dc.contributor.author | Arneth, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Sitch, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Pongratz, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Stocker, BD | |
dc.contributor.author | Ciais, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Poulter, B | |
dc.contributor.author | Bayer, AD | |
dc.contributor.author | Bondeau, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Calle, L | |
dc.contributor.author | Chini, LP | |
dc.contributor.author | Gasser, T | |
dc.contributor.author | Fader, M | |
dc.contributor.author | Friedlingstein, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Kato, E | |
dc.contributor.author | Li, W | |
dc.contributor.author | Lindeskog, M | |
dc.contributor.author | Nabel, JEMS | |
dc.contributor.author | Pugh, TAM | |
dc.contributor.author | Robertson, E | |
dc.contributor.author | Viovy, N | |
dc.contributor.author | Yue, C | |
dc.contributor.author | Zaehle, S | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-10-25T10:21:36Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017-01-30 | |
dc.description.abstract | The terrestrial biosphere absorbs about 20% of fossil-fuel CO 2 emissions. The overall magnitude of this sink is constrained by the difference between emissions, the rate of increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, and the ocean sink. However, the land sink is actually composed of two largely counteracting fluxes that are poorly quantified: fluxes from land-use change and CO 2 uptake by terrestrial ecosystems. Dynamic global vegetation model simulations suggest that CO 2 emissions from land-use change have been substantially underestimated because processes such as tree harvesting and land clearing from shifting cultivation have not been considered. As the overall terrestrial sink is constrained, a larger net flux as a result of land-use change implies that terrestrial uptake of CO 2 is also larger, and that terrestrial ecosystems might have greater potential to sequester carbon in the future. Consequently, reforestation projects and efforts to avoid further deforestation could represent important mitigation pathways, with co-benefits for biodiversity. It is unclear whether a larger land carbon sink can be reconciled with our current understanding of terrestrial carbon cycling. Our possible underestimation of the historical residual terrestrial carbon sink adds further uncertainty to our capacity to predict the future of terrestrial carbon uptake and losses. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | A.A., A.D.B. and T.A.M.P. acknowledge support from EU FP7 grants LUC4C (grant no. 603542), OPERAS (grant no. 308393), and the Helmholtz Association in its ATMO programme and its impulse and networking fund. M.F., W.L., C.Y. and S.S. were also funded by LUC4C. J.P. and J.E.M.S.N. were supported by the German Research Foundation's Emmy Noether Programme (PO 1751/1-1). E.K. was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (ERTDF) (S-10) from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. E.R. was funded by LUC4C and by the Joint UK DECC/Defra Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme (GA01101). S.Z. has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 647204; QUINCY). B.D.S. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and FP7 funding through project EMBRACE (282672). P.C. received support from the ERC SyG project IMBALANCE-P: 'Effects of phosphorus limitations on Life, Earth system and Society' grant agreement no. 610028. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 10, pp. 79 - 84 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/ngeo2882 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/34443 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Springer Nature | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2017
Macmillan
Publishers
Limited,
part
of
Springer
Nature.
All
rights
reserved. | en_GB |
dc.title | Historical carbon dioxide emissions caused by land-use changes are possibly larger than assumed | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2018-10-25T10:21:36Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1752-0894 | |
dc.description | This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | Nature Geoscience | en_GB |