Journal article
Contrasting biological production trends over land and ocean
Nature climate change, Vol.15(8), pp.880-888
08/2025
DOI: 10.1038/s41558-025-02375-1
Abstract
Terrestrial and marine ecosystems constitute the primary components of the Earth’s biosphere, yet their photosynthetic productions are typically studied separately, which limits understanding of planetary carbon uptake and biosphere health. Here, using multiple satellite-derived products, we identify contrasting net primary production (NPP) trends between land and ocean, probably reflecting their differential sensitivity to climate warming, especially in tropical regions. Planetary NPP shows an overall increase of 0.11 ± 0.13 PgC yr
−1
(
P
= 0.05) from 2003 to 2021, driven by a significant terrestrial enhancement of 0.20 ± 0.07 PgC yr
−1
(
P
< 0.001) and partially offset by an oceanic decline of −0.12 ± 0.12 PgC yr
−1
(
P
= 0.07). While land contributes to the strong upwards NPP trend, the interannual variability in global NPP is predominantly driven by the ocean, especially during strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation events. Our findings highlight the resilience and potential vulnerability of biosphere primary productivity in a warming climate, calling for integrated land–ocean monitoring and assessment to support climate mitigation initiatives.
The authors jointly assess the changes in land and ocean net primary production from 2003 to 2021. They show contrasting trends, with overall planetary increases (0.11 ± 0.13 PgC yr
−1
) driven by terrestrial enhancement and offset by oceanic decline.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Contrasting biological production trends over land and ocean
- Creators
- Yulong Zhang - Duke UniversityWenhong Li - Duke UniversityGe Sun - Southern Research StationJiafu Mao - Oak Ridge National LaboratoryMatthew Dannenberg - University of IowaJingfeng Xiao - Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New HampshireZuchuan Li - Duke Kunshan UniversityHaipeng Zhao - Duke UniversityQianru Zhang - Duke UniversityShineng Hu - Duke UniversityConghe Song - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNicolas Cassar - Duke University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Nature climate change, Vol.15(8), pp.880-888
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41558-025-02375-1
- ISSN
- 1758-678X
- eISSN
- 1758-6798
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group UK
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- OPP-1643534 / National Science Foundation (NSF) (https://doi.org/10.13039/100000001) DOE | LDRD | Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (https://doi.org/10.13039/100006228)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/2025
- Academic Unit
- Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984945083802771
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