Distinct response of gross primary productivity in five terrestrial biomes to precipitation variability

Summary

Abstract Climate change will impact precipitation variability, potentially accelerating climate-terrestrial carbon feedbacks. However, the response of ecosystems to precipitation variability is difficult to constrain due to myriad physiological and abiotic variables that limit terrestrial productivity. Based on a combination of satellite imagery and a global network of daily precipitation data, we present here a statistical framework to isolate the impact of precipitation variability on the gross primary productivity of five biomes that collectively account for 50% of global land area. The productivity of mesic grasslands and forests decreases by ~28% and ~7% (respectively) in response to more irregular rain within the year, while the sensitivity is halved in response to higher year-to-yea