Comment on egusphere-2023-3022

Abstract

Abstract. Global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are largely driven by terrestrial photosynthesis, of which tropical forests account for one third. Relative to other tropical regions, less is known about the seasonality of African tropical forest productivity and its synchrony with environmental factors due to a lack of in situ carbon flux data. To help fill this knowledge gap, we use spaceborne solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), vegetation indices, and climate data to investigate the seasonality and synchrony of photosynthesis in Africa’s tropical forest ecoregions. We find West African SIF to increase during the dry season and peak prior to precipitation, as has been observed in the Amazon. In Central Africa, we find a continental-scale bimodal seasonality in SIF, the minimum of which is synchronous with precipitation, but its maximum is likely less related to environmental drivers.

Authors 7

1. Russell Doughty corresponding

   University of Oklahoma

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

2. Michael C. Wimberly

   University of Oklahoma

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

3. Dan Wanyama

   University of Oklahoma

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

4. Hélène Peiro Aachen Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   Space Research Organisation Netherlands · University of Oklahoma

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

   Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Leiden, The Netherlands

5. Nicholas Cody Parazoo

   California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA

6. Sean Crowell
   Affiliation as printed

   LumenUs Scientific Solutions, LLC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

7. Moses Azong Cho

   Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Precision Agriculture Research Group, Advanced Agriculture and Food, CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa