Forest Stages’s Phenology Across China's Thermal Zones: Implications For Carbon-Water Sustainability

Forest Stages’s Phenology Across China's Thermal Zones: Implications For Carbon-Water Sustainability | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Forest Stages’s Phenology Across China's Thermal Zones: Implications For Carbon-Water Sustainability Jun Cao, Yiyang Peng, Tong Li, Asim Biswas, Qi Feng, Yizhe Peng, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6636199/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Forest phenology profoundly influences ecosystem services, yet how developmental stages modify phenological responses across diverse climates remains unclear. Analyzing high-resolution forest age data across China's six thermal zones, we found overmature forests exhibit shorter growing seasons than younger stages in most zones, with greatest reductions in warm temperate (-32.77 days) and subtropical regions (-22.72 days). Young forests show heightened climate sensitivity, while topography controls plateau forest phenology. These patterns translate into distinct carbon-water trade-offs: overmature plateau forests excel in soil carbon retention; mature mid-temperature forests optimize carbon sequestration and soil moisture; tropical forests demonstrate superior carbon accumulation despite shorter growing seasons. Our findings reveal zone-specific carbon-water relationships across forest development stages, necessitating tailored management strategies to maximize sustainability in a changing climate. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Climate-change ecology/Phenology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystem ecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Forest Stages’s Phenology Across China's Thermal Zones: Implications For Carbon-Water Sustainability Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6636199","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":455856395,"identity":"2d3b976e-25b3-4bc2-952f-e0872b3d15f3","order_by":0,"name":"Jun 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