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FACE Model Data Synthesis

Illustration of FACE MDS Ecosystem
Topic:

Plant photosynthetic rates increase and stomatal apertures decrease in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2), increasing both plant carbon (C) availability and water use efficiency. These physiological responses to eCO2 are well characterised and understood, however the ecological effects of these responses as they cascade through plant and ecosystem processes are complex and subject to multiple interactions and feedbacks that operate at various timescales. Therefore the response of the terrestrial carbon sink to increasing atmospheric CO2 remains the largest uncertainty in global C cycle modelling to date, and is a huge contributor to uncertainty in projections of climate change. 

The Free Air CO2 Enrichment Model-Data Synthesis (FACE-MDS) was established in 2008 with support from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and from 2011 onwards with funding from the Biological and Environmental Research program of DOE's Office of Science. The initial plan was to benchmark model predictions of terrestrial ecosystem responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 using data from the Duke and Oak Ridge FACE experiments, two of the longest and most comprehensive experimental datasets on ecosystem responses to elevated CO2. The project soon evolved to delve deeper into model results and pull apart the underlying reasons for model behaviour, a method we refer to as model-data synthesis or assumption centered modeling. The FACE-MDS working group has advanced understanding of terrestrial ecosystem responses to elevated atmospheric CO2, identified areas for model improvements and questions for further experimental analysis, and advances a new standard for model intercomparison which we hope will be adopted by many modeling groups.

FACE MDS Group Photo

The FACE-MDS is a national and international collaboration of scientists at 20 institutions across six nations led by principal investigators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA and key partners at Hawkesbury Institute for Environment and Macquarie University in Australia, and Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Germany. The distribution of key partners and collaborators across the globe posed an interesting challenge to the organization of the project. Communication was primarily via annual project meetings and direct emails.

We would like to thank our DOE and NCEAS sponsors for their support and all our collaborators for many unfunded hours donated to the project.

If you have any questions please contact Anthony Walker (walkerap _at_ ornl.gov) or Rich Norby (norbyrj _at_ ornl.gov). 

 

Data

FACE-MDS Phase 2: Meteorological Data and Protocols. Walker, A.P., Yang, B., Boden, T., De Kauwe, M.G., Fenstermaker, L.F., Medlyn, B., Megonigal, J.P., Oren, R., Pendall, E., Zak, D.R., Zaehle, S., Burton, A.J., Drake, B.G., Evans, R.D., Hungate, B., Johnson, D.P., Kim, D., LeCain, D., Lewin, K.F., Lu, M., Mueller, K.F., Nowak, R.S., Riggs, J.S., Smith, S.D., Tharp, L.M., Zelikova, T.J., Norby, R.J., 2018. doi:10.15485/1480325 

FACE-MDS Phase 2: Data from Six US-Located Elevated CO2 Experiments. Walker, A.P., De Kauwe, M.G., Fenstermaker, L.F., Hungate, B., Medlyn, B., Megonigal, J.P., Oren, R., Pendall, E., Talhelm, A.F., Zaehle, S., Zak, D.R., Boden, T., Brown, A.L., Burton, A.J., Butnor, J.R., Day, F.P., Drake, B.G., Dijkstra, P., Evans, R.D., Finzi, A.C., Iversen, C.M., Jackson, R.B., LeCain, D., McCarthy, H.R., Powell, T.L., Nowak, R.S., Riggs, J.S., Smith, S.D., Stover, D.B., Tharp, L.M., Warren, J.M., Wullschleger, S.D., Norby, R.J., 2018. doi:10.15485/1480325 

FACE-MDS Phase 2: Model Output. Walker, A.P., De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B., Zaehle, S., Asao, S., Guenet, B., Harper, A., Hickler, T., Jain, A.K., Luo, Y., Lu, X., Luus, K., Shu, S., Wang, Y.-P., Werner, C., Xia, J., Norby, R.J., 2018. doi:10.15485/1480325 

Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment (PHACE) project data used in De Kauwe et al., (2017) can be found here and here. See Phase 2 datasets for meterological data, protocol, and model output. 

Phase 1 Free Air CO2 Enrichment Model-Data Synthesis (FACE-MDS): Meteorological Data. Norby, R.J., Oren, R., Boden, T.A., De Kauwe, M.G., Kim, D., Medlyn, B.E., Riggs, J.S., Tharp, M.L., Walker, A.P., Yang, B., Zaehle, S., 2015. doi:10.3334/CDIAC/FACE-MDS/MET.01 

Phase 1 Free Air CO2 Enrichment Model-Data Synthesis (FACE-MDS): Model Output Data. Walker, A.P., De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., Asao, S., Dietze, M., El-Masri, B., Hanson, P.J., Hickler, T., Jain, A., Luo, Y., Parton, W.J., Prentice, I.C., Ricciuto, D.M., Thornton, P.E., Wang, S., Wang, Y.-P., Warlind, D., Weng, E., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2015. doi:10.3334/CDIAC/FACE-MDS/MOD.01

Literature synthesis and modelling data of terrestrial ecosystem responses to increasing atmospheric CO2. Walker, A.P., Powell, A.S., Taylor, B.N., 2020. doi:10.15485/1644687 

 

FACE-MDS Community Publications

Papers developed as part of the FACE-MDS project or in close collaboration with partner projects.

