RT Journal Article SR 00 ID doi:10.1038/ngeo2553 A1 Campioli, M. A1 Vicca, S. A1 Luyssaert, S. A1 Bilcke, J. A1 Ceschia, E. A1 Chapin III, F. S. A1 Ciais, P. A1 Fernández-Martínez, M. A1 Malhi, Y. A1 Obersteiner, M. A1 Olefeldt, D. A1 Papale, D. A1 Piao, S. L. A1 Peñuelas, J. A1 Sullivan, P. F. A1 Wang, X. A1 Zenone, T. A1 Janssens, I. A. T1 Biomass production efficiency controlled by management in temperate and boreal ecosystems JF Nature Geoscience YR 2015 FD 2015-10-05 VO 8 IS 11 SP 843 OP 846 K1 Ecosystem ecology, Forest ecology, Biomass production AB Plants acquire carbon through photosynthesis to sustain biomass production, autotrophic respiration and production of non-structural compounds for multiple purposes1. The fraction of photosynthetic production used for biomass production, the biomass production efficiency2, is a key determinant of the conversion of solar energy to biomass. In forest ecosystems, biomass production efficiency was suggested to be related to site fertility2. Here we present a database of biomass production efficiency from 131 sites compiled from individual studies using harvest, biometric, eddy covariance, or process-based model estimates of production. The database is global, but dominated by data from Europe and North America. We show that instead of site fertility, ecosystem management is the key factor that controls biomass production efficiency in terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, in natural forests, grasslands, tundra, boreal peatlands and marshes, biomass production efficiency is independent of vegetation, environmental and climatic drivers. This similarity of biomass production efficiency across natural ecosystem types suggests that the ratio of biomass production to gross primary productivity is constant across natural ecosystems. We suggest that plant adaptation results in similar growth efficiency in high- and low-fertility natural systems, but that nutrient influxes under managed conditions favour a shift to carbon investment from the belowground flux of non-structural compounds to aboveground biomass. PB NPG SN 1752-0908 LK https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/13381/