Changes in the seasonal timing of ecosystem carbon, water and energy exchange are key sources of variation in biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Referencing this variability to traditional phenological events, such as bud break or flowering, introduces additional uncertainty with little mechanistic relationship to the process of interest. Instead, the seasonal cycles of each process must be understood in the context of biological and environmental factors that affect it. Some processes, like photosynthesis, are represented with high degree of realism and accuracy in several existing ecosystem process models, whereas others still have significant uncertainties. This volume summarizes the current understanding of the seasonality of ecosystem carbon and water cycles in the temperate and boreal zones using eight case studies, highlighting sources of variability, necessary additional measurements and novel ways to analyze existing datasets. It also includes syntheses of the interaction between water and carbon fluxes as mediated by constraints from plant anatomy to the ecosystem level. This book is intended as a reference for researchers and graduate students in ecosystem ecology, modeling, climate change, phenology and land surface phenology, and as supplementary material for advanced courses in ecosystem or community ecology and biometeorology.

"Terrestrial carbon balance is uncertain at the regional and global scale. A significant source of variability in mid-latitude ecosystems is related to the timing and duration of phenological phases. Spring phenology, in particular, has disproportionate effects on the annual carbon balance. However, the traditional phenological indices that are based on leaf-out and flowering times of select indicator species are not universally amenable for predicting the temporal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and water exchange.Phenology of Ecosystem Processes evaluates current applications of traditional phenology in carbon and H2O cycle research, as well as the potential to identify phenological signals in ecosystem processes themselves. The book summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the seasonal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and H2O fluxes, the novel use of various methods (stable isotopes, time-series, forward and inverse modeling), and the implications for remote sensing and global carbon cycle modeling.Each chapter includes a literature review, in order to present the state-of-the-science in the field and enhance the book's usability as an educational aid, as well as a case study to exemplify the use and applicability of various methods. Chapters that apply a specific methodology summarize the successes and challenges of particular methods for quantifying the seasonal changes in ecosystem carbon, water and energy fluxes. The book will benefit global change researchers, modelers, and advanced students."

Phenological Phenomena.- Climatic and Phenological Controls of the Carbon and Energy Balances of Three Contrasting Boreal Forest Ecosystems in Western Canada.- Characterizing the Seasonal Dynamics of Plant Community Photosynthesis Across a Range of Vegetation Types.- The Phenology of Gross Ecosystem Productivity and Ecosystem Respiration in Temperate Hardwood and Conifer Chronosequences.- Phenological Differences Between Understory and Overstory.- Phenology of Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Exchange for Deciduous and Coniferous Forests in Southern and Northern New England.- Influence of Phenology and Land Management on Biosphere-Atmosphere Isotopic CO2 Exchange.- Biological Feedbacks.- Phenology of Plant Production in the Northwestern Great Plains: Relationships with Carbon Isotope Discrimination, Net Ecosystem Productivity and Ecosystem Respiration.- Is Temporal Variation of Soil Respiration Linked to the Phenology of Photosynthesis?.- The Annual Cycle of Development of Trees and Process-Based Modelling of Growth to Scale Up From the Tree To the Stand.- Upscaling and Global View.- Remote Sensing Phenology.- Land Surface Phenology.