Multi-year net ecosystem carbon balance at a horticulture-extracted restored peatland

Science.gov (United States)

Nugent, Kelly; Strachan, Ian; Strack, Maria

2017-04-01

Restoration of previously extracted peatlands is essential to minimize the impact of drainage and peat removal. Best practices restoration methods have been developed that include ditch blocking, site leveling and reintroducing bog vegetation using the moss layer transfer technique. A long term goal of restoration is the return to a peat accumulating ecosystem. Bois-des-Bel is a cool-temperate bog, located in eastern Quebec, Canada, that was vacuum harvested until 1980 and restored in 1999. While several studies have used discrete (chamber) methods to determine the net carbon exchange from rewetted or restored peatlands, ours appears to be the first to have multiple complete years of net ecosystem carbon exchange from a restored northern peatland. An eddy covariance flux tower instrumented with a sonic anemometer and open-path CO2/H2O and CH4 analyzers was operated continuously over three years to produce a robust estimate of net carbon sequestration. Our initial results indicate that this restored peatland was a consistent moderate annual net sink for CO2, a moderate source of CH4 and had low losses of dissolved organic carbon compared to undisturbed northern latitude peatlands. Closed chambers combined with a fast response CO2/H2O/CH4 analyzer were used to investigate ecohydrological controls on net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) and CH4 flux from the restored fields and remnant ditches at the site. CH4 release was found to be an order of magnitude higher in the ditches compared to the fields, with non-vegetated ditch showing a greater range in flux compared to areas invaded by Typha latifolia. Bubble magnitude and count were highest in the non-vegetated ditch, followed by Typha plots and were undetectable in the restored fields. The latter may be partially attributed to the high cover of Eriophorum vaginatum in the restored fields, plants that have aerenchymous tissue, as well as a much deeper water table level. While the non-vegetated ditch areas were a steady

26 CFR 1.857-5 - Net income and loss from prohibited transactions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Net income and loss from prohibited transactions. 1.857-5 Section 1.857-5 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.857-5 Net income and loss...

Implications of net energy-return-on-investment for a low-carbon energy transition

Science.gov (United States)

King, Lewis C.; van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M.

2018-04-01

Low-carbon energy transitions aim to stay within a carbon budget that limits potential climate change to 2 °C—or well below—through a substantial growth in renewable energy sources alongside improved energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage. Current scenarios tend to overlook their low net energy returns compared to the existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Correcting from gross to net energy, we show that a low-carbon transition would probably lead to a 24-31% decline in net energy per capita by 2050, which implies a strong reversal of the recent rising trends of 0.5% per annum. Unless vast end-use efficiency savings can be achieved in the coming decades, current lifestyles might be impaired. To maintain the present net energy returns, solar and wind renewable power sources should grow two to three times faster than in other proposals. We suggest a new indicator, `energy return on carbon', to assist in maximizing the net energy from the remaining carbon budget.

Loss of protection with insecticide-treated nets against pyrethroid-resistant Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes once nets become holed: an experimental hut study

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Irish SR

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An important advantage of pyrethroid-treated nets over untreated nets is that once nets become worn or holed a pyrethroid treatment will normally restore protection. The capacity of pyrethroids to kill or irritate any mosquito that comes into contact with the net and prevent penetration of holes or feeding through the sides are the main reasons why treated nets continue to provide protection despite their condition deteriorating over time. Pyrethroid resistance is a growing problem among Anopheline and Culicine mosquitoes in many parts of Africa. When mosquitoes become resistant the capacity of treated nets to provide protection might be diminished, particularly when holed. An experimental hut trial against pyrethroid-resistant Culex quinquefasciatus was therefore undertaken in southern Benin using a series of intact and holed nets, both untreated and treated, to assess any loss of protection as nets deteriorate with use and time. Results There was loss of protection when untreated nets became holed; the proportion of mosquitoes blood feeding increased from 36.2% when nets were intact to between 59.7% and 68.5% when nets were holed to differing extents. The proportion of mosquitoes blood feeding when treated nets were intact was 29.4% which increased to 43.6–57.4% when nets were holed. The greater the number of holes the greater the loss of protection regardless of whether nets were untreated or treated. Mosquito mortality in huts with untreated nets was 12.9–13.6%; treatment induced mortality was less than 12%. The exiting rate of mosquitoes into the verandas was higher in huts with intact nets. Conclusion As nets deteriorate with use and become increasingly holed the capacity of pyrethroid treatments to restore protection is greatly diminished against resistant Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes.

Spring hydrology determines summer net carbon uptake in northern ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Yonghong; Kimball, John S; Reichle, Rolf H

2014-01-01

Increased photosynthetic activity and enhanced seasonal CO 2 exchange of northern ecosystems have been observed from a variety of sources including satellite vegetation indices (such as the normalized difference vegetation index; NDVI) and atmospheric CO 2 measurements. Most of these changes have been attributed to strong warming trends in the northern high latitudes (⩾50° N). Here we analyze the interannual variation of summer net carbon uptake derived from atmospheric CO 2 measurements and satellite NDVI in relation to surface meteorology from regional observational records. We find that increases in spring precipitation and snow pack promote summer net carbon uptake of northern ecosystems independent of air temperature effects. However, satellite NDVI measurements still show an overall benefit of summer photosynthetic activity from regional warming and limited impact of spring precipitation. This discrepancy is attributed to a similar response of photosynthesis and respiration to warming and thus reduced sensitivity of net ecosystem carbon uptake to temperature. Further analysis of boreal tower eddy covariance CO 2 flux measurements indicates that summer net carbon uptake is positively correlated with early growing-season surface soil moisture, which is also strongly affected by spring precipitation and snow pack based on analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals. This is attributed to strong regulation of spring hydrology on soil respiration in relatively wet boreal and arctic ecosystems. These results document the important role of spring hydrology in determining summer net carbon uptake and contrast with prevailing assumptions of dominant cold temperature limitations to high-latitude ecosystems. Our results indicate potentially stronger coupling of boreal/arctic water and carbon cycles with continued regional warming trends. (letters)

Spring Hydrology Determines Summer Net Carbon Uptake in Northern Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Yonghong; Kimball, John; Reichle, Rolf H.

2014-01-01

Increased photosynthetic activity and enhanced seasonal CO2 exchange of northern ecosystems have been observed from a variety of sources including satellite vegetation indices (such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) and atmospheric CO2 measurements. Most of these changes have been attributed to strong warming trends in the northern high latitudes (greater than or equal to 50N). Here we analyze the interannual variation of summer net carbon uptake derived from atmospheric CO2 measurements and satellite NDVI in relation to surface meteorology from regional observational records. We find that increases in spring precipitation and snow pack promote summer net carbon uptake of northern ecosystems independent of air temperature effects. However, satellite NDVI measurements still show an overall benefit of summer photosynthetic activity from regional warming and limited impact of spring precipitation. This discrepancy is attributed to a similar response of photosynthesis and respiration to warming and thus reduced sensitivity of net ecosystem carbon uptake to temperature. Further analysis of boreal tower eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements indicates that summer net carbon uptake is positively correlated with early growing-season surface soil moisture, which is also strongly affected by spring precipitation and snow pack based on analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals. This is attributed to strong regulation of spring hydrology on soil respiration in relatively wet boreal and arctic ecosystems. These results document the important role of spring hydrology in determining summer net carbon uptake and contrast with prevailing assumptions of dominant cold temperature limitations to high-latitude ecosystems. Our results indicate potentially stronger coupling of boreal/arctic water and carbon cycles with continued regional warming trends.

The transition from No Net Loss to a Net Gain of biodiversity is far from trivial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bull, Joseph William; Brownlie, S.

2017-01-01

appropriate in evaluating the ecological outcomes, depending on the principle chosen; and (4) stakeholder expectations differ considerably under the two principles. In exploring these arguments we hope to support policy-makers in choosing the more appropriate of the two objectives. We suggest that financial......The objectives of No Net Loss and Net Gain have emerged as key principles in conservation policy. Both give rise to mechanisms by which certain unavoidable biodiversity losses associated with development are quantified, and compensated with comparable gains (e.g. habitat restoration). The former...... seeks a neutral outcome for biodiversity after losses and gains are accounted for, and the latter seeks an improved outcome. Policy-makers often assume that the transition from one to the other is straightforward and essentially a question of the amount of compensation provided. Consequently, companies...

[Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon leakage and net carbon sequestration from afforestation and forest management: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bo Jie; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiao Ke; Liu, Wei Wei

2017-02-01

Forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and concentration of CO 2 reduction in the atmosphere. Forest management, especially afforestation and forest protection, could increase carbon stock of forests significantly. Carbon sequestration rate of afforestation ranges from 0.04 to 7.52 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 , while that of forest protection is 0.33-5.20 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 . At the same time, greenhouse gas (GHG) is generated within management boundary due to the production and transportation of the materials consumed in relevant activities of afforestation and forest management. In addition, carbon leakage is also generated outside boundary from activity shifting, market effects and change of environments induced by forest management. In this review, we summarized the definition of emission sources of GHG, monitoring methods, quantity and rate of greenhouse gas emissions within boundary of afforestation and forest management. In addition, types, monitoring methods and quantity of carbon leakage outside boundary of forest management were also analyzed. Based on the reviewed results of carbon sequestration, we introduced greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and carbon leakage, net carbon sequestration as well as the countervailing effects of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage to carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions within management boundary counteract 0.01%-19.3% of carbon sequestration, and such counteraction could increase to as high as 95% considering carbon leakage. Afforestation and forest management have substantial net carbon sequestration benefits, when only taking direct greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and measurable carbon leakage from activity shifting into consideration. Compared with soil carbon sequestration measures in croplands, afforestation and forest management is more advantageous in net carbon sequestration and has better prospects for application in terms of net mitigation potential. Along with the

Offsetting the impacts of mining to achieve no net loss of native vegetation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonter, L J; Barrett, D J; Soares-Filho, B S

2014-08-01

Offsets are a novel conservation tool, yet using them to achieve no net loss of biodiversity is challenging. This is especially true when using conservation offsets (i.e., protected areas) because achieving no net loss requires avoiding equivalent loss. Our objective was to determine if offsetting the impacts of mining achieves no net loss of native vegetation in Brazil's largest iron mining region. We used a land-use change model to simulate deforestation by mining to 2020; developed a model to allocate conservation offsets to the landscape under 3 scenarios (baseline, no new offsets; current practice, like-for-like [by vegetation type] conservation offsetting near the impact site; and threat scenario, like-for-like conservation offsetting of highly threatened vegetation); and simulated nonmining deforestation to 2020 for each scenario to quantify avoided deforestation achieved with offsets. Mines cleared 3570 ha of native vegetation by 2020. Under a 1:4 offset ratio, mining companies would be required to conserve >14,200 ha of native vegetation, doubling the current extent of protected areas in the region. Allocating offsets under current practice avoided deforestation equivalent to 3% of that caused by mining, whereas allocating under the threat scenario avoided 9%. Current practice failed to achieve no net loss because offsets did not conserve threatened vegetation. Explicit allocation of offsets to threatened vegetation also failed because the most threatened vegetation was widely dispersed across the landscape, making conservation logistically difficult. To achieve no net loss with conservation offsets requires information on regional deforestation trajectories and the distribution of threatened vegetation. However, in some regions achieving no net loss through conservation may be impossible. In these cases, other offsetting activities, such as revegetation, will be required. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Partitioning of net carbon dioxide flux measured by automatic transparent chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Dyukarev, EA

2018-03-01

Mathematical model was developed for describing carbon dioxide fluxes at open sedge-sphagnum fen during growing season. The model was calibrated using the results of observations from automatic transparent chamber and it allows us to estimate autotrophic, heterotrophic and ecosystem respiration fluxes, gross and net primary vegetation production, and the net carbon balance.

Determination of tropical deforestation rates and related carbon losses from 1990 to 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Achard, Frédéric; Beuchle, René; Mayaux, Philippe; Stibig, Hans-Jürgen; Bodart, Catherine; Brink, Andreas; Carboni, Silvia; Desclée, Baudouin; Donnay, François; Eva, Hugh D; Lupi, Andrea; Raši, Rastislav; Seliger, Roman; Simonetti, Dario

2014-08-01

We estimate changes in forest cover (deforestation and forest regrowth) in the tropics for the two last decades (1990-2000 and 2000-2010) based on a sample of 4000 units of 10 ×10 km size. Forest cover is interpreted from satellite imagery at 30 × 30 m resolution. Forest cover changes are then combined with pan-tropical biomass maps to estimate carbon losses. We show that there was a gross loss of tropical forests of 8.0 million ha yr(-1) in the 1990s and 7.6 million ha yr(-1) in the 2000s (0.49% annual rate), with no statistically significant difference. Humid forests account for 64% of the total forest cover in 2010 and 54% of the net forest loss during second study decade. Losses of forest cover and Other Wooded Land (OWL) cover result in estimates of carbon losses which are similar for 1990s and 2000s at 887 MtC yr(-1) (range: 646-1238) and 880 MtC yr(-1) (range: 602-1237) respectively, with humid regions contributing two-thirds. The estimates of forest area changes have small statistical standard errors due to large sample size. We also reduce uncertainties of previous estimates of carbon losses and removals. Our estimates of forest area change are significantly lower as compared to national survey data. We reconcile recent low estimates of carbon emissions from tropical deforestation for early 2000s and show that carbon loss rates did not change between the two last decades. Carbon losses from deforestation represent circa 10% of Carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production during the last decade (2000-2010). Our estimates of annual removals of carbon from forest regrowth at 115 MtC yr(-1) (range: 61-168) and 97 MtC yr(-1) (53-141) for the 1990s and 2000s respectively are five to fifteen times lower than earlier published estimates. © The Authors Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Net Loss of CaCO3 from a subtropical calcifying community due to seawater acidification: mesocosm-scale experimental evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. S. Rodgers

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Acidification of seawater owing to oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2 originating from human activities such as burning of fossil fuels and land-use changes has raised serious concerns regarding its adverse effects on corals and calcifying communities. Here we demonstrate a net loss of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 material as a result of decreased calcification and increased carbonate dissolution from replicated subtropical coral reef communities (n=3 incubated in continuous-flow mesocosms subject to future seawater conditions. The calcifying community was dominated by the coral Montipora capitata. Daily average community calcification or Net Ecosystem Calcification (NEC=CaCO3 production – dissolution was positive at 3.3 mmol CaCO3 m−2 h−1 under ambient seawater pCO2 conditions as opposed to negative at −0.04 mmol CaCO3 m−2 h−1 under seawater conditions of double the ambient pCO2. These experimental results provide support for the conclusion that some net calcifying communities could become subject to net dissolution in response to anthropogenic ocean acidification within this century. Nevertheless, individual corals remained healthy, actively calcified (albeit slower than at present rates, and deposited significant amounts of CaCO3 under the prevailing experimental seawater conditions of elevated pCO2.

Contrasting vulnerability of drained tropical and high-latitude peatlands to fluvial loss of stored carbon

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Chris D.; Page, Susan E.; Jones, Tim; Moore, Sam; Gauci, Vincent; Laiho, Raija; Hruška, Jakub; Allott, Tim E. H.; Billett, Michael F.; Tipping, Ed; Freeman, Chris; Garnett, Mark H.

2014-11-01

Carbon sequestration and storage in peatlands rely on consistently high water tables. Anthropogenic pressures including drainage, burning, land conversion for agriculture, timber, and biofuel production, cause loss of pressures including drainage, burning, land conversion for agriculture, timber, and biofuel production, cause loss of peat-forming vegetation and exposure of previously anaerobic peat to aerobic decomposition. This can shift peatlands from net CO2 sinks to large CO2 sources, releasing carbon held for millennia. Peatlands also export significant quantities of carbon via fluvial pathways, mainly as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We analyzed radiocarbon (14C) levels of DOC in drainage water from multiple peatlands in Europe and Southeast Asia, to infer differences in the age of carbon lost from intact and drained systems. In most cases, drainage led to increased release of older carbon from the peat profile but with marked differences related to peat type. Very low DOC-14C levels in runoff from drained tropical peatlands indicate loss of very old (centuries to millennia) stored peat carbon. High-latitude peatlands appear more resilient to drainage; 14C measurements from UK blanket bogs suggest that exported DOC remains young (use changes in the tropics. Data from the UK Peak District, an area where air pollution and intensive land management have triggered Sphagnum loss and peat erosion, suggest that additional anthropogenic pressures may trigger fluvial loss of much older (>500 year) carbon in high-latitude systems. Rewetting at least partially offsets drainage effects on DOC age.

78 FR 54156 - Limitations on Duplication of Net Built-in Losses

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-03

... it is not a transfer of net built-in loss property under section 362(e)(1); that gain recognized by... transferor distributes the stock received in the transaction and, in the distribution, no gain or loss was... the transaction. 3. Securities Received Without the Recognition of Gain or Loss Section 362(e)(2) is...

76 FR 65634 - Redetermination of the Consolidated Net Unrealized Built-In Gain and Loss

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-24

... Redetermination of the Consolidated Net Unrealized Built-In Gain and Loss AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS... consolidated net unrealized built-in gain and loss in certain circumstances. This document also invites... gain (NUBIG) at the time of its ownership change, recognized built-in gains will increase the section...

26 CFR 1.172-9 - Election with respect to portion of net operating loss attributable to foreign expropriation loss.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... operating loss attributable to foreign expropriation loss. 1.172-9 Section 1.172-9 Internal Revenue INTERNAL... operating loss attributable to foreign expropriation loss. (a) In general. If a taxpayer has a net operating loss for a taxable year ending after December 31, 1958, and if the foreign expropriation loss for such...

Comparing soil carbon loss through respiration and leaching under extreme precipitation events in arid and semiarid grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ting; Wang, Liang; Feng, Xiaojuan; Zhang, Jinbo; Ma, Tian; Wang, Xin; Liu, Zongguang

2018-03-01

Respiration and leaching are two main processes responsible for soil carbon loss. While the former has received considerable research attention, studies examining leaching processes are limited, especially in semiarid grasslands due to low precipitation. Climate change may increase the extreme precipitation event (EPE) frequency in arid and semiarid regions, potentially enhancing soil carbon loss through leaching and respiration. Here we incubated soil columns of three typical grassland soils from Inner Mongolia and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and examined the effect of simulated EPEs on soil carbon loss through respiration and leaching. EPEs induced a transient increase in CO2 release through soil respiration, equivalent to 32 and 72 % of the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in the temperate grasslands (Xilinhot and Keqi) and 7 % of NEP in the alpine grasslands (Gangcha). By comparison, leaching loss of soil carbon accounted for 290, 120, and 15 % of NEP at the corresponding sites, respectively, with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC, biogenic DIC + lithogenic DIC) as the main form of carbon loss in the alkaline soils. Moreover, DIC loss increased with recurring EPEs in the soil with the highest pH due to an elevated contribution of dissolved CO2 from organic carbon degradation (indicated by DIC-δ13C). These results highlight the fact that leaching loss of soil carbon (particularly in the form of DIC) is important in the regional carbon budget of arid and semiarid grasslands and also imply that SOC mineralization in alkaline soils might be underestimated if only measured as CO2 emission from soils into the atmosphere. With a projected increase in EPEs under climate change, soil carbon leaching processes and the influencing factors warrant a better understanding and should be incorporated into soil carbon models when estimating carbon balance in grassland ecosystems.

Comparing soil carbon loss through respiration and leaching under extreme precipitation events in arid and semiarid grasslands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Respiration and leaching are two main processes responsible for soil carbon loss. While the former has received considerable research attention, studies examining leaching processes are limited, especially in semiarid grasslands due to low precipitation. Climate change may increase the extreme precipitation event (EPE frequency in arid and semiarid regions, potentially enhancing soil carbon loss through leaching and respiration. Here we incubated soil columns of three typical grassland soils from Inner Mongolia and the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and examined the effect of simulated EPEs on soil carbon loss through respiration and leaching. EPEs induced a transient increase in CO2 release through soil respiration, equivalent to 32 and 72 % of the net ecosystem productivity (NEP in the temperate grasslands (Xilinhot and Keqi and 7 % of NEP in the alpine grasslands (Gangcha. By comparison, leaching loss of soil carbon accounted for 290, 120, and 15 % of NEP at the corresponding sites, respectively, with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC, biogenic DIC + lithogenic DIC as the main form of carbon loss in the alkaline soils. Moreover, DIC loss increased with recurring EPEs in the soil with the highest pH due to an elevated contribution of dissolved CO2 from organic carbon degradation (indicated by DIC-δ13C. These results highlight the fact that leaching loss of soil carbon (particularly in the form of DIC is important in the regional carbon budget of arid and semiarid grasslands and also imply that SOC mineralization in alkaline soils might be underestimated if only measured as CO2 emission from soils into the atmosphere. With a projected increase in EPEs under climate change, soil carbon leaching processes and the influencing factors warrant a better understanding and should be incorporated into soil carbon models when estimating carbon balance in grassland ecosystems.

The effect of the 'no net loss' of habitat guiding principle on Manitoba Hydro's Conawapa project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dick, C.J.

1992-04-01

The potential effect of the 'no net loss' principle on Manitoba Hydro's Conawapa hydroelectric project is assessed, including an examination of the process by which the no net loss principle will likely be implemented at the site, based on a review of past applications of the policy. The no net loss principle was developed by the federal Department of Fisheries of Oceans (DFO) as part of their 1986 Policy for the Management of Fish Habitats. The overall objective of the policy is to achieve a net gain of the productive capacity of fish habitats in Canada. Application of the policy to specific developments is based upon maintaining the productive capacity of fish habitats as well as the needs of users groups. The policy has not yet been applied to an inland hydroelectric project. Achieving no net losses may be difficult in regard to large projects such as a hydro dam, however a review of past applications of the policy reveal a number of concepts that have been employed by the DFO when applying the no net loss principle. These concepts were applied to the Conawapa project to make recommendations to achieve no net loss if the project is developed. Mitigation and compensation measures must be developed for both brook trout and lake sturgeon habitat, and should include a combination of habitat enhancement and increased protection and compliance. Measures should also be developed for other species such as lake cisco and lake whitefish, both of which may be a food source for beluga whales. The Conawapa forebay may be given consideration as compensation for lost habitat. 81 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs

Net Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in Bolivia during 1990-2000 and 2000-2010: Results from a Carbon Bookkeeping Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Lykke E; Doyle, Anna Sophia; del Granado, Susana; Ledezma, Juan Carlos; Medinaceli, Agnes; Valdivia, Montserrat; Weinhold, Diana

2016-01-01

Accurate estimates of global carbon emissions are critical for understanding global warming. This paper estimates net carbon emissions from land use change in Bolivia during the periods 1990-2000 and 2000-2010 using a model that takes into account deforestation, forest degradation, forest regrowth, gradual carbon decomposition and accumulation, as well as heterogeneity in both above ground and below ground carbon contents at the 10 by 10 km grid level. The approach permits detailed maps of net emissions by region and type of land cover. We estimate that net CO2 emissions from land use change in Bolivia increased from about 65 million tons per year during 1990-2000 to about 93 million tons per year during 2000-2010, while CO2 emissions per capita and per unit of GDP have remained fairly stable over the sample period. If we allow for estimated biomass increases in mature forests, net CO2 emissions drop to close to zero. Finally, we find these results are robust to alternative methods of calculating emissions.

26 CFR 1.1502-22A - Consolidated net capital gain or loss generally applicable for consolidated return years...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... consolidated net capital loss for any taxable year attributable to a foreign expropriation capital loss is the amount of the foreign expropriation capital losses of all the members for such year (but not in excess of... that any portion of a net capital loss attributable to a foreign expropriation capital loss to which...

Net carbon exchange across the Arctic tundra-boreal forest transition in Alaska 1981-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Catharine Copass; McGuire, A.D.; Clein, Joy S.; Chapin, F. S.; Beringer, J.

2006-01-01

Shifts in the carbon balance of high-latitude ecosystems could result from differential responses of vegetation and soil processes to changing moisture and temperature regimes and to a lengthening of the growing season. Although shrub expansion and northward movement of treeline should increase carbon inputs, the effects of these vegetation changes on net carbon exchange have not been evaluated. We selected low shrub, tall shrub, and forest tundra sites near treeline in northwestern Alaska, representing the major structural transitions expected in response to warming. In these sites, we measured aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and vegetation and soil carbon and nitrogen pools, and used these data to parameterize the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model. We simulated the response of carbon balance components to air temperature and precipitation trends during 1981-2000. In areas experiencing warmer and dryer conditions, Net Primary Production (NPP) decreased and heterotrophic respiration (R H ) increased, leading to a decrease in Net Ecosystem Production (NEP). In warmer and wetter conditions NPP increased, but the response was exceeded by an increase in R H ; therefore, NEP also decreased. Lastly, in colder and wetter regions, the increase in NPP exceeded a small decline in R H , leading to an increase in NEP. The net effect for the region was a slight gain in ecosystem carbon storage over the 20 year period. This research highlights the potential importance of spatial variability in ecosystem responses to climate change in assessing the response of carbon storage in northern Alaska over the last two decades. ?? Springer 2005.

Uncovering the Minor Contribution of Land-Cover Change in Upland Forests to the Net Carbon Footprint of a Boreal Hydroelectric Reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Dessureault, Pierre-Luc; Boucher, Jean-François; Tremblay, Pascal; Bouchard, Sylvie; Villeneuve, Claude

2015-07-01

Hydropower in boreal conditions is generally considered the energy source emitting the least greenhouse gas per kilowatt-hour during its life cycle. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative contribution of the land-use change on the modification of the carbon sinks and sources following the flooding of upland forested territories to create the Eastmain-1 hydroelectric reservoir in Quebec's boreal forest using Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector. Results suggest a carbon sink loss after 100 yr of 300,000 ± 100,000 Mg CO equivalents (COe). A wildfire sensitivity analysis revealed that the ecosystem would have acted as a carbon sink as long as carbon flux estimate resulted in emissions of 4 ± 2 g COe kWh as a contribution to the carbon footprint calculation, one-eighth what was obtained in a recent study that used less precise and less sensitive estimates. Consequently, this study significantly reduces the reported net carbon footprint of this reservoir and reveals how negligible the relative contribution of the land-use change in upland forests to the total net carbon footprint of a hydroelectric reservoir in the boreal zone can be. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Seeking convergence on the key concepts in "no net loss" policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bull, Joseph William; Gordon, Ascelin; Watson, James E.M.

2016-01-01

. The recommendations made in this article, on improving clarity and supporting convergence on key no net loss (NNL) concepts, should help eliminate ambiguity in policy documentation. This is crucial if policymakers are to design robust policies that are (i) transparent, (ii) translatable into practice in a consistent......Biodiversity conservation policies incorporating a no net loss (NNL) principle are being implemented in many countries. However, there are linguistic and conceptual inconsistencies in the use of terms underlying these NNL policies. We identify inconsistencies that emerge in the usage of eight key......, reduce ambiguity and improve clarity in communication and policy documentation. However, we also warn of the challenges in achieving convergence, especially given the linguistic inconsistencies in several of these key concepts among countries in which NNL policies are employed. Policy implications...

Quantification of net carbon flux from plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation: A full carbon cycle analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yan; Xu Hao; Wu Xu; Zhu Yimei; Gu Baojing; Niu Xiaoyin; Liu Anqin; Peng Changhui; Ge Ying; Chang Jie

2011-01-01

Plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation (PGVC) has played a vital role in increasing incomes of farmers and expanded dramatically in last several decades. However, carbon budget after conversion from conventional vegetable cultivation (CVC) to PGVC has been poorly quantified. A full carbon cycle analysis was used to estimate the net carbon flux from PGVC systems based on the combination of data from both field observations and literatures. Carbon fixation was evaluated at two pre-selected locations in China. Results suggest that: (1) the carbon sink of PGVC is 1.21 and 1.23 Mg C ha -1 yr -1 for temperate and subtropical area, respectively; (2) the conversion from CVC to PGVC could substantially enhance carbon sink potential by 8.6 times in the temperate area and by 1.3 times in the subtropical area; (3) the expansion of PGVC usage could enhance the potential carbon sink of arable land in China overall. - Highlights: → We used full carbon (C) cycle analysis to estimate the net C flux from cultivation. → The plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation system in China can act as a C sink. → Intensified agricultural practices can generate C sinks. → Expansion of plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation can enhance regional C sink. - The conversion from conventional vegetable cultivation to plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation could substantially enhance carbon sink potential by 8.6 and 1.3 times for temperate and subtropical area, respectively.

Effects of road decommissioning on carbon stocks, losses, and emissions in north coastal California

Science.gov (United States)

Madej, Mary Ann; Seney, Joseph; van Mantgem, Philip

2013-01-01

During the last 3 decades, many road removal projects have been implemented on public and private lands in the United States to reduce erosion and other impacts from abandoned or unmaintained forest roads. Although effective in decreasing sediment production from roads, such activities have a carbon (C) cost as well as representing a carbon savings for an ecosystem. We assessed the carbon budget implications of 30 years of road decommissioning in Redwood National Park in north coastal California. Road restoration techniques, which evolved during the program, were associated with various carbon costs and savings. Treatment of 425 km of logging roads from 1979 to 2009 saved 72,000 megagrams (Mg) C through on-site soil erosion prevention, revegetation, and soil development on formerly compacted roads. Carbon sequestration will increase in time as forests and soils develop more fully on the restored sites. The carbon cost for this road decommissioning work, based on heavy equipment and vehicle fuel emissions, short-term soil loss, and clearing of vegetation, was 23,000 Mg C, resulting in a net carbon savings of 49,000 Mg C to date. Nevertheless, the degree to which soil loss is a carbon sink or source in steep mountainous watersheds needs to be further examined. The ratio of carbon costs to savings will differ by ecosystem and road removal methodology, but the procedure outlined here to assess carbon budgets on restoration sites should be transferable to other systems.

Net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and water of far eastern Siberian Larch (Larix cajanderii on permafrost

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. J. Dolman

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Observations of the net ecosystem exchange of water and CO2 were made during two seasons in 2000 and 2001 above a Larch forest in Far East Siberia (Yakutsk. The measurements were obtained by eddy correlation. There is a very sharply pronounced growing season of 100 days when the forest is leaved. Maximum half hourly uptake rates are 18 µmol m-2 s-1; maximum respiration rates are 5 µmol m-2 s-1. Net annual sequestration of carbon was estimated at 160 gCm-2 in 2001. Applying no correction for low friction velocities added 60 g C m-2. The net carbon exchange of the forest was extremely sensitive to small changes in weather that may switch the forest easily from a sink to a source, even in summer. June was the month with highest uptake in 2001. The average evaporation rate of the forest approached 1.46 mm day-1 during the growing season, with peak values of 3 mm day-1 with an estimated annual evaporation of 213 mm, closely approaching the average annual rainfall amount. 2001 was a drier year than 2000 and this is reflected in lower evaporation rates in 2001 than in 2000. The surface conductance of the forest shows a marked response to increasing atmospheric humidity deficits. This affects the CO2 uptake and evaporation in a different manner, with the CO2 uptake being more affected. There appears to be no change in the relation between surface conductance and net ecosystem uptake normalized by the atmospheric humidity deficit at the monthly time scale. The response to atmospheric humidity deficit is an efficient mechanism to prevent severe water loss during the short intense growing season. The associated cost to the sequestration of carbon may be another explanation for the slow growth of these forests in this environment.

The impacts of tropical cyclones on the net carbon balance of eastern US forests (1851-2000)

Science.gov (United States)

Fisk, J. P.; Hurtt, G. C.; Chambers, J. Q.; Zeng, H.; Dolan, K. A.; Negrón-Juárez, R. I.

2013-12-01

In temperate forests of the eastern US, tropical cyclones are a principal agent of catastrophic wind damage, with dramatic impacts on the structure and functioning of forests. Substantial progress has been made to quantify forest damage and resulting gross carbon emissions from tropical cyclones. However, the net effect of storms on the carbon balance of forests depends not only on the biomass lost in single events, but also on the uptake during recovery from a mosaic of past events. This study estimates the net impacts of tropical cyclones on the carbon balance of US forests over the period 1851-2000. To track both disturbance and recovery and to isolate the effects of storms, a modeling framework is used combining gridded historical estimates of mortality and damage with a mechanistic model using an ensemble approach. The net effect of tropical cyclones on the carbon balance is shown to depend strongly on the spatial and temporal scales of analysis. On average, tropical cyclones contribute a net carbon source over latter half of the 19th century. However, throughout much of the 20th century a regional carbon sink is estimated resulting from periods of forest recovery exceeding damage. The large-scale net annual flux resulting from tropical cyclones varies by up to 50 Tg C yr-1, an amount equivalent to 17%-36% of the US forest carbon sink.

Assessing wildlife benefits and carbon storage from restored and natural coastal marshes in the Nisqually River Delta: Determining marsh net ecosystem carbon balance

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Frank; Bergamaschi, Brian; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Woo, Isa; De La Cruz, Susan; Drexler, Judith; Byrd, Kristin; Thorne, Karen M.

2016-06-24

Working in partnership since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have restored 902 acres of tidally influenced coastal marsh in the Nisqually River Delta (NRD), making it the largest estuary-restoration project in the Pacific Northwest to date. Marsh restoration increases the capacity of the estuary to support a diversity of wildlife species. Restoration also increases carbon (C) production of marsh plant communities that support food webs for wildlife and can help mitigate climate change through long-term C storage in marsh soils.In 2015, an interdisciplinary team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers began to study the benefits of carbon for wetland wildlife and storage in the NRD. Our primary goals are (1) to identify the relative importance of the different carbon sources that support juvenile chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) food webs and contribute to current and historic peat formation, (2) to determine the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) in a reference marsh and a restoration marsh site, and (3) to model the sustainability of the reference and restoration marshes under projected sea-level rise conditions along with historical vegetation change. In this fact sheet, we focus on the main C sources and exchanges to determine NECB, including carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake through plant photosynthesis, the loss of CO2 through plant and soil respiration, emissions of methane (CH4), and the lateral movement or leaching loss of C in tidal waters.

