Performance of the Remotely-Derived Products in Monitoring Gross Primary Production across Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems in Northwest China

Qing Gu, Hui Zheng, Li Yao, Min Wang, Mingguo Ma, Xufeng Wang and Xuguang Tang
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Qing Gu: Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Hui Zheng: Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Li Yao: Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Min Wang: Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Mingguo Ma: Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Xufeng Wang: Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Xuguang Tang: Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: As an important component to quantify the carbon budget, accurate evaluation of terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) is crucial for large-scale applications, especially in dryland ecosystems. Based on the in situ data from six flux sites in northwestern China from 2014 to 2016, this study compares seasonal and interannual dynamics of carbon fluxes between these arid and semi-arid ecosystems and the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the reliability of multiple remotely-derived GPP products in representative drylands was examined, including the Breathing Earth System Simulator (BESS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and data derived from the OCO-2 solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (GOSIF). The results indicated that the carbon fluxes had clear seasonal patterns, with all ecosystems functioning as carbon sinks. The maize cropland had the highest GPP with 1183 g C m −2 y −1 . Although the net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) in the Tamarix spp. ecosystem was the smallest among these flux sites, it reached 208 g C m −2 y −1 . Furthermore, distinct advantages of GOSIF GPP (with R 2 = 0.85–0.98, and RMSE = 0.87–2.66 g C m −2 d −1 ) were found with good performance. However, large underestimations in three GPP products existed during the growing seasons, except in grassland ecosystems. The main reasons can be ascribed to the uncertainties in the key model parameters, including the underestimated light use efficiency of the MODIS GPP, the same coarse land cover product for the BESS and MODIS GPP, the coarse gridded meteorological data, and distribution of C 3 and C 4 plants. Therefore, it still requires more work to accurately quantify the GPP across these dryland ecosystems.

Keywords: carbon management; eddy covariance; BESS GPP; MODIS GPP; GOSIF GPP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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