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Biodiversity buffers the response of spring leaf unfolding to climate warming

Author

Listed:
  • Pengju Shen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xiaoyue Wang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Constantin M. Zohner

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Josep Peñuelas

    (Bellaterra
    CREAF)

  • Yuyu Zhou

    (Iowa State University)

  • Zhiyao Tang

    (Peking University)

  • Jianyang Xia

    (East China Normal University)

  • Hua Zheng

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yongshuo Fu

    (Beijing Normal University)

  • Jingjing Liang

    (Purdue University)

  • Weiwei Sun

    (Ningbo University)

  • Yongguang Zhang

    (Nanjing University)

  • Chaoyang Wu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Understanding the sensitivity of spring leaf-out dates to temperature (ST) is integral to predicting phenological responses to climate warming and the consequences for global biogeochemical cycles. While variation in ST has been shown to be influenced by local climate adaptations, the impact of biodiversity remains unknown. Here we combine 393,139 forest inventory plots with satellite-derived ST across the northern hemisphere during 2001–2022 to show that biodiversity greatly affects spatial variation in ST and even surpasses the importance of climate variables. High tree diversity significantly weakened ST, possibly driven by changes in root depth and soil processes. We show that current Earth system models fail to reproduce the observed negative correlation between ST and biodiversity, with important implications for phenological responses under future pathways. Our results highlight the need to incorporate the buffering effects of biodiversity to better understand the impact of climate warming on spring leaf unfolding and carbon uptake.

Suggested Citation

  • Pengju Shen & Xiaoyue Wang & Constantin M. Zohner & Josep Peñuelas & Yuyu Zhou & Zhiyao Tang & Jianyang Xia & Hua Zheng & Yongshuo Fu & Jingjing Liang & Weiwei Sun & Yongguang Zhang & Chaoyang Wu, 2024. "Biodiversity buffers the response of spring leaf unfolding to climate warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(8), pages 863-868, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:14:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1038_s41558-024-02035-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-02035-w
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