Neutrophil NETs in reproduction: from infertility to preeclampsia and the possibility of fetal loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinuhe eHahn

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The intention of this review is to provide an overview of the potential role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs in mammalian reproduction. Neutrophil NETs appear to be involved in various stages of the reproductive cycle, starting with fertility and possibly ending with fetal loss. The first suggestion that NETs may play a role in pregnancy-related disorders was in preeclampsia, where vast numbers were detected in the intervillous space of affected placentae. The induction of NETosis involved an auto-inflammatory component, mediated by the increased release of placental micro-debris in preeclampsia. This report was the first indicating that NETs may be associated with a human pathology not involving infection.Subsequently, NETs have since then been implicated in bovine or equine infertility, in that semen may become entrapped in the female reproductive during their passage to the oocyte. In this instance interesting species-specific differences are apparent, in that equine sperm evade entrapment via expression of a DNAse-like molecule, whereas highly motile bovine sperm, once free from seminal plasma that promotes interaction with neutrophils, appear impervious to NETs entrapment.Although still in the realm of speculation it is plausible that NETs may be involved in recurrent fetal loss mediated by anti-phospholipid antibodies, or perhaps even in fetal abortion triggered by infections with microorganisms such as L. monocytogenes or B. abortus.

Impacts of tropospheric ozone and climate change on net primary productivity and net carbon exchange of China’s forest ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Wei Ren; Hanqin Tian; Bo Tao; Art Chappelka; Ge Sun; et al

2011-01-01

Aim We investigated how ozone pollution and climate change/variability have interactively affected net primary productivity (NPP) and net carbon exchange (NCE) across China’s forest ecosystem in the past half century. Location Continental China. Methods Using the dynamic land ecosystem model (DLEM) in conjunction with 10-km-resolution gridded historical data sets (...

Artisanal fishing net float loss and a proposal for a float design solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo de Tarso Chaves

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Plastic floats from fishing nets are commonly found washed up on beaches in southern Brazil. They are usually broken and show signs of having been repaired. Characteristics of floats and interviews with fishermen suggest two main causes of float loss. First, collisions between active gear, bottom trawl nets for shrimp, and passive gear, drift nets for fish, destroy nets and release fragments of them, including floats. Second, the difficulty with which floats are inserted on the float rope of the nets when they are used near the surface. Floats are inserted to replace damaged or lost floats, or they may be removed if it is desired that the nets be used in deeper waters. Floats may thus be poorly fixed to the cables and lost. Here a new float design that offers greater safety in use and for the replacement of floats is described and tested.

Divertor plate concept with carbon based armour for NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moons, F.; Howard, R.; Kneringer, G.; Stickler, R.

1989-01-01

A series of tests has been performed on simulated divertor elements for NET at the JET neutral beam injector test bed. The test section consisted of a water cooled main structure, the surface of which was protected with a carbon based armour in the form of tiles. The scope of these was to study the thermal behaviour of mechanically attached tiles with the use of an intermediate soft carbon layer to improve the thermal contact under divertor relevant conditions. (author). 4 refs.; 4 figs.; 1 tab

Dynamic replacement and loss of soil carbon on eroding cropland

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, J.W.; Sharpe, J.M.; Parton, W.J.; Ojima, D.S.; Fries, T.L.; Huntington, T.G.; Dabney, S.M.

1999-01-01

Links between erosion/sedimentation history and soil carbon cycling were examined in a highly erosive setting in Mississippi loess soils. We sampled soils on (relatively) undisturbed and cropped hillslopes and measured C, N, 14C, and CO2 flux to characterize carbon storage and dynamics and to parameterize Century and spreadsheet 14C models for different erosion and tillage histories. For this site, where 100 years of intensive cotton cropping were followed by fertilization and contour plowing, there was an initial and dramatic decline in soil carbon content from 1870 to 1950, followed by a dramatic increase in soil carbon. Soil erosion amplifies C loss and recovery: About 100% of the original, prehistoric soil carbon was likely lost over 127 years of intensive land use, but about 30% of that carbon was replaced after 1950. The eroded cropland was therefore a local sink for CO2 since the 1950s. However, a net CO2 sink requires a full accounting of eroded carbon, which in turn requires that decomposition rates in lower slopes or wetlands be reduced to about 20% of the upland value. As a result, erosion may induce unaccounted sinks or sources of CO2, depending on the fate of eroded carbon and its protection from decomposition. For erosion rates typical of the United States, the sink terms may be large enough (1 Gt yr-1, back-of-the-envelope) to warrant a careful accounting of site management, cropping, and fertilization histories, as well as burial rates, for a more meaningful global assessment.

Hearing Loss due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Davari, Mohammad Hossein; Mollasadeghi, Abolfazl

2013-01-01

Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the rare causes of hearing loss which may cause reversible or irreversible, unilateral or bilateral hearing loss after acute or chronic exposure. In this report, we present a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a secondary smelting workshop worker...... after an acute exposure to carbon monoxide. This complication was diagnosed by pure-tone audiometry and confirmed by transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. Hearing loss has not improved after 3 months of followup....

26 CFR 1.996-8 - Effect of carryback of capital loss or net operating loss to prior DISC taxable year.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 10 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Effect of carryback of capital loss or net operating loss to prior DISC taxable year. 1.996-8 Section 1.996-8 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Domestic International Sales...

Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Tom N; Garnett, Mark H; Ward, Susan E; Oakley, Simon; Bardgett, Richard D; Ostle, Nicholas J

2016-05-01

Northern peatlands have accumulated one third of the Earth's soil carbon stock since the last Ice Age. Rapid warming across northern biomes threatens to accelerate rates of peatland ecosystem respiration. Despite compensatory increases in net primary production, greater ecosystem respiration could signal the release of ancient, century- to millennia-old carbon from the peatland organic matter stock. Warming has already been shown to promote ancient peatland carbon release, but, despite the key role of vegetation in carbon dynamics, little is known about how plants influence the source of peatland ecosystem respiration. Here, we address this issue using in situ (14)C measurements of ecosystem respiration on an established peatland warming and vegetation manipulation experiment. Results show that warming of approximately 1 °C promotes respiration of ancient peatland carbon (up to 2100 years old) when dwarf-shrubs or graminoids are present, an effect not observed when only bryophytes are present. We demonstrate that warming likely promotes ancient peatland carbon release via its control over organic inputs from vascular plants. Our findings suggest that dwarf-shrubs and graminoids prime microbial decomposition of previously 'locked-up' organic matter from potentially deep in the peat profile, facilitating liberation of ancient carbon as CO2. Furthermore, such plant-induced peat respiration could contribute up to 40% of ecosystem CO2 emissions. If consistent across other subarctic and arctic ecosystems, this represents a considerable fraction of ecosystem respiration that is currently not acknowledged by global carbon cycle models. Ultimately, greater contribution of ancient carbon to ecosystem respiration may signal the loss of a previously stable peatland carbon pool, creating potential feedbacks to future climate change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Not carbon neutral: Assessing the net emissions impact of residues burned for bioenergy

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Mary S.

2018-03-01

Climate mitigation requires emissions to peak then decline within two decades, but many mitigation models include 100 EJ or more of bioenergy, ignoring emissions from biomass oxidation. Treatment of bioenergy as ‘low carbon’ or carbon neutral often assumes fuels are agricultural or forestry residues that will decompose and emit CO2 if not burned for energy. However, for ‘low carbon’ assumptions about residues to be reasonable, two conditions must be met: biomass must genuinely be material left over from some other process; and cumulative net emissions, the additional CO2 emitted by burning biomass compared to its alternative fate, must be low or negligible in a timeframe meaningful for climate mitigation. This study assesses biomass use and net emissions from the US bioenergy and wood pellet manufacturing sectors. It defines the ratio of cumulative net emissions to combustion, manufacturing and transport emissions as the net emissions impact (NEI), and evaluates the NEI at year 10 and beyond for a variety of scenarios. The analysis indicates the US industrial bioenergy sector mostly burns black liquor and has an NEI of 20% at year 10, while the NEI for plants burning forest residues ranges from 41%-95%. Wood pellets have a NEI of 55%-79% at year 10, with net CO2 emissions of 14-20 tonnes for every tonne of pellets; by year 40, the NEI is 26%-54%. Net emissions may be ten times higher at year 40 if whole trees are harvested for feedstock. Projected global pellet use would generate around 1% of world bioenergy with cumulative net emissions of 2 Gt of CO2 by 2050. Using the NEI to weight biogenic CO2 for inclusion in carbon trading programs and to qualify bioenergy for renewable energy subsidies would reduce emissions more effectively than the current assumption of carbon neutrality.

The impacts of tropical cyclones on the net carbon balance of eastern US forests (1851–2000)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisk, J P; Hurtt, G C; Dolan, K A; Chambers, J Q; Zeng, H; Negrón-Juárez, R I

2013-01-01

In temperate forests of the eastern US, tropical cyclones are a principal agent of catastrophic wind damage, with dramatic impacts on the structure and functioning of forests. Substantial progress has been made to quantify forest damage and resulting gross carbon emissions from tropical cyclones. However, the net effect of storms on the carbon balance of forests depends not only on the biomass lost in single events, but also on the uptake during recovery from a mosaic of past events. This study estimates the net impacts of tropical cyclones on the carbon balance of US forests over the period 1851–2000. To track both disturbance and recovery and to isolate the effects of storms, a modeling framework is used combining gridded historical estimates of mortality and damage with a mechanistic model using an ensemble approach. The net effect of tropical cyclones on the carbon balance is shown to depend strongly on the spatial and temporal scales of analysis. On average, tropical cyclones contribute a net carbon source over latter half of the 19th century. However, throughout much of the 20th century a regional carbon sink is estimated resulting from periods of forest recovery exceeding damage. The large-scale net annual flux resulting from tropical cyclones varies by up to 50 Tg C yr −1 , an amount equivalent to 17%–36% of the US forest carbon sink. (letter)

Relationships between net photosynthesis and foliar nitrogen concentrations in a loblobby pine forest ecosystem grown in elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Springer, C. J.; Thomas, R. B.; Delucia, E. H.

2005-01-01

The effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration on the relationship between light-saturated net photosynthesis and area-based foliar nitrogen concentration in the canopy of a loblobby pine forest at the Duke Forest FACE experiment was examined. Two overstory and four understory tree species were examined at their growth carbon dioxide concentrations during the early summer and late summer of 1999, 2001 and 2002. Light-saturated net photosynthesis and foliar nitrogen relationship were compared to determine if the stimulatory effects of elevated carbon dioxide on net photosynthesis had declined. Results at all three sample times showed no difference in either the slopes, or in the y-intercepts of the net photosynthesis-foliar nitrogen relationship when measured at common carbon dioxide concentrations. Net photosynthesis was also unaffected by growth in elevated carbon dioxide, indicating that these overstory and understory trees continued to show strong stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide. 46 refs., 6 tabs., 3 figs

26 CFR 1.1502-21A - Consolidated net operating loss deduction generally applicable for consolidated return years...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... operating loss attributable to such member. (iii) Foreign expropriation losses. An election under section... expropriation loss) may be made for a consolidated return year only if the sum of the foreign expropriation... expropriation losses, or (b) the consolidated net operating loss. (3) Absorption rules. For purposes of...

Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data

Science.gov (United States)

Jingfeng Xiao; Qianlai Zhuang; Dennis D. Baldocchi; Beverly E. Law; Andrew D. Richardson; Jiquan Chen; Ram Oren; Gegory Starr; Asko Noormets; Siyan Ma; Sashi B. Verma; Sonia Wharton; Steven C. Wofsy; Paul V. Bolstad; Sean P. Burns; David R. Cook; Peter S. Curtis; Bert G. Drake; Matthias Falk; MArc L. Fischer; David R. Foster; Lianhong Gu; Julian L. Hadley; David Y. Hollinger; Gabriel G. Katul; Marcy Litvak; Timothy Martin; Roser Matamala; Steve McNulty; Tilden P. Meyers; Russell K. Monson; J. William Munger; Walter C. Oechel; Kyaw Tha Paw U; Hans Peter Schmid; Russell L. Scott; Ge Sun; Andrew E. Suyker; Margaret S. Torn

2008-01-01

Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) for a wide range of climate and biome types. However, these measurements only represent the carbon fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. To quantify the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere for regions or continents,...

Long-term carbon loss in fragmented Neotropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Pütz, Sandro; Groeneveld, Jürgen; Henle, Klaus; Knogge, Christoph; Martensen, Alexandre Camargo; Metz, Markus; Metzger, Jean Paul; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; de Paula, Mateus Dantas; Huth, Andreas

2014-10-07

Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, as they store a large amount of carbon (C). Tropical forest deforestation has been identified as a major source of CO2 emissions, though biomass loss due to fragmentation--the creation of additional forest edges--has been largely overlooked as an additional CO2 source. Here, through the combination of remote sensing and knowledge on ecological processes, we present long-term carbon loss estimates due to fragmentation of Neotropical forests: within 10 years the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has lost 69 (±14) Tg C, and the Amazon 599 (±120) Tg C due to fragmentation alone. For all tropical forests, we estimate emissions up to 0.2 Pg C y(-1) or 9 to 24% of the annual global C loss due to deforestation. In conclusion, tropical forest fragmentation increases carbon loss and should be accounted for when attempting to understand the role of vegetation in the global carbon balance.

Deep-Sea Mining With No Net Loss of Biodiversity—An Impossible Aim

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holly J. Niner

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Deep-sea mining is likely to result in biodiversity loss, and the significance of this to ecosystem function is not known. “Out of kind” biodiversity offsets substituting one ecosystem type (e.g., coral reefs for another (e.g., abyssal nodule fields have been proposed to compensate for such loss. Here we consider a goal of no net loss (NNL of biodiversity and explore the challenges of applying this aim to deep seabed mining, based on the associated mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, remediate. We conclude that the industry cannot at present deliver an outcome of NNL. This results from the vulnerable nature of deep-sea environments to mining impacts, currently limited technological capacity to minimize harm, significant gaps in ecological knowledge, and uncertainties of recovery potential of deep-sea ecosystems. Avoidance and minimization of impacts are therefore the only presently viable means of reducing biodiversity losses from seabed mining. Because of these constraints, when and if deep-sea mining proceeds, it must be approached in a precautionary and step-wise manner to integrate new and developing knowledge. Each step should be subject to explicit environmental management goals, monitoring protocols, and binding standards to avoid serious environmental harm and minimize loss of biodiversity. “Out of kind” measures, an option for compensation currently proposed, cannot replicate biodiversity and ecosystem services lost through mining of the deep seabed and thus cannot be considered true offsets. The ecosystem functions provided by deep-sea biodiversity contribute to a wide range of provisioning services (e.g., the exploitation of fish, energy, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, play an essential role in regulatory services (e.g., carbon sequestration and are important culturally. The level of “acceptable” biodiversity loss in the deep sea requires public, transparent, and well-informed consideration, as well as wide agreement

Assessing net carbon sequestration on urban and community forests of northern New England, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Daolan Zheng; Mark J. Ducey; Linda S. Heath

2013-01-01

Urban and community forests play an important role in the overall carbon budget of the USA. Accurately quantifying carbon sequestration by these forests can provide insight for strategic planning to mitigate greenhouse gas effects on climate change. This study provides a new methodology to estimate net forest carbon sequestration (FCS) in urban and community lands of...

Organic carbon balance and net ecosystem metabolism in Chesapeake Bay

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, W.M.; Smith, E.M.; Marvin-DiPasquale, M.; Boynton, W.R.

1997-01-01

The major fluxes of organic carbon associated with physical transport and biological metabolism were compiled, analyzed and compared for the mainstem portion of Chesapeake Bay (USA). In addition, 5 independent methods were used to calculate the annual mean net ecosystem metabolism (NEM = production - respiration) for the integrated Bay. These methods, which employed biogeochemical models, nutrient mass-balances anti summation of individual organic carbon fluxes, yielded remarkably similar estimates, with a mean NEM of +50 g C m-2 yr-1 (?? SE = 751, which is approximately 8% of the estimated annual average gross primary production. These calculations suggest a strong cross-sectional pattern in NEM throughout the Bay, wherein net heterotrophic metabolism prevails in the pelagic zones of the main channel, while net autotrophy occurs in the littoral zones which flank the deeper central area. For computational purposes, the estuary was separated into 3 regions along the land-sea gradient: (1) the oligohaline Upper Bay (11% of total area); (2) the mesohaline Mid Bay (36% of area); and (3) the polyhaline Lower Bay (53% of area). A distinct regional trend in NEM was observed along this salinity gradient, with net here(atrophy (NEM = 87 g C m-2 yr-1) in the Upper Bay, balanced metabolism in the Mid Bay and net autotrophy (NEM = +92 g C m-2 yr-1) in the Lower Bay. As a consequence of overall net autotrophy, the ratio of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to total organic nitrogen (TON) changed from DIN:TON = 5.1 for riverine inputs to DIN:TON = 0.04 for water exported to the ocean. A striking feature of this organic C mass-balance was the relative dominance of biologically mediated metabolic fluxes compared to physical transport fluxes. The overall ratio of physical TOC inputs (1) to biotic primary production (P) was 0.08 for the whole estuary, but varied dramatically from 2.3 in the Upper Bay to 0.03 in the Mid and Lower Bay regions. Similarly, ecosystem respiration was

The carbon cycle and global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

Five land-use-based approaches can be used to slow the buildup of CO 2 in the atmosphere: slowing or stopping the loss of existing forests, thus preserving current carbon reservoirs; adding to the planet's vegetative cover through reforestation or other means, thus enlarging living terrestrial carbon reservoirs; increasing the carbon stored in nonliving carbon reservoirs such as agricultural soils; increasing the carbon stored in artificial reservoirs, including timber products; and substituting sustainable biomass energy sources for fossil fuel consumption, thus reducing energy-related carbon emissions. These approaches are all based on the same basic premise: adding to the planet's net carbon stores in vegetative cover or soil, or preventing any net loss, will help moderate global warming by keeping atmospheric CO 2 levels lower than they would otherwise be. Because biotic policy options appear capable of contributing significantly to the mitigation of global warming while also furthering many other public policy objectives, their role deserves careful consideration on a country-by-country basis

Counterintuitive proposals for trans-boundary ecological compensation under "No Net Loss" biodiversity policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bull, Joseph William; Abatayo, Anna Lou; Strange, Niels

2017-01-01

‘No net loss’ (NNL) policies involve quantifying biodiversity impacts associated with economic development, and implementing commensurate conservation gains to balance losses. Local stakeholders are often affected by NNL biodiversity trades. But to what extent are NNL principles intuitive...... compensation should be: close to development impacts; greater than losses; smaller, given a background trend of biodiversity decline; and, smaller when gains have co-benefits for biodiversity. However, survey participant proposals violated all four principles. Participants proposed substantial forest...

Hearing Loss due to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Davari, Mohammad Hossein; Mollasadeghi, Abolfazl

2013-01-01

Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the rare causes of hearing loss which may cause reversible or irreversible, unilateral or bilateral hearing loss after acute or chronic exposure. In this report, we present a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a secondary smelting workshop worker a...

Proton energy loss in multilayer graphene and carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Uribe, Juan D.; Mery, Mario; Fierro, Bernardo; Cardoso-Gil, Raul; Abril, Isabel; Garcia-Molina, Rafael; Valdés, Jorge E.; Esaulov, Vladimir A.

2018-02-01

Results of a study of electronic energy loss of low keV protons interacting with multilayer graphene targets are presented. Proton energy loss shows an unexpectedly high value as compared with measurements in amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, we observe a classical linear behavior of the energy loss with the ion velocity but with an apparent velocity threshold around 0.1 a.u., which is not observed in other carbon allotropes. This suggests low dimensionality effects which can be due to the extraordinary graphene properties.

Managing soil organic carbon in agriculture: the net effect on greenhouse gas emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marland, Gregg; West, Tristram O.; Schlamadinger, Bernhard; Canella, Lorenza

2003-01-01

A change in agricultural practice can increase carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. To know the net effect on greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, however, we consider associated changes in CO 2 emissions resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels, emissions of other greenhouse gases and effects on land productivity and crop yield. We also consider how these factors will evolve over time. A change from conventional tillage to no-till agriculture, based on data for average practice in the U.S.; will result in net carbon sequestration in the soil that averages 337 kg C/ha/yr for the initial 20 yr with a decline to near zero in the following 20 yr, and continuing savings in CO 2 emissions because of reduced use of fossil fuels. The long-term results, considering all factors, can generally be expected to show decreased net greenhouse gas emissions. The quantitative details, however, depend on the site-specific impact of the conversion from conventional to no-till agriculture on agricultural yield and N 2 O emissions from nitrogen fertilizer

Controls on declining carbon balance with leaf age among 10 woody species in Australian woodland: do leaves have zero daily net carbon balances when they die?

Science.gov (United States)

Reich, Peter B; Falster, Daniel S; Ellsworth, David S; Wright, Ian J; Westoby, Mark; Oleksyn, Jacek; Lee, Tali D

2009-01-01

* Here, we evaluated how increased shading and declining net photosynthetic capacity regulate the decline in net carbon balance with increasing leaf age for 10 Australian woodland species. We also asked whether leaves at the age of their mean life-span have carbon balances that are positive, zero or negative. * The net carbon balances of 2307 leaves on 53 branches of the 10 species were estimated. We assessed three-dimensional architecture, canopy openness, photosynthetic light response functions and dark respiration rate across leaf age sequences on all branches. We used YPLANT to estimate light interception and to model carbon balance along the leaf age sequences. * As leaf age increased to the mean life-span, increasing shading and declining photosynthetic capacity each separately reduced daytime carbon gain by approximately 39% on average across species. Together, they reduced daytime carbon gain by 64% on average across species. * At the age of their mean life-span, almost all leaves had positive daytime carbon balances. These per leaf carbon surpluses were of a similar magnitude to the estimated whole-plant respiratory costs per leaf. Thus, the results suggest that a whole-plant economic framework, including respiratory costs, may be useful in assessing controls on leaf longevity.

Carbon and nitrogen balances for six shrublands across Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beier, Claus; Emmett, Bridget A.; Tietema, Albert

2009-01-01

,546 g C m−2, and the systems ranged from being net sinks (126 g C m−2 a−1) to being net sources (−536 g C m−2 a−1) of carbon with the largest storage and sink of carbon at wet and cold climatic conditions. The soil carbon store dominates the carbon budget at all sites and in particular at the site...... with a cold and wet climate where soil C constitutes 95% of the total carbon in the ecosystem. Respiration of carbon from the soil organic matter pool dominated the carbon loss at all sites while carbon loss from aboveground litter decomposition appeared less important. Total belowground carbon allocation...... that in the future a climate-driven land cover change between grasslands and shrublands in Europe will likely lead to increased ecosystem C where shrublands are promoted and less where grasses are promoted. However, it also emphasizes that if feedbacks on the global carbon cycle are to be predicted it is critically...

Warmer temperatures reduce net carbon uptake, but not water use, in a mature southern Appalachian forest

Science.gov (United States)

Increasing air temperature is expected to extend growing season length in temperate, broadleaf forests, leading to potential increases in evapotranspiration and net carbon uptake. However, other key processes affecting water and carbon cycles are also highly temperature-dependent...

Net Community Metabolism and Seawater Carbonate Chemistry Scale Non-intuitively with Coral Cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather N. Page

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Coral cover and reef health have been declining globally as reefs face local and global stressors including higher temperature and ocean acidification (OA. Ocean warming and acidification will alter rates of benthic reef metabolism (i.e., primary production, respiration, calcification, and CaCO3 dissolution, but our understanding of community and ecosystem level responses is limited in terms of functional, spatial, and temporal scales. Furthermore, dramatic changes in coral cover and benthic metabolism could alter seawater carbonate chemistry on coral reefs, locally alleviating or exacerbating OA. This study examines how benthic metabolic rates scale with changing coral cover (0–100%, and the subsequent influence of these coral communities on seawater carbonate chemistry based on mesocosm experiments in Bermuda and Hawaii. In Bermuda, no significant differences in benthic metabolism or seawater carbonate chemistry were observed for low (40% and high (80% coral cover due to large variability within treatments. In contrast, significant differences were detected between treatments in Hawaii with benthic metabolic rates increasing with increasing coral cover. Observed increases in daily net community calcification and nighttime net respiration scaled proportionally with coral cover. This was not true for daytime net community organic carbon production rates, which increased the most between 0 and 20% coral cover and then less so between 20 and 100%. Consequently, diel variability in seawater carbonate chemistry increased with increasing coral cover, but absolute values of pH, Ωa, and pCO2 were not significantly different during daytime. To place the results of the mesocosm experiments into a broader context, in situ seawater carbon dioxide (CO2 at three reef sites in Bermuda and Hawaii were also evaluated; reefs with higher coral cover experienced a greater range of diel CO2 levels, complementing the mesocosm results. The results from this study

The Net Carbon Flux due to Deforestation and Forest Re-Growth in the Brazilian Amazon: Analysis using a Process-Based Model

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, A. I.; Little, W. S.; Houghton, R. A.; Scott, N. A.; White, J. D.

2004-01-01

We developed a process-based model of forest growth, carbon cycling, and land cover dynamics named CARLUC (for CARbon and Land Use Change) to estimate the size of terrestrial carbon pools in terra firme (non-flooded) forests across the Brazilian Legal Amazon and the net flux of carbon resulting from forest disturbance and forest recovery from disturbance. Our goal in building the model was to construct a relatively simple ecosystem model that would respond to soil and climatic heterogeneity that allows us to study of the impact of Amazonian deforestation, selective logging, and accidental fire on the global carbon cycle. This paper focuses on the net flux caused by deforestation and forest re-growth over the period from 1970-1998. We calculate that the net flux to the atmosphere during this period reached a maximum of approx. 0.35 PgC/yr (1PgC = 1 x 10(exp I5) gC) in 1990, with a cumulative release of approx. 7 PgC from 1970- 1998. The net flux is higher than predicted by an earlier study by a total of 1 PgC over the period 1989-1 998 mainly because CARLUC predicts relatively high mature forest carbon storage compared to the datasets used in the earlier study. Incorporating the dynamics of litter and soil carbon pools into the model increases the cumulative net flux by approx. 1 PgC from 1970-1998, while different assumptions about land cover dynamics only caused small changes. The uncertainty of the net flux, calculated with a Monte-Carlo approach, is roughly 35% of the mean value (1 SD).

EFFECTS OF CO2 AND O3 ON CARBON FLUX FOR PONDEROSA PINE PLANT/LITTER/SOIL SYSTEM

Science.gov (United States)

Carbon dioxide (CO2), a main contributor to global climate change, also adds carbon to forests. In contrast, tropospheric ozone (O3) can reduce carbon uptake and increase carbon loss by forests. Thus, the net balance of carbon uptake and loss for forests can be affected by concu...

How Does Tree Density Affect Water Loss of Peatlands? A Mesocosm Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Limpens, J.; Holmgren, M.; Jacobs, C.M.J.; Zee, van der S.E.A.T.M.; Karofeld, E.; Berendse, F.

2014-01-01

Raised bogs have accumulated more atmospheric carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. Climate-induced expansion of trees and shrubs may turn these ecosystems from net carbon sinks into sources when associated with reduced water tables. Increasing water loss through tree

Dependence of wheat and rice respiration on tissue nitrogen and the corresponding net carbon fixation efficiency under different rates of nitrogen application

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wenjuan; Huang, Yao; Chen, Shutao; Zou, Jianwen; Zheng, Xunhua

2007-02-01

To quantitatively address the role of tissue N in crop respiration under various agricultural practices, and to consequently evaluate the impact of synthetic fertilizer N application on biomass production and respiration, and hence net carbon fixation efficiency ( E ncf), pot and field experiments were carried out for an annual rotation of a rice-wheat cropping system from 2001 to 2003. The treatments of the pot experiments included fertilizer N application, sowing date and planting density. Different rates of N application were tested in the field experiments. Static opaque chambers were used for sampling the gas. The respiration as CO2 emission was detected by a gas chromatograph. A successive biomass clipping method was employed to determine the crop autotrophic respiration coefficient ( R a). Results from the pot experiments revealed a linear relationship between R a and tissue N content as R a = 4.74N-1.45 ( R 2 = 0.85, P < 0.001). Measurements and calculations from the field experiments indicated that fertilizer N application promoted not only biomass production but also increased the respiration of crops. A further investigation showed that the increase of carbon loss in terms of respiration owing to fertilizer N application exceeded that of net carbon gain in terms of aboveground biomass when fertilizer N was applied over a certain rate. Consequently, the E ncf declined as the N application rate increased.

High carbon losses due to recent cropland expansion in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Spawn, S.; Lark, T.; Gibbs, H.

2017-12-01

Land conversion for agriculture in the United States has reached record highs in recent years. From 2008 to 2012 nearly 30,000 square kilometers of previously un-cultivated land were converted to agricultural land use with much of this expansion occurring on grasslands (77%) and shrublands (8%). To understand the effects of this conversion on global C cycling, we created novel, spatially explicit biomass maps for these biomes by combining existing satellite data products with models derived from field measurements. We then estimated changes in existing C stocks by combining our derived data with existing Landsat-scale data on land cover, land conversion, forest biomass and soil organic carbon (C) stocks. We find that conversion results in annual C losses of approximately 25 Tg C from US terrestrial ecosystems. Nationwide, roughly 80% of total emissions result from committed soil organic C losses. While biomass losses from expansion into forests and wetlands are disproportionately high per unit area, the vast majority of C losses occurred in grassland ecosystems, with grassland roots representing close to 70% of total biomass losses across all biomes. C losses are partially offset each year by agricultural abandonment which we estimate could sequester as much as 15 Tg C, annually. Taken together, we find that US agricultural expansion results in net annual emissions of 10 Tg C which is nearly 30% of emissions from existing US croplands. Our estimate is comparable to a recent analogous estimate for conversion of the Brazilian Cerrado and is equivalent to 10% of annual C losses from pantropical deforestation, suggesting that the effects of US cropland expansion could be globally significant.

Net emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when using forest residues for production of heat and electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zetterberg, L.; Hansen, O.

1998-05-01

This study estimates net emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere from the use of forest residues for production of heat and electricity. In the report, the use of forest residues for energy production is called residue-usage. Our results show that for a turnover period of 80 years, the net emission of CO 2 to the atmosphere is 15.8 kg CO 2 -C/MWh (3.1-31.6 kg CO 2 -C/MWh), which represents 16% of the total carbon content in the wood fuel (3%-32%). Fossil fuel consumption is responsible for 3.1 kg CO 2 -C/MWh of this. Residue-usage may produce indirect emissions or uptake of carbon dioxide, e.g. through changes in production conditions, changes in the turnover of carbon in the humus layer or through a reduction of the amount of forest fires. Due to uncertainties in data it is hard to quantify these indirect effects. In some cases it is hard even to determine their signs. As a consequence of this, we have chosen not to include the indirect effects in our estimates of net emissions from residue-usage. Instead we discuss these effects in a qualitative manner. It may seem surprising that the biogenic part of the residue-usage produces a net emission of carbon dioxide considering that carbon has originated from the atmosphere. The explanation is that the residue-usage systematically leads to earlier emissions than would be the case if the residues were left on the ground. If forest residues are left to decay, in the long run a pool of carbon might be created in the ground. This does not happen with residue-usage 33 refs, 4 figs, 12 tabs

Sensorineural Hearing Loss following Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph P. Pillion

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A case study is presented of a 17-year-old male who sustained an anoxic brain injury and sensorineural hearing loss secondary to carbon monoxide poisoning. Audiological data is presented showing a slightly asymmetrical hearing loss of sensorineural origin and mild-to-severe degree for both ears. Word recognition performance was fair to poor bilaterally for speech presented at normal conversational levels in quiet. Management considerations of the hearing loss are discussed.

Deforestation and Carbon Stock Loss in Brazil's Amazonian Settlements.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanai, Aurora Miho; Nogueira, Euler Melo; de Alencastro Graça, Paulo Maurício Lima; Fearnside, Philip Martin

2017-03-01

We estimate deforestation and the carbon stock in 2740 (82 %) of the 3325 settlements in Brazil's Legal Amazonia region. Estimates are made both using available satellite data and a carbon map for the "pre-modern" period (prior to 1970). We used data from Brazil's Project for Monitoring Deforestation in Amazonia updated through 2013 and from the Brazilian Biomes Deforestation Monitoring Project (PMDBBS) updated through 2010. To obtain the pre-modern and recent carbon stocks we performed an intersection between a carbon map and a map derived from settlement boundaries and deforestation data. Although the settlements analyzed occupied only 8 % of Legal Amazonia, our results indicate that these settlements contributed 17 % (160,410 km 2 ) of total clearing (forest + non-forest) in Legal Amazonia (967,003 km 2 ). This represents a clear-cutting of 41 % of the original vegetation in the settlements. Out of this total, 72 % (115,634 km 2 ) was in the "Federal Settlement Project" (PA) category. Deforestation in settlements represents 20 % (2.6 Pg C) of the total carbon loss in Legal Amazonia (13.1 Pg C). The carbon stock in remaining vegetation represents 3.8 Pg C, or 6 % of the total remaining carbon stock in Legal Amazonia (58.6 Pg C) in the periods analyzed. The carbon reductions in settlements are caused both by the settlers and by external actors. Our findings suggest that agrarian reform policies contributed directly to carbon loss. Thus, the implementation of new settlements should consider potential carbon stock losses, especially if settlements are created in areas with high carbon stocks.

26 CFR 1.860C-2 - Determination of REMIC taxable income or net loss.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Determination of REMIC taxable income or net loss. 1.860C-2 Section 1.860C-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.860C-2 Determination of...

The impact of dry matter loss during herbaceous biomass storage on net greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emery, Isaac R.; Mosier, Nathan S.

2012-01-01

Life cycle inventory models of greenhouse gas emissions from biofuel production have become tightly integrated into government mandates and other policies to encourage biofuel production. Current models do not include life cycle impacts of biomass storage or reflect current literature on emissions from soil and biomass decomposition. In this study, the GREET model framework was used to determine net greenhouse gas emissions during ethanol production from corn and switchgrass via three biomass storage systems: wet ensiling of whole corn, and indoor and outdoor dry bale storage of corn stover and switchgrass. Dry matter losses during storage were estimated from the literature and used to modify GREET inventory analysis. Results showed that biomass stability is a key parameter affecting fuel production per farmed hectare and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Corn silage may generate 5358 L/ha of ethanol at 26.5 g CO 2 eq/MJ, relative to 5654 L/ha at 52.3 g CO 2 eq/MJ from combined corn stover and conventional grain corn ethanol production, or 3919 L/ha at 21.3 g CO 2 eq/MJ from switchgrass. Dry matter losses can increase net emissions by 3–25% (ensiling), 5–53% (bales outdoors), or 1–12% (bales indoors), decreasing the net GHG reduction of ethanol over gasoline by up to 10.9%. Greater understanding of biomass storage losses and greenhouse gas fluxes during storage is necessary to accurately assess biomass storage options to ensure that the design of biomass supply logistics systems meet GHG reduction mandates for biofuel production. -- Highlights: ► Analyzed the impact of biomass loss during storage. ► Probable dry matter losses strongly depend on storage method and infrastructure. ► Assessed impact of storage losses on LCA for cellulosic ethanol production. ► Storage losses increase GHG emissions by 1–53% depending upon storage conditions.