2022

Norby, R.J., Warren, J.M., Iversen, C.M., Childs, J., Jawdy, S.S., Walker, A.P., 2022. Forest stand and canopy development unaltered by 12 years of CO2 enrichment. Tree Physiology. 229, 2413–2445.doi:10.1093/treephys/tpab107. [pdf]

 

2021

Walker, A.P., De Kauwe, M.G., Bastos, A., Belmecheri, S., Georgiou, K., Keeling, R.F., McMahon, S.M., Medlyn, B.E., Moore, D.J.P., Norby, R.J., Zaehle, S., Anderson‐Teixeira, K.J., Battipaglia, G., Brienen, R.J.W., Cabugao, K.G., Cailleret, M., Campbell, E., Canadell, J.G., Ciais, P., Craig, M.E., Ellsworth, D.S., Farquhar, G.D., Fatichi, S., Fisher, J.B., Frank, D.C., Graven, H., Gu, L., Haverd, V., Heilman, K., Heimann, M., Hungate, B.A., Iversen, C.M., Joos, F., Jiang, M., Keenan, T.F., Knauer, J., Körner, C., Leshyk, V.O., Leuzinger, S., Liu, Y., MacBean, N., Malhi, Y., McVicar, T.R., Penuelas, J., Pongratz, J., Powell, A.S., Riutta, T., Sabot, M.E.B., Schleucher, J., Sitch, S., Smith, W.K., Sulman, B., Taylor, B., Terrer, C., Torn, M.S., Treseder, K.K., Trugman, A.T., Trumbore, S.E., Mantgem, P.J. van, Voelker, S.L., Whelan, M.E., Zuidema, P.A., 2021. Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2. New Phytologist 229, 2413–2445.doi:10.1111/nph.16866. [pdf]

 

2020

McDowell, N.G., Allen, C.D., Anderson-Teixeira, K., Aukema, B.H., Bond-Lamberty, B., Chini, L., Clark, J.S., Dietze, M., Grossiord, C., Hanbury-Brown, A., Hurtt, G.C., Jackson, R.B., Johnson, D.J., Kueppers, L., Lichstein, J.W., Ogle, K., Poulter, B., Pugh, T.A.M., Seidl, R., Turner, M.G., Uriarte, M., Walker, A.P., Xu, C., 2020. Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world. Science 368. doi:10.1126/science.aaz9463. [pdf]

Wilcox, K.R., Komatsu, K.J., Avolio, M.L., 2020. Improving collaborations between empiricists and modelers to advance grassland community dynamics in ecosystem models. New Phytologist 228, 1467–1471. doi:10.1111/nph.16900. [pdf]

 

2019

Fleischer, K., Rammig, A., Kauwe, M.G.D., Walker, A.P., Domingues, T.F., Fuchslueger, L., Garcia, S., Goll, D.S., Grandis, A., Jiang, M., Haverd, V., Hofhansl, F., Holm, J.A., Kruijt, B., Leung, F., Medlyn, B.E., Mercado, L.M., Norby, R.J., Pak, B., Randow, C. von, Quesada, C.A., Schaap, K.J., Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., Wang, Y.-P., Yang, X., Zaehle, S., Zhu, Q., Lapola, D.M., 2019. Amazon forest response to CO2 fertilization dependent on plant phosphorus acquisition. Nature Geoscience doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0404-9. [pdf]

Jiang, M., Zaehle, S., Kauwe, M.G.D., Walker, A.P., Caldararu, S., Ellsworth, D.S., Medlyn, B.E., 2019. The quasi-equilibrium framework revisited: analyzing long-term CO2 enrichment responses in plant–soil models. Geoscientific Model Development 12, 2069–2089. doi:10.5194/gmd-12-2069-2019. [pdf]

Walker, A.P., Kauwe, M.G.D., Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., Iversen, C.M., Asao, S., Guenet, B., Harper, A., Hickler, T., Hungate, B.A., Jain, A.K., Luo, Y., Lu, X., Lu, M., Luus, K., Megonigal, J.P., Oren, R., Ryan, E., Shu, S., Talhelm, A., Wang, Y.-P., Warren, J.M., Werner, C., Xia, J., Yang, B., Zak, D.R., Norby, R.J., 2019. Decadal biomass increment in early secondary succession woody ecosystems is increased by CO2 enrichment. Nature Communications 10, 454. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08348-1. [pdf]

