In the Atmosphere-Biosphere Signal Attribution (BSAT) research group our main objective is to understand tropical ecosystem dynamics by investigating and monitoring changes in atmospheric trace gases like CO2, CH4 and CO. We aim to (1) quantify and attribute sources and sinks of CO2, CH4 and CO and (2) to study their development over time and at different spatial scales under a changing climate. For this we combine top-down (atmospheric inversions) and bottom-up (land surface models) approaches with multiple data streams, like in-situ or flask mole fraction measurements and remotely-sensed atmospheric composition. Our group complements the regional scale modeling with local process understanding by studying ecosystem response to environmental drivers using eddy covariance and stable isotope on CO2 and CH4.
The overarching goals guiding our research are:
Improve estimates and reduce uncertainty of net exchange of CO2 and CH4 over the tropical ecosystems.
Disentangle the main drivers of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net biome exchange (NBE) in individual tropical ecosystems but also at the pan-tropical scale.
To better quantify spatial and temporal patterns in tropical biogenic methane emissions and to provide insights into the current global methane growth rate.
Use stable isotopes in CH4 to improve the characterization of source signatures in the tropics with the aim to advance our understanding in interannual emission patterns.
Selected Figures:
Relationship between prior and posterior mean net land flux (FNetLand) in Tropical South America. On the y and x axes of each panel the density distribution is shown. Botía et al., (2025): https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025.
Relationship between prior and posterior mean net land flux (FNetLand) in Tropical South America. On the y and x axes of each panel the density distribution is shown. Botía et al., (2025): https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025.
van den Berg, A.-W.; Hooghiem, J. J. D.; van der Woude, A. M.; Rijsdijk, P.; Vernooij, R.; Botia, S.; van der Werf, G. R.; Miller, J. B.; Luijkx, I. T.; Krol, M. C.et al.; Peters, W.: Fire carbon emission constraints from space-based carbon monoxide retrievals during the 2019 intense burning season in Brazil. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 26 (19), pp. 13929 - 13958 (2026)
Munoz, E.; Anaya, J. A.; Clerici, N.; Estupinan-Suarez, L. M.; Lopera, I.; Richter, S.; Salazar, A.; Sierra, C.; Tangarife-Escobar, A.; Mahecha, M. D.et al.; Montero, D.; Palacios-Rodríguez, P.; Ramos, P.; Botia, S.: An interdisciplinary review of the interplay of conflict, socio-economic factors, and land cover and vegetation dynamics in Colombia. New Phytologist 8 (5), pp. 1533 - 1549 (2026)
Wagh, S.; Basso, L. S.; Fleischmann, A. F.; Amaral, J. H. F.; Melack, J.; Larvic, J.; Walter, D.; Hantson, S.; Marshall, J.; Wilson, C.et al.; Oh, Y.; Bruhwiler, L.; Miller, J. B.; Vigouroux, C.; Rödenbeck, C.; Botia, S.: The added value of Amazon observations to estimate methane budget over South American river basins in a global inversion system. EGUsphere (2026)
Alves de Souza, C.; Mendonça, A. C. S.; van Asperen, H.; D'Oliveira, F. A. F.; Botia, S.; Martins, L. G. N.; Hall, D. H.; Santana, R. A.; Fisch, G.; Oliveira, L. R.et al.; Mata, J. R.; Figueiredo, R.; Albrecht, R.; Portela, B. T. T.; Quesada, C. A.; Dias-Júnior, C. Q.: Estimation of nocturnal boundary layer height in the central Amazon, supported by gas concentration profiles. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 26 (14), pp. 10679 - 10694 (2026)
