Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40628698›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Seasonal stabilization effects slowed the greening of the Northern Hemisphere over the last two decades.

Wen Zhang, William K Smith, Trevor F Keenan, Matthew P Dannenberg, Yang Li, Songhan Wang, John S Kimball, David J P Moore

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Wen ZhangSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. wenzhang1@arizona.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9474-2272
William K SmithSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5785-6489
Trevor F KeenanDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3347-0258
Matthew P DannenbergSchool of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6518-4897
Yang LiSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6463-6441
Songhan WangJiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology in Southern China, College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
John S KimballNTSG, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
David J P MooreSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. davidjpmoore@arizona.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6462-3288

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rising atmospheric CO₂ and warming spring temperatures increase vegetation growth and the terrestrial carbon sink. However, drought, heat stress, phenology, and resource limitations may stabilize or limit theses projected increases. We investigate the balance between these amplifying and stabilizing ecological factors by asking whether enhanced early-season growth leads to continued late-season growth. Using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) leaf area index (LAI) dataset, we identify three seasonal growth patterns based on early- and peak-season positive LAI anomalies: (1) amplification, where late-season LAI anomalies exceed earlier ones; (2) weak stabilization, where late-season anomalies remain similar or slightly lower; and (3) strong stabilization, where late-season anomalies become negative. Weak and strong stabilization events dominate across 67% and 26% of Northern Hemisphere ecosystems above 30°N, respectively. The absence of any trend in amplifying or stabilizing events suggests stabilizing factors seasonally offset CO₂ and temperature-induced spring greening. Terrestrial biosphere models underestimate strong stabilization and overestimate amplification events. This inconsistency arises from the models' underestimation late-season LAI sensitivity to precipitation in water-limited regions; overlook negative legacy effects of early enhanced LAI on late-season soil moisture via evapotranspiration losses in energy-limited regions. Our findings suggest water/heat stress and resource limitations limit greening and the land carbon sink.

Indexed as

Plant DevelopmentSeasonsCarbon DioxideClimate ChangeDroughtsEcosystemPlant LeavesSoilTemperatureCarbon DioxideSoil

Identifiers

PMID40628698
PMCPMC12238260

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.