Ecosystem carbon partitioning: aboveground net primary productivity correlates with the root carbon input in different land use types of Southern Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Rodeghiero, Mirco; Martinez, Cristina; Gianelle, Damiano; Camin, Federica; Zanotelli, Damiano; Magnani, Federico

2013-04-01

Terrestrial plant carbon partitioning to above- and below-ground compartments can be better understood by integrating studies on biomass allocation and estimates of root carbon input based on the use of stable isotopes. These experiments are essential to model ecosystem's metabolism and predict the effects of global change on carbon cycling. Using in-growth soil cores in conjunction with the 13C natural abundance method we quantified net plant-derived root carbon input into the soil, which has been pointed out as the main unaccounted NPP (net primary productivity) component. Four land use types located in the Trentino Region (northern Italy) and representing a range of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) values (155-868 gC m-2 y-1) were investigated: conifer forest, apple orchard, vineyard and grassland. Cores, filled with soil of a known C4 isotopic signature were inserted at 18 sampling points for each site and left in place for twelve months. After extraction, cores were analysed for %C and d13C, which were used to calculate the proportion of new plant-derived root C input by applying a mass balance equation. The GPP (gross primary productivity) of each ecosystem was determined by the eddy covariance technique whereas ANPP was quantified with a repeated inventory approach. We found a strong and significant relationship (R2 = 0.93; p=0.03) between ANPP and the fraction of GPP transferred to the soil as root C input across the investigated sites. This percentage varied between 10 and 25% of GPP with the grassland having the lowest value and the apple orchard the highest. Mechanistic ecosystem carbon balance models could benefit from this general relationship since ANPP is routinely and easily measured at many sites. This result also suggests that by quantifying site-specific ANPP, root carbon input can be reliably estimated, as opposed to using arbitrary root/shoot ratios which may under- or over-estimate C partitioning.

Directed graph based carbon flow tracing for demand side carbon obligation allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Tao; Feng, Donghan; Ding, Teng

2016-01-01

In order to achieve carbon emission abatement, some researchers and policy makers have cast their focus on demand side carbon abatement potentials. This paper addresses the problem of carbon flow calculation in power systems and carbon obligation allocation at demand side. A directed graph based...... method for tracing carbon flow is proposed. In a lossy network, matrices such as carbon losses, net carbon intensity (NCI) and footprint carbon intensity (FCI) are obtained with the proposed method and used to allocate carbon obligation at demand side. Case studies based on realistic distribution...... and transmission systems are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method....

Long term estimation of carbon dynamic and sequestration for Iranian agro-ecosystem: I- Net primary productivity and annual carbon input for common agricultural crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Nassiri Mahalati

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Evaluation of carbon input is one of the most important factors for estimating soil carbon changes and potential for carbon sequestration. To evaluate the net primary productivity (NPP and soil carbon input in agricultural eco-systems of Iran, data for yield, cultivated area, harvest index (HI and shoot /root ratio in different crops including: wheat, barley, maize, cotton, rice, alfalfa and chickpea were obtained for different provinces. Then, allocated carbon to different organs of plant were calculated based on carbon allocation coefficients and finally, the net primary productivity based on carbon (NPPc was calculated. The ratio of NPPc that was annually returned to soil was considered as carbon annual input. The results showed that the maximum amount of NPPc for wheat, barely and alfalfa were obtained in Khazari climate for rice, chickpea and cotton was achieved in warm-wet climate and for maize was gained in warm-dry climate. In all regions of Iran, chickpea had the lowest effect on NPPc and consequently on carbon sequestration. The highest amount of carbon input per unit area among studied crops and different regions were observed in Khazari region for alfalfa whereas, the lowest carbon input per unit area was relation to chickpea in cold region. The lowest gap between actual and potential of carbon sequestration was observed in alfalfa whereas wheat, rice and cotton showed the most gap by 0.4, 0.38 and 0.37, respectively.

Accounting for no net loss: A critical assessment of biodiversity offsetting metrics and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Carreras Gamarra, Maria Jose; Lassoie, James Philip; Milder, Jeffrey

2018-08-15

Biodiversity offset strategies are based on the explicit calculation of both losses and gains necessary to establish ecological equivalence between impact and offset areas. Given the importance of quantifying biodiversity values, various accounting methods and metrics are continuously being developed and tested for this purpose. Considering the wide array of alternatives, selecting an appropriate one for a specific project can be not only challenging, but also crucial; accounting methods can strongly influence the biodiversity outcomes of an offsetting strategy, and if not well-suited to the context and values being offset, a no net loss outcome might not be delivered. To date there has been no systematic review or comparative classification of the available biodiversity accounting alternatives that aim at facilitating metric selection, and no tools that guide decision-makers throughout such a complex process. We fill this gap by developing a set of analyses to support (i) identifying the spectrum of available alternatives, (ii) understanding the characteristics of each and, ultimately (iii) making the most sensible and sound decision about which one to implement. The metric menu, scoring matrix, and decision tree developed can be used by biodiversity offsetting practitioners to help select an existing metric, and thus achieve successful outcomes that advance the goal of no net loss of biodiversity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mid-Pleistocene climate transition drives net mass loss from rapidly uplifting St. Elias mountains, Alaska

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gulick, S.P.S.; Jaeger, J.M.; Mix, A.C.; Asahi, H.; Bahlburg, H.; Belanger, C.L.; Berbel, G.B.B.; Childress, L.; Cowan, E.; Drab, L.; Forwick, M.; Fukumura, A.; Ge, S.; Gupta, S.M.; Kioka, A.; Konno, S.; LeVay, L.J.; Marz, C.; Matsuzaki, K.M.; McClymont, E.L.; Moy, C.; Muller, J.; Nakamura, A.; Ojima, T.; Ribeiro, F.R.; Ridgway, K.D.; Romero, O.E.; Slagle, A.L.; Stoner, J.S.; St-Onge, G.; Suto, I.; Walczak, M.D.; Worthington, L.L.; Bailey, I.; Enkelmann, E.; Reece, R.; Swartz, J.M.

the onset of quasi-periodic (~100-ky) glacial cycles in the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (1.2–0.7 Ma). Since then, erosion and transport of material out of the orogen has outpaced tectonic influx by 50–80%. Such a rapid net mass loss explains apparent...

Moss and soil contributions to the annual net carbon flux of a maturing boreal forest

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, J.W.; O'Neill, K. P.; Trumbore, S.E.; Veldhuis, H.; Stocks, B.J.

1997-01-01

We used input and decomposition data from 14C studies of soils to determine rates of vertical accumulation of moss combined with carbon storage inventories on a sequence of burns to model how carbon accumulates in soils and moss after a stand-killing fire. We used soil drainage - moss associations and soil drainage maps of the old black spruce (OBS) site at the BOREAS northern study area (NSA) to areally weight the contributions of each moderately well drained, feathermoss areas; poorly drained sphagnum - feathermoss areas; and very poorly drained brown moss areas to the carbon storage and flux at the OBS NSA site. On this very old (117 years) complex of black spruce, sphagnum bog veneer, and fen systems we conclude that these systems are likely sequestering 0.01-0.03 kg C m-2 yr-' at OBS-NSA today. Soil drainage in boreal forests near Thompson, Manitoba, controls carbon storage and flux by controlling moss input and decomposition rates and by controlling through fire the amount and quality of carbon left after burning. On poorly drained soils rich in sphagnum moss, net accumulation and long-term storage of carbon is higher than on better drained soils colonized by feathermosses. The carbon flux of these contrasting ecosystems is best characterized by soil drainage class and stand age, where stands recently burned are net sources of CO2, and maturing stands become increasingly stronger sinks of atmospheric CO2. This approach to measuring carbon storage and flux presents a method of scaling to larger areas using soil drainage, moss cover, and stand age information.

Calculating carbon budgets of wind farms on Scottish peatlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.R. Nayak

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The reliability of calculation methods for the carbon emission savings to be achieved in Scotland by replacing power generated from fossil fuels (and other more conventional sources with that produced by large-scale wind farm developments is a cause for concern, largely in relation to wind farms sited on peatlands. Scottish Government policy is to deliver renewable energy without environmental harm, and to meet biodiversity objectives including the conservation of designated wildlife sites and important habitats such as peatlands. The implications for carbon emissions of developing a wind farm are, therefore, just one aspect of the suite of considerations that the planning system takes into account. This paper presents a simple methodology for prospectively calculating the potential carbon emission savings to be realised by developing wind farms on peatland, forestland or afforested peatland. The total carbon emission savings of an individual wind farm are estimated by accounting emissions from the power source that will be replaced by wind power against: loss of carbon due to production, transportation, erection, operation and dismantling of the wind farm components (the infrastructure overhead; loss of carbon due to backup power generation; loss of carbon stored in peat and forest; loss of carbon-fixing potential of peatland and forest; and carbon savings due to habitat improvement. Most of the carbon losses are determined by national infrastructure, but those from peat soil and plants are influenced by site selection and management practices. The extent of drainage around each constructed element of the wind farm is a major factor for greenhouse gas emissions. Consideration of an example site with a low extent of drainage, where management practices that minimise net carbon losses (e.g. undrained floating roads, habitat improvement and site restoration on decommissioning were used indicates that emissions from the soil and plants may cancel

Organic fertilizer application increases the soil respiration and net ecosystem carbon dioxide absorption of paddy fields under water-saving irrigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shihong; Xiao, Ya Nan; Xu, Junzeng

2018-04-01

Quantifying carbon sequestration in paddy soil is necessary to understand the effect of agricultural practices on carbon cycles. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of organic fertilizer addition (MF) on the soil respiration and net ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) absorption of paddy fields under water-saving irrigation (CI) in the Taihu Lake Region of China during the 2014 and 2015 rice-growing seasons. Compared with the traditional fertilizer and water management (FC), the joint regulation of CI and MF (CM) significantly increased the rice yields and irrigation water use efficiencies of paddy fields by 4.02~5.08 and 83.54~109.97% (p < 0.05). The effects of organic fertilizer addition on soil respiration and net ecosystem CO 2 absorption rates showed inter-annual differences. CM paddy fields showed a higher soil respiration and net CO 2 absorption rates during some periods of the rice growth stage in the first year and during most periods of the rice growth stage in the second year. These fields also had significantly higher total CO 2 emission through soil respiration (total R soil ) and total net CO 2 absorption compared with FC paddy fields (p < 0.05). The total R soil and net ecosystem CO 2 absorption of CM paddy fields were 67.39~91.55 and 129.41~113.75 mol m -2 , which were 27.66~135.52 and 12.96~31.66% higher than those of FC paddy fields. The interaction between water and fertilizer management had significant effects on total net ecosystem CO 2 absorption. The frequent alternate wet-dry cycles of CI paddy fields increased the soil respiration and reduced the net CO 2 absorption. Organic fertilizer promoted the soil respiration of paddy soil but also increased its net CO 2 absorption and organic carbon content. Therefore, the joint regulation of water-saving irrigation and organic fertilizer is an effective measure for maintaining yield, increasing irrigation water use efficiency, mitigating CO 2 emission, and promoting paddy

Beyond pure offsetting: Assessing options to generate Net-Mitigation-Effects in carbon market mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warnecke, Carsten; Wartmann, Sina; Höhne, Niklas; Blok, Kornelis

2014-01-01

The current project-based carbon market mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Joint Implementation (JI) do not have a direct impact on global greenhouse gas emission levels, because they only replace or offset emissions. Nor do they contribute to host country's national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Contributions to net emission reductions in host countries is likely to become mandatory in new mechanisms under development such as in the framework for various approaches, a new market-based mechanism and even in a reformed JI. This research analysed the question if approaches for carbon market-based mechanisms exist that allow the generation of net emission reductions in host countries while keeping project initiation attractive. We present a criteria-based assessment method and apply it for four generic options in existing mechanisms and derive implications for future mechanism frameworks. We identified the application of “discounts” on the amount of avoided emissions for the issuance of carbon credits and “standardisation below business as usual” as most promising options over “limiting the crediting period” and “over-conservativeness”. We propose to apply these options differentiated over project types based on internal rate of return to ensure cost-efficiency and attractiveness. - Highlights: • Options for net emission reductions of market-based mechanisms are assessed. • Research combines past and current views for project and sector-based mechanisms. • Implementation ensures initiation of mitigation activities is not discouraged. • Important insights for methodological design of new market-based mechanisms. • Profitability-based approach for project-based mechanisms suggested

How does soil management affect carbon losses from soils?

Science.gov (United States)

Klik, A.; Trümper, G.

2009-04-01

Agricultural soils are a major source as well as a sink of organic carbon (OC). Amount and distribution of OC within the soil and within the landscape are driven by land management but also by erosion and deposition processes. At the other hand the type of soil management influences mineralization and atmospheric carbon dioxide losses by soil respiration. In a long-term field experiment the impacts of soil tillage systems on soil erosion processes were investigated. Following treatments were compared: 1) conventional tillage (CT), 2) conservation tillage with cover crop during the winter period (CS), and 3) no-till with cover crop during winter period (NT). The studies were carried out at three sites in the Eastern part of Austria with annual precipitation amounts from 650 to 900 mm. The soil texture ranged from silt loam to loam. Since 2007 soil CO2 emissions are measured with a portable soil respiration system in intervals of about one week, but also in relation to management events. Concurrent soil temperature and soil water content are measured and soil samples are taken for chemical and microbiological analyses. An overall 14-yr. average soil loss between 1.0 t.ha-1.yr-1 for NT and 6.1 t.ha-1.yr-1 for CT resulted in on-site OC losses from 18 to 79 kg ha-1.yr-1. The measurements of the carbon dioxide emissions from the different treatments indicate a high spatial variation even within one plot. Referred to CT plots calculated carbon losses amounted to 65-94% for NT plots while for the different RT plots they ranged between 84 and 128%. Nevertheless site specific considerations have to be taken into account. Preliminary results show that the adaptation of reduced or no-till management strategies has enormous potential in reducing organic carbon losses from agricultural used soils.

How Does Recycling of Livestock Manure in Agroecosystems Affect Crop Productivity, Reactive Nitrogen Losses, and Soil Carbon Balance?

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Longlong; Lam, Shu Kee; Yan, Xiaoyuan; Chen, Deli

2017-07-05

Recycling of livestock manure in agroecosystems to partially substitute synthetic fertilizer nitrogen (N) input is recommended to alleviate the environmental degradation associated with synthetic N fertilization, which may also affect food security and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, how substituting livestock manure for synthetic N fertilizer affects crop productivity (crop yield; crop N uptake; N use efficiency), reactive N (Nr) losses (ammonia (NH 3 ) emission, N leaching and runoff), GHG (methane, CH 4 ; and nitrous oxide, N 2 O; carbon dioxide) emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agroecosystems is not well understood. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 141 studies and found that substituting livestock manure for synthetic N fertilizer (with equivalent N rate) significantly increased crop yield by 4.4% and significantly decreased Nr losses via NH 3 emission by 26.8%, N leaching by 28.9% and N runoff by 26.2%. Moreover, annual SOC sequestration was significantly increased by 699.6 and 401.4 kg C ha -1 yr -1 in upland and paddy fields, respectively; CH 4 emission from paddy field was significantly increased by 41.2%, but no significant change of that was observed from upland field; N 2 O emission was not significantly affected by manure substitution in upland or paddy fields. In terms of net soil carbon balance, substituting manure for fertilizer increased carbon sink in upland field, but increased carbon source in paddy field. These results suggest that recycling of livestock manure in agroecosystems improves crop productivity, reduces Nr pollution and increases SOC storage. To attenuate the enhanced carbon source in paddy field, appropriate livestock manure management practices should be adopted.

Subsidence and carbon loss in drained tropical peatlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Hooijer

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Conversion of tropical peatlands to agriculture leads to a release of carbon from previously stable, long-term storage, resulting in land subsidence that can be a surrogate measure of CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. We present an analysis of recent large-scale subsidence monitoring studies in Acacia and oil palm plantations on peatland in SE Asia, and compare the findings with previous studies. Subsidence in the first 5 yr after drainage was found to be 142 cm, of which 75 cm occurred in the first year. After 5 yr, the subsidence rate in both plantation types, at average water table depths of 0.7 m, remained constant at around 5 cm yr⁻¹. The results confirm that primary consolidation contributed substantially to total subsidence only in the first year after drainage, that secondary consolidation was negligible, and that the amount of compaction was also much reduced within 5 yr. Over 5 yr after drainage, 75 % of cumulative subsidence was caused by peat oxidation, and after 18 yr this was 92 %. The average rate of carbon loss over the first 5 yr was 178 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, which reduced to 73 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ over subsequent years, potentially resulting in an average loss of 100 t CO_2eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ over 25 yr. Part of the observed range in subsidence and carbon loss values is explained by differences in water table depth, but vegetation cover and other factors such as addition of fertilizers also influence peat oxidation. A relationship with groundwater table depth shows that subsidence and carbon loss are still considerable even at the highest water levels theoretically possible in plantations. This implies that improved plantation water management will reduce these impacts by 20 % at most, relative to current conditions, and that high rates of carbon loss and land subsidence are

Evaluation of Net Primary Productivity and Carbon Allocation to Different Parts of Corn in Different Tillage and Nutrient Management Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

esmat mohammadi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Evaluation of net primary productivity and carbon allocation to different organs of corn under nutrient management and tillage systems Introduction Agriculture operations produce 10 to 20 percent of greenhouse gases. As a result of conventional operations of agriculture, greenhouse gases have been increased (Osborne et al., 2010. Therefor it is necessary to notice to carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. In photosynthesis process, plants absorb CO2 and large amounts of organic carbon accumulate in their organs. Biochar is produced of pyrolysis of organic compounds. Biochar is an appropriate compound for improved of soil properties and carbon sequestration (Whitman and Lehmann, 2009; Smith et al., 2010. Conservation tillage has become an important technology in sustainable agriculture due to its benefits. So the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutrient management and tillage systems on net primary production and carbon allocation to different organs of corn in Shahrood. Material and methods This study was conducted at the Shahrood University of Technology research farm. Experiment was done as split plot in randomized complete block design with three replications. Tillage systems with two levels (conventional tillage and minimum tillage were as the main factor and nutrient management in seven levels including (control, chemical fertilizer, manure, biochar, chemical fertilizer + manure, chemical fertilizer + biochar, manure + biochar were considered as sub plot. At the time of maturity of corn, was sampled from its aboveground and belowground biomasses. Carbon content of shoot, seed and root was considered almost 45 percent of yield of each of these biomasses and carbon in root exudates almost 65 percent of carbon in the root. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SAS program. Comparison of means was conducted with LSD test at the 5% level. Results and discussion Effect of nutrient management was

The importance of rapid, disturbance-induced losses in carbon management and sequestration

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Breshears, D.D.; Allen, Craig D.

2002-01-01

Management of terrestrial carbon fluxes is being proposed as a means of increasing the amount of carbon sequestered in the terrestrial biosphere. This approach is generally viewed only as an interim strategy for the coming decades while other longer-term strategies are developed and implemented — the most important being the direct reduction of carbon emissions. We are concerned that the potential for rapid, disturbance-induced losses may be much greater than is currently appreciated, especially by the decision-making community. Here we wish to: (1) highlight the complex and threshold-like nature of disturbances — such as fire and drought, as well as the erosion associated with each — that could lead to carbon losses; (2) note the global extent of ecosystems that are at risk of such disturbance-induced carbon losses; and (3) call for increased consideration of and research on the mechanisms by which large, rapid disturbance-induced losses of terrestrial carbon could occur. Our lack of ability as a scientific community to predict such ecosystem dynamics is precluding the effective consideration of these processes into strategies and policies related to carbon management and sequestration. Consequently, scientists need to do more to improve quantification of these potential losses and to integrate them into sound, sustainable policy options.

Spring photosynthetic onset and net CO2 uptake in Alaska triggered by landscape thawing.

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Parazoo, Nicholas C; Arneth, Almut; Pugh, Thomas A M; Smith, Ben; Steiner, Nicholas; Luus, Kristina; Commane, Roisin; Benmergui, Josh; Stofferahn, Eric; Liu, Junjie; Rödenbeck, Christian; Kawa, Randy; Euskirchen, Eugenie; Zona, Donatella; Arndt, Kyle; Oechel, Walt; Miller, Charles

2018-04-24

The springtime transition to regional-scale onset of photosynthesis and net ecosystem carbon uptake in boreal and tundra ecosystems are linked to the soil freeze-thaw state. We present evidence from diagnostic and inversion models constrained by satellite fluorescence and airborne CO 2 from 2012 to 2014 indicating the timing and magnitude of spring carbon uptake in Alaska correlates with landscape thaw and ecoregion. Landscape thaw in boreal forests typically occurs in late April (DOY 111 ± 7) with a 29 ± 6 day lag until photosynthetic onset. North Slope tundra thaws 3 weeks later (DOY 133 ± 5) but experiences only a 20 ± 5 day lag until photosynthetic onset. These time lag differences reflect efficient cold season adaptation in tundra shrub and the longer dehardening period for boreal evergreens. Despite the short transition from thaw to photosynthetic onset in tundra, synchrony of tundra respiration with snow melt and landscape thaw delays the transition from net carbon loss (at photosynthetic onset) to net uptake by 13 ± 7 days, thus reducing the tundra net carbon uptake period. Two global CO 2 inversions using a CASA-GFED model prior estimate earlier northern high latitude net carbon uptake compared to our regional inversion, which we attribute to (i) early photosynthetic-onset model prior bias, (ii) inverse method (scaling factor + optimization window), and (iii) sparsity of available Alaskan CO 2 observations. Another global inversion with zero prior estimates the same timing for net carbon uptake as the regional model but smaller seasonal amplitude. The analysis of Alaskan eddy covariance observations confirms regional scale findings for tundra, but indicates that photosynthesis and net carbon uptake occur up to 1 month earlier in evergreens than captured by models or CO 2 inversions, with better correlation to above-freezing air temperature than date of primary thaw. Further collection and analysis of boreal evergreen species over

Towards robust subsidence-based soil carbon emission factors for peat soils in south-east Asia, with special reference to oil palm plantations

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J. Couwenberg

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Oil palm and Acacia pulpwood plantations are being established at a rapid rate on drained peatland in south-east Asia. Accurate measurements of associated carbon losses are still scarce, however, due mainly to difficulties of excluding autotrophic carbon fluxes from chamber-based flux measurements and uncertainties about the extent of waterborne losses. Here, we demonstrate a simple approach to determining total net carbon loss from subsidence records that is applicable to steady state conditions under continuous land use. We studied oil palm and Acacia plantations that had been drained for 5–19 years. Very similar subsidence rates and dry bulk density profiles were obtained, irrespective of crop type or age of the plantation, indicating that the peat profiles were in a steady state. These are conditions that allow for the deduction of net carbon loss by multiplying the rate of subsidence by the carbon density of the peat below the water table. With an average subsidence rate of 4.2 cm y-1 and a carbon density of 0.043 g cm-3, we arrive at a net carbon loss of ~18 t ha-1 y-1 (~66 t CO2-eq ha-1 y-1 for typical oil palm and Acacia plantations more than five years after drainage, without large differences between the plantation types. The proposed method enables calculation of regional or project-specific carbon loss rates to feed into mitigation schemes of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Carbon stock loss from deforestation through 2013 in Brazilian Amazonia.

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Nogueira, Euler Melo; Yanai, Aurora M; Fonseca, Frederico O R; Fearnside, Philip Martin

2015-03-01

The largest carbon stock in tropical vegetation is in Brazilian Amazonia. In this ~5 million km(2) area, over 750,000 km(2) of forest and ~240,000 km(2) of nonforest vegetation types had been cleared through 2013. We estimate current carbon stocks and cumulative gross carbon loss from clearing of premodern vegetation in Brazil's 'Legal Amazonia' and 'Amazonia biome' regions. Biomass of 'premodern' vegetation (prior to major increases in disturbance beginning in the 1970s) was estimated by matching vegetation classes mapped at a scale of 1 : 250,000 and 29 biomass means from 41 published studies for vegetation types classified as forest (2317 1-ha plots) and as either nonforest or contact zones (1830 plots and subplots of varied size). Total biomass (above and below-ground, dry weight) underwent a gross reduction of 18.3% in Legal Amazonia (13.1 Pg C) and 16.7% in the Amazonia biome (11.2 Pg C) through 2013, excluding carbon loss from the effects of fragmentation, selective logging, fires, mortality induced by recent droughts and clearing of forest regrowth. In spite of the loss of carbon from clearing, large amounts of carbon were stored in stands of remaining vegetation in 2013, equivalent to 149 Mg C ha(-1) when weighted by the total area covered by each vegetation type in Legal Amazonia. Native vegetation in Legal Amazonia in 2013 originally contained 58.6 Pg C, while that in the Amazonia biome contained 56 Pg C. Emissions per unit area from clearing could potentially be larger in the future because previously cleared areas were mainly covered by vegetation with lower mean biomass than the remaining vegetation. Estimates of original biomass are essential for estimating losses to forest degradation. This study offers estimates of cumulative biomass loss, as well as estimates of premodern carbon stocks that have not been represented in recent estimates of deforestation impacts. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Occupational noise exposure assessment using O*NET and its application to a study of hearing loss in the US general population.

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Choi, Yoon-Hyeong; Hu, Howard; Tak, SangWoo; Mukherjee, Bhramar; Park, Sung Kyun

2012-03-01

Although occupational noise is a well known risk factor for hearing loss, little epidemiological evidence has been reported on its association with hearing loss in the general population, in part, because of the difficulty in exposure assessment. This study introduced a quantitative occupational noise exposure assessment tool using the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database and evaluated its applicability for epidemiological research using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004. The O*NET noise exposure data were assessed by questionnaires across numerous occupations, asking the frequency of exposure to sounds and noise levels that are distracting and uncomfortable (with five possible responses from 'never' to 'every day'). Means of the O*NET noise scores were computed to correspond to NHANES occupational categories and assigned to 3828 adults aged 20-69 years, who participated in the 1999-2004 NHANES. Pure-tone averages (PTA) of hearing thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz were computed, and hearing loss was defined as a PTA >25 dB in either ear. Linear and logistic regression models with either continuous or quintiles of the O*NET noise scores were fitted on log-transformed PTA and binary hearing loss, respectively. Noise scores ranged from 1.80 to 4.37 with mean±SE of 3.06±0.02. After controlling for potential confounders, the highest (vs lowest) noise score quintile had a 22.5% (95% CI 11.0% to 35.2%) increase in PTA, and there was a linear dose-dependent trend across the quintiles of noise scores (p trendhearing loss comparing the highest with the lowest noise score quintiles was 2.1 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.6). This study suggests that the O*NET noise score is a useful tool for examining occupational noise-induced health effects in the general population in the absence of actual occupational noise exposure assessment data.

Estimation of organic carbon loss potential in north of Iran

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Shahriari, A.; Khormali, F.; Kehl, M.; Welp, G.; Scholz, Ch.

2009-04-01

The development of sustainable agricultural systems requires techniques that accurately monitor changes in the amount, nature and breakdown rate of soil organic matter and can compare the rate of breakdown of different plant or animal residues under different management systems. In this research, the study area includes the southern alluvial and piedmont plains of Gorgan River extended from east to west direction in Golestan province, Iran. Samples from 10 soil series and were collected from cultivation depth (0-30 cm). Permanganate-oxidizable carbon (POC) an index of soil labile carbon, was used to show soil potential loss of organic carbon. In this index shows the maximum loss of OC in a given soil. Maximum loss of OC for each soil series was estimated through POC and bulk density (BD). The potential loss of OC were estimated between 1253263 and 2410813 g/ha Carbon. Stable organic constituents in the soil include humic substances and other organic macromolecules that are intrinsically resistant against microbial attack, or that are physically protected by adsorption on mineral surfaces or entrapment within clay and mineral aggregates. However, the (Clay + Silt)/OC ratio had a negative significant (p < 0.001) correlation with POC content, confirming the preserving effect of fine particle.

Antarctic sea ice losses drive gains in benthic carbon drawdown.

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Barnes, D K A

2015-09-21

Climate forcing of sea-ice losses from the Arctic and West Antarctic are blueing the poles. These losses are accelerating, reducing Earth's albedo and increasing heat absorption. Subarctic forest (area expansion and increased growth) and ice-shelf losses (resulting in new phytoplankton blooms which are eaten by benthos) are the only significant described negative feedbacks acting to counteract the effects of increasing CO2 on a warming planet, together accounting for uptake of ∼10(7) tonnes of carbon per year. Most sea-ice loss to date has occurred over polar continental shelves, which are richly, but patchily, colonised by benthic animals. Most polar benthos feeds on microscopic algae (phytoplankton), which has shown increased blooms coincident with sea-ice losses. Here, growth responses of Antarctic shelf benthos to sea-ice losses and phytoplankton increases were investigated. Analysis of two decades of benthic collections showed strong increases in annual production of shelf seabed carbon in West Antarctic bryozoans. These were calculated to have nearly doubled to >2x10(5) tonnes of carbon per year since the 1980s. Annual production of bryozoans is median within wider Antarctic benthos, so upscaling to include other benthos (combined study species typically constitute ∼3% benthic biomass) suggests an increased drawdown of ∼2.9x10(6) tonnes of carbon per year. This drawdown could become sequestration because polar continental shelves are typically deeper than most modern iceberg scouring, bacterial breakdown rates are slow, and benthos is easily buried. To date, most sea-ice losses have been Arctic, so, if hyperboreal benthos shows a similar increase in drawdown, polar continental shelves would represent Earth's largest negative feedback to climate change. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experiences with Department of Fisheries and Oceans' 'No net loss guiding principle' at hydroelectric developments in Newfoundland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, E.L.

1995-01-01

The 'no net loss' guiding principle and policy objectives of the Canafdian and Newfoundland fisheries authorities were defined and British Columbia (BC) Hydro's experiences with implementation of a similar policy were described. In this instance no environmental assessment had been performed prior to the expansion being proposed in 1989. A key issue was the impact on habitats of land-locked salmon and brook trout. An environmental preview report (EPR) prepared by Hydro, which used already existing photos and habitat information, concluded that spawning habitat was poor and would be relatively unaffected by the amount of additional flooding proposed. Options to make up for lost habitat were discussed, among them reintroduction of previously lost habitat, preferred fish for local anglers, budget constraints, legal aspects and current fish demographics. It was concluded that quantitative impacts and habitat loss mitigation or compensation for freshwater fish with low recreation or commercial significance were difficult to assess. It was suggested that angler preference and socioeconomic concerns should be considered when fulfilling the 'no net loss principle'. Additional research and a more active role by the Department of Fisheries in identifying mitigation and compensation measures were recommended. 6 refs.,i fig

Quantifying soil carbon loss and uncertainty from a peatland wildfire using multi-temporal LiDAR

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Reddy, Ashwan D.; Hawbaker, Todd J.; Wurster, F.; Zhu, Zhiliang; Ward, S.; Newcomb, Doug; Murray, R.

2015-01-01

Peatlands are a major reservoir of global soil carbon, yet account for just 3% of global land cover. Human impacts like draining can hinder the ability of peatlands to sequester carbon and expose their soils to fire under dry conditions. Estimating soil carbon loss from peat fires can be challenging due to uncertainty about pre-fire surface elevations. This study uses multi-temporal LiDAR to obtain pre- and post-fire elevations and estimate soil carbon loss caused by the 2011 Lateral West fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, VA, USA. We also determine how LiDAR elevation error affects uncertainty in our carbon loss estimate by randomly perturbing the LiDAR point elevations and recalculating elevation change and carbon loss, iterating this process 1000 times. We calculated a total loss using LiDAR of 1.10 Tg C across the 25 km2 burned area. The fire burned an average of 47 cm deep, equivalent to 44 kg C/m2, a value larger than the 1997 Indonesian peat fires (29 kg C/m2). Carbon loss via the First-Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) was estimated to be 0.06 Tg C. Propagating the LiDAR elevation error to the carbon loss estimates, we calculated a standard deviation of 0.00009 Tg C, equivalent to 0.008% of total carbon loss. We conclude that LiDAR elevation error is not a significant contributor to uncertainty in soil carbon loss under severe fire conditions with substantial peat consumption. However, uncertainties may be more substantial when soil elevation loss is of a similar or smaller magnitude than the reported LiDAR error.

Low-mass stars with mass loss and low-luminosity carbon star formation

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Boothroyd, A.I.

1987-01-01

The effects of large carbon enrichments in static stellar envelopes were investigated, using new Los Alamos opacities (including low-temperature carbon and molecular opacities) and including carbon ionizations. To search for the production of low-mass,low-luminosity carbon stars, detailed stellar evolutionary computations were carried out for a grid of low-mass stars of two different metallicities. The stars were evolved from the main sequence through all intermediate stages and through helium-shell flashes on the asymptotic giant branch. The effects of the latest nuclear reaction rates, the new Los Alamos opacities, Reimers-type wind mass loss, and detailed treatment of convection and semi-convection were investigated. Two low-luminosity carbon stars were achieved, in excellent agreement with observations. Conditions favoring dredge-up (and thus carbon-star production) include a reasonably large convective mixing length, low metallicity, relatively large envelope mass, and high flash strength. Mass loss was of major importance, tending to oppose dredge-up; the total mass-loss amounts inferred from observations suffice to prevent formation of high-mass, high-luminosity carbon stars

Seasonal reversal of temperature-moisture response of net carbon exchange of biocrusted soils in a cool desert ecosystem.

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Tucker, C.; Reed, S.; Howell, A.