 

2017

Ryan, E.M., Ogle, K., Peltier, D., Walker, A.P., De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Williams, D.G., Parton, W., Asao, S., Guenet, B., Harper, A.B., Lu, X., Luus, K.A., Zaehle, S., Shu, S., Werner, C., Xia, J., Pendall, E., 2017. Gross primary production responses to warming, elevated CO2, and irrigation: quantifying the drivers of ecosystem physiology in a semiarid grassland. Global Change Biology 23, 3092–3106. doi:10.1111/gcb.13602. [pdf]

De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Walker, A.P., Zaehle, S., Asao, S., Guenet, B., Harper, A.B., Hickler, T., Jain, A., Luo, Y., Lu, X., Luus, K., Parton, W.J., Shu, S., Wang, Y.-P., Werner, C., Xia, J., Pendall, E., Morgan, J.A., Ryan, E.M., Carrillo, Y., Dijkstra, F.A., Zelikova, T.J., Norby, R.J., 2017. Challenging terrestrial biosphere models with data from the long-term multi-factor Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment experiment. Global Change Biology 23, 3623-3645. doi:10.1111/gcb.13643. [pdf]

Norby, R.J., Kauwe, M.G.D., Walker, A.P., Werner, C., Zaehle, S., Zak, D.R., 2017. Comment on “Mycorrhizal association as a primary control of the CO2 fertilization effect.” Science 355, 358–358. doi:10.1126/science.aai7976. [pdf]

 

2016

Medlyn, B.E., De Kauwe, M.G., Zaehle, S., Walker, A.P., Duursma, R.A., Luus, K., Mishurov, M., Pak, B., Smith, B., Wang, Y.-P., Yang, X., Crous, K.Y., Drake, J.E., Gimeno, T.E., Macdonald, C.A., Norby, R.J., Power, S.A., Tjoelker, M.G., Ellsworth, D.S., 2016. Using models to guide field experiments: a priori predictions for the CO2 response of a nutrient- and water-limited native Eucalypt woodland. Global Change Biology 22, 2834–2851. doi:10.1111/gcb.13268. [pdf]

Norby, R.J., De Kauwe, M.G., Domingues, T.F., Duursma, R.A., Ellsworth, D.S., Goll, D.S., Lapola, D.M., Luus, K.A., MacKenzie, A.R., Medlyn, B.E., Pavlick, R., Rammig, A., Smith, B., Thomas, R., Thonicke, K., Walker, A.P., Yang, X., Zaehle, S., 2016. Model-data synthesis for the next generation of forest free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments. New Phytologist 209, 17–28. doi:10.1111/nph.13593. [pdf]

 

2015

Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., De Kauwe, M.G., Walker, A.P., Dietze, M.C., Hanson, P.J., Hickler, T., Jain, A.K., Luo, Y., Parton, W.J., Prentice, I.C., Thornton, P.E., Wang, S., Wang, Y.-P., Weng, E., Iversen, C.M., McCarthy, H.R., Warren, J.M., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2015. Using ecosystem experiments to improve vegetation models Nature Climate Change 5, 528–534. doi:10.1038/nclimate2621. [pdf]

Walker, A.P., Zaehle, S., Medlyn, B.E., De Kauwe, M.G., Asao, S., Hickler, T., Parton, W., Ricciuto, D., Wang, Y.-P., Wårlind, D., Norby, R.J., 2015. Predicting long-term carbon sequestration in response to CO2 enrichment: How and why do current ecosystem models differ? Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2014GB004995. doi:10.1002/2014GB004995 [pdf]

 

2014

De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., Walker, A.P., Dietze, M.C., Wang, Y.-P., Luo, Y., Jain, A.K., El-Masri, B., Hickler, T., Wårlind, D., Weng, E., Parton, W.J., Thornton, P.E., Wang, S., Prentice, I.C., Asao, S., Smith, B., McCarthy, H.R., Iversen, C.M., Hanson, P.J., Warren, J.M., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2014. Where does the carbon go? A model–data intercomparison of vegetation carbon allocation and turnover processes at two temperate forest free-air CO2 enrichment sites. New Phytologist 203, 883–899. doi:10.1111/nph.12847. [pdf]

Walker, A.P., Hanson, P.J., De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., Asao, S., Dietze, M., Hickler, T., Huntingford, C., Iversen, C.M., Jain, A., Lomas, M., Luo, Y., Mccarthy, H., Parton, W.J., Prentice, I.C., Thornton, P.E., Wang, S., Wang, Y.-P., Wårlind, D., Weng, E., Warren, J.M., Woodward, F.I., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2014. Comprehensive ecosystem model-data synthesis using multiple data sets at two temperate forest free-air CO2 enrichment experiments: Model performance at ambient CO2 concentration. Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences 119, 2013JG002553. doi:10.1002/2013JG002553. [pdf]

