Sensitivity of global terrestrial ecosystems to 14 years of climate variability

Seddon, A; Fauria, M; Long, P; Benz, D; Willis, K

Alternative title:: 2000-2013 monthly time-series of 5km resolution MODIS-derived enhanced vegetation index, air temperature, water availability, and cloud cover

Documentation:: We derived monthly time-series of four key terrestrial ecosystem variables at 0.05 degree (~5km) resolution from observations by the MODIS sensor on Terra (AM) for the period February 2010-December 2013 inclusive. We used the MOD13C2 product (Huete et al 2002) which comprises monthly, global Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) at 0.05 degree resolution. We used the MOD07_L2 Atmospheric Profile product (Seeman et al 2006) as a measure of air temperature . Five-minue swaths of Retrieved Tempe...
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APA Style

Seddon, A., Fauria, M., Long, P., Benz, D., & Willis, K. (2016). Sensitivity of global terrestrial ecosystems to 14 years of climate variability. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Seddon, A, et al. Sensitivity of Global Terrestrial Ecosystems to 14 Years of Climate Variability. University of Oxford, 2016.

Chicago Style

Seddon, A, M Fauria, P Long, D Benz, and K Willis. 2016. Sensitivity of Global Terrestrial Ecosystems to 14 Years of Climate Variability. University of Oxford.
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Files:: aetpet.zip

(zip, 1.5GB, Terms of use)

attrinutes.json

(json, 234.0B, Terms of use)

cloud.zip

(zip, 2.3GB, Terms of use)

evi.zip

(zip, 2.0GB, Terms of use)

temp.zip

(zip, 509.5MB, Terms of use)

Authors/Creators

+ Seddon, A More by this author/creator

Department:: University of Bergen
Role:: Researcher, Creator

+ Fauria, M More by this author/creator

Department:: University of Oxford
Role:: Creator, Researcher

+ Long, P More by this author/creator

Department:: University of Oxford
Role:: Creator, Researcher

+ Benz, D More by this author/creator

Department:: University of Oxford
Role:: Creator, Researcher

+ Willis, K More by this author/creator

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: GLAM
Department:: Botanic Garden
Role:: Principal Investigator (PI), Creator

+ European Commisson More from this funder

Grant:: LIFE12 ENV/UK/000473

+ Statoil ASA More from this funder

Grant:: 4501995279

Publisher:: University of Oxford
Publication date:: 2016
DOI:: 10.5287/bodleian:st74cq64h

Subjects:: Eng
Pubs id:: 1480465
UUID:: uuid:bd744beb-dddb-4854-9326-daaeacecfe1b
Local pid:: pubs:1480465
Deposit date:: 2015-08-25
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_bd744bebdddb48549326daaeacecfe1b

Related item:: Seddon et al (2016) Sensitivity of global terrestrial ecosystems to climate variability. Nature
Description:: Identification of properties that contribute to the persistence and resilience of ecosystems despite climate change constitutes a research priority of global significance. Here, we present a novel, empirical approach to assess the relative sensitivity of ecosystems to climate variability, one property of resilience that builds on theoretical modelling work recognising that systems closer to critical thresholds respond more sensitively to external perturbations. We develop a new metric, the Vegetation Sensitivity Index (VSI) which identifies areas sensitive to climate variability over the past 14 years. The metric uses time-series data of MODIS derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and three climatic variables that drive vegetation productivity (air temperature, water availability and cloudiness). Underlying the analysis is an autoregressive modelling approach used to identify regions with memory effects and reduced response rates to external forcing. We find ecologically sensitive regions with amplified responses to climate variability in the arctic tundra, parts of the boreal forest belt, the tropical rainforest, alpine regions worldwide, steppe and prairie regions of central Asia and North and South America, the Caatinga deciduous forest in eastern South America, and eastern areas of Australia. Our study provides a quantitative methodology for assessing the relative response rate of ecosystems – be they natural or with a strong anthropogenic signature – to environmental variability, which is the first step to address why some regions appear to be more sensitive than others and what impact this has upon the resilience of ecosystem service provision and human wellbeing.

Terms of use

Copyright holder:: Marc Macias Fauria. Peter Long. Katherine Willis. Alistair Seddon. David Benz

Licence:: Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By)

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