Global tree intrinsic water use efficiency is enhanced by increased atmospheric CO2 and modulated by climate and plant functional types

We conducted a meta-analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes from tree ring chronologies representing 34 species across 10 biomes to better understand the environmental drivers and physiological mechanisms leading to historical changes in tree intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), or the ratio of net photosynthesis (A(net)) to stomatal conductance (g(s)), over the last century. We show a similar to 40% increase in tree iWUE globally since 1901, coinciding with a similar to 34% increase in atmospheric CO2 (C-a), although mean iWUE, and the rates of increase, varied across biomes and leaf and wood functional types. While C-a was a dominant environmental driver of iWUE, the effects of increasing C-a were modulated either positively or negatively by climate, including vapor pressure deficit (VPD), temperature, and precipitation, and by leaf and wood functional types. A dual carbon-oxygen isotope approach revealed that increases in A(net) dominated the observed increased iWUE in similar to 83% of examined cases, supporting recent reports of global increases in A(net), whereas reductions in g(s) occurred in the remaining similar to 17%. This meta-analysis provides a strong process-based framework for predicting changes in tree carbon gain and water loss across biomes and across wood and leaf functional types, and the interactions between C-a and other environmental factors have important implications for the coupled carbon-hydrologic cycles under future climate. Our results furthermore challenge the idea of widespread reductions in g(s) as the major driver of increasing tree iWUE and will better inform Earth system models regarding the role of trees in the global carbon and water cycles.

Automated summary

A meta-analysis of carbon and oxygen isotopes from tree ring chronologies across 10 biomes reveals a global increase in tree intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) of approximately 40% since 1901, largely driven by the increase in atmospheric CO2. Increases in net photosynthesis (A(net)) dominated the observed increased iWUE in about 83% of cases, with reductions in stomatal conductance (g(s)) occurring in the remaining approximately 17%.