Significant sensitivity of global vegetation productivity to terrestrial surface wind speed changes

Haohao Wu, Congsheng Fu (), Lingling Zhang, Zelalem A. Mekonnen, Qing Zhu, Kailiang Yu, Philippe Ciais, Jianyao Chen, Dagang Wang, Huawu Wu and Guishan Yang
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Haohao Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Congsheng Fu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lingling Zhang: Chuzhou University
Zelalem A. Mekonnen: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Qing Zhu: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Kailiang Yu: Princeton University
Philippe Ciais: IPSL-LSCECEA/CNRS/UVSQ Saclay
Jianyao Chen: Sun Yat-sen University
Dagang Wang: Sun Yat-sen University
Huawu Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guishan Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Decadal changes in terrestrial surface wind speed since the 1960s have been extensively documented, while the mechanism and the extent of their impacts on terrestrial ecosystem productivity remain unclear. Here, we systematically explore the impacts of wind speed changes on terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) using satellite-derived data, reanalysis datasets, flux tower observations, CMIP6 models, and exploratory simulation experiments. Our results show a negative sensitivity of terrestrial GPP to wind speed change, ranging from −156.67 to −65.82 g C m−2 yr−1 (m s−1)−1, across different data sources from 1983 to 2100. This is mainly attributed to the impacts of wind speed decline on stomatal conductance by reducing atmospheric dryness and soil drying. We find that during 1983 – 2010, wind speed decline is the most important factor, after rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, in its contribution to the increasing trend in GPP (6.0% –7.8%). With further declines in wind speed, this contribution to GPP is projected to rank between second and third during 2031 – 2100. Among seven plant functional types, grasslands contribute most to the wind-induced changes in the GPP trend under current and future climates. These findings highlight the substantial effects of wind speed on centennial-scale global carbon dynamics.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65000-x

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