Remotely sensed evidence of long-term global shifts in leaf mass per area
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Plant functional traits, particularly leaf mass per area (LMA), are critical links between changes in plant diversity and the biosphere’s exchanges of energy and matter. Despite their importance, a predictive understanding of the biosphere is hampered by spatial and temporal gaps in trait observations. Here, we introduce iLMA, a novel remote sensing index capable of capturing LMA spatial variation across major terrestrial biomes (R2 = 0.63, RMSE = 13.6%) and LMA temporal changes, enabling a continuous mapping of LMA even at high resolution (30 m). Our global mapping revealed LMA decreased 10-11% between 1985 to 2024, largely driven by increasing temperatures, while LMA change in some regions (e.g. tropical South America) is also heavily influenced by land-use change. Due to LMA connections with carbon metabolism in ecosystems, a global decrease in LMA suggests possible, and largely unexplored, consequences to the terrestrial carbon sink and climate feedbacks.
Source: OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Authors: Cesar Hinojo-Hinojo, Lei Song, Amy E Frazier, Efthymios I. Nikolopoulos, Haruko Wainwright, Cory Merow, Michael L. Goulden, Nicola Falco, Diogo S. A. Araujo, Julia Maria Chacón Labella, Teresa Bohner, Adam Chmurzynski, Benjamin L. Hemingway, Brian Maitner, Gabriel M. Moulatlet, Jonathan A. Wang, Brian Joseph Enquist
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Climate action, Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213517894