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Cited by 116Fire effects on ecosystemsAtmospheric aerosols and cloudsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols

Fires increase Amazon forest productivity through increases in diffuse radiation

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Rap, A., Spracklen, D. V., Mercado, L., Reddington, C. L., Haywood, J. M., Ellis, R. J., Phillips, O. L., Artaxo, P. +3 more·2015·Geophysical Research Letters
DOI 10.1002/2015gl063719
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Abstract

Atmospheric aerosol scatters solar radiation increasing the fraction of diffuse radiation and the efficiency of photosynthesis. We quantify the impacts of biomass burning aerosol (BBA) on diffuse radiation and plant photosynthesis across Amazonia during 1998–2007. Evaluation against observed aerosol optical depth allows us to provide lower and upper BBA emissions estimates. BBA increases Amazon basin annual mean diffuse radiation by 3.4–6.8% and net primary production (NPP) by 1.4–2.8%, with quoted ranges driven by uncertainty in BBA emissions. The enhancement of Amazon basin NPP by 78–156 Tg C a−1 is equivalent to 33–65% of the annual regional carbon emissions from biomass burning. This NPP increase occurs during the dry season and acts to counteract some of the observed effect of drought on tropical production. We estimate that 30–60 Tg C a−1 of this NPP enhancement is within woody tissue, accounting for 8–16% of the observed carbon sink across mature Amazonian forests.

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  • Changes in diffuse/direct radiation fraction induced by changes in atmospheric aerosol loading affect the efficiency of plant productivity.

    “Changes in diffuse/direct radiation fraction induced by changes in atmospheric aerosol loading affect the ef fi ciency of plant productivity (Rap et al., 2015).”

    From Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem (2018) · cites this paper as Rap et al., 2015

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Authors
Rap, A., Spracklen, D. V., Mercado, L., Reddington, C. L., Haywood, J. M., Ellis, R. J., Phillips, O. L., Artaxo, P., Bonal, D., Restrepo Coupe, N., & Butt, N.
Affiliations
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • University of Exeter (GB)
  • UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
  • Plant Functional Biology & Climate Change Cluster University of Technology Sydney Ultimo New South Wales Australia
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
Corresponding author
Rap, A.
ORCID
Venue
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Published
2015-06-09
Volume
42
Issue
11
Pages
4654-4662
ISSN
  • 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-8007
DOI
10.1002/2015gl063719
OpenAlex
W2164875928
Cited by
116
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 3
FWCI
9.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
  • NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
  • Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Natural Environment Research Council (NE/J004723/1, NE/J009822/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Keywords
biomass burning aerosols, diffuse radiation, net primary productivity, photosynthetic efficiency, aerosol optical depth, carbon sink, dry season, tropical forest carbon

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