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Model Estimates Of Net Primary Productivity, Evapotranspiration, And Water Use Efficiency In The Terrestrial Ecosystems Of The Southern United States During 1895–2007, Hanqin Tian, Guangsheng Chen, Mingliang Liu, Chi Zhang, Ge Sun, Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu, Xiaofeng Xu, Wei Ren, Shufen Pan, Arthur Chappelka

Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu

The effects of global change on ecosystem productivity and water resources in the southern United States (SUS), a traditionally ‘water-rich’ region and the ‘timber basket’ of the country, are not well quantified. We carried out several simulation experiments to quantify ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) (i.e., NPP/ET) in the SUS by employing an integrated process-based ecosystem model (Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM). The results indicated that the average ET in the SUS was 710 mm during 1895–2007. As a whole, the annual ET increased and decreased slightly during the first and second half …