Low and contrasting impacts of vegetation CO<sub>2</sub> fertilization on terrestrial runoff over the past three decades: Accounting for above- and below-ground vegetation-CO<sub>2</sub> effects

Abstract. Elevation in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (eCO2) affects vegetation water use, with consequent impacts on terrestrial runoff (Q). However, the sign and magnitude of the eCO2 effect on Q is still contentious. This is partly due to the poor understanding of the opposing eCO2-induced water effects at different scales, being water-saving caused by partial stomatal closure at the leaf-level contrasting with increased water-consumption due to increase foliage cover at the canopy level, leading to highly debated findings among existing studies. None of the existing studies implicitly account for eCO2-induced changes to below-ground vegetation functioning. Here we develop an analytical eco-hydrological framework that includes the effects of eCO2 on plant leaf, canopy density, and rooting characteristics to attribute changes in Q and detect the eCO2 signal on Q over the past three decades. Globally, we detect a very small decrease of Q induced by eCO2 during 1982–2010 (−1.69 %). When assessed locally, along the resource availability (α) gradient, a positive trend (p