2017-12-01

Carbon cycling associated with biological soil crusts, which occur in interspaces between vascular plants in drylands globally, may be an important part of the coupled climate-carbon cycle of the Earth system. A major challenge to understanding CO2 fluxes in these systems is that much of the biotic and biogeochemical activity occurs in the upper few mm of the soil surface layer (i.e., the `mantle of fertility'), which exhibits highly dynamic and difficult to measure temperature and moisture fluctuations. Here, we report data collected in a cool desert ecosystem over one year using a multi-sensor approach to simultaneously measuring temperature and moisture of the biocrust surface layer (0-2 mm), and the deeper soil profile (5-20 cm), concurrent with automated measurement of surface soil CO2 effluxes. Our results illuminate robust relationships between microclimate and field CO2 pulses that have previously been difficult to detect and explain. The temperature of the biocrust surface layer was highly variable, ranging from minimum of -9 °C in winter to maximum of 77 °C in summer with a maximum diurnal range of 61 °C. Temperature cycles were muted deeper in the soil profile. During summer, biocrust and soils were usually hot and dry and CO2 fluxes were tightly coupled to pulse wetting events experienced at the biocrust surface, which consistently resulted in net CO2 efflux (i.e., respiration). In contrast, during the winter, biocrust and soils were usually cold and moist, and there was sustained net CO2 uptake via photosynthesis by biocrust organisms, although during cold dry periods CO2 fluxes were minimal. During the milder spring and fall seasons, short wetting events drove CO2 loss, while sustained wetting events resulted in net CO2 uptake. Thus, the upper and lower bounds of net CO2 exchange at a point in time were functions of the seasonal temperature regime, while the actual flux within those bounds was determined by the magnitude and duration of biocrust

Water Conservation in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana in Relation to Carbon Dioxide Dark Fixation

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Zabka, George G.; Chaturvedi, S. N.

1975-01-01

The succulent Kalanchoe blossfeldiana v. Poel. var Tom Thumb was treated on long and short photoperiods for 6 weeks during which short day plants developed thicker leaves, flowered prolifically, and exhibited extensive net dark fixation of carbon dioxide. In contrast, long day plants remained vegetative and did not develop thicker leaves or exhibit net carbon dioxide dark fixation. When examined after the photoperiodic state described, long day plants showed approximately three times more water loss over a 10-day period than short day plants. Water loss is similar during light and dark periods for short day plants but long day plants exhibited two times more water loss during the day than at night. The latter plants also lost three and one-half times more water during the light period than short day plants. The water conservation by short day plants is correlated with conditions of high carbon dioxide dark fixation and effects of its related Crassulacean acid metabolism on stomatal behavior. PMID:16659116

Water Conservation in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana in Relation to Carbon Dioxide Dark Fixation.

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Zabka, G G; Chaturvedi, S N

1975-03-01

The succulent Kalanchoe blossfeldiana v. Poel. var Tom Thumb was treated on long and short photoperiods for 6 weeks during which short day plants developed thicker leaves, flowered prolifically, and exhibited extensive net dark fixation of carbon dioxide. In contrast, long day plants remained vegetative and did not develop thicker leaves or exhibit net carbon dioxide dark fixation. When examined after the photoperiodic state described, long day plants showed approximately three times more water loss over a 10-day period than short day plants. Water loss is similar during light and dark periods for short day plants but long day plants exhibited two times more water loss during the day than at night. The latter plants also lost three and one-half times more water during the light period than short day plants. The water conservation by short day plants is correlated with conditions of high carbon dioxide dark fixation and effects of its related Crassulacean acid metabolism on stomatal behavior.

Mitigating wildfire carbon loss in managed northern peatlands through restoration

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Granath, Gustaf; Moore, Paul A.; Lukenbach, Maxwell C.; Waddington, James M.

2016-06-01

Northern peatlands can emit large amounts of carbon and harmful smoke pollution during a wildfire. Of particular concern are drained and mined peatlands, where management practices destabilize an array of ecohydrological feedbacks, moss traits and peat properties that moderate water and carbon losses in natural peatlands. Our results demonstrate that drained and mined peatlands in Canada and northern Europe can experience catastrophic deep burns (>200 t C ha-1 emitted) under current weather conditions. Furthermore, climate change will cause greater water losses in these peatlands and subject even deeper peat layers to wildfire combustion. However, the rewetting of drained peatlands and the restoration of mined peatlands can effectively lower the risk of these deep burns, especially if a new peat moss layer successfully establishes and raises peat moisture content. We argue that restoration efforts are a necessary measure to mitigate the risk of carbon loss in managed peatlands under climate change.

Effects of nutrient loading on the carbon balance of coastal wetland sediments

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Morris, J.T.; Bradley, P.M.

1999-01-01

Results of a 12-yr study in an oligotrophic South Carolina salt marsh demonstrate that soil respiration increased by 795 g C m-2 yr-1 and that carbon inventories decreased in sediments fertilized with nitrogen and phosphorus. Fertilized plots became net sources of carbon to the atmosphere, and sediment respiration continues in these plots at an accelerated pace. After 12 yr of treatment, soil macroorganic matter in the top 5 cm of sediment was 475 g C m-2 lower in fertilized plots than in controls, which is equivalent to a constant loss rate of 40 g C m-2 yr-1. It is not known whether soil carbon in fertilized plots has reached a new equilibrium or continues to decline. The increase in soil respiration in the fertilized plots was far greater than the loss of sediment organic matter, which indicates that the increase in soil respiration was largely due to an increase in primary production. Sediment respiration in laboratory incubations also demonstrated positive effects of nutrients. Thus, the results indicate that increased nutrient loading of oligotrophic wetlands can lead to an increased rate of sediment carbon turnover and a net loss of carbon from sediments.

Coral reefs will transition to net dissolving before end of century

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Eyre, Bradley D.; Cyronak, Tyler; Drupp, Patrick; De Carlo, Eric Heinen; Sachs, Julian P.; Andersson, Andreas J.

2018-02-01

Ocean acidification refers to the lowering of the ocean’s pH due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Coral reef calcification is expected to decrease as the oceans become more acidic. Dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) sands could greatly exacerbate reef loss associated with reduced calcification but is presently poorly constrained. Here we show that CaCO3 dissolution in reef sediments across five globally distributed sites is negatively correlated with the aragonite saturation state (Ωar) of overlying seawater and that CaCO3 sediment dissolution is 10-fold more sensitive to ocean acidification than coral calcification. Consequently, reef sediments globally will transition from net precipitation to net dissolution when seawater Ωar reaches 2.92 ± 0.16 (expected circa 2050 CE). Notably, some reefs are already experiencing net sediment dissolution.

Cyclic occurrence of fire and its role in carbon dynamics along an edaphic moisture gradient in longleaf pine ecosystems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Whelan

Full Text Available Fire regulates the structure and function of savanna ecosystems, yet we lack understanding of how cyclic fire affects savanna carbon dynamics. Furthermore, it is largely unknown how predicted changes in climate may impact the interaction between fire and carbon cycling in these ecosystems. This study utilizes a novel combination of prescribed fire, eddy covariance (EC and statistical techniques to investigate carbon dynamics in frequently burned longleaf pine savannas along a gradient of soil moisture availability (mesic, intermediate and xeric. This research approach allowed us to investigate the complex interactions between carbon exchange and cyclic fire along the ecological amplitude of longleaf pine. Over three years of EC measurement of net ecosystem exchange (NEE show that the mesic site was a net carbon sink (NEE = -2.48 tonnes C ha(-1, while intermediate and xeric sites were net carbon sources (NEE = 1.57 and 1.46 tonnes C ha(-1, respectively, but when carbon losses due to fuel consumption were taken into account, all three sites were carbon sources (10.78, 7.95 and 9.69 tonnes C ha(-1 at the mesic, intermediate and xeric sites, respectively. Nonetheless, rates of NEE returned to pre-fire levels 1-2 months following fire. Consumption of leaf area by prescribed fire was associated with reduction in NEE post-fire, and the system quickly recovered its carbon uptake capacity 30-60 days post fire. While losses due to fire affected carbon balances on short time scales (instantaneous to a few months, drought conditions over the final two years of the study were a more important driver of net carbon loss on yearly to multi-year time scales. However, longer-term observations over greater environmental variability and additional fire cycles would help to more precisely examine interactions between fire and climate and make future predictions about carbon dynamics in these systems.

Dependence of the evolution of carbon dynamics in the northern permafrost region on the trajectory of climate change

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McGuire, A. David; Lawrence, David M.; Koven, Charles; Clein, Joy S.; Burke, Eleanor J.; Chen, Guangsheng; Jafarov, Elchin; MacDougall, Andrew H.; Marchenko, Sergey S.; Nicolsky, Dmitry J.; Peng, Shushi; Rinke, Annette; Ciais, Philippe; Gouttevin, Isabelle; Hayes, Daniel J.; Ji, Duoying; Krinner, Gerhard; Moore, John C.; Romanovsky, Vladimir; Schadel, Christina; Schaefer, Kevin; Schuur, Edward A.G.; Zhuang, Qianlai

2018-01-01

We conducted a model-based assessment of changes in permafrost area and carbon storage for simulations driven by RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 projections between 2010 and 2299 for the northern permafrost region. All models simulating carbon represented soil with depth, a critical structural feature needed to represent the permafrost carbon–climate feedback, but that is not a universal feature of all climate models. Between 2010 and 2299, simulations indicated losses of permafrost between 3 and 5 million km2 for the RCP4.5 climate and between 6 and 16 million km2 for the RCP8.5 climate. For the RCP4.5 projection, cumulative change in soil carbon varied between 66-Pg C (1015-g carbon) loss to 70-Pg C gain. For the RCP8.5 projection, losses in soil carbon varied between 74 and 652 Pg C (mean loss, 341 Pg C). For the RCP4.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were largely responsible for the overall projected net gains in ecosystem carbon by 2299 (8- to 244-Pg C gains). In contrast, for the RCP8.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were not great enough to compensate for the losses of carbon projected by four of the five models; changes in ecosystem carbon ranged from a 641-Pg C loss to a 167-Pg C gain (mean, 208-Pg C loss). The models indicate that substantial net losses of ecosystem carbon would not occur until after 2100. This assessment suggests that effective mitigation efforts during the remainder of this century could attenuate the negative consequences of the permafrost carbon–climate feedback.

Energy consumption and net CO2 sequestration of aqueous mineral carbonation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huijgen, W.J.J.; Ruijg, G.J.; Comans, R.N.J.; Witkamp, G.J.

2006-12-01

Aqueous mineral carbonation is a potentially attractive sequestration technology to reduce CO2 emissions. The energy consumption of this technology, however, reduces the net amount of CO2 sequestered. Therefore, the energetic CO2 sequestration efficiency of aqueous mineral carbonation was studied in dependence of various process variables using either wollastonite (CaSiO3) or steel slag as feedstock. For wollastonite, the maximum energetic CO2 sequestration efficiency within the ranges of process conditions studied was 75% at 200C, 20 bar CO2, and a particle size of <38μm. The main energy-consuming process steps were the grinding of the feedstock and the compression of the CO2 feed. At these process conditions, a significantly lower efficiency was determined for steel slag (69%), mainly because of the lower Ca content of the feedstock. The CO2 sequestration efficiency might be improved substantially for both types of feedstock by, e.g., reducing the amount of process water applied and further grinding of the feedstock. The calculated energetic efficiencies warrant a further assessment of the (energetic) feasibility of CO2 sequestration by aqueous mineral carbonation on the basis of a pilot-scale process

Black carbon reduction will weaken the aerosol net cooling effect

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Wang, Z. L.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X. Y.

2014-12-01

Black carbon (BC), a distinct type of carbonaceous material formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil and biomass based fuels under certain conditions, can interact with solar radiation and clouds through its strong light-absorption ability, thereby warming the Earth's climate system. Some studies have even suggested that global warming could be slowed down in a short term by eliminating BC emission due to its short lifetime. In this study, we estimate the influence of removing some sources of BC and other co-emitted species on the aerosol radiative effect by using an aerosol-climate coupled model BCC_AGCM2.0.1_CUACE/Aero, in combination with the aerosol emissions from the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios. We find that the global annual mean aerosol net cooling effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) will be enhanced by 0.12 W m-2 compared with present-day conditions if the BC emission is reduced exclusively to the level projected for 2100 based on the RCP2.6 scenario. This will be beneficial for the mitigation of global warming. However, the global annual mean aerosol net cooling effect at the TOA will be weakened by 1.7-2.0 W m-2 relative to present-day conditions if emissions of BC and co-emitted sulfur dioxide and organic carbon are simultaneously reduced as the most close conditions to the actual situation to the level projected for 2100 in different ways based on the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios. Because there are no effective ways to remove the BC exclusively without influencing the other co-emitted components, our results therefore indicate that a reduction in BC emission can lead to an unexpected warming on the Earth's climate system in the future.

Dependence of the evolution of carbon dynamics in the northern permafrost region on the trajectory of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, A David; Lawrence, David M; Koven, Charles; Clein, Joy S; Burke, Eleanor; Chen, Guangsheng; Jafarov, Elchin; MacDougall, Andrew H; Marchenko, Sergey; Nicolsky, Dmitry; Peng, Shushi; Rinke, Annette; Ciais, Philippe; Gouttevin, Isabelle; Hayes, Daniel J; Ji, Duoying; Krinner, Gerhard; Moore, John C; Romanovsky, Vladimir; Schädel, Christina; Schaefer, Kevin; Schuur, Edward A G; Zhuang, Qianlai

2018-04-10

We conducted a model-based assessment of changes in permafrost area and carbon storage for simulations driven by RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 projections between 2010 and 2299 for the northern permafrost region. All models simulating carbon represented soil with depth, a critical structural feature needed to represent the permafrost carbon-climate feedback, but that is not a universal feature of all climate models. Between 2010 and 2299, simulations indicated losses of permafrost between 3 and 5 million km 2 for the RCP4.5 climate and between 6 and 16 million km 2 for the RCP8.5 climate. For the RCP4.5 projection, cumulative change in soil carbon varied between 66-Pg C (10 15 -g carbon) loss to 70-Pg C gain. For the RCP8.5 projection, losses in soil carbon varied between 74 and 652 Pg C (mean loss, 341 Pg C). For the RCP4.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were largely responsible for the overall projected net gains in ecosystem carbon by 2299 (8- to 244-Pg C gains). In contrast, for the RCP8.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were not great enough to compensate for the losses of carbon projected by four of the five models; changes in ecosystem carbon ranged from a 641-Pg C loss to a 167-Pg C gain (mean, 208-Pg C loss). The models indicate that substantial net losses of ecosystem carbon would not occur until after 2100. This assessment suggests that effective mitigation efforts during the remainder of this century could attenuate the negative consequences of the permafrost carbon-climate feedback. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Large carbon dioxide fluxes from headwater boreal and sub-boreal streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkiteswaran, Jason J; Schiff, Sherry L; Wallin, Marcus B

2014-01-01

Half of the world's forest is in boreal and sub-boreal ecozones, containing large carbon stores and fluxes. Carbon lost from headwater streams in these forests is underestimated. We apply a simple stable carbon isotope idea for quantifying the CO2 loss from these small streams; it is based only on in-stream samples and integrates over a significant distance upstream. We demonstrate that conventional methods of determining CO2 loss from streams necessarily underestimate the CO2 loss with results from two catchments. Dissolved carbon export from headwater catchments is similar to CO2 loss from stream surfaces. Most of the CO2 originating in high CO2 groundwaters has been lost before typical in-stream sampling occurs. In the Harp Lake catchment in Canada, headwater streams account for 10% of catchment net CO2 uptake. In the Krycklan catchment in Sweden, this more than doubles the CO2 loss from the catchment. Thus, even when corrected for aquatic CO2 loss measured by conventional methods, boreal and sub-boreal forest carbon budgets currently overestimate carbon sequestration on the landscape.

Estimated carbon emission from recent rapid forest loss in Southeast Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, A.; Zeng, Z.; Peng, L.; Fei, S.

2017-12-01

Driven by agricultural expansion, industrial logging, oil palm and rubber plantations, and urbanization, Southeast Asia (SEA) is one of the hotspots for tropical deforestation over recent decades. The extent of the tropical SEA deforestation rate, as well as its impacts on carbon cycle and biodiversity, however, is still highly uncertain. In relevant work using high resolution global maps of the 21st-century forest cover, we find tropical SEA lost 22 million hectares, or 9%, of forest area during 2000-2014, a much higher deforestation rate than previously reported. Here we further conduct research investigating carbon emissions from tropical deforestation in SEA with satellite data of forest cover, a global tropical forest biomass map, and Earth system models. Preliminary results suggest that deforestation in SEA causes about 2.8 Tg C emissions to the atmosphere during the same period, also higher than that of previous studies. Meanwhile, carbon emission from deforestation shows high variations across different countries, topography and between the insular and maritime SEA. Indonesia and Malaysia tops in both total carbon loss and loss from per unit land area. Our results indicates that previous studies have underestimated the carbon loss due to deforestation in SEA. And until further effective forest conservation measures can be adopted, tropical SEA will continue playing a role of atmospheric carbon source in the coming decades.

Net change in carbon emissions with increased wood energy use in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash Nepal; David N. Wear; Kenneth E. Skog

2014-01-01

Use of wood biomass for energy results in carbon (C) emissions at the time of burning and alters C stocks on the land because of harvest, regrowth, and changes in land use or management. This study evaluates the potential effects of expanded woody biomass energy use (for heat and power) on net C emissions over time. A scenario with increased wood energy use is compared...

Nutrient additions to a tropical rain forest drive substantial soil carbon dioxide losses to the atmosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleveland, Cory C; Townsend, Alan R

2006-07-05

Terrestrial biosphere-atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO(2)) exchange is dominated by tropical forests, where photosynthetic carbon (C) uptake is thought to be phosphorus (P)-limited. In P-poor tropical forests, P may also limit organic matter decomposition and soil C losses. We conducted a field-fertilization experiment to show that P fertilization stimulates soil respiration in a lowland tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. In the early wet season, when soluble organic matter inputs to soil are high, P fertilization drove large increases in soil respiration. Although the P-stimulated increase in soil respiration was largely confined to the dry-to-wet season transition, the seasonal increase was sufficient to drive an 18% annual increase in CO(2) efflux from the P-fertilized plots. Nitrogen (N) fertilization caused similar responses, and the net increases in soil respiration in response to the additions of N and P approached annual soil C fluxes in mid-latitude forests. Human activities are altering natural patterns of tropical soil N and P availability by land conversion and enhanced atmospheric deposition. Although our data suggest that the mechanisms driving the observed respiratory responses to increased N and P may be different, the large CO(2) losses stimulated by N and P fertilization suggest that knowledge of such patterns and their effects on soil CO(2) efflux is critical for understanding the role of tropical forests in a rapidly changing global C cycle.

Biological control of the terrestrial carbon sink

Science.gov (United States)

Schulze, E.-D.

2006-03-01

This lecture reviews the past (since 1964 when the International Biological Program began) and the future of our understanding of terrestrial carbon fluxes with focus on photosynthesis, respiration, primary-, ecosystem-, and biome-productivity. Photosynthetic capacity is related to the nitrogen concentration of leaves, but the capacity is only rarely reached under field conditions. Average rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance are closely correlated and operate near 50% of their maximal rate, with light being the limiting factor in humid regions and air humidity and soil water the limiting factor in arid climates. Leaf area is the main factor to extrapolate from leaves to canopies, with maximum surface conductance being dependent on leaf level stomatal conductance. Additionally, gas exchange depends also on rooting depth which determines the water and nutrient availability and on mycorrhizae which regulate the nutrient status. An important anthropogenic disturbance is the nitrogen uptake from air pollutants, which is not balanced by cation uptake from roots and this may lead to damage and breakdown of the plant cover. Photosynthesis is the main carbon input into ecosystems, but it alone does not represent the ecosystem carbon balance, which is determined by respiration of various kinds. Plant respiration and photosynthesis determine growth (net primary production) and microbial respiration balances the net ecosystem flux. In a spruce forest, 30% of the assimilatory carbon gain is used for respiration of needles, 20% is used for respiration in stems. Soil respiration is about 50% the carbon gain, half of which is root respiration, half is microbial respiration. In addition, disturbances lead to carbon losses, where fire, harvest and grazing bypass the chain of respiration. In total, the carbon balance at the biome level is only about 1% of the photosynthetic carbon input, or may indeed become negative. The recent observed increase in plant growth has

Biological control of the terrestrial carbon sink

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.-D. Schulze

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This lecture reviews the past (since 1964 when the International Biological Program began and the future of our understanding of terrestrial carbon fluxes with focus on photosynthesis, respiration, primary-, ecosystem-, and biome-productivity. Photosynthetic capacity is related to the nitrogen concentration of leaves, but the capacity is only rarely reached under field conditions. Average rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance are closely correlated and operate near 50% of their maximal rate, with light being the limiting factor in humid regions and air humidity and soil water the limiting factor in arid climates. Leaf area is the main factor to extrapolate from leaves to canopies, with maximum surface conductance being dependent on leaf level stomatal conductance. Additionally, gas exchange depends also on rooting depth which determines the water and nutrient availability and on mycorrhizae which regulate the nutrient status. An important anthropogenic disturbance is the nitrogen uptake from air pollutants, which is not balanced by cation uptake from roots and this may lead to damage and breakdown of the plant cover. Photosynthesis is the main carbon input into ecosystems, but it alone does not represent the ecosystem carbon balance, which is determined by respiration of various kinds. Plant respiration and photosynthesis determine growth (net primary production and microbial respiration balances the net ecosystem flux. In a spruce forest, 30% of the assimilatory carbon gain is used for respiration of needles, 20% is used for respiration in stems. Soil respiration is about 50% the carbon gain, half of which is root respiration, half is microbial respiration. In addition, disturbances lead to carbon losses, where fire, harvest and grazing bypass the chain of respiration. In total, the carbon balance at the biome level is only about 1% of the photosynthetic carbon input, or may indeed become negative. The recent observed increase in

Convergent evolution towards high net carbon gain efficiency contributes to the shade tolerance of palms (Arecaceae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ma, Ren Yi; Zhang, Jiao Lin; Cavaleri, Molly A.; Sterck, Frank; Strijk, J.S.; Cao, Kun Fang

2015-01-01

Most palm species occur in the shaded lower strata of tropical rain forests, but how their traits relate to shade adaptation is poorly understood. We hypothesized that palms are adapted to the shade of their native habitats by convergent evolution towards high net carbon gain efficiency (CGEn),

Reconfiguration of distribution nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latorre Bayona, Gerardo; Angarita Marquez, Jorge Luis

2000-01-01

Starting of the location of the reconfiguration problem inside the context of the operation of distribution nets, of the quality indicators definition and of the presentation of the alternatives more used for reduction of technical losses, they are related diverse reconfiguration methodologies proposed in the technical literature, pointing out their three principals limitations; also are presents the results of lost obtained starting from simulation works carried out in distribution circuits of the ESSA ESP, which permitting to postulate the reconfiguration of nets like an excellent alternative to reduce technical losses

Influence of ozone pollution and climate variability on net primary productivity and carbon storage in China's grassland ecosystems from 1961 to 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Wei; Tian Hanqin; Chen Guangsheng; Liu Mingliang; Zhang Chi; Chappelka, Arthur H.; Pan Shufen

2007-01-01

Our simulations with the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) indicate that the combined effect of ozone, climate, carbon dioxide and land use have caused China's grasslands to act as a weak carbon sink during 1961-2000. This combined effect on national grassland net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon storage was small, but changes in annual NPP and total carbon storage across China's grasslands showed substantial spatial variation, with the maximum total carbon uptake reduction of more than 400 g m -2 in some places of northeastern China. The grasslands in the central northeastern China were more sensitive and vulnerable to elevated ozone pollution than other regions. The combined effect excluding ozone could potentially lead to an increase of 14 Tg C in annual NPP and 0.11 Pg C in total carbon storage for the same time period. This implies that improvement in air quality could significantly increase productivity and carbon storage in China's grassland ecosystems. - Net primary productivity and carbon storage across China's grassland in the late half of the 20th century have been assessed by using the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model

Estimating agro-ecosystem carbon balance of northern Japan, and comparing the change in carbon stock by soil inventory and net biome productivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xi, E-mail: icy124@hotmail.com [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500 (China); Graduate school of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan); Toma, Yo [Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, 3-5-7, Tarumi, Matsuyama 790-8566, Ehime (Japan); Yeluripati, Jagadeesh [The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, Scotland (United Kingdom); Iwasaki, Shinya [Graduate school of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan); Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D. [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Institute of Land Use Systems (Germany); Jones, Edward O. [Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London (United Kingdom); Hatano, Ryusuke [Graduate school of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita 9 Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589 (Japan)

2016-06-01

Soil C sequestration in croplands is deemed to be one of the most promising greenhouse gas mitigation options for agriculture. We have used crop-level yields, modeled heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and land use data to estimate spatio-temporal changes in regional scale net primary productivity (NPP), plant C inputs, and net biome productivity (NBP) in northern Japan's arable croplands and grasslands for the period of 1959–2011. We compared the changes in C stocks derived from estimated NBP and using repeated inventory datasets for each individual land use type from 2005 to 2011. For the entire study region of 2193 ha, overall annual plant C inputs to the soil constituted 37% of total region NPP. Plant C inputs in upland areas (excluding bush/fallow) could be predicted by climate variables. Overall NBP for all land use types increased from − 1.26 Mg C ha{sup −1} yr{sup −1} in 1959–0.26 Mg C ha{sup −1} yr{sup −1} in 2011. However, upland and paddy fields showed a decreased in NBP over the period of 1959–2011, under the current C input scenario. From 1988, an increase in agricultural abandonment (bush/fallow) and grassland cover caused a slow increase in the regional C pools. The comparison of carbon budgets using the NBP estimation method and the soil inventory method indicated no significant difference between the two methods. Our results showed C loss in upland crops, paddy fields and sites that underwent land use change from paddy field to upland sites. We also show C gain in grassland from 2005 to 2011. An underestimation of NBP or an overestimation of repeated C inventories cannot be excluded, but either method may be suitable for tracking absolute changes in soil C, considering the uncertainty associated with these methods. - Highlights: • We compared C stocks change by two methods: (i) net biome productivity (NBP) and (ii) soil inventory. • Variation in net primary productivity (NPP), plant C input, NBP can be predicted by climate

Estimating agro-ecosystem carbon balance of northern Japan, and comparing the change in carbon stock by soil inventory and net biome productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xi; Toma, Yo; Yeluripati, Jagadeesh; Iwasaki, Shinya; Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D.; Jones, Edward O.; Hatano, Ryusuke

2016-01-01

Soil C sequestration in croplands is deemed to be one of the most promising greenhouse gas mitigation options for agriculture. We have used crop-level yields, modeled heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and land use data to estimate spatio-temporal changes in regional scale net primary productivity (NPP), plant C inputs, and net biome productivity (NBP) in northern Japan's arable croplands and grasslands for the period of 1959–2011. We compared the changes in C stocks derived from estimated NBP and using repeated inventory datasets for each individual land use type from 2005 to 2011. For the entire study region of 2193 ha, overall annual plant C inputs to the soil constituted 37% of total region NPP. Plant C inputs in upland areas (excluding bush/fallow) could be predicted by climate variables. Overall NBP for all land use types increased from − 1.26 Mg C ha"−"1 yr"−"1 in 1959–0.26 Mg C ha"−"1 yr"−"1 in 2011. However, upland and paddy fields showed a decreased in NBP over the period of 1959–2011, under the current C input scenario. From 1988, an increase in agricultural abandonment (bush/fallow) and grassland cover caused a slow increase in the regional C pools. The comparison of carbon budgets using the NBP estimation method and the soil inventory method indicated no significant difference between the two methods. Our results showed C loss in upland crops, paddy fields and sites that underwent land use change from paddy field to upland sites. We also show C gain in grassland from 2005 to 2011. An underestimation of NBP or an overestimation of repeated C inventories cannot be excluded, but either method may be suitable for tracking absolute changes in soil C, considering the uncertainty associated with these methods. - Highlights: • We compared C stocks change by two methods: (i) net biome productivity (NBP) and (ii) soil inventory. • Variation in net primary productivity (NPP), plant C input, NBP can be predicted by climate conditions. • NBP

Net ecosystem production and organic carbon balance of U.S. East Coast estuaries: A synthesis approach

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Maria; Najjar, Raymond G.; Kemp, W. Michael; Alexander, Richard B.; Boyer, Elizabeth W.; Cai, Wei-Jun; Griffith, Peter C.; Kroeger, Kevin D.; McCallister, S. Leigh; Smith, Richard A.

2015-01-01

Net ecosystem production (NEP) and the overall organic carbon budget for the estuaries along the East Coast of the United States are estimated. We focus on the open estuarine waters, excluding the fringing wetlands. We developed empirical models relating NEP to loading ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to total organic carbon, and carbon burial in the sediment to estuarine water residence time and total nitrogen input across the landward boundary. Output from a data-constrained water quality model was used to estimate inputs of total nitrogen and organic carbon to the estuaries across the landward boundary, including fluvial and tidal-wetland sources. Organic carbon export from the estuaries to the continental shelf was computed by difference, assuming steady state. Uncertainties in the budget were estimated by allowing uncertainties in the supporting model relations. Collectively, U.S. East Coast estuaries are net heterotrophic, with the area-integrated NEP of −1.5 (−2.8, −1.0) Tg C yr−1 (best estimate and 95% confidence interval) and area-normalized NEP of −3.2 (−6.1, −2.3) mol C m−2 yr−1. East Coast estuaries serve as a source of organic carbon to the shelf, exporting 3.4 (2.0, 4.3) Tg C yr−1 or 7.6 (4.4, 9.5) mol C m−2 yr−1. Organic carbon inputs from fluvial and tidal-wetland sources for the region are estimated at 5.4 (4.6, 6.5) Tg C yr−1 or 12 (10, 14) mol C m−2 yr−1 and carbon burial in the open estuarine waters at 0.50 (0.33, 0.78) Tg C yr−1 or 1.1 (0.73, 1.7) mol C m−2 yr−1. Our results highlight the importance of estuarine systems in the overall coastal budget of organic carbon, suggesting that in the aggregate, U.S. East Coast estuaries assimilate (via respiration and burial) ~40% of organic carbon inputs from fluvial and tidal-wetland sources and allow ~60% to be exported to the shelf.

Assessing Effect of Manure and Chemical Fertilizer on Net Primary Production, Soil Respiration and Carbon Budget in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Ecosystem under Mashhad Climatic Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y alizade

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction The imbalance between anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and the sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere by ecosystems has led to an increase in the average concentration of this greenhouse gas (GHG in the atmosphere. Enhancing carbon sequestration in soil is an important issue to reduce net flux of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Soil organic carbon content is obtained from the difference between carbon input resulting from plant biomass and carbon losses the soil through different ways including soil respiration. CO2 emission varies largely during the year and is considerably affected by management type. The goal of this investigation was to study the effects of application of manure and chemical fertilizer on CO2 flux and carbon balance in agricultural system. Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the carbon dynamics and effect of fertilizer and manure management on soil respiration and carbon budget for winter wheat, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications in research field of Faculty of Agriculture of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for two years of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 . The experimental treatments were 150 and 250 kg chemical nitrogen (N1 and N2, manure (M, manure plus chemical nitrogen (F-M and control (C. CO2 emission was measured six times during growth season and to minimize daily temperature variation error, the measurement was performed between 8 to 11 am. Chambers length and diameter were 50 cm and 30 cm respectively and their edges were held down 3 cm in soil in time of sampling so that no plant live mass was present in the chamber. Carbon budgets were estimated for two years using an ecological technique. Results and Discussion The net primary production (NPP was significantly higher in the F2 and F-M treatments with 6467 and 6294kg ha-1 in the first year and 6260 and 6410 kg ha-1 in the second year, respectively. The highest shoot to root ratio was obtained in

Rotor losses in laminated magnets and an anisotropic carbon fiber sleeve

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Geest, M.; Wolmarans, J.J.; Polinder, H.; Ferreira, J.A.; Zeilstra, D.

2012-01-01

High speed fault tolerant permanent magnet machines have strong asynchronous airgap harmonics, making them susceptible to rotor eddy-current losses. These losses can be reduced by using novel high resistivity materials like plastic bonded magnets and carbon fiber reinforced retaining sleeves. This

CO2 supersaturation and net heterotrophy in a tropical estuary (Cochin, India): Influence of anthropogenic effect - Carbon dynamics in tropical estuary

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gupta, G.V.M.; Thottathil, S.D.; Balachandran, K.K.; Madhu, N.V.; Madeswaran, P.; Nair, S.

of pCO sub(2) (up to 6000 mu atm) and CO sub(2) effluxes (up to 274 mmolC m sup(-2) d sup(-1)) especially during monsoon. A first-order estimate of the carbon mass balance shows that net production of dissolved inorganic carbon is an order of magnitude...