van der Woude, A.; Luijkx, I. T.; de Kok, R.; Peters, W.; Chevallier, F.; Rödenbeck, C.; Ciais, P.; Chandra, N.; Wang, K.; Achari, R. J.et al.; van Asperen, H.; Bastos, A.; van den Berg, A.-W.; Bloom, A. A.; Botia, S.; Bowman, K. W.; Canadell, J. G.; De Souza, R. A. F.; Dias-Junior, C. Q.; Feng, L.; Friedlingstein, P.; Gatti, L. V.; Gloor, E.; Ishijima, K.; Jiang, F.; Jin, Z.; Ju, W.; Lan, X.; Liu, J.; Liu, Z.; Machida, T.; Maksyutov, S.; Manning, A. C.; Martinez, A.; Martins, G.; McKain, K.; Miller, J. B.; Nayagam, L.; Niwa, Y.; Stephens, B. B.; Sweeney, C.; Palmer, P.; Patra, P. K.; Pickers, P. A.; Poulter, B.; Wofsy, S. C. C.; Wu, Z.; Yang, D.; Yun, J.; Zeng, N.: A top-down view of global and regional carbon budgets from an ensemble of atmospheric inversions. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 40 (6), e2025GB008779 (2026)
Silva, P. S. C.; Tappiz, B.; Maduar, M.F.; Lakis, O.S.; Bustillos, J.O.W.V.; Botía, S. B.; Trumbore, S. E.; Hazenfratz, R.; Linhares, H. M. S. M. D.; Silva, F. A. G.et al.; Barbosa, C. G. G.; Gachkivskyi, M.; Bulthuis, S.; Tsokankunku, A.; Harder, H.: Long-term measurements of 222Rn in soil gas and at different height levels in Amazon tall tower observatory. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 295, 107940 (2026)
Botia, S.; Dias-Junior, C. Q.; Komiya, S.; van der Woude, A.; Terristi, M.; de Kok, R.; Koren, G.; van Asperen, H.; Jones, S. P.; D'Oliveira, F. A. F.et al.; Weber, U.; Marques-Filho, E.; Toro, I. M. C.; Araújo, A.; Lavric, J.; Walter, D.; Li, X.; Wigneron, J.-P.; Stocker, B.; de Souza, J. G.; O'Sullivan, M.; Sitch, S.; Ciais, P.; Chevallier, F.; Li, W.; Luijkx, I. T.; Peters, W.; Quesada, C. A.; Zaehle, S.; Trumbore, S. E.; Bastos, A.: Reduced vegetation uptake during the extreme 2023 drought turns the Amazon into a weak carbon source. AGU Advances 7 (1), e2025AV001658 (2026)
Tran, D. A.; de Arellano, J. V.-G.; Luijkx, I. T.; Gerbig, C.; Galkowski, M.; Botia, S.; Faassen, K.; Zaehle, S.: Increasing diurnal and seasonal amplitude of atmospheric methane mole fraction in Central Siberia between 2010–2021. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 25 (22), pp. 16553 - 16588 (2025)
Faassen, K. A. P.; González‐Armas, R.; Koren, G.; Adnew, G. A.; van Asperen, H.; de Boer, H.; Botia, S.; de Feiter, V. S.; Hartogensis, O.; Heusinkveld, B. G.et al.; Hulsman, L. M.; Hutjes, R. W. A.; Jones, S. P.; Kers, B. A. M.; Komiya, S.; Machado, L. A. T.; Martins, G.; Miller, J. B.; Mol, W.; van der Molen, M.; Moonen, R.; Dias‐Junior, C. Q.; Röckmann, T.; Snellen, H.; Luijkx, I. T.; de Arellano, J. V.: Tracing diurnal variations of atmospheric CO2, O2, and delta 13CO2 over a tropical and a temperate forest. Geophysical Research Letters 52 (20), e2025GL118016 (2025)
The 2023-2024 El Niño caused the most severe drought ever recorded in the Amazon rainforest, along with heat waves and fires. But it also significantly affected the emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds through the Amazon rainforest’s vegetation and their uptake by soils.
A new study reveals that leaf turnover strategies and heat stress in Amazonian trees affect atmospheric chemistry and carbon cycling: trees, and in particular brevideciduous trees, emit more and more carbon-rich volatile organic compounds as temperatures rise.
The Amazon rainforest experienced unusually high temperatures and atmospheric dryness in 2023. Observations from ATTO and further data revealed that the vegetation’s uptake of carbon was above average early in the year, but drastically reduced during the drought season, leading from a carbon sink into a source.
New study shows: The ratio of α-pinene mirror molecules reveals the extent to which the Amazon rainforest is suffering from drought stress. Measurements taken at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) documented these changes during the record drought of 2023
Extreme precipitation should increase with warmer temperatures. Data from tropical regions show that this correlation is obscured by the cooling effect of clouds. When cloud effects are corrected, the increase in extreme precipitation with rising temperatures becomes apparent.
Tropical forests are continuously being fragmented and damaged by human influences. Using remote sensing data and cutting-edge data analysis methods, researchers can now show for the first time that the impact of this damage is greater than previously estimated.
