Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF): Towards a Better Understanding of Vegetation Dynamics and Carbon Uptake in Arctic-Boreal Ecosystems

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Terrestrial ecosystems in the Arctic-Boreal region play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle as a carbon sink. However, rapid warming in this region induces uncertainties regarding the future net carbon exchange between land and the atmosphere, highlighting the need for better monitoring of the carbon fluxes. Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF), a good proxy for vegetation CO \(^{2}\) uptake, has been broadly utilized to assess vegetation dynamics and carbon uptake at the global scale. However, the full potential and limitations of SIF in the Arctic-Boreal region have not been explored. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the latest insights into Arctic-Boreal carbon uptake through SIF analyses, underscoring the advances and challenges of SIF in solving emergent unknowns in this region. Additionally, this review proposes applications of SIF across scales in support of other observational and modeling platforms for better understanding Arctic-Boreal vegetation dynamics and carbon fluxes.

Recent Findings

Cross-scale SIF measurements complement each other, offering valuable perspectives on Arctic-Boreal ecosystems, such as vegetation phenology, carbon uptake, carbon-water coupling, and ecosystem responses to disturbances. By incorporating SIF into land surface modeling, the understanding of Arctic-Boreal changes and their climate drivers can be mechanistically enhanced, providing critical insights into the changes of Arctic-Boreal ecosystems under global warming.

Summary

While SIF measurements are more abundant and with finer spatiotemporal resolutions, it is important to note that the coverage of these measurements is still limited and uneven in the Arctic-Boreal region. To address this limitation and further advance our understanding of the Arctic-Boreal carbon cycle, this review advocates for fostering a SIF network providing long-term and continuous measurements across spatial scales. Simultaneously measuring SIF and other environmental variables in the context of a multi-modal sensing system can help us comprehensively characterize Arctic-Boreal ecosystems with spatial details in land surface models, ultimately contributing to more robust climate projections.