Understanding the driving forces behind the losses of soil carbon across England and Wales

Science.gov (United States)

Bellamy, Patricia

2010-05-01

More than twice as much carbon is held in soils as in vegetation or the atmosphere, and changes in soil carbon content can have a large effect on the global carbon budget. The possibility that climate change is being reinforced by increased carbon dioxide emissions from soils owing to rising temperature is the subject of a continuing debate. But evidence for the suggested feedback mechanism has to date come solely from small-scale laboratory and field experiments and modelling studies. Here we use data from the National Soil Inventory of England and Wales obtained between 1978 and 2003 to show that carbon was lost from soils across England and Wales over the survey period at a mean rate of 0.6% yr-1 (relative to the existing soil carbon content). We find that the relative rate of carbon loss increased with soil carbon content and was more than 2% yr-1 in soils with carbon contents greater than 100 g kg-1. The relationship between rate of carbon loss and carbon content is irrespective of land use, suggesting a link to climate change. Our findings indicate that losses of soil carbon in England and Wales—and by inference in other temperate regions—are likely to have been offsetting absorption of carbon by terrestrial sinks. To investigate the possible driving forces of the measured losses of soil carbon we applied a simple model of soil carbon turnover to evaluate alternative explanations for the observed trends. We find that neither changes in decomposition resulting from the effects of climate change on soil temperature and moisture, nor changes in carbon input from vegetation, could account on their own for the overall trends. Of other explanations, results indicate that past changes in land use and management were probably dominant. The climate change signal, such as it is, is masked by these other changes. A more sophisticated model of carbon change (DAYCENT) has now been applied across the whole range of soils in England and Wales. This model has been

Dynamics of organic carbon losses by water erosion after biocrust removal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cantón Yolanda

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In arid and semiarid ecosystems, plant interspaces are frequently covered by communities of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens and mosses, known as biocrusts. These crusts often act as runoff sources and are involved in soil stabilization and fertility, as they prevent erosion by water and wind, fix atmospheric C and N and contribute large amounts of C to soil. Their contribution to the C balance as photosynthetically active surfaces in arid and semiarid regions is receiving growing attention. However, very few studies have explicitly evaluated their contribution to organic carbon (OC lost from runoff and erosion, which is necessary to ascertain the role of biocrusts in the ecosystem C balance. Furthermore, biocrusts are not resilient to physical disturbances, which generally cause the loss of the biocrust and thus, an increase in runoff and erosion, dust emissions, and sediment and nutrient losses. The aim of this study was to find out the influence of biocrusts and their removal on dissolved and sediment organic carbon losses. One-hour extreme rainfall simulations (50 mm h-1 were performed on small plots set up on physical soil crusts and three types of biocrusts, representing a development gradient, and also on plots where these crusts were removed from. Runoff and erosion rates, dissolved organic carbon (DOC and organic carbon bonded to sediments (SdOC were measured during the simulated rain. Our results showed different SdOC and DOC for the different biocrusts and also that the presence of biocrusts substantially decreased total organic carbon (TOC (average 1.80±1.86 g m-2 compared to physical soil crusts (7.83±3.27 g m-2. Within biocrusts, TOC losses decreased as biocrusts developed, and erosion rates were lower. Thus, erosion drove TOC losses while no significant direct relationships were found between TOC losses and runoff. In both physical crusts and biocrusts, DOC and SdOC concentrations were higher during the first minutes after runoff

A Restricted Boltzman Neural Net to Infer Carbon Uptake from OCO-2 Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Halem, M.; Dorband, J. E.; Radov, A.; Barr-Dallas, M.; Gentine, P.

2015-12-01

For several decades, scientists have been using satellite observations to infer climate budgets of terrestrial carbon uptake employing inverse methods in conjunction with ecosystem models and coupled global climate models. This is an extremely important Big Data calculation today since the net annual photosynthetic carbon uptake changes annually over land and removes on average ~20% of the emissions from human contributions to atmospheric loading of CO2 from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, such calculations have large uncertainties validated with in-situ networks of measuring stations across the globe. One difficulty in using satellite data for these budget calculations is that the models need to assimilate surface fluxes of CO2 as well as soil moisture, vegatation cover and the eddy covariance of latent and sensible heat to calculate the carbon fixed in the soil while satellite spectral observations only provide near surface concentrations of CO2. In July 2014, NASA successfully launched OCO-2 which provides 3km surface measurements of CO2 over land and oceans. We have collected nearly one year of Level 2 XCO2 data from the OCO-2 satellite for 3 sites of ~200 km2 at equatorial, temperate and high latitudes. Each selected site was part of the Fluxnet or ARM system with tower stations for measuring and collecting CO2 fluxes on an hourly basis, in addition to eddy transports of the other parameters. We are also planning to acquire the 4km NDVI products from MODIS and registering the data to the 3km XCO2 footprints for the three sites. We have implemented a restricted Boltzman machine on the quantum annealing D-Wave computer, a novel deep learning neural net, to be used for training with station data to infer CO2 fluxes from collocated XCO2, MODIS vegetative land cover and MERRA reanalysis surface exchange products. We will present performance assessments of the D-Wave Boltzman machine for generating XCO2 fluxes from the OCO-2 satellite observations for the 3 sites by

Controls of Carbon Exchange in a Boreal Minerogenic Mire

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, M.; Sagerfors, J.; Buffam, I.; Eriksson, T.; Grelle, A.; Klemedtsson, L.; Weslien, P.; Laudon, H.; Lindroth, A.

2008-12-01

Based on theories on both mire development and their response to environmental change, the current role of mires as a net carbon sink has been questioned. A rigorous evaluation of the contemporary net C-exchange in mires requires direct measurements of all relevant fluxes. We use data on carbon exchange from a boreal minerogenic oligotrophic mire (Degerö Stormyr, 64°11' N, 19°33E) to derive a contemporary carbon budget and to analyze the main controls on the C exchange. Data on the following fluxes were collected: land-atmosphere CO2 (continuous Eddy Covariance measurements, 7 years) and CH4 (static chambers during the snow free period, 4 years) exchange; DOC in precipitation; loss of TOC, CO2 and CH4 through water runoff, 4 years (continuous discharge measurement and regular C-content measurements). The annual land atmosphere exchange of CO2 (NEE) was fairly constant between years and varied between -48 - -61 gCm-2yr-1 during six out of the seven years, despite a large variation in weather combinations, the average being -53 ± 5 gCm-2yr-1. Of the net fixation of atmospheric CO2-C during the net uptake period, i.e. the growing season, approximately a third was lost during the net source period, i.e. the winter period. During the four years with measurements of methane and runoff C-export another third of the growing season uptake was lost from the mire ecosystem as methane and runoff C. While the balance between the length of the NEE uptake and the NEE loss period are most important for the annual net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) it is central to understand the controls of the spring-summer, and the summer-autumn transitions. The onset of the net C uptake period was controlled by the interaction between the water content and the temperature of the peat moss surface. We interpret this as mainly being a control of the CO2 photosynthesis uptake by the Sphagnum mosses. The transition from being a net C sink to being a net C source is in contrast only controlled

Estimating agro-ecosystem carbon balance of northern Japan, and comparing the change in carbon stock by soil inventory and net biome productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xi; Toma, Yo; Yeluripati, Jagadeesh; Iwasaki, Shinya; Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko D; Jones, Edward O; Hatano, Ryusuke

2016-06-01

Soil C sequestration in croplands is deemed to be one of the most promising greenhouse gas mitigation options for agriculture. We have used crop-level yields, modeled heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and land use data to estimate spatio-temporal changes in regional scale net primary productivity (NPP), plant C inputs, and net biome productivity (NBP) in northern Japan's arable croplands and grasslands for the period of 1959-2011. We compared the changes in C stocks derived from estimated NBP and using repeated inventory datasets for each individual land use type from 2005 to 2011. For the entire study region of 2193 ha, overall annual plant C inputs to the soil constituted 37% of total region NPP. Plant C inputs in upland areas (excluding bush/fallow) could be predicted by climate variables. Overall NBP for all land use types increased from -1.26MgCha(-1)yr(-1) in 1959-0.26 Mg Cha(-1)yr(-1) in 2011. However, upland and paddy fields showed a decreased in NBP over the period of 1959-2011, under the current C input scenario. From 1988, an increase in agricultural abandonment (bush/fallow) and grassland cover caused a slow increase in the regional C pools. The comparison of carbon budgets using the NBP estimation method and the soil inventory method indicated no significant difference between the two methods. Our results showed C loss in upland crops, paddy fields and sites that underwent land use change from paddy field to upland sites. We also show C gain in grassland from 2005 to 2011. An underestimation of NBP or an overestimation of repeated C inventories cannot be excluded, but either method may be suitable for tracking absolute changes in soil C, considering the uncertainty associated with these methods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Baseline Assessment of Net Calcium Carbonate Accretion Rates on U.S. Pacific Reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo; Richards, Cristi L; Vroom, Peter S; Price, Nichole N; Schils, Tom; Young, Charles W; Smith, Jennifer; Johnson, Maggie D; Brainard, Russell E

2015-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive quantitative baseline assessment of in situ net calcium carbonate accretion rates (g CaCO3 cm(-2) yr(-1)) of early successional recruitment communities on Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU) plates deployed on coral reefs at 78 discrete sites, across 11 islands in the central and south Pacific Oceans. Accretion rates varied substantially within and between islands, reef zones, levels of wave exposure, and island geomorphology. For forereef sites, mean accretion rates were the highest at Rose Atoll, Jarvis, and Swains Islands, and the lowest at Johnston Atoll and Tutuila. A comparison between reef zones showed higher accretion rates on forereefs compared to lagoon sites; mean accretion rates were also higher on windward than leeward sites but only for a subset of islands. High levels of spatial variability in net carbonate accretion rates reported herein draw attention to the heterogeneity of the community assemblages. Percent cover of key early successional taxa on CAU plates did not reflect that of the mature communities present on surrounding benthos, possibly due to the short deployment period (2 years) of the experimental units. Yet, net CaCO3 accretion rates were positively correlated with crustose coralline algae (CCA) percent cover on the surrounding benthos and on the CAU plates, which on average represented >70% of the accreted material. For foreeefs and lagoon sites combined CaCO3 accretion rates were statistically correlated with total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a; a GAM analysis indicated that SiOH and Halimeda were the best predictor variables of accretion rates on lagoon sites, and total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a for forereef sites, demonstrating the utility of CAUs as a tool to monitor changes in reef accretion rates as they relate to ocean acidification. This study underscores the pivotal role CCA play as a key benthic component and supporting actively calcifying reefs; high Mg-calcite exoskeletons makes CCA

Baseline Assessment of Net Calcium Carbonate Accretion Rates on U.S. Pacific Reefs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo Vargas-Ángel

Full Text Available This paper presents a comprehensive quantitative baseline assessment of in situ net calcium carbonate accretion rates (g CaCO3 cm(-2 yr(-1 of early successional recruitment communities on Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU plates deployed on coral reefs at 78 discrete sites, across 11 islands in the central and south Pacific Oceans. Accretion rates varied substantially within and between islands, reef zones, levels of wave exposure, and island geomorphology. For forereef sites, mean accretion rates were the highest at Rose Atoll, Jarvis, and Swains Islands, and the lowest at Johnston Atoll and Tutuila. A comparison between reef zones showed higher accretion rates on forereefs compared to lagoon sites; mean accretion rates were also higher on windward than leeward sites but only for a subset of islands. High levels of spatial variability in net carbonate accretion rates reported herein draw attention to the heterogeneity of the community assemblages. Percent cover of key early successional taxa on CAU plates did not reflect that of the mature communities present on surrounding benthos, possibly due to the short deployment period (2 years of the experimental units. Yet, net CaCO3 accretion rates were positively correlated with crustose coralline algae (CCA percent cover on the surrounding benthos and on the CAU plates, which on average represented >70% of the accreted material. For foreeefs and lagoon sites combined CaCO3 accretion rates were statistically correlated with total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a; a GAM analysis indicated that SiOH and Halimeda were the best predictor variables of accretion rates on lagoon sites, and total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a for forereef sites, demonstrating the utility of CAUs as a tool to monitor changes in reef accretion rates as they relate to ocean acidification. This study underscores the pivotal role CCA play as a key benthic component and supporting actively calcifying reefs; high Mg-calcite exoskeletons

Organic loss in drained wetland: managing the carbon footprint

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Durham, B.; van de Noort, R.; Martens, V.V.; Vorenhout, M.

2012-01-01

The recent installation of land drains at Star Carr, Yorkshire, UK, has been linked with loss of preservation quality in this important Mesolithic buried landscape, challenging the PARIS principle. Historically captured organic carbon, including organic artefacts, is being converted to soluble

Analysis of three loss-of-flow accidents in the first wall cooling system of NET/ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komen, E.M.J.; Koning, H.

1993-05-01

This report presents the thermal-hydraulic analysis of three Loss-of-Flow Accidents (LOFAs) in the first wall cooling system of the Next European Torus (NET) design or the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) design. The LOFAs considered result from a loss of the forced coolant flow caused by a loss of electrical power for the recirculation pump in the primary circuit. The analyses have been performed using the thermal-hydraulic system analysis code RELAP5/MOD3. In the analyses, special attention has been paid to the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the cooling system and the temperature development in the first wall. In the LOFA case without plasma shutdown, melting starts in the first wall about 150 s after accident initiation. In the LOFA case with delayed plasma shutdown, melting starts in the first wall when the plasma shutdown is initiated later than about 110 s after accident initiation. Melting does not occur in the first wall during a LOFA with prompt plasma scram. (orig.)

Carbon dioxide flux and net primary production of a boreal treed bog: Responses to warming and water-table-lowering simulations of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Munir, T. M.; Perkins, M.; Kaing, E.; Strack, M.

2015-02-01

Midlatitude treed bogs represent significant carbon (C) stocks and are highly sensitive to global climate change. In a dry continental treed bog, we compared three sites: control, recent (1-3 years; experimental) and older drained (10-13 years), with water levels at 38, 74 and 120 cm below the surface, respectively. At each site we measured carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and estimated tree root respiration (Rr; across hummock-hollow microtopography of the forest floor) and net primary production (NPP) of trees during the growing seasons (May to October) of 2011-2013. The CO2-C balance was calculated by adding the net CO2 exchange of the forest floor (NEff-Rr) to the NPP of the trees. From cooler and wetter 2011 to the driest and the warmest 2013, the control site was a CO2-C sink of 92, 70 and 76 g m-2, the experimental site was a CO2-C source of 14, 57 and 135 g m-2, and the drained site was a progressively smaller source of 26, 23 and 13 g CO2-C m-2. The short-term drainage at the experimental site resulted in small changes in vegetation coverage and large net CO2 emissions at the microforms. In contrast, the longer-term drainage and deeper water level at the drained site resulted in the replacement of mosses with vascular plants (shrubs) on the hummocks and lichen in the hollows leading to the highest CO2 uptake at the drained hummocks and significant losses in the hollows. The tree NPP (including above- and below-ground growth and litter fall) in 2011 and 2012 was significantly higher at the drained site (92 and 83 g C m-2) than at the experimental (58 and 55 g C m-2) and control (52 and 46 g C m-2) sites. We also quantified the impact of climatic warming at all water table treatments by equipping additional plots with open-top chambers (OTCs) that caused a passive warming on average of ~ 1 °C and differential air warming of ~ 6 °C at midday full sun over the study years. Warming significantly enhanced shrub growth and the CO2 sink function of the drained

Net ecosystem carbon exchange in three contrasting Mediterranean ecosystems – the effect of drought

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. S. David

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Droughts reduce gross primary production (GPP and ecosystem respiration (Reco, contributing to most of the inter-annual variability in terrestrial carbon sequestration. In seasonally dry climates (Mediterranean, droughts result from reductions in annual rainfall and changes in rain seasonality. We compared carbon fluxes measured by the eddy covariance technique in three contrasting ecosystems in southern Portugal: an evergreen oak woodland (savannah-like with ca.~21% tree crown cover, a grassland dominated by herbaceous annuals and a coppiced short-rotation eucalyptus plantation. During the experimental period (2003–2006 the eucalyptus plantation was always the strongest sink for carbon: net ecosystem exchange rate (NEE between −861 and −399 g C m−2 year−1. The oak woodland and the grassland were much weaker sinks for carbon: NEE varied in the oak woodland between −140 and −28 g C m−2 year−1 and in the grassland between −190 and +49 g C m−2 year−1. The eucalyptus stand had higher GPP and a lower proportion of GPP spent in respiration than the other systems. The higher GPP resulted from high leaf area duration (LAD, as a surrogate for the photosynthetic photon flux density absorbed by the canopy. The eucalyptus had also higher rain use efficiency (GPP per unit of rain volume and light use efficiency (the daily GPP per unit incident photosynthetic photon flux density than the other two ecosystems. The effects of a severe drought could be evaluated during the hydrological-year (i.e., from October to September of 2004–2005. Between October 2004 and June 2005 the precipitation was only 40% of the long-term average. In 2004–2005 all ecosystems had GPP lower than in wetter years and carbon sequestration was strongly restricted (less negative NEE. The grassland was a net source of carbon dioxide (+49 g C m−2 year−1. In the oak woodland a large proportion of GPP resulted from carbon assimilated by its annual vegetation

The Australian terrestrial carbon budget

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Haverd

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a study of the full carbon (C-CO₂ budget of the Australian continent, focussing on 1990–2011 in the context of estimates over two centuries. The work is a contribution to the RECCAP (REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes project, as one of numerous regional studies. In constructing the budget, we estimate the following component carbon fluxes: net primary production (NPP; net ecosystem production (NEP; fire; land use change (LUC; riverine export; dust export; harvest (wood, crop and livestock and fossil fuel emissions (both territorial and non-territorial. Major biospheric fluxes were derived using BIOS2 (Haverd et al., 2012, a fine-spatial-resolution (0.05° offline modelling environment in which predictions of CABLE (Wang et al., 2011, a sophisticated land surface model with carbon cycle, are constrained by multiple observation types. The mean NEP reveals that climate variability and rising CO₂ contributed 12 ± 24 (1σ error on mean and 68 ± 15 TgC yr⁻¹, respectively. However these gains were partially offset by fire and LUC (along with other minor fluxes, which caused net losses of 26 ± 4 TgC yr⁻¹ and 18 ± 7 TgC yr⁻¹, respectively. The resultant net biome production (NBP is 36 ± 29 TgC yr⁻¹, in which the largest contributions to uncertainty are NEP, fire and LUC. This NBP offset fossil fuel emissions (95 ± 6 TgC yr⁻¹ by 38 ± 30%. The interannual variability (IAV in the Australian carbon budget exceeds Australia's total carbon emissions by fossil fuel combustion and is dominated by IAV in NEP. Territorial fossil fuel emissions are significantly smaller than the rapidly growing fossil fuel exports: in 2009–2010, Australia exported 2.5 times more carbon in fossil fuels than it emitted by burning fossil fuels.

Estimating net ecosystem exchange of carbon using the normalized difference vegetation index and an ecosystem model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veroustraete, F.; Patyn, J.; Myneni, R.B.

1996-01-01

The evaluation and prediction of changes in carbon dynamics at the ecosystem level is a key issue in studies of global change. An operational concept for the determination of carbon fluxes for the Belgian territory is the goal of the presented study. The approach is based on the integration of remotely sensed data into ecosystem models in order to evaluate photosynthetic assimilation and net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Remote sensing can be developed as an operational tool to determine the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (feAR). A review of the methodological approach of mapping fPAR dynamics at the regional scale by means of NOAA11-A VHRR / 2 data for the year 1990 is given. The processing sequence from raw radiance values to fPAR is presented. An interesting aspect of incorporating remote sensing derived fPAR in ecosystem models is the potential for modeling actual as opposed to potential vegetation. Further work should prove whether the concepts presented and the assumptions made in this study are valid. (NEE). Complex ecosystem models with a highly predictive value for a specific ecosystem are generally not suitable for global or regional applications, since they require a substantial set of ancillary data becoming increasingly larger with increasing complexity of the model. The ideal model for our purpose is one that is simple enough to be used in global scale modeling, and which can be adapted for different ecosystems or vegetation types. The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) during the growing season determines in part net photosynthesis and phytomass production (Ruimy, 1995). Remotely measured red and near-infrared spectral reflectances can be used to estimate fPAR. Therefore, a possible approach is to estimate net photosynthesis, phytomass, and NEE from a combination of satellite data and an ecosystem model that includes carbon dynamics. It has to be stated that some parts of the work presented in this

Electrochemical and weight-loss study of carbon steel corrosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, V.J.; Olive, R.P.

2007-01-01

The Point Lepreau Generating Station (PLGS) will undergo an 18 month refurbishment project beginning in April, 2008. During this time, most of the carbon steel piping in the primary loop will be drained of water and dried. However, some water will remain during the shutdown due to the lack of drains in some lower points in the piping system. As a result, it is necessary to examine the effect of corrosion during the refurbishment. This study examined the effect of several variables on the corrosion rate of clean carbon steel. Specifically, the effect of oxygen in the system and the presence of chloride ions were evaluated. Corrosion rates were determined using both a weight-loss technique and electrochemical methods. The experiment was conducted at room temperature. The corrosion products from the experiment were analyzed using a Raman microscope. The results of the weight-loss measurements show that the corrosion rate of polished carbon steel is independent of both the presence of oxygen and chloride ions. The electrochemical method failed to yield meaningful results due to the lack of clearly interpretable data and the inherent subjectivity in the analysis. Lepidocricite was found to be the main corrosion product using the Raman microscope. (author)

Integrating livestock manure with a corn-soybean bioenergy cropping system improves short-term carbon sequestration rates and net global warming potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thelen, K.D.; Fronning, B.E.; Kravchenko, A.; Min, D.H.; Robertson, G.P.

2010-01-01

Carbon cycling and the global warming potential (GWP) of bioenergy cropping systems with complete biomass removal are of agronomic and environmental concern. Corn growers who plan to remove corn stover as a feedstock for the emerging cellulosic ethanol industry will benefit from carbon amendments such as manure and compost, to replace carbon removed with the corn stover. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of beef cattle feedlot manure and composted dairy manure on short-term carbon sequestration rates and net global warming potential (GWP) in a corn-soybean rotation with complete corn-stover removal. Field experiments consisting of a corn-soybean rotation with whole-plant corn harvest, were conducted near East Lansing, MI over a three-year period beginning in 2002. Compost and manure amendments raised soil carbon (C) at a level sufficient to overcome the C debt associated with manure production, manure collection and storage, land application, and post-application field emissions. The net GWP in carbon dioxide equivalents for the manure and compost amended cropping systems was -934 and -784 g m -2 y -1 , respectively, compared to 52 g m -2 y -1 for the non-manure amended synthetic fertilizer check. This work further substantiates the environmental benefits associated with renewable fuels and demonstrates that with proper management, the integration of livestock manures in biofuel cropping systems can enhance greenhouse gas (GHG) remediation.

Net carbon allocation in soybean seedlings as influenced by soil water stress at two soil temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCoy, E.L.; Boersma, L.; Ekasingh, M.

1990-01-01

The influence of water stress at two soil temperatures on allocation of net photoassimilated carbon in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) was investigated using compartmental analysis. The experimental phase employed classical 14 C labeling methodology with plants equilibrated at soil water potentials of -0.04, -0.25 and -0.50 MPa; and soil temperatures of 25 and 10C. Carbon immobilization in the shoot apex generally followed leaf elongation rates with decreases in both parameters at increasing water stress at both soil temperatures. However, where moderate water stress resulted in dramatic declines in leaf elongation rates, carbon immobilization rates were sharply decreased only at severe water stress levels. Carbon immobilization was decreased in the roots and nodules of the nonwater stressed treatment by the lower soil temperature. This relation was reversed with severe water stress, and carbon immobilization in the roots and nodules was increased at the lower soil temperature. Apparently, the increased demand for growth and/or carbon storage in these tissues with increased water stress overcame the low soil temperature limitations. Both carbon pool sizes and partitioning of carbon to the sink tissues increased with moderate water stress at 25C soil temperature. Increased pool sizes were consistent with whole plant osmotic adjustment at moderate water stress. Increased partitioning to the sinks was consistent with carbon translocation processes being less severely influenced by water stress than is photosynthesis

Patterns of Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Losses in Urban Residential Lawns

Science.gov (United States)

Contosta, A.; Varner, R.; Xiao, J.

2017-12-01

Population density and housing age are two factors believed to impact carbon (C) storage and greenhouse gas emissions in one of the most extensively managed landscapes in the U.S.: the urban lawn. Previous research focusing on either above- or below-ground C dynamics has also not explicitly considered how they interact to affect the net carbon balance in urban residential areas. We addressed this knowledge gap by quantifying both soil and vegetative C stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes across an urban gradient in Manchester, NH, USA that included 34 lawns comprising three population density categories, five housing age classes, and the interaction between them. Using a combination of both weekly, manual measurements and continuous, automated estimates, we also sampled emissions of CH4, CO2, and N2O within a subset of these lawns that represented a range of citywide population density and housing age characteristics and management practices. We found that neither above- nor below-ground C storage varied with population density, but both differed among housing age classes. Soil C storage increased with housing age and was highest in the oldest lawns sampled. By contrast, C stocks in aboveground, woody biomass was highest at intermediate ages and lowest in older and new parcels. Unlike C stocks, soil greenhouse gas emissions did not change among population density categories, housing age classes, or with irrigation and fertilization management, but instead followed temporal trends in soil moisture and temperature. Overall, our results suggest that drivers of C storage and greenhouse gas losses in urban residential areas may not be uniform and their accurate representation in Earth system models may require a variety of approaches.

Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Ballantyne, A P; Alden, C B; Miller, J B; Tans, P P; White, J W C

2012-08-02

One of the greatest sources of uncertainty for future climate predictions is the response of the global carbon cycle to climate change. Although approximately one-half of total CO(2) emissions is at present taken up by combined land and ocean carbon reservoirs, models predict a decline in future carbon uptake by these reservoirs, resulting in a positive carbon-climate feedback. Several recent studies suggest that rates of carbon uptake by the land and ocean have remained constant or declined in recent decades. Other work, however, has called into question the reported decline. Here we use global-scale atmospheric CO(2) measurements, CO(2) emission inventories and their full range of uncertainties to calculate changes in global CO(2) sources and sinks during the past 50 years. Our mass balance analysis shows that net global carbon uptake has increased significantly by about 0.05 billion tonnes of carbon per year and that global carbon uptake doubled, from 2.4 ± 0.8 to 5.0 ± 0.9 billion tonnes per year, between 1960 and 2010. Therefore, it is very unlikely that both land and ocean carbon sinks have decreased on a global scale. Since 1959, approximately 350 billion tonnes of carbon have been emitted by humans to the atmosphere, of which about 55 per cent has moved into the land and oceans. Thus, identifying the mechanisms and locations responsible for increasing global carbon uptake remains a critical challenge in constraining the modern global carbon budget and predicting future carbon-climate interactions.

Connecting above and below: the impacts of large wildlife loss and pastoralism on savanna carbon dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, E. S.; Young, H. S.; Young, T.; Schimel, J.

2016-12-01

There is widespread evidence that large wildlife species contribute to ecosystem carbon efflux; however, their influence is not incorporated into traditional carbon models. As large wildlife loss continues in the Anthropocene and in the face of climate change, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impacts of their loss on ecosystem carbon. The charismatic, threatened wildlife in central Kenya's savanna provide an ideal framework for these questions. We compared differences in carbon efflux in the presence or absence of native herbivores and/or cattle, as a proxy for wildlife loss and the interaction of pastoralism. We measured carbon dynamics in situ with a closed-chamber system and microbial respiration rates in lab by incubating sampled soil. We discovered a significant effect of herbivore presence/absence on carbon efflux: incubated soils collected from plots with cattle only exhibit greater carbon accumulation and faster initial respiration rates than soils collected from plots with native herbivores and no cattle, native herbivores and cattle, and neither native herbivores nor cattle. When measured in situ, plots with no herbivores show higher efflux than plots with only native herbivores, and plots with both. The data also suggest that grazing pressure results in successively lower efflux. The differences in these studies imply that the impacts of large wildlife loss differ on microbial respiration as an isolated mechanism in ecosystem carbon exchange, and total carbon efflux. This is most likely because in situ efflux measurements encompass environmental variables as well as soil microbial respiration. The lab data suggest that cattle as the only herbivore causes greater soil microbial efflux compared to native herbivores alone, native herbivores with cattle, or no herbivores. The in situ data show that no herbivores results in increased carbon efflux, and suggest that increasing numbers of herbivores lowers efflux.These studies demonstrate

Slowing the rate of loss of mineral wetlands on human dominated landscapes - Diversification of farmers markets to include carbon (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Creed, I. F.; Badiou, P.; Lobb, D.

2013-12-01

Canada is the fourth-largest exporter of agriculture and agri-food products in the world (exports valued at 28B), but instability of agriculture markets can make it difficult for farmers to cope with variability, and new mechanisms are needed for farmers to achieve economic stability. Capitalizing on carbon markets will help farmers achieve environmentally sustainable economic performance. In order to have a viable carbon market, governments and industries need to know what the carbon capital is and what potential there is for growth, and farmers need financial incentives that will not only allow them to conserve existing wetlands but that will also enable them to restore wetlands while making a living. In southern Ontario, farmers' needs to maximize the return on investment on marginal lands have resulted in loss of 70-90% of wetlands, making this region one of the most threatened region in terms of wetland degradation and loss in Canada. Our project establishes the role that mineral wetlands have in the net carbon balance by contributing insight into the potential benefits to carbon management provided by wetland restoration efforts in these highly degraded landscapes. The goal was to establish the magnitude of carbon offsets that could be achieved through wetland conservation (securing existing carbon stocks) and restoration (creating new carbon stocks). The experimental design was to focus on (1) small (0.2-2.0 ha) and (2) isolated (no inflow or outflow) mineral wetlands with the greatest restoration potential that included (3) a range of restoration ages (drained (0 yr), 3 yr, 6 yr, 12 yr, 20 yr, 35 yr, intact marshes) to capture potential changes in rates of carbon sequestration with restoration age of wetland. From each wetland, wetland soil carbon pools samples were collected at four positions: centre of wetland (open-water); emergent vegetation zone; wet meadow zone where flooding often occurs (i.e., high water mark); and upland where flooding rarely

Estimating regional terrestrial carbon fluxes for the Australian continent using a multiple-constraint approach. I. Using remotely sensed data and ecological observations of net primary production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ying Ping Wang; Barrett, Damian J.

2003-01-01

We have developed a modelling framework that synthesizes various types of field measurements at different spatial and temporal scales. We used this modelling framework to estimate monthly means and their standard deviations of gross photosynthesis, total ecosystem production, net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) for eight regions of the Australian continent between 1990 and 1998. Annual mean NPP of the Australian continent varied between 800 and 1100 Mt C/yr between 1990 and 1998, with a coefficient of variation that is defined as the ratio of standard deviation and mean between 0.24 and 0.34. The seasonal variation of NPP for the whole continent varied between 50 and 110 Mt C/month with two maxima, one in the autumn and another in the spring. NEP was most negative in the winter (a carbon sink) and was most positive (a carbon source) in the summer. However, the coefficient of variation of monthly mean NEP was very large (> 4), and consequently confidence in the predicted net carbon fluxes for any month in the period 1990-1998 for the whole continent was very low. A companion paper will apply atmospheric inverse technique to measurements of CO 2 concentration to further constrain the continental carbon cycle and reduce uncertainty in estimated mean monthly carbon fluxes

High resolution spectroscopy of H+ energy loss in thin carbon film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsunami, Noriaki; Kitoh, Kenshin

1991-05-01

The energy loss of ∼100 keV H + transmitted through thin carbon film of ∼7 nm has been measured with the resolution of ∼20 eV. We have observed new energy loss peaks around 210 and 400 eV in addition to the normal energy loss peak around 1 keV. We find that the experimental artifacts, ionization of C K-(290 eV) and impurity inner-shells, extreme non-uniformity of films, events associated with elastic scattering are not responsible for these peaks. The origin of these low energy loss peaks will be discussed. (author)

Variability in carbon exchange of European croplands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eddy J, Moors; Jacobs, Cor; Jans, Wilma

2010-01-01

The estimated net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 based on measurements at 17 flux sites in Europe for 45 cropping periods showed an average loss of -38 gC m-2 per cropping period. The cropping period is defined as the period after sowing or planting until harvest. The variability taken as the st......The estimated net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 based on measurements at 17 flux sites in Europe for 45 cropping periods showed an average loss of -38 gC m-2 per cropping period. The cropping period is defined as the period after sowing or planting until harvest. The variability taken...... as the standard deviation of these cropping periods was 251 gC m-2. These numbers do not include lateral inputs such as the carbon content of applied manure, nor the carbon exchange out of the cropping period. Both are expected to have a major effect on the C budget of high energy summer crops such as maize. NEE...... and gross primary production (GPP) can be estimated by crop net primary production based on inventories of biomass at these sites, independent of species and regions. NEE can also be estimated by the product of photosynthetic capacity and the number of days with the average air temperature >5 °C. Yield...

Mapping potential carbon and timber losses from hurricanes using a decision tree and ecosystem services driver model.

Science.gov (United States)

Delphin, S; Escobedo, F J; Abd-Elrahman, A; Cropper, W

2013-11-15

Information on the effect of direct drivers such as hurricanes on ecosystem services is relevant to landowners and policy makers due to predicted effects from climate change. We identified forest damage risk zones due to hurricanes and estimated the potential loss of 2 key ecosystem services: aboveground carbon storage and timber volume. Using land cover, plot-level forest inventory data, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, and a decision tree-based framework; we determined potential damage to subtropical forests from hurricanes in the Lower Suwannee River (LS) and Pensacola Bay (PB) watersheds in Florida, US. We used biophysical factors identified in previous studies as being influential in forest damage in our decision tree and hurricane wind risk maps. Results show that 31% and 0.5% of the total aboveground carbon storage in the LS and PB, respectively was located in high forest damage risk (HR) zones. Overall 15% and 0.7% of the total timber net volume in the LS and PB, respectively, was in HR zones. This model can also be used for identifying timber salvage areas, developing ecosystem service provision and management scenarios, and assessing the effect of other drivers on ecosystem services and goods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climatic and biotic controls on annual carbon storage in Amazonian ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, H.; Melillo, J.M.; Kicklighter, D.W.; McGuire, A.D.; Helfrich, J.; Moore, B.; Vorosmarty, C.J.

2000-01-01

variability and increasing atmospheric CO2 over the study period. This amount is large enough to have compensated for most of the carbon losses associated with tropical deforestation in the Amazon during the same period. 5 Comparisons with empirical data indicate that climate variability and CO2 fertilization explain most of the variation in net carbon storage for the undisturbed ecosystems. Our analyses suggest that assessment of the regional carbon budget in the tropics should be made over at least one cycle of El Nino-Southern Oscillation because of inter-annual climate variability. Our analyses also suggest that proper scaling of the site-specific and sub-annual measurements of carbon fluxes to produce Basin-wide flux estimates must take into account seasonal and spatial variations in net carbon storage.

BECCS capability of dedicated bioenergy crops under a future land-use scenario targeting net negative carbon emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, E.; Yamagata, Y.

2014-12-01

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is a key component of mitigation strategies in future socio-economic scenarios that aim to keep mean global temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial, which would require net negative carbon emissions in the end of the 21st century. Because of the additional need for land, developing sustainable low-carbon scenarios requires careful consideration of the land-use implications of deploying large-scale BECCS. We evaluated the feasibility of the large-scale BECCS in RCP2.6, which is a scenario with net negative emissions aiming to keep the 2°C temperature target, with a top-down analysis of required yields and a bottom-up evaluation of BECCS potential using a process-based global crop model. Land-use change carbon emissions related to the land expansion were examined using a global terrestrial biogeochemical cycle model. Our analysis reveals that first-generation bioenergy crops would not meet the required BECCS of the RCP2.6 scenario even with a high fertilizer and irrigation application. Using second-generation bioenergy crops can marginally fulfill the required BECCS only if a technology of full post-process combustion CO2 capture is deployed with a high fertilizer application in the crop production. If such an assumed technological improvement does not occur in the future, more than doubling the area for bioenergy production for BECCS around 2050 assumed in RCP2.6 would be required, however, such scenarios implicitly induce large-scale land-use changes that would cancel half of the assumed CO2 sequestration by BECCS. Otherwise a conflict of land-use with food production is inevitable.

