Comment on "Recent global decline of CO2 fertilization effects on vegetation photosynthesis"

Zaichun Zhu; Hui Zeng; Ranga B Myneni; Chi Chen; Qian Zhao; Junjun Zha; Simin Zhan; Ian MacLachlan

doi:10.1126/science.abg5673

Comment on "Recent global decline of CO₂ fertilization effects on vegetation photosynthesis"

Science. 2021 Sep 24;373(6562):eabg5673. doi: 10.1126/science.abg5673. Epub 2021 Sep 23.

Authors

Zaichun Zhu¹, Hui Zeng¹, Ranga B Myneni², Chi Chen^{3

4}, Qian Zhao¹, Junjun Zha¹, Simin Zhan¹, Ian MacLachlan¹

Affiliations

¹ Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China.
² Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
³ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁴ Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

PMID: 34554772
DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5673

Abstract

Wang et al. (Research Articles, 11 December 2020, p. 1295) reported a large decrease in CO₂ fertilization effect (CFE) across the globe during the period 1982–2015 and suggested that ecosystem models underestimate the rate of CFE decline. We find that their claims are artifacts of incorrect processing of satellite data and problematic methods for deriving and comparing CFE between satellite data and model simulations.

Publication types

Comment

MeSH terms

Carbon Dioxide*
Fertilization
Photosynthesis*

Substances

Carbon Dioxide