Global responses of terrestrial productivity to contemporary climatic oscillations.

ABSTRACT: The terrestrial biosphere is subjected to a wide range of natural climatic oscillations. Best known is the El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO) that exerts globally extensive impacts on crops and natural vegetation. A 50-year time series of ENSO events has been analysed to determine those geographical areas that are reliably impacted by ENSO events. Most areas are impacted by changes in precipitation; however, the Pacific Northwest is warmed by El Niño events. Vegetation gross primary production (GPP) has been simulated for these areas, and tests well against independent satellite observations of the normalized difference vegetation index. Analyses of selected geographical areas indicate that changes in GPP often lead to significant changes in ecosystem structure and dynamics. The Pacific d

SUBMITTER: Woodward FI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2606761 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature