4881-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4881-2021, 2021
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Forest age can determine the capacity of a forest to uptake carbon from the atmosphere. Yet, a lack of global diagnostics that reflect the forest stage and associated disturbance regimes hampers the quantification of age-related differences in forest carbon dynamics. In this paper, we introduced a new global distribution of forest age inferred from forest inventory, remote sensing and climate data in support of a better understanding of the global dynamics in the forest water and carbon cycles.
Ana Bastos, René Orth, Markus Reichstein, Philippe Ciais, Nicolas Viovy, Sönke Zaehle, Peter Anthoni, Almut Arneth, Pierre Gentine, Emilie Joetzjer, Sebastian Lienert, Tammas Loughran, Patrick C. McGuire, Sungmin O, Julia Pongratz, and Stephen Sitch
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 1015–1035, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1015-2021, 2021
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Temperate biomes in Europe are not prone to recurrent dry and hot conditions in summer. However, these conditions may become more frequent in the coming decades. Because stress conditions can leave legacies for many years, this may result in reduced ecosystem resilience under recurrent stress. We assess vegetation vulnerability to the hot and dry summers in 2018 and 2019 in Europe and find the important role of inter-annual legacy effects from 2018 in modulating the impacts of the 2019 event.
Yeonuk Kim, Monica Garcia, Laura Morillas, Ulrich Weber, T. Andrew Black, and Mark S. Johnson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5175–5191, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5175-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5175-2021, 2021
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Here, we present a novel physically based evaporation model to demonstrate that vertical relative humidity (RH) gradients from the land surface to the atmosphere tend to evolve towards zero due to land–atmosphere equilibration processes. Collapsing RH gradients on daily to yearly timescales indicate an emergent land–atmosphere equilibrium, making it possible to determine evapotranspiration using only meteorological information, independent of land surface conditions and vegetation controls.
Yuanyuan Huang, Phillipe Ciais, Maurizio Santoro, David Makowski, Jerome Chave, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Rose Z. Abramoff, Daniel S. Goll, Hui Yang, Ye Chen, Wei Wei, and Shilong Piao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4263–4274, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4263-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4263-2021, 2021
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Roots play a key role in our Earth system. Here we combine 10 307 field measurements of forest root biomass worldwide with global observations of forest structure, climatic conditions, topography, land management and soil characteristics to derive a spatially explicit global high-resolution (~ 1 km) root biomass dataset. In total, 142 ± 25 (95 % CI) Pg of live dry-matter biomass is stored belowground, representing a global average root : shoot biomass ratio of 0.25 ± 0.10.
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Short summary
Forest disturbances are difficult to predict in models because they occur randomly. We discovered that the long-term rules of disturbance known as
regimeleave a unique footprint in a forest's spatial biomass patterns. We trained a model on millions of computer simulations to learn this link. By applying this model to detailed satellite biomass, we could read these patterns to infer the disturbance regime globally, helping make climate projections more accurate.
Forest disturbances are difficult to predict in models because they occur randomly. We...
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