Annual net primary productivity of a cyanobacteria-dominated biological soil crust in the Gulf Savannah, Queensland, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Büdel, Burkhard; Williams, Wendy J.; Reichenberger, Hans

2018-01-01

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a common element of the Queensland (Australia) dry savannah ecosystem and are composed of cyanobacteria, algae, lichens, bryophytes, fungi and heterotrophic bacteria. Here we report how the CO2 gas exchange of the cyanobacteria-dominated biocrust type from Boodjamulla National Park in the north Queensland Gulf Savannah responds to the pronounced climatic seasonality and on their quality as a carbon sink using a semi-automatic cuvette system. The dominant cyanobacteria are the filamentous species Symplocastrum purpurascens together with Scytonema sp. Metabolic activity was recorded between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, during which CO2 exchange was only evident from November 2010 until mid-April 2011, representative of 23.6 % of the 1-year recording period. In November at the onset of the wet season, the first month (November) and the last month (April) of activity had pronounced respiratory loss of CO2. The metabolic active period accounted for 25 % of the wet season and of that period 48.6 % was net photosynthesis (NP) and 51.4 % dark respiration (DR). During the time of NP, net photosynthetic uptake of CO2 during daylight hours was reduced by 32.6 % due to water supersaturation. In total, the biocrust fixed 229.09 mmol CO2 m-2 yr-1, corresponding to an annual carbon gain of 2.75 g m-2 yr-1. Due to malfunction of the automatic cuvette system, data from September and October 2010 together with some days in November and December 2010 could not be analysed for NP and DR. Based on climatic and gas exchange data from November 2010, an estimated loss of 88 mmol CO2 m-2 was found for the 2 months, resulting in corrected annual rates of 143.1 mmol CO2 m-2 yr-1, equivalent to a carbon gain of 1.7 g m-2 yr-1. The bulk of the net photosynthetic activity occurred above a relative humidity of 42 %, indicating a suitable climatic combination of temperature, water availability and light intensity well above 200 µmol photons m-2 s-1

Gross changes in forest area shape the future carbon balance of tropical forests

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wei; Ciais, Philippe; Yue, Chao; Gasser, Thomas; Peng, Shushi; Bastos, Ana

2018-01-01

Bookkeeping models are used to estimate land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) carbon fluxes (ELULCC). The uncertainty of bookkeeping models partly arises from data used to define response curves (usually from local data) and their representativeness for application to large regions. Here, we compare biomass recovery curves derived from a recent synthesis of secondary forest plots in Latin America by Poorter et al. (2016) with the curves used previously in bookkeeping models from Houghton (1999) and Hansis et al. (2015). We find that the two latter models overestimate the long-term (100 years) vegetation carbon density of secondary forest by about 25 %. We also use idealized LULCC scenarios combined with these three different response curves to demonstrate the importance of considering gross forest area changes instead of net forest area changes for estimating regional ELULCC. In the illustrative case of a net gain in forest area composed of a large gross loss and a large gross gain occurring during a single year, the initial gross loss has an important legacy effect on ELULCC so that the system can be a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere long after the initial forest area change. We show the existence of critical values of the ratio of gross area change over net area change (γAnetAgross), above which cumulative ELULCC is a net CO2 source rather than a sink for a given time horizon after the initial perturbation. These theoretical critical ratio values derived from simulations of a bookkeeping model are compared with observations from the 30 m resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper data of gross and net forest area change in the Amazon. This allows us to diagnose areas in which current forest gains with a large land turnover will still result in LULCC carbon emissions in 20, 50 and 100 years.

Integrating livestock manure with a corn-soybean bioenergy cropping system improves short-term carbon sequestration rates and net global warming potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thelen, K.D.; Fronning, B.E.; Kravchenko, A.; Min, D.H.; Robertson, G.P. [Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)

2010-07-15

Carbon cycling and the global warming potential (GWP) of bioenergy cropping systems with complete biomass removal are of agronomic and environmental concern. Corn growers who plan to remove corn stover as a feedstock for the emerging cellulosic ethanol industry will benefit from carbon amendments such as manure and compost, to replace carbon removed with the corn stover. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of beef cattle feedlot manure and composted dairy manure on short-term carbon sequestration rates and net global warming potential (GWP) in a corn-soybean rotation with complete corn-stover removal. Field experiments consisting of a corn-soybean rotation with whole-plant corn harvest, were conducted near East Lansing, MI over a three-year period beginning in 2002. Compost and manure amendments raised soil carbon (C) at a level sufficient to overcome the C debt associated with manure production, manure collection and storage, land application, and post-application field emissions. The net GWP in carbon dioxide equivalents for the manure and compost amended cropping systems was -934 and -784 g m{sup -2} y{sup -1}, respectively, compared to 52 g m{sup -2} y{sup -1} for the non-manure amended synthetic fertilizer check. This work further substantiates the environmental benefits associated with renewable fuels and demonstrates that with proper management, the integration of livestock manures in biofuel cropping systems can enhance greenhouse gas (GHG) remediation. (author)

Aboveground carbon loss in natural and managed tropical forests from 2000 to 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyukavina, A; Hansen, M C; Potapov, P V; Krylov, A M; Turubanova, S; Baccini, A; Houghton, R A; Goetz, S J; Stehman, S V

2015-01-01

Tropical forests provide global climate regulation ecosystem services and their clearing is a significant source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and resultant radiative forcing of climate change. However, consensus on pan-tropical forest carbon dynamics is lacking. We present a new estimate that employs recommended good practices to quantify gross tropical forest aboveground carbon (AGC) loss from 2000 to 2012 through the integration of Landsat-derived tree canopy cover, height, intactness and forest cover loss and GLAS-lidar derived forest biomass. An unbiased estimate of forest loss area is produced using a stratified random sample with strata derived from a wall-to-wall 30 m forest cover loss map. Our sample-based results separate the gross loss of forest AGC into losses from natural forests (0.59 PgC yr −1 ) and losses from managed forests (0.43 PgC yr −1 ) including plantations, agroforestry systems and subsistence agriculture. Latin America accounts for 43% of gross AGC loss and 54% of natural forest AGC loss, with Brazil experiencing the highest AGC loss for both categories at national scales. We estimate gross tropical forest AGC loss and natural forest loss to account for 11% and 6% of global year 2012 CO 2 emissions, respectively. Given recent trends, natural forests will likely constitute an increasingly smaller proportion of tropical forest GHG emissions and of global emissions as fossil fuel consumption increases, with implications for the valuation of co-benefits in tropical forest conservation. (letter)

Scaling net ecosystem production and net biome production over a heterogeneous region in the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

D.P. Turner; W.D. Ritts; B.E. Law; W.B. Cohen; Z. Yan; T. Hudiburg; J.L. Campbell; M. Duane

2007-01-01

Bottom-up scaling of net ecosystem production (NEP) and net biome production (NBP) was used to generate a carbon budget for a large heterogeneous region (the state of Oregon, 2.5x105 km2 ) in the Western United States. Landsat resolution (30 m) remote sensing provided the basis for mapping land cover and disturbance history...

Wind farms on undegraded peatlands are unlikely to reduce future carbon emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Jo; Nayak, Dali Rani; Smith, Pete

2014-01-01

Onshore wind energy is a key component of the renewable energies used by governments to reduce carbon emissions from electricity production, but will carbon emissions be reduced when wind farms are located on carbon-rich peatands? Wind farms are often located in uplands because most are of low agricultural value, are distant from residential areas, and are windy. Many UK uplands are peatlands, with layers of accumulated peat that represent a large stock of soil carbon. When peatlands are drained for construction there is a higher risk of net carbon loss than for mineral soils. Previous work suggests that wind farms sited on peatlands can reduce net carbon emissions if strictly managed for maximum retention of carbon. Here we show that, whereas in 2010, most sites had potential to provide net carbon savings, by 2040 most sites will not reduce carbon emissions even with careful management. This is due to projected changes in the proportion of fossil fuels used to generate electricity. The results suggest future policy should avoid constructing wind farms on undegraded peatlands unless drainage of peat is minimal and the volume excavated in foundations can be significantly reduced compared to energy output. - Highlights: • Future wind farms located on undegraded peats will not reduce carbon emissions. • This is due to projected changes in fossil fuels used to generate electricity. • Future policy should avoid constructing wind farms on undegraded peats

Drought sensitivity of Amazonian carbon balance revealed by atmospheric measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Gatti, L. V.; Gloor, M.; Miller, J. B.; Doughty, C. E.; Malhi, Y.; Domingues, L. G.; Basso, L. S.; Martinewski, A.; Correia, C. S. C.; Borges, V. F.; Freitas, S.; Braz, R.; Anderson, L. O.; Rocha, H.; Grace, J.; Phillips, O. L.; Lloyd, J.

2014-02-01

Feedbacks between land carbon pools and climate provide one of the largest sources of uncertainty in our predictions of global climate. Estimates of the sensitivity of the terrestrial carbon budget to climate anomalies in the tropics and the identification of the mechanisms responsible for feedback effects remain uncertain. The Amazon basin stores a vast amount of carbon, and has experienced increasingly higher temperatures and more frequent floods and droughts over the past two decades. Here we report seasonal and annual carbon balances across the Amazon basin, based on carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide measurements for the anomalously dry and wet years 2010 and 2011, respectively. We find that the Amazon basin lost 0.48+/-0.18 petagrams of carbon per year (PgCyr-1) during the dry year but was carbon neutral (0.06+/-0.1PgCyr-1) during the wet year. Taking into account carbon losses from fire by using carbon monoxide measurements, we derived the basin net biome exchange (that is, the carbon flux between the non-burned forest and the atmosphere) revealing that during the dry year, vegetation was carbon neutral. During the wet year, vegetation was a net carbon sink of 0.25+/-0.14PgCyr-1, which is roughly consistent with the mean long-term intact-forest biomass sink of 0.39+/-0.10PgCyr-1 previously estimated from forest censuses. Observations from Amazonian forest plots suggest the suppression of photosynthesis during drought as the primary cause for the 2010 sink neutralization. Overall, our results suggest that moisture has an important role in determining the Amazonian carbon balance. If the recent trend of increasing precipitation extremes persists, the Amazon may become an increasing carbon source as a result of both emissions from fires and the suppression of net biome exchange by drought.

Biomass burning losses of carbon estimated from ecosystem modeling and satellite data analysis for the Brazilian Amazon region

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Christopher; Brooks Genovese, Vanessa; Klooster, Steven; Bobo, Matthew; Torregrosa, Alicia

To produce a new daily record of gross carbon emissions from biomass burning events and post-burning decomposition fluxes in the states of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE), 1991. Anuario Estatistico do Brasil, Vol. 51. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pp. 1-1024). We have used vegetation greenness estimates from satellite images as inputs to a terrestrial ecosystem production model. This carbon allocation model generates new estimates of regional aboveground vegetation biomass at 8-km resolution. The modeled biomass product is then combined for the first time with fire pixel counts from the advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) to overlay regional burning activities in the Amazon. Results from our analysis indicate that carbon emission estimates from annual region-wide sources of deforestation and biomass burning in the early 1990s are apparently three to five times higher than reported in previous studies for the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Houghton et al., 2000. Nature 403, 301-304; Fearnside, 1997. Climatic Change 35, 321-360), i.e., studies which implied that the Legal Amazon region tends toward a net-zero annual source of terrestrial carbon. In contrast, our analysis implies that the total source fluxes over the entire Legal Amazon region range from 0.2 to 1.2 Pg C yr -1, depending strongly on annual rainfall patterns. The reasons for our higher burning emission estimates are (1) use of combustion fractions typically measured during Amazon forest burning events for computing carbon losses, (2) more detailed geographic distribution of vegetation biomass and daily fire activity for the region, and (3) inclusion of fire effects in extensive areas of the Legal Amazon covered by open woodland, secondary forests, savanna, and pasture vegetation. The total area of rainforest estimated annually to be deforested did not differ substantially among the previous analyses cited and our own.

Water and energy link in the cities of the future - achieving net zero carbon and pollution emissions footprint.

Science.gov (United States)

Novotny, V

2011-01-01

This article discusses the link between water conservation, reclamation, reuse and energy use as related to the goal of achieving the net zero carbon emission footprint in future sustainable cities. It defines sustainable ecocities and outlines quantitatively steps towards the reduction of energy use due to water and used water flows, management and limits in linear and closed loop water/stormwater/wastewater management systems. The three phase water energy nexus diagram may have a minimum inflection point beyond which reduction of water demand may not result in a reduction of energy and carbon emissions. Hence, water conservation is the best alternative solution to water shortages and minimizing the carbon footprint. A marginal water/energy chart is developed and proposed to assist planners in developing future ecocities and retrofitting older communities to achieve sustainability.

Variable carbon losses from recurrent fires in drained tropical peatlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Konecny, Kristina; Ballhorn, Uwe; Navratil, Peter; Jubanski, Juilson; Page, Susan E; Tansey, Kevin; Hooijer, Aljosja; Vernimmen, Ronald; Siegert, Florian

2016-04-01

Tropical peatland fires play a significant role in the context of global warming through emissions of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. However, the state of knowledge on carbon loss from these fires is still poorly developed with few studies reporting the associated mass of peat consumed. Furthermore, spatial and temporal variations in burn depth have not been previously quantified. This study presents the first spatially explicit investigation of fire-driven tropical peat loss and its variability. An extensive airborne Light Detection and Ranging data set was used to develop a prefire peat surface modelling methodology, enabling the spatially differentiated quantification of burned area depth over the entire burned area. We observe a strong interdependence between burned area depth, fire frequency and distance to drainage canals. For the first time, we show that relative burned area depth decreases over the first four fire events and is constant thereafter. Based on our results, we revise existing peat and carbon loss estimates for recurrent fires in drained tropical peatlands. We suggest values for the dry mass of peat fuel consumed that are 206 t ha(-1) for initial fires, reducing to 115 t ha(-1) for second, 69 t ha(-1) for third and 23 t ha(-1) for successive fires, which are 58-7% of the current IPCC Tier 1 default value for all fires. In our study area, this results in carbon losses of 114, 64, 38 and 13 t C ha(-1) for first to fourth fires, respectively. Furthermore, we show that with increasing proximity to drainage canals both burned area depth and the probability of recurrent fires increase and present equations explaining burned area depth as a function of distance to drainage canal. This improved knowledge enables a more accurate approach to emissions accounting and will support IPCC Tier 2 reporting of fire emissions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Estimation of Net Ecosystem Carbon Exchange for the Conterminous UnitedStates by Combining MODIS and AmeriFlux Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Jingfeng; Zhuang, Qianlai; Baldocchi, Dennis D.; Law, Beverly E.; Richardson, Andrew D.; Chen, Jiquan; Oren, Ram; Starr, Gregory; Noormets, Asko; Ma, Siyan; Verma, Shashi B.; Wharton, Sonia; Wofsy, Steven C.; Bolstad, Paul V.; Burns, Sean P.; Cook, David R.; Curtis, Peter S.; Drake, Bert G.; Falk, Matthias; Fischer, Marc L.; Foster, David R.; Gu, Lianhong; Hadley, Julian L.; Hollinger, David Y.; Katul, Gabriel G.; Litvak, Marcy; Martin, Timothy A.; Matamala, Roser; McNulty, Steve; Meyers, Tilden P.; Monson, Russell K.; Munger, J. William; Oechel, Walter C.; U, Kyaw Tha Paw; Schmid, Hans Peter; Scott, Russell L.; Sun, Ge; Suyker, Andrew E.; Torn, Margaret S.

2009-03-06

Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) for a wide range of climate and biome types. However, these measurements only represent the carbon fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. To quantify the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere for regions or continents, flux tower measurements need to be extrapolated to these large areas. Here we used remotely-sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on board NASA's Terra satellite to scale up AmeriFlux NEE measurements to the continental scale. We first combined MODIS and AmeriFlux data for representative U.S. ecosystems to develop a predictive NEE model using a regression tree approach. The predictive model was trained and validated using NEE data over the periods 2000-2004 and 2005-2006, respectively. We found that the model predicted NEE reasonably well at the site level. We then applied the model to the continental scale and estimated NEE for each 1 km x 1 km cell across the conterminous U.S. for each 8-day period in 2005 using spatially-explicit MODIS data. The model generally captured the expected spatial and seasonal patterns of NEE. Our study demonstrated that our empirical approach is effective for scaling up eddy flux NEE measurements to the continental scale and producing wall-to-wall NEE estimates across multiple biomes. Our estimates may provide an independent dataset from simulations with biogeochemical models and inverse modeling approaches for examining the spatiotemporal patterns of NEE and constraining terrestrial carbon budgets for large areas.

Unraveling net carbon exchange into its component processes of photosynthesis and respiration

Science.gov (United States)

Ballantyne, A.

2017-12-01

The recent `warming hiatus' presents an excellent opportunity to investigate climate sensitivity of carbon cycle processes. Herewe combine satellite and atmospheric observations to show that the rate of net biome productivity (NBP) has significantlyaccelerated from 0.007+/-0.065 PgC yr-2 over the warming period (1982 to 1998) to 0.119+/-0.071 PgC yr-2 over thewarminghiatus (1998-2012). This acceleration in NBP is not due to increased primary productivity, but rather reduced respiration thatis correlated (r2 0.58; P = 0.0007) and sensitive ( gamma= 4.05 to 9.40 PgC yr-1 per deg C) to land temperatures. Global landmodels do not fully capture this apparent reduced respiration over the warming hiatus; however, an empirical model includingsoil temperature and moisture observations seems to better captures the reduced respiration.

Net ecosystem productivity and carbon dynamics of the traditionally managed Imperata grasslands of North East India.

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Karabi; Malhi, Yadvinder; Sileshi, G W; Das, Ashesh Kumar; Nath, Arun Jyoti

2018-09-01

There have been few comprehensive descriptions of how fire management and harvesting affect the carbon dynamics of grasslands. Grasslands dominated by the invasive weed Imperata cylindrica are considered as environmental threats causing low land productivity throughout the moist tropical regions in Asia. Imperata grasslands in North East India are unique in that they are traditionally managed and culturally important in the rural landscapes. Given the importance of fire in the management of Imperata grassland, we aimed to assess (i) the seasonal pattern of biomass production, (ii) the eventual pathways for the produced biomass, partitioned between in situ decomposition, harvesting and combustion, and (iii) the effect of customary fire management on the ecosystem carbon cycle. Comparatively high biomass production was recorded during pre-monsoon (154 g m -2  month -1 ) and monsoon (214 g m -2  month -1 ) compared to the post-monsoon (91 g m -2  month -1 ) season, and this is attributed to nutrient return into the soil immediately after fire in February. Post fire effects might have killed roots and rhizomes leading to high belowground litter production 30-35 g m -2 during March to August. High autotrophic respiration was recorded during March-July, which was related to high belowground biomass production (35-70 g m -2 ) during that time. Burning removed all the surface litter in March and this appeared to hinder surface decomposition and result in low heterotrophic respiration. Annual total biomass carbon production was estimated at 886 g C m -2 . Annual harvest of biomass (estimated at 577 g C m -2 ) was the major pathway for carbon fluxes from the system. Net ecosystem production (NEP) of Imperata grassland was estimated at 91 g C m -2  yr -1 indicating that these grasslands are a net sink of CO 2 , although this is greatly influenced by weather and fire management. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B

Electrolyte loss mechanism of molten carbonate fuel cells. 1; Yoyu tansan`engata nenryo denchi ni okeru denkaishitsu loss kiko ni tsuite. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonai, A; Murata, K [Toshiba Research and Development Center, Kawasaki (Japan)

1993-11-01

During a single-cell disassembly test of molten carbonate fuel cells having been operated for 90 hours to 5500 hours, correlativity was discovered between decrease in the retained amount of electrolyte due to decrease in pore capacity of electrodes and electrolyte plates and the electrolyte loss. The electrolyte loss amount cannot be explained with the conventional mechanisms, thereby a new model was proposed. The cathode has shown very little change in the capacity change in pores with diameters smaller than 2 {mu}m per unit area. The anode has remained almost constant after 1000 hours, but the electrolyte plates have shown remarkable decrease. Therefore, it is possible to estimate that the electrolyte plates should have been the major cause for the electrolyte loss. The result of measuring the electrolyte loss amount agreed well with that estimated using pore capacity curves. This fact suggests that the electrolyte loss can be explained by a new mechanism that hypothesizes the existence of a largest size of retaining pores that can support carbonates and defines that the electrolyte loss is generated from decrease in the pore capacity. 7 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.

Simulating forest productivity and surface-atmosphere carbon exchange in the BOREAS study region.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimball, John S.; Thornton, Peter E.; White, Mike A.; Running, Steven W.

1997-01-01

A process-based, general ecosystem model (BIOME-BGC) was used to simulate daily gross primary production, maintenance and heterotrophic respiration, net primary production and net ecosystem carbon exchange of boreal aspen, jack pine and black spruce stands. Model simulations of daily net carbon exchange of the ecosystem (NEE) explained 51.7% (SE = 1.32 g C m(-2) day(-1)) of the variance in daily NEE derived from stand eddy flux measurements of CO(2) during 1994. Differences between measured and simulated results were attributed to several factors including difficulties associated with measuring nighttime CO(2) fluxes and model assumptions of site homogeneity. However, comparisons between simulations and field data improved markedly at coarser time-scales. Model simulations explained 66.1% (SE = 0.97 g C m(-2) day(-1)) of the variance in measured NEE when 5-day means of daily results were compared. Annual simulations of aboveground net primary production ranged from 0.6-2.4 Mg C ha(-1) year(-1) and were concurrent with results derived from tree increment core measurements and allometric equations. Model simulations showed that all of the sites were net sinks (0.1-4.1 Mg C ha(-1) year(-1)) of atmospheric carbon for 1994. Older conifer stands showed narrow margins between uptake of carbon by net photosynthesis and carbon release through respiration. Younger stands were more productive than older stands, primarily because of lower maintenance respiration costs. However, all sites appeared to be less productive than temperate forests. Productivity simulations were strongly linked to stand morphology and site conditions. Old jack pine and aspen stands showed decreased productivity in response to simulated low soil water contents near the end of the 1994 growing season. Compared with the aspen stand, the jack pine stand appeared better adapted to conserve soil water through lower daily evapotranspiration losses but also exhibited a narrower margin between daily net

Influence of pore structure on carbon retention/loss in soil macro-aggregates

Science.gov (United States)

Quigley, Michelle; Kravchenko, Alexandra; Rivers, Mark

2017-04-01

carbon protect were disparate. In intact-structure aggregates, prior to incubation, there was no association between carbon distribution and pores. After incubation, significant correlations (α=0.05) were observed between abundance of 6-40 μm pores and both soil organic carbon (SOC) and δ13C. Sections containing more 6-40 μm pores also had increased amounts of SOC (r2=0.23) with higher presence of C4 carbon (r2=0.27). This indicates preferential preservation of older carbon in the pores of this size range. Prior to incubation, destroyed-structure aggregates had higher amounts of C3 carbon associated with 40-95 μm pores (r2=0.14), pointing to a greater presence of newly added carbon within these pores. However, after incubation there was a significant loss of SOC from these pores (r2=0.22) and, specifically, the loss of C3 carbon (r2=0.16). In the studied soil, pores of 6-40 μm size range appeared to control the preservation of older carbon, while 40-95 μm pores controlled the fate of newly added carbon. Older carbon preservation in 6-40 μm pores was mostly observed in macro-aggregates from the soil with intact structure, while the associations between 40-95 μm pores and gains and losses of newly added carbon were primarily observed in the macro-aggregates that were formed anew in the sieved soil during the plant growing experiment.

Reversal of ocean acidification enhances net coral reef calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

Albright, Rebecca; Caldeira, Lilian; Hosfelt, Jessica; Kwiatkowski, Lester; Maclaren, Jana K; Mason, Benjamin M; Nebuchina, Yana; Ninokawa, Aaron; Pongratz, Julia; Ricke, Katharine L; Rivlin, Tanya; Schneider, Kenneth; Sesboüé, Marine; Shamberger, Kathryn; Silverman, Jacob; Wolfe, Kennedy; Zhu, Kai; Caldeira, Ken

2016-03-17

Approximately one-quarter of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year is absorbed by the global oceans, causing measurable declines in surface ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration ([CO3(2-)]), and saturation state of carbonate minerals (Ω). This process, referred to as ocean acidification, represents a major threat to marine ecosystems, in particular marine calcifiers such as oysters, crabs, and corals. Laboratory and field studies have shown that calcification rates of many organisms decrease with declining pH, [CO3(2-)], and Ω. Coral reefs are widely regarded as one of the most vulnerable marine ecosystems to ocean acidification, in part because the very architecture of the ecosystem is reliant on carbonate-secreting organisms. Acidification-induced reductions in calcification are projected to shift coral reefs from a state of net accretion to one of net dissolution this century. While retrospective studies show large-scale declines in coral, and community, calcification over recent decades, determining the contribution of ocean acidification to these changes is difficult, if not impossible, owing to the confounding effects of other environmental factors such as temperature. Here we quantify the net calcification response of a coral reef flat to alkalinity enrichment, and show that, when ocean chemistry is restored closer to pre-industrial conditions, net community calcification increases. In providing results from the first seawater chemistry manipulation experiment of a natural coral reef community, we provide evidence that net community calcification is depressed compared with values expected for pre-industrial conditions, indicating that ocean acidification may already be impairing coral reef growth.

Hysteretic Behavior of Tubular Steel Braces Having Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement Around End Net Sections

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Cem Haydaroğlu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study presents an experimental investigation into the seismic retrofit of tubular steel braces using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP members. CFRP retrofitting of net sections for compact tubes are proposed for delaying potential local net section failure. A total of almost full-scale three (TB-1, TB-2, and TB-3 compact steel tubular specimens were designed per AISC specifications, constructed, and cyclically tested to fracture. Retrofitted braces, when compared to the reference specimen, developed fuller hysteretic curves. Increase in cumulative hysteretic energy dissipation and the elongation in fracture life in the specimen retrofitted with CFRP plates and CFRP sheet wraps at net sections are observed during testing. This resulted in a maximum of 82.5% more dissipated energy for compact tube specimens. Also, this retrofit provided a longer experimental fracture life (maximum 59% more. Due to fracture initiation during the last cycles, significant reductions in strength and stiffness have been obtained. No significant change (maximum 10% in the brace stiffness was observed, which could be desirable in seismic retrofit applications. Pushover analysis per FEMA 356 for the bare specimen shows that FEMA does not represent actual brace behavior in the compression side although pushover and experimental results are in good agreement in the tension side.

Increasing Carbon Loss from Snow-Scoured Alpine Tundra in the Colorado Rocky Mountains: An Indicator of Climate Change?

Science.gov (United States)

Knowles, J. F.; Blanken, P.; Williams, M. W.; Lawrence, C. R.

2015-12-01

We used the eddy covariance method to continuously measure the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide for seven years from a snow-scoured alpine tundra meadow on Niwot Ridge in Colorado, USA that may be underlain by sporadic permafrost. On average, the alpine tundra was a net annual source of 232 g C m-2 to the atmosphere, and the source strength of this ecosystem increased over the length of the seven year period due to both reduced carbon uptake during the growing season and increased respiration throughout the winter. To constrain the contribution of permafrost degradation to observed carbon emissions, we also measured the radiocarbon content of actively cycling, occluded, and mineral soil carbon pools across a meso-scale soil moisture and (possible) permafrost gradient within this meadow, as well as the seasonal radiocarbon content of soil respiration. These data suggest that wintertime soil respiration is limited to patches of wet meadow tundra that may be associated with permafrost. Furthermore, soil respiration from one of these locations indicates preferential turnover of a relatively slow cycling carbon pool during the winter. Given that summer air temperatures and positive degree days have been increasing on Niwot Ridge since the middle of the 20th century, this research suggests that an alpine tundra permafrost-respiration feedback to climate change, similar to that observed in arctic tundra ecosystems, may be currently underway.

Satellite passive microwaves for monitoring deforestation and drought-induced carbon losses in sub-Saharan Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, M.; Wigneron, J. P.; Chave, J.; Tagesson, T.; Penuelas, J.; Ciais, P.; Rasmussen, K.; Tian, F.; Mbow, C.; Al-Yaari, A.; Rodriguez-Fernandez, N.; Zhang, W.; Kerr, Y. H.; Tucker, C. J.; Mialon, A.; Verger, A.; Fensholt, R.

2017-12-01

The African continent is facing one of the driest periods in the past three decades and continuing deforestation. These disturbances threaten vegetation carbon (C) stocks and highlight the need for an operational tool for monitoring carbon stock dynamics. Knowledge of the amount, distribution, and turnover of carbon in African vegetation is crucial for understanding the effects of human pressure and climate change, but the shortcomings of optical and radar satellite products and the lack of systematic field inventories have led to considerable uncertainty in documenting patterns and dynamics of carbon stocks, in particular for drylands. Static carbon maps have been developed, but the temporal dynamics of carbon stocks cannot be derived from the benchmark maps, impeding timely, repeated, and reliable carbon assessments. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission launched in 2009 was the first passive microwave-based satellite system operating at L-band (1.4 GHz) frequency. The low frequencies allow the satellite to sense deep within the canopy layer with less influence by the green non-woody plant components. The vegetation optical depth (VOD) derived from SMOS, henceforth L-VOD, is thus less sensitive to saturation effects, marking an important step forward in the monitoring of carbon as a natural resource. In this study, we apply for the first time L-VOD to quantify the inter-annual dynamics of aboveground carbon stocks for the period 2010-2016. We use this new technique to document patterns of carbon gains and losses in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus of dryland response to recent dry years. Results show that drylands lost carbon at a rate of -0.06 Pg C y-1 associated with drying trends, while humid areas lost only -0.02 Pg C y-1. These trends reflect a high inter-annual variability with a very wet (2011) and a very dry year (2016) associated with carbon gains and losses respectively. This study demonstrates, first, the operational applicability of L

Long-term Carbon Loss and Recovery Following Selective Logging in Amazon Forests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Maoyi; Asner, Gregory P.

2010-09-30

Amazon deforestation contributes significantly to global carbon (C) emissions. In comparison, the contribution from selective logging to atmospheric CO2 emissions, and its impact on regional C dynamics, is highly uncertain. Using a new geographically-based modeling approach in combination with high resolution remote sensing data from 1999-2002, we estimate that C emissions were 0.04 – 0.05 Pg C yr-1 due to selective logging from a ~2,664,960 km2 region of the Brazilian Amazon. Selective logging was responsible for 15-19% higher carbon emissions than reported from deforestation (clear-cutting) alone. Our simulations indicated that forest carbon lost via selective logging lasts two to three decades following harvest, and that the original live biomass takes up to a century to recover, if the forests are not subsequently cleared. The two- to three-decade loss of carbon results from the biomass damaged by logging activities, including leaves, wood, and roots, estimated to be 89.1 Tg C yr-1 from 1999-2002 over the study region, leaving 70.0 Tg C yr-1 and 7.9 Tg C yr-1 to accumulate as coarse woody debris and soil C, respectively. While avoided deforestation is central to crediting rainforest nations for reduced carbon emissions, the extent and intensity of selective logging are also critical to determining carbon emissions in the context of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). We show that a combination of automated high-resolution satellite monitoring and detailed forest C modeling can yield spatially explicit estimates of harvest related C losses and subsequent recovery in support of REDD and other international carbon market mechanisms.

Estimation of net ecosystem carbon exchange for the conterminous United States by combining MODIS and AmeriFlux data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Jingfeng; Zhuang, Qianlai; Baldocchi, Dennis D.; Bolstad, Paul V.; Burns, Sean P.; Chen, Jiquan; Cook, David R.; Curtis, Peter S.; Drake, Bert G.; Foster, David R.; Gu, Lianhong; Hadley, Julian L.; Hollinger, David Y.; Katul, Gabriel G.; Law, Beverly E.; Litvak, Marcy; Ma, Siyan; Martin, Timothy A.; Matamala, Roser; McNulty, Steve; Meyers, Tilden P.; Monson, Russell K.; Munger, J. William; Noormets, Asko; Oechel, Walter C.; Oren, Ram; Richardson, Andrew D.; Schmid, Hans Peter; Scott, Russell L.; Starr, Gregory; Sun, Ge; Suyker, Andrew E.; Torn, Margaret S.; Paw, Kyaw; Verma, Shashi B.; Wharton, Sonia; Wofsy, Steven C.

2008-10-01

Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) for a wide range of climate and biome types. However, these measurements only represent the carbon fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. To quantify the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere for regions or continents, flux tower measurements need to be extrapolated to these large areas. Here we used remotely sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on board the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Terra satellite to scale up AmeriFlux NEE measurements to the continental scale. We first combined MODIS and AmeriFlux data for representative U.S. ecosystems to develop a predictive NEE model using a modified regression tree approach. The predictive model was trained and validated using eddy flux NEE data over the periods 2000-2004 and 2005-2006, respectively. We found that the model predicted NEE well (r = 0.73, p < 0.001). We then applied the model to the continental scale and estimated NEE for each 1 km x 1 km cell across the conterminous U.S. for each 8-day interval in 2005 using spatially explicit MODIS data. The model generally captured the expected spatial and seasonal patterns of NEE as determined from measurements and the literature. Our study demonstrated that our empirical approach is effective for scaling up eddy flux NEE measurements to the continental scale and producing wall-to-wall NEE estimates across multiple biomes. Our estimates may provide an independent dataset from simulations with biogeochemical models and inverse modeling approaches for examining the spatiotemporal patterns of NEE and constraining terrestrial carbon budgets over large areas.

Fire and Microtopography in Peatlands: Feedbacks and Carbon Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Benscoter, B.; Turetsky, M. R.

