Greenhouse Gas Impacts on Forest Microclimates

Research Issue

The structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems are closely coupled to local and regional variations in weather, climate, and atmospheric chemistry.  Soil conditions and vegetation characteristics that develop in response to variations in weather, climate, and atmospheric chemistry can also have important feedback effects on local and regional atmospheric environments.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recognized the importance of these feedback effects in further altering the climate system.  Our ability to predict the future impacts of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and associated changes in the climate system on forest ecosystems requires an understanding of how vegetation responses to increased greenhouse gas concentrations can further alter the local atmospheric environment within forest ecosystems.  It is this local atmospheric environment that governs many of the basic physical and biological processes within forest ecosystems.

Our Research

As part of the Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage study at the Aspen Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facility in northern Wisconsin, we have developed a micrometeorological monitoring network to examine (1) near-surface atmospheric changes induced by changing vegetation conditions brought on by elevated carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations and (2) the secondary effects of these induced microclimatic changes on forest ecosystems.  The data collected via this monitoring network is also providing vital atmospheric data to other FACE scientists studying the biological impacts of increased carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations.

Expected Outcomes

The research results from this research study will improve our understanding of how vegetation changes brought on by increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and ozone can influence forest microclimates.  Although this research study is basic in nature, the results will have applications to forest managers who need information on potential climate change impacts to forests in the northern Great Lakes region.

Research Results

Karnosky, D. F., H. Werner, T. Holopainen, K. Percy, T. Oksanen, E. Oksanen, C. Heerdt, P. Fabian, J. Hagy, W. Heilman, R. Cox, N. Nelson, and R. Matyssek. 2007. Free-air exposure systems to scale up ozone research to mature trees. Plant Biology 9:181-190.

Kubiske, M. E., V. S. Quinn, W. E. Heilman, E. P. McDonald, P. E. Marquardt, R. M. Teclaw, A. L. Friend, and D. F. Karnosky. 2006. Interannual climatic variation mediates elevated CO₂ and O₃ effects on forest growth. Global Change Biology 12:1054-1068.

Percy, K., M. Nosal, W. Heilman, T. Dann, A. Legge, J. Sober, and D. Karnosky. 2006. New exposure-based metric approach for evaluating O₃ risk to North American aspen forests. Environmental Pollution 147:554-566.

Kubiske, M. E., V. S. Quin, W. E. Heilman, E. P. McDonald, P. E. Marquardt, R. M. Teclaw, A. L. Friend, D. F. Karnosky, K. E. Percy, W. J. Mattson, and N. D. Nelson. 2005. Feedbacks between climate and the atmosphere in determing forest growth: climatic variation mediates CO₂ and O₃ effects. 7th International Carbon Dioxide Conference, 26-30 September 2005, Boulder, CO. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminsitration. [Online]. Available: <http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/info/icdc7/index.html>.

Percy, K., M. Nosal, W. Heilman, T. Dann, J. Sober, and D. Karnosky. 2005. The North American ozone air quality standard: efficacy and perfomance with two northern hardwood forest tree species. Workshop on Critical Levels of Ozone, 15-19 November 2005, Obergurgl, Austria. University of Graz, Austria.

Cook, b. D., K. J. Davis, W. Wang, A. Desai, B. F. Berger, R. M. Teclaw, J. G. Martin, P. V. Bolstad, P. S. Bakwin, C. Yi, and W. E. Heilman. 2004. Carbon exchange and venting anomalies in an upland deciduous forest in northern Wisconsin, USA. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 126:271-295.

Karnosky, D. F., D. R. Zak, K. S. Pregitzer, C. S. Awmack, J. G. Bockheim, R. E. Dickson, G. R. Hendrey, G. E. Host, J. S. King, B. J. Kopper, E. L. Kruger, M. E. Kubiske, R. L. Lindroth, W. J. Mattson, E. P. McDonald, A. Noormets, E. Oksanen, W. F. J. Parsons, K. E. Percy, G. K. Podila, D. E. Riemenschneider, P. Sharma, R. Thakur, A. Sober, J. Sober, W. S. Jones, S. Anttonen, E. Vapaavuori, B. Mankosvska, W. Heilman, and J. G. Isebrands. 2003. Tropospheric O₃ moderates responses of temperate hardwood forests to elevated CO₂: A synthesis of molecular to ecosystem results from the Aspen FACE project. Functional Ecology 17:289-304.

Heilman, W. E., M. R. Holdaway, R. M. Teclaw, and J. E. Eenigenburg. 2002. 1999-2001 micrometeorological trends at the Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage (FACTS-II) study site. 25th Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 20-24 May 2002, Norfolk, VA. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. pp. 35-36.

Dickson, R. E., K. F. Lewin, J. G. Isebrands, M. D. Coleman, W. E. Heilman, D. E. Riemenschneider, J. Sober, G. E. Host, D. R. Zak, G. R. Hendrey, K. S. Pregitzer, and D. F. Karnosky. 2000. Forest atmosphere carbon transfer and storage (FACTS-II) - The aspen free-air CO₂ and O₃ enrichment (FACE) project: An overview. General Technical Report NC-214, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station. 68 p.

Heilman, W. E., R. M. Teclaw, J. G. Isebrands, D. F. Karnosky, G. R. Hendrey, and K. S. Pregitzer. 2000. Impacts of elevated CO₂ and O₃ concentrations on forest microclimates: Initial observations from the FACTS-11 aspen FACE facility. 19th International Meeting for Specialists in Air Pollution Effects on Forest Ecosystems, 28-31 May 2000, Houghton, MI. Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI. pp. 36.

Additional information, including links to data and research products are available at the following web site:  http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/4401/focus/face/

 

Research Participants

Principal Investigator

• Warren E. Heilman, Research Meteorologist, USDA-Forest Service Northern Research Station
• Ronald M. Teclaw, Biologist, USDA-Forest Service Northern Research Station

Research Partners

• FACTS II - The Aspen FACE Experiment