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A new radiation index predicts the gross primary production of diverse terrestrial ecosystems
  • +10
  • Qing-Hai Song,
  • Shusen Wang,
  • Guirui Yu,
  • Naishen Liang,
  • Li-qing Sha,
  • Wenjun Zhou,
  • Yuntong Liu,
  • Hua Lin,
  • John Grace,
  • Yi-Ping Zhang,
  • Palingamoorthy Gnanamoorthy,
  • Sadia Bibi,
  • Junbin Zhao
Qing-Hai Song
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Shusen Wang
Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada
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Guirui Yu
Information Management Group for the Synthesis Center of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN)
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Naishen Liang
Global Carbon Cycle Research Section, Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
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Li-qing Sha
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Wenjun Zhou
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Yuntong Liu
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Hua Lin
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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John Grace
University of Edinburgh
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Yi-Ping Zhang
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Palingamoorthy Gnanamoorthy
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Sadia Bibi
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Junbin Zhao
Department of biogeochemistry and soil quality, division of environment and natural resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Norway
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Abstract

Solar radiation is the primary energy source that drives the physical and biochemical processes and determines the gross primary production (GPP) of an ecosystem. Even though the relationship between solar radiation and GPP is acknowledged, no radiation index (RI) has been developed to estimate GPP. Using data consisting of a total of 267 site-years obtained from 54 flux sites of diverse ecosystems, we introduced a RI that showed a strong linear relationship with GPP. Importantly, the estimation of GPP using the RI is independent of ecosystem types, making it a simple and universal method to estimate the productivity of any terrestrial ecosystems. The results from this study demonstrated the reliable performance of the RI in estimating GPP and its potential application in upscaling and prediction.