2011-12-01

Fire is the dominant natural disturbance in peatland ecosystems. Over the past decade, peat fires have emerged as an important issue for global climate change, human health, and economic loss, largely due to the extreme peat fire events in Indonesia and Russia that severely impacted metropolitan areas and social infrastructure. However, the impact and importance of fire in peatland ecosystems are more far-reaching. Combustion of vegetation and soil organic matter releases an average of 2.2 kg C m-2 to the atmosphere, primarily as CO2, as well as a number of potentially harmful emissions such as fine particulate matter and mercury. Additionally, while peatlands are generally considered to be net sinks of atmospheric carbon, the removal of living vegetation by combustion halts primary production following fire resulting in a net loss of ecosystem carbon to the atmosphere for several years. The recovery of carbon sink function is linked to plant community succession and development, which can vary based on combustion severity and the resulting post-fire microhabitat conditions. Microtopography has a strong influence on fire behavior and combustion severity during peatland wildfires. In boreal continental peatlands, combustion severity is typically greatest in low-lying hollows while raised hummocks are often lightly burned or unburned. The cross-scale influence of microtopography on landscape fire behavior is due to differences in plant community composition between microforms. The physiological and ecohydrological differences among plant communities result in spatial patterns in fuel availability and condition, influencing the spread, severity, and type of combustion over local to landscape scales. In addition to heterogeneous combustion loss of soil carbon, this differential fire behavior creates variability in post-fire microhabitat conditions, resulting in differences in post-fire vegetation succession and carbon exchange trajectories. These immediate and legacy

Lianas reduce carbon accumulation and storage in tropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Heijden, Geertje M F; Powers, Jennifer S; Schnitzer, Stefan A

2015-10-27

Tropical forests store vast quantities of carbon, account for one-third of the carbon fixed by photosynthesis, and are a major sink in the global carbon cycle. Recent evidence suggests that competition between lianas (woody vines) and trees may reduce forest-wide carbon uptake; however, estimates of the impact of lianas on carbon dynamics of tropical forests are crucially lacking. Here we used a large-scale liana removal experiment and found that, at 3 y after liana removal, lianas reduced net above-ground carbon uptake (growth and recruitment minus mortality) by ∼76% per year, mostly by reducing tree growth. The loss of carbon uptake due to liana-induced mortality was four times greater in the control plots in which lianas were present, but high variation among plots prevented a significant difference among the treatments. Lianas altered how aboveground carbon was stored. In forests where lianas were present, the partitioning of forest aboveground net primary production was dominated by leaves (53.2%, compared with 39.2% in liana-free forests) at the expense of woody stems (from 28.9%, compared with 43.9%), resulting in a more rapid return of fixed carbon to the atmosphere. After 3 y of experimental liana removal, our results clearly demonstrate large differences in carbon cycling between forests with and without lianas. Combined with the recently reported increases in liana abundance, these results indicate that lianas are an important and increasing agent of change in the carbon dynamics of tropical forests.

Gross changes in forest area shape the future carbon balance of tropical forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Li

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Bookkeeping models are used to estimate land-use and land-cover change (LULCC carbon fluxes (ELULCC. The uncertainty of bookkeeping models partly arises from data used to define response curves (usually from local data and their representativeness for application to large regions. Here, we compare biomass recovery curves derived from a recent synthesis of secondary forest plots in Latin America by Poorter et al. (2016 with the curves used previously in bookkeeping models from Houghton (1999 and Hansis et al. (2015. We find that the two latter models overestimate the long-term (100 years vegetation carbon density of secondary forest by about 25 %. We also use idealized LULCC scenarios combined with these three different response curves to demonstrate the importance of considering gross forest area changes instead of net forest area changes for estimating regional ELULCC. In the illustrative case of a net gain in forest area composed of a large gross loss and a large gross gain occurring during a single year, the initial gross loss has an important legacy effect on ELULCC so that the system can be a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere long after the initial forest area change. We show the existence of critical values of the ratio of gross area change over net area change (γAnetAgross, above which cumulative ELULCC is a net CO2 source rather than a sink for a given time horizon after the initial perturbation. These theoretical critical ratio values derived from simulations of a bookkeeping model are compared with observations from the 30 m resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper data of gross and net forest area change in the Amazon. This allows us to diagnose areas in which current forest gains with a large land turnover will still result in LULCC carbon emissions in 20, 50 and 100 years.

Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. M. Duarte

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The carbon burial in vegetated sediments, ignored in past assessments of carbon burial in the ocean, was evaluated using a bottom-up approach derived from upscaling a compilation of published individual estimates of carbon burial in vegetated habitats (seagrass meadows, salt marshes and mangrove forests to the global level and a top-down approach derived from considerations of global sediment balance and a compilation of the organic carbon content of vegeatated sediments. Up-scaling of individual burial estimates values yielded a total carbon burial in vegetated habitats of 111 Tmol C y-1. The total burial in unvegetated sediments was estimated to be 126 Tg C y-1, resulting in a bottom-up estimate of total burial in the ocean of about 244 Tg C y-1, two-fold higher than estimates of oceanic carbon burial that presently enter global carbon budgets. The organic carbon concentrations in vegetated marine sediments exceeds by 2 to 10-fold those in shelf/deltaic sediments. Top-down recalculation of ocean sediment budgets to account for these, previously neglected, organic-rich sediments, yields a top-down carbon burial estimate of 216 Tg C y-1, with vegetated coastal habitats contributing about 50%. Even though vegetated carbon burial contributes about half of the total carbon burial in the ocean, burial represents a small fraction of the net production of these ecosystems, estimated at about 3388 Tg C y-1, suggesting that bulk of the benthic net ecosystem production must support excess respiration in other compartments, such as unvegetated sediments and the coastal pelagic compartment. The total excess organic carbon available to be exported to the ocean is estimated at between 1126 to 3534 Tg C y-1, the bulk of which must be respired in the open ocean. Widespread loss of vegetated coastal habitats must have reduced carbon burial in the ocean by about 30 Tg C y-1, identifying the destruction of these ecosystems as an important loss of CO

Energy-loss of He ions in carbon allotropes studied by elastic resonance in backscattering spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tosaki, Mitsuo, E-mail: tosaki.mitsuo.3v@kyoto-u.ac.jp [Radioisotope Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Rauhala, Eero [Department of Physics, University of Helsinki (Finland)

2015-10-01

Backscattering spectra for {sup 4}He ions incident on carbon allotropes have been measured in the energy range from 4.30 to 4.95 MeV in steps of 50–100 keV at scattering angles of 106° and 170°. We used three carbon allotropes: graphite, diamond and amorphous carbon. For all these allotropes, we can observe the sharp ({sup 4}He, {sup 12}C) elastic nuclear resonance at the He ion energy of 4.265 MeV in the backscattering spectra. By varying the incident He energy, we have systematically analyzed the profiles of the resonance peaks to study the energy-loss processes: stopping cross-sections and energy-loss straggling around the interesting region of the stopping maximum at about 500 keV. We focus on the resonance profiles and investigate an allotropic effect concerning the energy-loss. Furthermore, an energy bunching effect on the straggling is presented and the mechanism is discussed.

Palaeodata-informed modelling of large carbon losses from recent burning of boreal forests

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Ryan; Genet, Helene; McGuire, A. David; Hu, Feng Sheng

2016-01-01

Wildfires play a key role in the boreal forest carbon cycle1, 2, and models suggest that accelerated burning will increase boreal C emissions in the coming century3. However, these predictions may be compromised because brief observational records provide limited constraints to model initial conditions4. We confronted this limitation by using palaeoenvironmental data to drive simulations of long-term C dynamics in the Alaskan boreal forest. Results show that fire was the dominant control on C cycling over the past millennium, with changes in fire frequency accounting for 84% of C stock variability. A recent rise in fire frequency inferred from the palaeorecord5 led to simulated C losses of 1.4 kg C m−2 (12% of ecosystem C stocks) from 1950 to 2006. In stark contrast, a small net C sink of 0.3 kg C m−2 occurred if the past fire regime was assumed to be similar to the modern regime, as is common in models of C dynamics. Although boreal fire regimes are heterogeneous, recent trends6 and future projections7 point to increasing fire activity in response to climate warming throughout the biome. Thus, predictions8 that terrestrial C sinks of northern high latitudes will mitigate rising atmospheric CO2 may be over-optimistic.

Deforestation and Carbon Loss in Southwest Amazonia: Impact of Brazil's Revised Forest Code

Science.gov (United States)

Roriz, Pedro Augusto Costa; Yanai, Aurora Miho; Fearnside, Philip Martin

2017-09-01

In 2012 Brazil's National Congress altered the country's Forest Code, decreasing various environmental protections in the set of regulations governing forests. This suggests consequences in increased deforestation and emissions of greenhouse gases and in decreased protection of fragile ecosystems. To ascertain the effects, a simulation was run to the year 2025 for the municipality (county) of Boca do Acre, Amazonas state, Brazil. A baseline scenario considered historical behavior (which did not respect the Forest Code), while two scenarios considered full compliance with the old Forest Code (Law 4771/1965) and the current Code (Law 12,651/2012) regarding the protection of "areas of permanent preservation" (APPs) along the edges of watercourses. The models were parameterized from satellite imagery and simulated using Dinamica-EGO software. Deforestation actors and processes in the municipality were observed in loco in 2012. Carbon emissions and loss of forest by 2025 were computed in the three simulation scenarios. There was a 10% difference in the loss of carbon stock and of forest between the scenarios with the two versions of the Forest Code. The baseline scenario showed the highest loss of carbon stocks and the highest increase in annual emissions. The greatest damage was caused by not protecting wetlands and riparian zones.

Deforestation and Carbon Loss in Southwest Amazonia: Impact of Brazil's Revised Forest Code.

Science.gov (United States)

Roriz, Pedro Augusto Costa; Yanai, Aurora Miho; Fearnside, Philip Martin

2017-09-01

In 2012 Brazil's National Congress altered the country's Forest Code, decreasing various environmental protections in the set of regulations governing forests. This suggests consequences in increased deforestation and emissions of greenhouse gases and in decreased protection of fragile ecosystems. To ascertain the effects, a simulation was run to the year 2025 for the municipality (county) of Boca do Acre, Amazonas state, Brazil. A baseline scenario considered historical behavior (which did not respect the Forest Code), while two scenarios considered full compliance with the old Forest Code (Law 4771/1965) and the current Code (Law 12,651/2012) regarding the protection of "areas of permanent preservation" (APPs) along the edges of watercourses. The models were parameterized from satellite imagery and simulated using Dinamica-EGO software. Deforestation actors and processes in the municipality were observed in loco in 2012. Carbon emissions and loss of forest by 2025 were computed in the three simulation scenarios. There was a 10% difference in the loss of carbon stock and of forest between the scenarios with the two versions of the Forest Code. The baseline scenario showed the highest loss of carbon stocks and the highest increase in annual emissions. The greatest damage was caused by not protecting wetlands and riparian zones.

Atmospheric CO2 Observations Reveal Strong Correlation Between Regional Net Biospheric Carbon Uptake and Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence

Science.gov (United States)

Shiga, Yoichi P.; Tadić, Jovan M.; Qiu, Xuemei; Yadav, Vineet; Andrews, Arlyn E.; Berry, Joseph A.; Michalak, Anna M.

2018-01-01

Recent studies have shown the promise of remotely sensed solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) in informing terrestrial carbon exchange, but analyses have been limited to either plot level ( 1 km2) or hemispheric/global ( 108 km2) scales due to the lack of a direct measure of carbon exchange at intermediate scales. Here we use a network of atmospheric CO2 observations over North America to explore the value of SIF for informing net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at regional scales. We find that SIF explains space-time NEE patterns at regional ( 100 km2) scales better than a variety of other vegetation and climate indicators. We further show that incorporating SIF into an atmospheric inversion leads to a spatial redistribution of NEE estimates over North America, with more uptake attributed to agricultural regions and less to needleleaf forests. Our results highlight the synergy of ground-based and spaceborne carbon cycle observations.

National-scale estimation of gross forest aboveground carbon loss: a case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyukavina, A; Potapov, P V; Turubanova, S A; Hansen, M C; Stehman, S V; Baccini, A; Goetz, S J; Laporte, N T; Houghton, R A

2013-01-01

Recent advances in remote sensing enable the mapping and monitoring of carbon stocks without relying on extensive in situ measurements. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among the countries where national forest inventories (NFI) are either non-existent or out of date. Here we demonstrate a method for estimating national-scale gross forest aboveground carbon (AGC) loss and associated uncertainties using remotely sensed-derived forest cover loss and biomass carbon density data. Lidar data were used as a surrogate for NFI plot measurements to estimate carbon stocks and AGC loss based on forest type and activity data derived using time-series multispectral imagery. Specifically, DRC forest type and loss from the FACET (Forêts d’Afrique Centrale Evaluées par Télédétection) product, created using Landsat data, were related to carbon data derived from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). Validation data for FACET forest area loss were created at a 30-m spatial resolution and compared to the 60-m spatial resolution FACET map. We produced two gross AGC loss estimates for the DRC for the last decade (2000–2010): a map-scale estimate (53.3 ± 9.8 Tg C yr −1 ) accounting for whole-pixel classification errors in the 60-m resolution FACET forest cover change product, and a sub-grid estimate (72.1 ± 12.7 Tg C yr −1 ) that took into account 60-m cells that experienced partial forest loss. Our sub-grid forest cover and AGC loss estimates, which included smaller-scale forest disturbances, exceed published assessments. Results raise the issue of scale in forest cover change mapping and validation, and subsequent impacts on remotely sensed carbon stock change estimation, particularly for smallholder dominated systems such as the DRC. (letter)

Fuel treatment impacts on estimated wildfire carbon loss from forests in Montana, Oregon, California, and Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Scott L.; Boerner, Ralph E.J.; Maghaddas, Jason J.; Maghaddas, Emily E.Y.; Collins, Brandon M.; Dow, Christopher B.; Edminster, Carl; Fiedler, Carl E.; Fry, Danny L.; Hartsough, Bruce R.; Keeley, Jon E.; Knapp, Eric E.; McIver, James D.; Skinner, Carl N.; Youngblood, Andrew P.

2012-01-01

Using forests to sequester carbon in response to anthropogenically induced climate change is being considered across the globe. A recent U.S. executive order mandated that all federal agencies account for sequestration and emissions of greenhouse gases, highlighting the importance of understanding how forest carbon stocks are influenced by wildfire. This paper reports the effects of the most common forest fuel reduction treatments on carbon pools composed of live and dead biomass as well as potential wildfire emissions from six different sites in four western U.S. states. Additionally, we predict the median forest product life spans and uses of materials removed during mechanical treatments. Carbon loss from modeled wildfire-induced tree mortality was lowest in the mechanical plus prescribed fire treatments, followed by the prescribed fire-only treatments. Wildfire emissions varied from 10–80 Mg/ha and were lowest in the prescribed fire and mechanical followed by prescribed fire treatments at most sites. Mean biomass removals per site ranged from approximately 30–60 dry Mg/ha; the median lives of products in first use varied considerably (from 50 years). Our research suggests most of the benefits of increased fire resistance can be achieved with relatively small reductions in current carbon stocks. Retaining or growing larger trees also reduced the vulnerability of carbon loss from wildfire. In addition, modeled vulnerabilities to carbon losses and median forest product life spans varied considerably across our study sites, which could be used to help prioritize treatment implementation.

Assessing net ecosystem carbon exchange of U S terrestrial ecosystems by integrating eddy covariance flux measurements and satellite observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhuang, Qianlai [Purdue University; Law, Beverly E. [Oregon State University; Baldocchi, Dennis [University of California, Berkeley; Ma, Siyan [University of California, Berkeley; Chen, Jiquan [University of Toledo, Toledo, OH; Richardson, Andrew [Harvard University; Melillo, Jerry [Marine Biological Laboratory; Davis, Ken J. [Pennsylvania State University; Hollinger, D. [USDA Forest Service; Wharton, Sonia [University of California, Davis; Falk, Matthias [University of California, Davis; Paw, U. Kyaw Tha [University of California, Davis; Oren, Ram [Duke University; Katulk, Gabriel G. [Duke University; Noormets, Asko [North Carolina State University; Fischer, Marc [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Verma, Shashi [University of Nebraska; Suyker, A. E. [University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Cook, David R. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Sun, G. [USDA Forest Service; McNulty, Steven G. [USDA Forest Service; Wofsy, Steve [Harvard University; Bolstad, Paul V [University of Minnesota; Burns, Sean [University of Colorado, Boulder; Monson, Russell K. [University of Colorado, Boulder; Curtis, Peter [Ohio State University, The, Columbus; Drake, Bert G. [Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD; Foster, David R. [Harvard University; Gu, Lianhong [ORNL; Hadley, Julian L. [Harvard University; Litvak, Marcy [University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Martin, Timothy A. [University of Florida, Gainesville; Matamala, Roser [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Meyers, Tilden [NOAA, Oak Ridge, TN; Oechel, Walter C. [San Diego State University; Schmid, H. P. [Indiana University; Scott, Russell L. [USDA ARS; Torn, Margaret S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)

2011-01-01

More accurate projections of future carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and associated climate change depend on improved scientific understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Despite the consensus that U.S. terrestrial ecosystems provide a carbon sink, the size, distribution, and interannual variability of this sink remain uncertain. Here we report a terrestrial carbon sink in the conterminous U.S. at 0.63 pg C yr 1 with the majority of the sink in regions dominated by evergreen and deciduous forests and savannas. This estimate is based on our continuous estimates of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) with high spatial (1 km) and temporal (8-day) resolutions derived from NEE measurements from eddy covariance flux towers and wall-to-wall satellite observations from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We find that the U.S. terrestrial ecosystems could offset a maximum of 40% of the fossil-fuel carbon emissions. Our results show that the U.S. terrestrial carbon sink varied between 0.51 and 0.70 pg C yr 1 over the period 2001 2006. The dominant sources of interannual variation of the carbon sink included extreme climate events and disturbances. Droughts in 2002 and 2006 reduced the U.S. carbon sink by 20% relative to a normal year. Disturbances including wildfires and hurricanes reduced carbon uptake or resulted in carbon release at regional scales. Our results provide an alternative, independent, and novel constraint to the U.S. terrestrial carbon sink.

Top-down constraints on disturbance dynamics in the terrestrial carbon cycle: effects at global and regional scales

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bloom, A. A.; Exbrayat, J. F.; van der Velde, I.; Peters, W.; Williams, M.

2014-01-01

Large uncertainties preside over terrestrial carbon flux estimates on a global scale. In particular, the strongly coupled dynamics between net ecosystem productivity and disturbance C losses are poorly constrained. To gain an improved understanding of ecosystem C dynamics from regional to global

Influence of net ecosystem metabolism in transferring riverine organic carbon to atmospheric CO2 in a tropical coastal lagoon (Chilka Lake, India)

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gupta, G.V.M.; Sarma, V.V.S.S.; Robin, R.S.; Raman, A.V.; JaiKumar, M.; Rakesh, M.; Subramanian, B.R.

in monsoon was contributed by its supply from rivers and the rest was contributed by in situ heterotrophic activity. Based on oxygen and total carbon mass balance, net ecosystem production (NEP) of lake (- 308 mmolC m sup(-2) d sup(-1) approx. equal to - 3...

What Have We Learned About Arctic Carbon Since The First State of the Carbon Cycle Report?

Science.gov (United States)

Schuur, E.

2015-12-01

differ in the extent that they project that soil carbon loss will be compensated by new plant growth and carbon input to the surface soil. Together, the loss of carbon from thawing permafrost soils and disturbance by fire in combination with offsetting plant uptake response determines the net effect of high latitudes on the carbon cycle of both North America and the globe.

Photochemically induced carbon dioxide production as a mechanism for carbon loss from plant litter in arid ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, L. A.; Bohnet, C.; King, J. Y.

2009-06-01

We investigated the potential for abiotic mineralization to carbon dioxide (CO2) via photodegradation to account for carbon (C) loss from plant litter under conditions typical of arid ecosystems. We exposed five species of grass and oak litter collected from arid and mesic sites to a factorial design of ultraviolet (UV) radiation (UV pass, UV block), and sterilization under dry conditions in the laboratory. UV pass treatments produced 10 times the amount of CO2 produced in UV block treatments. CO2 production rates were unaffected by litter chemistry or sterilization. We also exposed litter to natural solar radiation outdoors on clear, sunny days close to the summer solstice at midlatitudes and found that UV radiation (280-400 nm) accounted for 55% of photochemically induced CO2 production, while shortwave visible radiation (400-500 nm) accounted for 45% of CO2 production. Rates of photochemically induced CO2 production on a per-unit-mass basis decreased with litter density, indicating that rates depend on litter surface area. We found no evidence for leaching, methane production, or facilitation of microbial decomposition as alternative mechanisms for significant photochemically induced C loss from litter. We conclude that abiotic mineralization to CO2 is the primary mechanism by which C is lost from litter during photodegradation. We estimate that CO2 production via photodegradation could be between 1 and 4 g C m-2 a-1 in arid ecosystems in the southwestern United States. Taken together with low levels of litter production in arid systems, photochemical mineralization to CO2 could account for a significant proportion of annual carbon loss from litter in arid ecosystems.

Impact of the 2015 El Niño on the Indonesian carbon balance: implications for carbon mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, K. W.; Liu, J.; Bloom, A. A.; Parazoo, N.; Lee, M.; Walker, T. W.; Menemenlis, D.; Jiang, Z.; Gierach, M.; Gurney, K. R.

2016-12-01

The COP21 or Paris Agreement in Dec. 2015 was a landmark step in a cooperative approach to reduce anthropogenic emissions from both fossil fuel and deforestation. During that same period, one of the strongest El Niños on record led to devastating droughts, fires, and air pollution in Indonesia. We assess the impact of this El Niño on the Indonesia carbon balance using the NASA Carbon Monitoring System Flux (CMS-Flux) pilot project, which assimilates satellite observations across the entire carbon cycle to attribute the CO2 growth rate to spatially resolved surface fluxes. We assimilate new xCO2 observations from the Orbital Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) to quantify net carbon fluxes and validate those fluxes against independent in-situ atmospheric data. The contribution of biomass burning to the carbon balance is independently determined from the assimilation of Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT). The impact of the concomitant drought on productively is assessed from the assimilation of new solar induced fluorescence (SIF) measurements. Using these multiple lines of evidence, we investigate the relative role of biomass burning and productivity in the contribution of Indonesia to the global atmospheric growth rate. The exceptionally long turnover rates of peat carbon pools lead to effectively irreversible carbon loss to the atmosphere. The implications of these losses to Indonesian Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) as part of the Paris agreement will be explored.

Payback time for soil carbon and sugar-cane ethanol

Science.gov (United States)

Mello, Francisco F. C.; Cerri, Carlos E. P.; Davies, Christian A.; Holbrook, N. Michele; Paustian, Keith; Maia, Stoécio M. F.; Galdos, Marcelo V.; Bernoux, Martial; Cerri, Carlos C.

2014-07-01

The effects of land-use change (LUC) on soil carbon (C) balance has to be taken into account in calculating the CO2 savings attributed to bioenergy crops. There have been few direct field measurements that quantify the effects of LUC on soil C for the most common land-use transitions into sugar cane in Brazil, the world's largest producer . We quantified the C balance for LUC as a net loss (carbon debt) or net gain (carbon credit) in soil C for sugar-cane expansion in Brazil. We sampled 135 field sites to 1 m depth, representing three major LUC scenarios. Our results demonstrate that soil C stocks decrease following LUC from native vegetation and pastures, and increase where cropland is converted to sugar cane. The payback time for the soil C debt was eight years for native vegetation and two to three years for pastures. With an increasing need for biofuels and the potential for Brazil to help meet global demand, our results will be invaluable for guiding expansion policies of sugar-cane production towards greater sustainability.

Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and carbon balance for eight temperate organic soils under agricultural management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elsgaard, Lars; Görres, C.-M.; Hoffmann, Carl Christian

2012-01-01

This study presents the first annual estimates of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 and net ecosystem carbon balances (NECB) of contrasting Danish agricultural peatlands. Studies were done at eight sites representing permanent grasslands (PG) and rotational (RT) arable soils cropped to barley......, potato or forage grasses in three geo-regional settings. Using an advanced flux-chamber technique, NEE was derived from modelling of ecosystem respiration (ER) and gross primary production (GPP) with temperature and photosynthetically active radiation as driving variables. At PG (n = 3) and RT (n = 5......) sites, NEE (mean ± standard error, SE) was 5.1 ± 0.9 and 8.6 ± 2.0 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, respectively, but with the overall lowest value observed for potato cropping (3.5 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). This was partly attributed to a short-duration vegetation period and drying of the soil especially in potato ridges. NECB...

Can Switching from Coal to Shale Gas Bring Net Carbon Reductions to China?

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Yue; Edwards, Ryan; Tong, Fan; Mauzerall, Denise L

2017-03-07

To increase energy security and reduce emissions of air pollutants and CO 2 from coal use, China is attempting to duplicate the rapid development of shale gas that has taken place in the United States. This work builds a framework to estimate the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from China's shale gas system and compares them with GHG emissions from coal used in the power, residential, and industrial sectors. We find the mean lifecycle carbon footprint of shale gas is about 30-50% lower than that of coal in all sectors under both 20 year and 100 year global warming potentials (GWP 20 and GWP 100 ). However, primarily due to large uncertainties in methane leakage, the upper bound estimate of the lifecycle carbon footprint of shale gas in China could be approximately 15-60% higher than that of coal across sectors under GWP 20 . To ensure net GHG emission reductions when switching from coal to shale gas, we estimate the breakeven methane leakage rates to be approximately 6.0%, 7.7%, and 4.2% in the power, residential, and industrial sectors, respectively, under GWP 20 . We find shale gas in China has a good chance of delivering air quality and climate cobenefits, particularly when used in the residential sector, with proper methane leakage control.

Partitioning Carbon Dioxide Emission and Assessing Dissolved Organic Carbon Leaching of a Drained Peatland Cultivated with Pineapple at Saratok, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liza Nuriati Lim Kim Choo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Pineapples (Ananas comosus (L. Merr. cultivation on drained peats could affect the release of carbon dioxide (CO2 into the atmosphere and also the leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC. Carbon dioxide emission needs to be partitioned before deciding on whether cultivated peat is net sink or net source of carbon. Partitioning of CO2 emission into root respiration, microbial respiration, and oxidative peat decomposition was achieved using a lysimeter experiment with three treatments: peat soil cultivated with pineapple, bare peat soil, and bare peat soil fumigated with chloroform. Drainage water leached from cultivated peat and bare peat soil was also analyzed for DOC. On a yearly basis, CO2 emissions were higher under bare peat (218.8 t CO2 ha/yr than under bare peat treated with chloroform (205 t CO2 ha/yr, and they were the lowest (179.6 t CO2 ha/yr under cultivated peat. Decreasing CO2 emissions under pineapple were attributed to the positive effects of photosynthesis and soil autotrophic activities. An average 235.7 mg/L loss of DOC under bare peat suggests rapid decline of peat organic carbon through heterotrophic respiration and peat decomposition. Soil CO2 emission depended on moderate temperature fluctuations, but it was not affected by soil moisture.

Carbon Stable Isotope Values in Plankton and Mussels Reflect Changes in Carbonate Chemistry Associated with Nutrient Enhanced Net Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Autumn Oczkowski

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Coastal ecosystems are inherently complex and potentially adaptive as they respond to changes in nutrient loads and climate. We documented the role that carbon stable isotope (δ13C measurements could play in understanding that adaptation with a series of three Ecostat (i.e., continuous culture experiments. We quantified linkages among δ13C, nutrients, carbonate chemistry, primary, and secondary production in temperate estuarine waters. Experimental culture vessels (9.1 L containing 33% whole and 67% filtered (0.2 μm seawater were amended with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N and phosphorous (P in low (3 vessels; 5 μM N, 0.3 μM P, moderate (3 vessels; 25 μM N, 1.6 μM P, and high amounts (3 vessels; 50 μM N, 3.1 μM P. The parameters necessary to calculate carbonate chemistry, chlorophyll-a concentrations, and particulate δ13C values were measured throughout the 14 day experiments. Outflow lines from the experimental vessels fed 250 ml containers seeded with juvenile blue mussels (Mytilus edulis. Mussel subsamples were harvested on days 0, 7, and 14 and their tissues were analyzed for δ13C values. We consistently observed that particulate δ13C values were positively correlated with chlorophyll-a, carbonate chemistry, and to changes in the ratio of bicarbonate to dissolved carbon dioxide (HCO3-:CO2. While the relative proportion of HCO3- to CO2 increased over the 14 days, concentrations of each declined, reflecting the drawdown of carbon associated with enhanced production. Plankton δ13C values, like chlorophyll-a concentrations, increased over the course of each experiment, with the greatest increases in the moderate and high treatments. Trends in δ13C over time were also observed in the mussel tissues. Despite ecological variability and different plankton abundances the experiments consistently demonstrated how δ13C values in primary producers and consumers reflected nutrient availability, via its impact on carbonate chemistry. We

Managing for No Net Loss of Ecological Services: An Approach for Quantifying Loss of Coastal Wetlands due to Sea Level Rise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassakian, Jennifer; Jones, Ann; Martinich, Jeremy; Hudgens, Daniel

2017-05-01

Sea level rise has the potential to substantially alter the extent and nature of coastal wetlands and the critical ecological services they provide. In making choices about how to respond to rising sea level, planners are challenged with weighing easily quantified risks (e.g., loss of property value due to inundation) against those that are more difficult to quantify (e.g., loss of primary production or carbon sequestration services provided by wetlands due to inundation). Our goal was to develop a cost-effective, appropriately-scaled, model-based approach that allows planners to predict, under various sea level rise and response scenarios, the economic cost of wetland loss-with the estimates proxied by the costs of future restoration required to maintain the existing level of wetland habitat services. Our approach applies the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model to predict changes in wetland habitats over the next century, and then applies Habitat Equivalency Analysis to predict the cost of restoration projects required to maintain ecological services at their present, pre-sea level rise level. We demonstrate the application of this approach in the Delaware Bay estuary and in the Indian River Lagoon (Florida), and discuss how this approach can support future coastal decision-making.

Diurnal variation in rates of calcification and carbonate sediment dissolution in Florida Bay

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Yates, K.K.; Halley, R.B.

2006-01-01

Water quality and circulation in Florida Bay (a shallow, subtropical estuary in south Florida) are highly dependent upon the development and evolution of carbonate mud banks distributed throughout the Bay. Predicting the effect of natural and anthropogenic perturbations on carbonate sedimentation requires an understanding of annual, seasonal, and daily variations in the biogenic and inorganic processes affecting carbonate sediment precipitation and dissolution. In this study, net calcification rates were measured over diurnal cycles on 27 d during summer and winter from 1999 to 2003 on mud banks and four representative substrate types located within basins between mud banks. Substrate types that were measured in basins include seagrass beds of sparse and intermediate density Thalassia sp., mud bottom, and hard bottom communities. Changes in total alkalinity were used as a proxy for calcification and dissolution. On 22 d (81%), diurnal variation in rates of net calcification was observed. The highest rates of net carbonate sediment production (or lowest rates of net dissolution) generally occurred during daylight hours and ranged from 2.900 to -0.410 g CaCO3 m-2 d-1. The lowest rates of carbonate sediment production (or net sediment dissolution) occurred at night and ranged from 0.210 to -1.900 g CaCO3 m -2 night-1. During typical diurnal cycles, dissolution during the night consumed an average of 29% of sediment produced during the day on banks and 68% of sediment produced during the day in basins. Net sediment dissolution also occurred during daylight, but only when there was total cloud cover, high turbidity, or hypersalinity. Diurnal variation in calcification and dissolution in surface waters and surface sediments of Florida Bay is linked to cycling of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and respiration. Estimation of long-term sediment accumulation rates from diurnal rates of carbonate sediment production measured in this study indicates an overall average

The biodiversity cost of carbon sequestration in tropical savanna.

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Abreu, Rodolfo C R; Hoffmann, William A; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L; Pilon, Natashi A; Rossatto, Davi R; Durigan, Giselda

2017-08-01

Tropical savannas have been increasingly viewed as an opportunity for carbon sequestration through fire suppression and afforestation, but insufficient attention has been given to the consequences for biodiversity. To evaluate the biodiversity costs of increasing carbon sequestration, we quantified changes in ecosystem carbon stocks and the associated changes in communities of plants and ants resulting from fire suppression in savannas of the Brazilian Cerrado, a global biodiversity hotspot. Fire suppression resulted in increased carbon stocks of 1.2 Mg ha -1 year -1 since 1986 but was associated with acute species loss. In sites fully encroached by forest, plant species richness declined by 27%, and ant richness declined by 35%. Richness of savanna specialists, the species most at risk of local extinction due to forest encroachment, declined by 67% for plants and 86% for ants. This loss highlights the important role of fire in maintaining biodiversity in tropical savannas, a role that is not reflected in current policies of fire suppression throughout the Brazilian Cerrado. In tropical grasslands and savannas throughout the tropics, carbon mitigation programs that promote forest cover cannot be assumed to provide net benefits for conservation.

Accelerating Net Terrestrial Carbon Uptake During the Warming Hiatus Due to Reduced Respiration

Science.gov (United States)

Ballantyne, Ashley; Smith, William; Anderegg, William; Kauppi, Pekka; Sarmiento, Jorge; Tans, Pieter; Shevliakova, Elena; Pan, Yude; Poulter, Benjamin; Anav, Alessandro;

Zeolite Combined with Alum and Polyaluminum Chloride Mixed with Agricultural Slurries Reduces Carbon Losses in Runoff from Grassed Soil Boxes.

