Yi et al. (2026) Reconstructed XCO2 Reveals Seasonal Moisture Limitation Sensitivity Across Typical Steppe, Forest, and Gobi Desert in Mongolia

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Remote Sensing
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-17
• Authors: Liqi Yi, Hasi Bagan, Terigelehu Te, Chunling Bao, Saren Taoli, Toru Sakai, Qinxue Wang, Uudus Bayarsaikhan
• DOI: 10.3390/rs18183196

Research Groups

• Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• University of Colorado Boulder
• Mongolian State University of Education

Short Summary

This study reconstructs seamless monthly column-averaged atmospheric CO2 (XCO2) over Mongolia from 2015 to 2023 using a machine learning method and relates it to drought intensity and frequency across different regions.

Objective

• Investigate the relationship between seasonal moisture limitation and atmospheric CO2 variability in arid and semi-arid drylands of Mongolia

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional scale, covering Mongolia at 0.1° resolution
• Temporal Scale: Monthly, from 2015 to 2023

Methodology and Data

• Models used: LightGBM–Optuna method for XCO2 reconstruction
• Data sources: OCO-2 retrievals, vegetation, meteorological, and socioeconomic predictors

Main Results

• The model achieved an R2 of 0.952, RMSE of 1.510 ppm, and MAE of 1.060 ppm in reconstructing XCO2
• Summer was the main season of XCO2 sensitivity to moisture limitation
• Regional responses differed substantially: typical steppe showed strongest summer sensitivity, forest showed weak summer MDI sensitivity but greater relevance of repeated moisture-limited months, and spring XCO2 variability in the Gobi Desert was more closely associated with MDI

Contributions

• This study provides a regional atmospheric perspective on carbon–water interactions in arid and semi-arid drylands by relating seasonal moisture limitation to atmospheric CO2 variability across different regions
• The findings highlight the importance of considering regional differences in understanding the relationship between drought and atmospheric CO2 variability

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42022014)
• NASA's Terrestrial Hydrology Program (Grant No. NNX17AC53G)

Citation

@article{Yi2026Reconstructed,
  author = {Yi, Liqi and Bagan, Hasi and Te, Terigelehu and Bao, Chunling and Taoli, Saren and Sakai, Toru and Wang, Qinxue and Bayarsaikhan, Uudus},
  title = {Reconstructed XCO2 Reveals Seasonal Moisture Limitation Sensitivity Across Typical Steppe, Forest, and Gobi Desert in Mongolia},
  journal = {Remote Sensing},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/rs18183196},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18183196}
}