Carbon and Energy Fluxes Over two Mid-Latitude Deciduous Forests: Interannual and Latitudinal Variations

Hourly fluxes of energy, water vapor and CO2 are now available from two AmeriFlux sites in Indiana (MMSF, 39deg 10'N, 86deg 25' W, for the years 1998-2001, up to the end of the growth period) and Michigan (UMBS, 45deg 35' N, 84deg 42' W, for 1999-2001). Both sites are in extensive hardwood forests of a similar age, but the composition and diversity of tree species is quite different between the two locations. The latitudinal separation of more than 6.5 degrees causes also marked differences in the biophysical forcings of the ecosystem exchange, such as variations in growing season legth, summertime length of day, and soil thermal regimes in winter. The Indiana site was affected by a severe drought over much of summer and fall of 1999, whereas the Michigan site was only marginally affected by it. We present the seasonal carbon exchange dynamics and annual increments of net ecosystem exchange in the context of the energy and water availability and compare the results from four years of measurements in the light of these geographical and interannual variations in the ecosystem forcings.