Zaehle, S., Medlyn, B.E., De Kauwe, M.G., Walker, A.P., Dietze, M.C., Hickler, T., Luo, Y., Wang, Y.-P., El-Masri, B., Thornton, P., Jain, A., Wang, S., Wårlind, D., Weng, E., Parton, W., Iversen, C.M., Gallet-Budynek, A., Mccarthy, H., Finzi, A., Hanson, P.J., Prentice, I.C., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2014. Evaluation of 11 terrestrial carbon–nitrogen cycle models against observations from two temperate Free-Air CO2 Enrichment studies. New Phytologist 202, 803–822. doi:10.1111/nph.12697. [pdf]

 

2013

De Kauwe, M.G., Medlyn, B.E., Zaehle, S., Walker, A.P., Dietze, M.C., Hickler, T., Jain, A.K., Luo, Y., Parton, W.J., Prentice, I.C., Smith, B., Thornton, P.E., Wang, S., Wang, Y.-P., Wårlind, D., Weng, E., Crous, K.Y., Ellsworth, D.S., Hanson, P.J., Seok Kim, H.-, Warren, J.M., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2013. Forest water use and water use efficiency at elevated CO2: a model-data intercomparison at two contrasting temperate forest FACE sites.  Global Change Biology 19, 1759–1779. doi:10.1111/gcb.12164. [pdf]

 

FACE-MDS Contributed to Publications

Papers that FACE-MDS team members contributed to using FACE-MDS support but not developed directly as part of the FACE-MDS project.

 

2022

Pan, Y., Jackson, R.B., Hollinger, D.Y., Phillips, O.L., Nowak, R.S., Norby, R.J., Oren, R., Reich, P.B., Lüscher, A., Mueller, K.E., Owensby, C., Birdsey, R., Hom, J., Luo, Y., 2022. Contrasting responses of woody and grassland ecosystems to increased CO2 as water supply varies. Nature Ecololgy & Evolution 6, 315–323. doi:10.1038/s41559-021-01642-6. [pdf]

Liu, Y., Ogle, K., Lichstein, J.W., Jackson, S.T., 2022. Estimation of pollen productivity and dispersal: How pollen assemblages in small lakes represent vegetation. Ecological Monographse1513. doi:10.1002/ecm.1513. [pdf]

 

2018

Sánchez-de León, Y., Wise, D.H., Lugo-Pérez, J., Norby, R.J., James, S.W., Gonzalez-Meler, M.A., 2018. Endogeic earthworm densities increase in response to higher fine-root production in a forest exposed to elevated CO2. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 122, 31-38. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.03.027. [pdf]

 

2017

Liu, S., Bond-Lamberty, B., Boysen, L.R., Ford, J.D., Fox, A., Gallo, K., Hatfield, J., Henebry, G.M., Huntington, T.G., Liu, Z., Loveland, T.R., Norby, R.J., Sohl, T., Steiner, A.L., Yuan, W., Zhang, Z., Zhao, S., 2017. Grand Challenges in Understanding the Interplay of Climate and Land Changes. Earth Interactions 21, 1–43. doi:10.1175/EI-D-16-0012.1. [pdf]

 

2015

Eberhardt, T.L., Labbé, N., So, C.-L., Kim, K., Reed, K.G., Leduc, D.J., Warren, J.M., 2015. Effects of long-term elevated CO2 treatment on the inner and outer bark chemistry of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) trees. Trees 29, 1735–1747. doi:10.1007/s00468-015-1254-8. [pdf]

Hockaday, W.C., Gallagher, M.E., Masiello, C.A., Baldock, J.A., Iversen, C.M., Norby, R.J., 2015. Forest soil carbon oxidation state and oxidative ratio increase in response to elevated CO2. Journal Geophysical Research Biogeosciences 2015JG003010. doi:10.1002/2015JG003010. [pdf]

Warren, J.M., Jensen, A.M., Medlyn, B.E., Norby, R.J., Tissue, D.T., 2015. Carbon dioxide stimulation of photosynthesis in Liquidambar styraciflua is not sustained during a 12-year field experiment. AoB PLANTS 7. doi:10.1093/aobpla/plu074. [pdf]

Hickler, T., Rammig, A., Werner, C., 2015. Modelling CO2 Impacts on Forest Productivity. Current Forestry Reports 1, 69–80. doi:10.1007/s40725-015-0014-8. [pdf]

 

2014

Cheng, W., Parton, W.J., Gonzalez-Meler, M.A., Phillips, R., Asao, S., McNickle, G.G., Brzostek, E., Jastrow, J.D., 2014. Synthesis and modeling perspectives of rhizosphere priming. New Phytologist 201, 31–44. doi:10.1111/nph.12440. [pdf]