Spatial variations and controls of carbon use efficiency in China’s terrestrial ecosystems

Carbon use efficiency (CUE), one of the most important eco-physiological parameters, represents the capacity of plants to transform carbon into new biomass. Understanding the variations and controls of CUE is crucial for regional carbon assessment. Here, we used 15-years of continuous remote sensing data to examine the variations of CUE across broad geographic and climatic gradients in China. The results showed that the vegetation CUE was averaged to 0.54 ± 0.11 with minor interannual variation. However, the CUE greatly varied with geographic gradients and ecosystem types. Forests have a lower CUE than grasslands and croplands. Evergreen needleleaf forests have a higher CUE than other forest types. Climate factors (mean annual temperature (MAT), precipitation (MAP) and the index of water availability (IWA)) dominantly regulated the spatial variations of CUE. The CUE exhibited a linear decrease with enhanced MAT and MAP and a parabolic response to the IWA. Furthermore, the responses of CUE to environmental change varied with individual ecosystem type. In contrast, precipitation exerted strong control on CUE in grassland, while in forest and cropland, the CUE was mainly controlled by the available water. This study identifies the variations and response of CUE to environmental drivers in China, which will be valuable for the regional assessment of carbon cycling dynamics under future climate change.