Science.gov (United States)

Murnane, J G; Brennan, R B; Fenton, O; Healy, M G

2016-11-01

Carbon (C) losses from agricultural soils to surface waters can migrate through water treatment plants and result in the formation of disinfection by-products, which are potentially harmful to human health. This study aimed to quantify total organic carbon (TOC) and total inorganic C losses in runoff after application of dairy slurry, pig slurry, or milk house wash water (MWW) to land and to mitigate these losses through coamendment of the slurries with zeolite (2.36-3.35 mm clinoptilolite) and liquid polyaluminum chloride (PAC) (10% AlO) for dairy and pig slurries or liquid aluminum sulfate (alum) (8% AlO) for MWW. Four treatments under repeated 30-min simulated rainfall events (9.6 mm h) were examined in a laboratory study using grassed soil runoff boxes (0.225 m wide, 1 m long; 10% slope): control soil, unamended slurries, PAC-amended dairy and pig slurries (13.3 and 11.7 kg t, respectively), alum-amended MWW (3.2 kg t), combined zeolite and PAC-amended dairy (160 and 13.3 kg t zeolite and PAC, respectively) and pig slurries (158 and 11.7 kg t zeolite and PAC, respectively), and combined zeolite and alum-amended MWW (72 and 3.2 kg t zeolite and alum, respectively). The unamended and amended slurries were applied at net rates of 31, 34, and 50 t ha for pig and dairy slurries and MWW, respectively. Significant reductions of TOC in runoff compared with unamended slurries were measured for PAC-amended dairy and pig slurries (52 and 56%, respectively) but not for alum-amended MWW. Dual zeolite and alum-amended MWW significantly reduced TOC in runoff compared with alum amendment only. We conclude that use of PAC-amended dairy and pig slurries and dual zeolite and alum-amended MWW, although effective, may not be economically viable to reduce TOC losses from organic slurries given the relatively low amounts of TOC measured in runoff from unamended slurries compared with the amounts applied. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of

Reviews and syntheses: Hidden forests, the role of vegetated coastal habitats in the ocean carbon budget

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Duarte, Carlos M.

2017-01-01

Vegetated coastal habitats, including seagrass and macroalgal beds, mangrove forests and salt marshes, form highly productive ecosystems, but their contribution to the global carbon budget remains overlooked, and these forests remain hidden in representations of the global carbon budget. Despite being confined to a narrow belt around the shoreline of the world's oceans, where they cover less than 7 million km2, vegetated coastal habitats support about 1 to 10 % of the global marine net primary production and generate a large organic carbon surplus of about 40 % of their net primary production (NPP), which is either buried in sediments within these habitats or exported away. Large, 10-fold uncertainties in the area covered by vegetated coastal habitats, along with variability about carbon flux estimates, result in a 10-fold bracket around the estimates of their contribution to organic carbon sequestration in sediments and the deep sea from 73 to 866 Tg C yr-1, representing between 3 % and 1/3 of oceanic CO2 uptake. Up to 1/2 of this carbon sequestration occurs in sink reservoirs (sediments or the deep sea) beyond these habitats. The organic carbon exported that does not reach depositional sites subsidizes the metabolism of heterotrophic organisms. In addition to a significant contribution to organic carbon production and sequestration, vegetated coastal habitats contribute as much to carbonate accumulation as coral reefs do. While globally relevant, the magnitude of global carbon fluxes supported by salt-marsh, mangrove, seagrass and macroalgal habitats is declining due to rapid habitat loss, contributing to loss of CO2 sequestration, storage capacity and carbon subsidies. Incorporating the carbon fluxes' vegetated coastal habitats' support into depictions of the carbon budget of the global ocean and its perturbations will improve current representations of the carbon budget of the global ocean.

Estimating Trends and Variation of Net Biome Productivity in India for 1980-2012 Using a Land Surface Model

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Gahlot, Shilpa; Shu, Shijie; Jain, Atul K.; Baidya Roy, Somnath

2017-11-01

In this paper we explore the trend in net biome productivity (NBP) over India for the period 1980-2012 and quantify the impact of different environmental factors, including atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]), land use and land cover change, climate, and nitrogen deposition on carbon fluxes using a land surface model, Integrated Science Assessment Model. Results show that terrestrial ecosystems of India have been a carbon sink for this period. Driven by a strong CO2 fertilization effect, magnitude of NBP increased from 27.17 TgC/yr in the 1980s to 34.39 TgC/yr in the 1990s but decreased to 23.70 TgC/yr in the 2000s due to change in climate. Adoption of forest conservation, management, and reforestation policies in the past decade has promoted carbon sequestration in the ecosystems, but this effect has been offset by loss of carbon from ecosystems due to rising temperatures and decrease in precipitation.

URCA neutrino-loss rates under conditions found in the carbon-oxygen cores of intermediate-mass stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iben, I. Jr.

1978-01-01

In the hope of uncovering additional Urca-active nuclei that might appear during carbon burning in the electron-degenerate carbon-oxygen core of an asymptotic-branch star and avert a thermonuclear runaway, a nuclear-reaction matrix connecting 244 nuclear species has been constructed. Analytic expressions for rates of all relevant β-transitions are also presented and used. It is shown that in matter which is composed initially of elements in a solar-system distribution and which has undergone first complete hydrogen burning and then complete helium burning, neutrino-loss rates due to 11 Urca pairs either rival or exceed neutrino losses predicted by the charge- and neutral-current theories of weak interactions. Most remarkably, no new Urca pairs of any consequence appear as a result of several thousand reactions that are allowed to occur during carbon burning. The dominant Urca-loss rates are still due to the pairs 21 F- 21 Ne, 23 Ne- 23 Na, 25 Na- 25 Mg, and 25 Ne- 25 Na, as in matter containing a solar-system distribution of elements that has undergone prior processing during hydrogen- and helium-burning phases. The abundances of these Urca-active pairs are enhanced by one to three orders of magnitude as a consequence of carbon-burning reactions

Mutations in Cancer Cause Gain of Cysteine, Histidine, and Tryptophan at the Expense of a Net Loss of Arginine on the Proteome Level

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Viktoriia Tsuber

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Accumulation of somatic mutations is critical for the transition of a normal cell to become cancerous. Mutations cause amino acid substitutions that change properties of proteins. However, it has not been studied as to what extent the composition and accordingly chemical properties of the cell proteome is altered as a result of the increased mutation load in cancer. Here, we analyzed data on amino acid substitutions caused by mutations in about 2000 protein coding genes from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia that contains information on nucleotide and amino acid alterations in 782 cancer cell lines, and validated the analysis with information on amino acid substitutions for the same set of proteins in the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC; v78 in circa 18,000 tumor samples. We found that nonsynonymous single nucleotide substitutions in the analyzed proteome subset ultimately result in a net gain of cysteine, histidine, and tryptophan at the expense of a net loss of arginine. The extraordinary loss of arginine may be attributed to some extent to composition of its codons as well as to the importance of arginine in the functioning of prominent tumor suppressor proteins like p53.

Management effects on net ecosystem carbon and GHG budgets at European crop sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ceschia, Eric; Bêziat, P; Dejoux, J.F.

2010-01-01

The greenhouse gas budgets of 15 European crop sites covering a large climatic gradient and corresponding to 41 site-years were estimated. The sites included a wide range of management practices (organic and/or mineral fertilisation, tillage or ploughing, with or without straw removal....... The variability of the different terms and their relative contributions to the net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) were analysed for all site-years, and the effect of management on NECB was assessed. To account for greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes that were not directly measured on site, we estimated the emissions...... caused by field operations (EFO) for each site using emission factors from the literature. The EFO were added to the NECB to calculate the total GHG budget (GHGB) for a range of cropping systems and management regimes. N2O emissions were calculated following the IPCC (2007) guidelines, and CH4 emissions...

Carbon Balance in an Irrigated Corn Field after Inorganic Fertilizer or Manure Application

Science.gov (United States)

Lentz, R. D.; Lehrsch, G. A.

2014-12-01

Little is known about inorganic fertilizer or manure effects on organic carbon (OC) and inorganic C (IC) losses from a furrow irrigated field, particularly in the context of other system C gains or losses. In 2003 and 2004, we measured dissolved organic and inorganic C (DOC, DIC), particulate OC and IC (POC, PIC) concentrations in irrigation inflow, runoff, and percolation waters (6-7 irrigations/y); C inputs from soil amendments and crop biomass; harvested C; and gaseous C emissions from field plots cropped to silage corn (Zea mays L.) in southern Idaho. Annual treatments included: (M) 13 (y 1) and 34 Mg/ha (y 2) stockpiled dairy manure; (F) 78 (yr 1) and 195 kg N/ha (y 2) inorganic N fertilizer; or (NA) no amendment--control. The mean annual total C input into M plots averaged 16.1 Mg/ha, 1.4-times greater than that for NA (11.5 Mg/ha) or F (11.1 Mg/ha), while total C outputs for the three treatments were similar, averaging 11.8 Mg/ha. Thus, the manure plots ended each growing season with an average net gain of 3.8 Mg C/ha (a positive net C flux), while the control (-0.5 Mg C/ha) and fertilizer (-0.4 Mg C/ha) treatments finished the season with a net C loss. Atmospheric CO2 incorporated into the crop biomass contributed 96% of the mean annual C input to NA and F plots but only 68% to M plots. We conclude that nutrient amendments substantially influence the short-term carbon balance of our furrow-irrigated system. Amendments had both direct and indirect influences on individual C components, such as the losses of DIC and POC in runoff and DOC in percolation water, producing temporally complex outcomes which may depend on environmental conditions external to the field.

Fluvial organic carbon losses from oil palm plantations on tropical peat, Sarawak, Southeast Asia

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Cook, Sarah; Page, Susan; Evans, Chris; Whelan, Mick; Gauci, Vincent; Lip Khoon, Kho

2017-04-01

Tropical peatlands are valuable stores of carbon. However, tropical peat swamp forests (TPSFs) in Southeast Asia have increasingly been converted to other land-uses. For example, more than 25% of TPSFs are now under oil palm plantations. This conversion - requiring felling and burning of trees and drainage of the peat - can enhance carbon mineralization, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) losses and can contribute significantly to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, changing these natural carbon sinks into carbon sources. At present, relatively few scientifically sound studies provide dependable estimates of gaseous and fluvial carbon losses from oil palm plantations or from drained tropical peat in general. Here we present an annual (54 week) estimate of the export of dissolved and particulate organic carbon in water draining two oil palm estates and nearby stands of TPSF in Sarawak, Malaysia, subjected to varying degrees of past anthropogenic disturbance. Spectrophotometric techniques including SUVA254 (Specific Ultra-Violet Absorption) were used to gain insight into the aromaticity and subsequent bioavailability of the exported DOC. Water draining plantation and deforested land had a higher proportion of labile carbon compared to water draining forested areas. Preliminary data suggest a total fluvial DOC flux from plantations of ca. 190 g C m-2 year-1; nearly three times estimates from intact TPSFs (63 g C m-2 year-1). DOC accounted for between 86 % - 94 % of the total organic carbon lost (most of which was bioavailable). Wit et al. (2015) estimates that an average of 53 % of peat-derived DOC is decomposed and emitted as CO2, on a monthly basis. Based on these estimates our data suggests an additional 101 g CO2 m-2 may be emitted indirectly from fluvial organic carbon in degraded TPSFs per year. Overall, these findings emphasize the importance of including fluvial organic carbon fluxes when quantifying the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on the

A Decade of Carbon Flux Measurements with Annual and Perennial Crop Rotations on the Canadian Prairies

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Amiro, B. D.; Tenuta, M.; Gao, X.; Gervais, M.

2016-12-01

The Fluxnet database has over 100 cropland sites, some of which have long-term (over a decade) measurements. Carbon neutrality is one goal of sustainable agriculture, although measurements over many annual cropping systems have indicated that soil carbon is often lost. Croplands are complex systems because the CO2 exchange depends on the type of crop, soil, weather, and management decisions such as planting date, nutrient fertilization and pest management strategy. Crop rotations are often used to decrease pest pressure, and can range from a simple 2-crop system, to have 4 or more crops in series. Carbon dioxide exchange has been measured using the flux-gradient technique since 2006 in agricultural systems in Manitoba, Canada. Two cropping systems are being followed: one that is a rotation of annual crops (corn, faba bean, spring wheat, rapeseed, barley, spring wheat, corn, soybean, spring wheat, soybean); and the other with a perennial phase of alfalfa/grass in years 3 to 6. Net ecosystem production ranged from a gain of 330 g C m-2 y-1 in corn to a loss of 75 g C m-2 y-1 in a poor spring-wheat crop. Over a decade, net ecosystem production for the annual cropping system was not significantly different from zero (carbon neutral), but the addition of the perennial phase increased the sink to 130 g C m-2 y-1. Once harvest removals were included, there was a net loss of carbon ranging from 77 g C m-2 y-1 in the annual system to 52 g C m-2 y-1 in the annual-perennial system; but neither of these were significantly different from zero. Termination of the perennial phase of the rotation only caused short-term increases in respiration. We conclude that both these systems were close to carbon-neutral over a decade even though they were tilled with a short growing season (90 to 130 days). We discuss the need for more datasets on agricultural systems to inform management options to increase the soil carbon sink.

Carbon emission reductions by substitution of improved cookstoves and cattle mosquito nets in a forest-dependent community

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Somanta Chan

2015-07-01

Substitution of conventional cookstoves with improved cookstoves and the use of mosquito nets instead of fuelwood burning could result in using less fuelwood for the same amount of energy needed and thereby result in reduction of carbon emissions and deforestation. To realize this substitution, approximately US$ 15–25 MgCO2−1 is needed depending on discount rates and amounts of emission reduction. Substitution of cookstoves will have direct impacts on the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities and on forest protection. Financial incentives under voluntary and mandatory schemes are needed to materialize this substitution.

Optimization Forest Thinning Measures for Carbon Budget in a Mixed Pine-Oak Stand of the Qingling Mountains, China: A Case Study

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Lin Hou

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Forest thinning is a silviculture treatment for sustainable forest management. It may promote growth of the remaining individuals by decreasing stand density, reducing competition, and increasing light and nutrient availability to increase carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem. However, the action also increases carbon loss simultaneously by reducing carbon and other nutrient inputs as well as exacerbating soil CO2 efflux. To achieve a maximum forest carbon budget, the central composite design with two independent variables (thinning intensity and thinning residual removal rate was explored in a natural pine-oak mixed stand in the Qinling Mountains, China. The net primary productivity of living trees was estimated and soil CO2 efflux was stimulated by the Yasso07 model. Based on two years observation, the preliminary results indicated the following. Evidently chemical compounds of the litter of the tree species affected soil CO2 efflux stimulation. The thinning residual removal rate had a larger effect than thinning intensity on the net ecosystem productivity. When the selective thinning intensity and residual removal rate was 12.59% and 66.62% concurrently, the net ecosystem productivity reached its maximum 53.93 t·ha−1·year−1. The lower thinning intensity and higher thinning residual removal rated benefited the net ecosystem productivity.

Fire intensity impacts on post-fire temperate coniferous forest net primary productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, Aaron M.; Kolden, Crystal A.; Smith, Alistair M. S.; Boschetti, Luigi; Johnson, Daniel M.; Cochrane, Mark A.

2018-02-01

Fire is a dynamic ecological process in forests and impacts the carbon (C) cycle through direct combustion emissions, tree mortality, and by impairing the ability of surviving trees to sequester carbon. While studies on young trees have demonstrated that fire intensity is a determinant of post-fire net primary productivity, wildland fires on landscape to regional scales have largely been assumed to either cause tree mortality, or conversely, cause no physiological impact, ignoring the impacted but surviving trees. Our objective was to understand how fire intensity affects post-fire net primary productivity in conifer-dominated forested ecosystems on the spatial scale of large wildland fires. We examined the relationships between fire radiative power (FRP), its temporal integral (fire radiative energy - FRE), and net primary productivity (NPP) using 16 years of data from the MOderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) for 15 large fires in western United States coniferous forests. The greatest NPP post-fire loss occurred 1 year post-fire and ranged from -67 to -312 g C m-2 yr-1 (-13 to -54 %) across all fires. Forests dominated by fire-resistant species (species that typically survive low-intensity fires) experienced the lowest relative NPP reductions compared to forests with less resistant species. Post-fire NPP in forests that were dominated by fire-susceptible species were not as sensitive to FRP or FRE, indicating that NPP in these forests may be reduced to similar levels regardless of fire intensity. Conversely, post-fire NPP in forests dominated by fire-resistant and mixed species decreased with increasing FRP or FRE. In some cases, this dose-response relationship persisted for more than a decade post-fire, highlighting a legacy effect of fire intensity on post-fire C dynamics in these forests.

Nongovernmental valorization of carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petersen, Gene; Viviani, Donn; Magrini-Bair, Kim; Kelley, Stephen; Moens, Luc; Shepherd, Phil; DuBois, Dan

2005-01-01

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is considered the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas effect. Most attempts to manage the flow of CO 2 or carbon into our environment involve reducing net emissions or sequestering the gas into long-lived sinks. Using CO 2 as a chemical feedstock has a long history, but using it on scales that might impact the net emissions of CO 2 into the atmosphere has not generally been considered seriously. There is also a growing interest in employing our natural biomes of carbon such as trees, vegetation, and soils as storage media. Some amelioration of the net carbon emissions into the atmosphere could be achieved by concomitant large withdrawals of carbon. This report surveys the potential and limitations in employing carbon as a resource for organic chemicals, fuels, inorganic materials, and in using the biome to manage carbon. The outlook for each of these opportunities is also described

Declining resilience of ecosystem functions under biodiversity loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Tom H; Isaac, Nick J B; August, Tom A; Woodcock, Ben A; Roy, David B; Bullock, James M

2015-12-08

The composition of species communities is changing rapidly through drivers such as habitat loss and climate change, with potentially serious consequences for the resilience of ecosystem functions on which humans depend. To assess such changes in resilience, we analyse trends in the frequency of species in Great Britain that provide key ecosystem functions--specifically decomposition, carbon sequestration, pollination, pest control and cultural values. For 4,424 species over four decades, there have been significant net declines among animal species that provide pollination, pest control and cultural values. Groups providing decomposition and carbon sequestration remain relatively stable, as fewer species are in decline and these are offset by large numbers of new arrivals into Great Britain. While there is general concern about degradation of a wide range of ecosystem functions, our results suggest actions should focus on particular functions for which there is evidence of substantial erosion of their resilience.

Increased losses of organic carbon and destabilising of tropical peatlands following deforestation, drainage and burning. (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, S.; Gauci, V.; Evans, C.; Page, S. E.

2013-12-01

Tropical peatlands contain one of the largest pools of terrestrial organic carbon, amounting to about 89,000 teragrams. Approximately 65% of this carbon store is in Indonesia, where extensive anthropogenic degradation in the form of deforestation, drainage and associated fire is converting it into a globally significant source of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Unlike boreal and temperate forests and higher-latitude wetlands, however, the loss of fluvial organic carbon from tropical peats has yet to be fully quantified. Here, we present the first data from intact and degraded peat swamp forest (PSF) catchments in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, that indicate a doubling of fluvial organic carbon losses from tropical peatlands following deforestation and drainage. Through carbon-14 dating of dissolved organic carbon (DO14C), we find that leaching of DOC from intact PSF is derived mainly from recent primary production. In contrast, DOC from disturbed PSF consists mostly of much older carbon from deep within the peat column. When we include this fluvial carbon loss, which is often ignored in peatland carbon budgets, we find that it increases the estimate of total carbon lost from the disturbed peatlands in our study by 22%. We further estimate that since 1990, peatland disturbance has resulted in a 32% increase in fluvial organic carbon flux from Southeast Asia - an increase that equates to more than half of the entire annual fluvial organic carbon flux from all European peatlands. Finally, we monitored fluvial organic carbon fluxes following large-scale peatland fires in 2009/10 within the study sub-catchments and found fluvial carbon fluxes to be 30-70% larger in the fire-affected catchments when compared to fluxes during the same interval in the previous year (pre-fire). This is in marked contrast to the intact catchment (control/no fire) where there were no differences observed in fluxes 'pre to post fire years'. Our sub-catchment findings were also found to be

Multiple Observation Types Jointly Constrain Terrestrial Carbon and Water Cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Raupach, M. R.; Haverd, V.; Briggs, P. R.; Canadell, J.; Davis, S. J.; Isaac, P. R.; Law, R.; Meyer, M.; Peters, G. P.; Pickett Heaps, C.; Roxburgh, S. H.; Sherman, B.; van Gorsel, E.; Viscarra Rossel, R.; Wang, Z.

2012-12-01

Information about the carbon cycle potentially constrains the water cycle, and vice versa. This paper explores the utility of multiple observation sets to constrain carbon and water fluxes and stores in a land surface model, and a resulting determination of the Australian terrestrial carbon budget. Observations include streamflow from 416 gauged catchments, measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) and net ecosystem production (NEP) from 12 eddy-flux sites, litterfall data, and data on carbon pools. The model is a version of CABLE (the Community Atmosphere-Biosphere-Land Exchange model), coupled with CASAcnp (a biogeochemical model) and SLI (Soil-Litter-Iso, a soil hydrology model including liquid and vapour water fluxes and the effects of litter). By projecting observation-prediction residuals onto model uncertainty, we find that eddy flux measurements provide a significantly tighter constraint on Australian continental net primary production (NPP) than the other data types. However, simultaneous constraint by multiple data types is important for mitigating bias from any single type. Results emerging from the multiply-constrained model are as follows (with all values applying over 1990-2011 and all ranges denoting ±1 standard error): (1) on the Australian continent, a predominantly semi-arid region, over half (0.64±0.05) of the water loss through ET occurs through soil evaporation and bypasses plants entirely; (2) mean Australian NPP is 2200±400 TgC/y, making the NPP/precipitation ratio about the same for Australia as the global land average; (3) annually cyclic ("grassy") vegetation and persistent ("woody") vegetation respectively account for 0.56±0.14 and 0.43±0.14 of NPP across Australia; (4) the average interannual variability of Australia's NEP (±180 TgC/y) is larger than Australia's total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 (149 TgCeq/y), and is dominated by variability in desert and savannah regions. The mean carbon budget over 1990

Effect of N-Acetylcysteine in Protecting from Simultaneous Noise and Carbon Monoxide Induced Hair Cell Loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akram Pourbakht

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: N-acetylcysteine, a glutathione precursor and reactive oxygen species scavenger, is reported to be effective in reducing noise-induced hearing loss. Many workers in industry are exposed simultaneously to noise and chemical pollutants such as carbon monoxide. We investigated effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in protecting the cochlea from simultaneous noise and carbon monoxide damages.Methods: Twelve rabbits were exposed simeltaneously to 100 dB sound pressure level of broad band noise and carbon monoxide 8 hours a day for 5 days. One hour before exposure, experimental group received 325 mg/kg of N-acetylcysteine while normal saline was administered for the control group. The protective effect of N-acetylcysteine was evaluated 3 weeks after exposure by histological assessment of the hair cells.Results: Simultaneous exposure to noise and carbon monoxide resulted in a considerable damage to the outer hair cells; however, the inner hair cells and the pillar cells remained intact. Use of N-acetylcysteine in the experimental group significantly reduced the extent of outer hair cell loss.Conclusion: N-acetylcysteine attenuates simultaneous noise and carbon monoxide induced hair cell damage in rabbits.

Net carbon dioxide emissions from alternative firewood-production systems in Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul, K.I.; Booth, T.H.; Jovanovic, T.; Polglase, P.J.; Elliott, A.; Kirschbaum, M.U.F.

2006-01-01

The use of firewood for domestic heating has the potential to reduce fossil-fuel use and associated CO 2 emissions. The level of possible reductions depends upon the extent to which firewood off-sets the use of fossil fuels, the efficiency with which wood is burnt, and use of fossil fuels for collection and transport of firewood. Plantations grown for firewood also have a cost of emissions associated with their establishment. Applying the FullCAM model and additional calculations, these factors were examined for various management scenarios under three contrasting firewood production systems (native woodland, sustainably managed native forest, and newly established plantations) in low-medium rainfall (600-800mm) regions of south-eastern Australia. Estimates of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of heat energy produced for all scenarios were lower than for non-renewable energy sources (which generally emit about 0.3-1.0kgCO 2 kWh -1 ). Amongst the scenarios, emissions were greatest when wood was periodically collected from dead wood in woodlands (0.11kgCO 2 kWh -1 ), and was much lower when obtained from harvest residues and dead wood in native forests ( 2 kWh -1 ). When wood was obtained from plantations established on previously cleared agricultural land, use of firewood led to carbon sequestration equivalent to -0.06kgCO 2 kWh -1 for firewood obtained from a coppiced plantation, and -0.17kgCO 2 kWh -1 for firewood collected from thinnings, slash and other residue in a plantation grown for sawlog production. An uncertainty analysis, where inputs and assumptions were varied in relation to a plausible range of management practices, identified the most important influencing factors and an expected range in predicted net amount of CO 2 emitted per unit of heat energy produced from burning firewood. (author)

Net emission coefficient for CO–H2 thermal plasmas with the consideration of molecular systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Billoux, T.; Cressault, Y.; Gleizes, A.

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the calculation of net emission coefficients (NECs) for CO–H 2 thermal plasmas. This task required the elaboration of a complete spectroscopic database including atoms and molecules formed by carbon, oxygen and hydrogen elements. We have used a systematic line by line method to calculate all the main radiative contributions which are the atomic and molecular continua, the atomic lines and the molecular (diatomic and polyatomic) lines. The main diatomic electronic systems for CO–H 2 plasmas and the triatomic molecular bands were considered. We present some variations of the net emission coefficient versus temperature, for various pressures and for two relative proportions of the components. The role of the diatomic molecules is important at temperatures lower than 5000 K whereas the net emission coefficient presents an unusual peak at temperature around 1000 K, due to the presence of the CO 2 molecule presenting a strong infrared radiation. Finally, the results show that the NEC slightly depends on the relative proportion of CO and H 2 . - highlights: • We calculate radiative losses from CO–H 2 thermal plasmas. • We use the up-to-date atomic and molecular databases. • The influence of CO 2 molecule is very important at low temperature. • The relative maximum of the net emission coefficient at low temperature is unusual

Effects of Land Use Change for Crops on Water and Carbon Budgets in the Midwest USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Sun

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Increasing demand for food and bioenergy has altered the global landscape dramatically in recent years. Land use and land cover change affects the environmental system in many ways through biophysical and biogeochemical mechanisms. In this study, we evaluate the impacts of land use and land cover change driven by recent crop expansion and conversion on the water budget, carbon exchange, and carbon storage in the Midwest USA. A dynamic global vegetation model was used to simulate and examine the impacts of landscape change in a historical case based on crop distribution data from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services. The simulation results indicate that recent crop expansion not only decreased soil carbon sequestration (60 Tg less of soil organic carbon and net carbon flux into ecosystems (3.7 Tg·year−1 less of net biome productivity, but also lessened water consumption through evapotranspiration (1.04 × 1010 m3·year−1 less over 12 states in the Midwest. More water yield at the land surface does not necessarily make more water available for vegetation. Crop residue removal might also exacerbate the soil carbon loss.

Invasion of non-native grasses causes a drop in soil carbon storage in California grasslands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koteen, Laura E; Harte, John [Energy and Resources Group, 310 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Baldocchi, Dennis D, E-mail: lkoteen@berkeley.edu [Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, 137 Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2011-10-15

Vegetation change can affect the magnitude and direction of global climate change via its effect on carbon cycling among plants, the soil and the atmosphere. The invasion of non-native plants is a major cause of land cover change, of biodiversity loss, and of other changes in ecosystem structure and function. In California, annual grasses from Mediterranean Europe have nearly displaced native perennial grasses across the coastal hillsides and terraces of the state. Our study examines the impact of this invasion on carbon cycling and storage at two sites in northern coastal California. The results suggest that annual grass invasion has caused an average drop in soil carbon storage of 40 Mg/ha in the top half meter of soil, although additional mechanisms may also contribute to soil carbon losses. We attribute the reduction in soil carbon storage to low rates of net primary production in non-native annuals relative to perennial grasses, a shift in rooting depth and water use to primarily shallow sources, and soil respiratory losses in non-native grass soils that exceed production rates. These results indicate that even seemingly subtle land cover changes can significantly impact ecosystem functions in general, and carbon storage in particular.

Invasion of non-native grasses causes a drop in soil carbon storage in California grasslands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koteen, Laura E; Harte, John; Baldocchi, Dennis D

2011-01-01

Vegetation change can affect the magnitude and direction of global climate change via its effect on carbon cycling among plants, the soil and the atmosphere. The invasion of non-native plants is a major cause of land cover change, of biodiversity loss, and of other changes in ecosystem structure and function. In California, annual grasses from Mediterranean Europe have nearly displaced native perennial grasses across the coastal hillsides and terraces of the state. Our study examines the impact of this invasion on carbon cycling and storage at two sites in northern coastal California. The results suggest that annual grass invasion has caused an average drop in soil carbon storage of 40 Mg/ha in the top half meter of soil, although additional mechanisms may also contribute to soil carbon losses. We attribute the reduction in soil carbon storage to low rates of net primary production in non-native annuals relative to perennial grasses, a shift in rooting depth and water use to primarily shallow sources, and soil respiratory losses in non-native grass soils that exceed production rates. These results indicate that even seemingly subtle land cover changes can significantly impact ecosystem functions in general, and carbon storage in particular.

Invasion of non-native grasses causes a drop in soil carbon storage in California grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Koteen, Laura E.; Baldocchi, Dennis D.; Harte, John

2011-10-01

Vegetation change can affect the magnitude and direction of global climate change via its effect on carbon cycling among plants, the soil and the atmosphere. The invasion of non-native plants is a major cause of land cover change, of biodiversity loss, and of other changes in ecosystem structure and function. In California, annual grasses from Mediterranean Europe have nearly displaced native perennial grasses across the coastal hillsides and terraces of the state. Our study examines the impact of this invasion on carbon cycling and storage at two sites in northern coastal California. The results suggest that annual grass invasion has caused an average drop in soil carbon storage of 40 Mg/ha in the top half meter of soil, although additional mechanisms may also contribute to soil carbon losses. We attribute the reduction in soil carbon storage to low rates of net primary production in non-native annuals relative to perennial grasses, a shift in rooting depth and water use to primarily shallow sources, and soil respiratory losses in non-native grass soils that exceed production rates. These results indicate that even seemingly subtle land cover changes can significantly impact ecosystem functions in general, and carbon storage in particular.

Impact of cloudiness on net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in different types of forest ecosystems in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Zhang

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Clouds can significantly affect carbon exchange process between forest ecosystems and the atmosphere by influencing the quantity and quality of solar radiation received by ecosystem's surface and other environmental factors. In this study, we analyzed the effects of cloudiness on net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE in a temperate broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest at Changbaishan (CBS and a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest at Dinghushan (DHS, based on the flux data obtained during June–August from 2003 to 2006. The results showed that the response of NEE of forest ecosystems to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR differed under clear skies and cloudy skies. Compared with clear skies, the light-saturated maximum photosynthetic rate (P_ec,max at CBS under cloudy skies during mid-growing season (from June to August increased by 34%, 25%, 4% and 11% in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. In contrast, P_ec,max of the forest ecosystem at DHS was higher under clear skies than under cloudy skies from 2004 to 2006. When the clearness index (k_t ranged between 0.4 and 0.6, the NEE reached its maximum at both CBS and DHS. However, the NEE decreased more dramatically at CBS than at DHS when k_t exceeded 0.6. The results indicate that cloudy sky conditions are beneficial to net carbon uptake in the temperate forest ecosystem and the subtropical forest ecosystem. Under clear skies, vapor pressure deficit (VPD and air temperature increased due to strong light. These environmental conditions led to greater decrease in gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP and greater increase in ecosystem respiration (R_e at CBS than at DHS. As a result, clear sky conditions caused more reduction of NEE in the temperate forest ecosystem than in the subtropical forest ecosystem. The response of NEE of different forest ecosystems to the changes in

The changing global carbon cycle: Linking plant-soil carbon dynamics to global consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Chapin, F. S.; McFarland, J.; McGuire, David A.; Euskirchen, E.S.; Ruess, Roger W.; Kielland, K.

2009-01-01

Most current climate-carbon cycle models that include the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle are based on a model developed 40 years ago by Woodwell & Whittaker (1968) and omit advances in biogeochemical understanding since that time. Their model treats net C emissions from ecosystems as the balance between net primary production (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration (HR, i.e. primarily decomposition).

NACP North American 8-km Net Ecosystem Exchange and Component Fluxes, 2004

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set provides modeled carbon flux estimates at 8-km spatial resolution over North America for the year 2004 of (1) net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon...

Modeling net ecosystem carbon exchange of alpine grasslands with a satellite-driven model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Yan

Full Text Available Estimate of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, the balance of gross primary productivity (GPP and ecosystem respiration (Reco has significant importance for studying the regional and global carbon cycles. Using models driven by satellite data and climatic data is a promising approach to estimate NEE at regional scales. For this purpose, we proposed a semi-empirical model to estimate NEE in this study. In our model, the component GPP was estimated with a light response curve of a rectangular hyperbola. The component Reco was estimated with an exponential function of soil temperature. To test the feasibility of applying our model at regional scales, the temporal variations in the model parameters derived from NEE observations in an alpine grassland ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau were investigated. The results indicated that all the inverted parameters exhibit apparent seasonality, which is in accordance with air temperature and canopy phenology. In addition, all the parameters have significant correlations with the remote sensed vegetation indexes or environment temperature. With parameters estimated with these correlations, the model illustrated fair accuracy both in the validation years and at another alpine grassland ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau. Our results also indicated that the model prediction was less accurate in drought years, implying that soil moisture is an important factor affecting the model performance. Incorporating soil water content into the model would be a critical step for the improvement of the model.

Energy loss of carbon transmitted 1-MeV H2+ ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fritz, M.; Kimura, K.; Susuki, Y.; Mannami, M.

1994-01-01

Energy losses of 1-MeV H 2 + ions passing through carbon foils of 2-8 μg/cm 2 thickness have been measured and show besides the linear increase with target thickness a 0.4 keV offset. The stopping power derived from the observed energy losses is 1.15 times as large as the sum of the stopping powers for two single H + of the same velocity. Calculations of the stopping powers for H 2 + ions and diprotons, using first Born approximation, indicate that the H 2 + ions lose the binding electron upon entrance into the foil, traverse the target as diprotons and recapture target electrons at the exit surface, a scenario also supported by the 0.4 keV offset at zero thickness. (author)

Gross and net land cover changes in the main plant functional types derived from the annual ESA CCI land cover maps (1992-2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wei; MacBean, Natasha; Ciais, Philippe; Defourny, Pierre; Lamarche, Céline; Bontemps, Sophie; Houghton, Richard A.; Peng, Shushi

2018-01-01

Land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) impacts local energy and water balance and contributes on global scale to a net carbon emission to the atmosphere. The newly released annual ESA CCI (climate change initiative) land cover maps provide continuous land cover changes at 300 m resolution from 1992 to 2015, and can be used in land surface models (LSMs) to simulate LULCC effects on carbon stocks and on surface energy budgets. Here we investigate the absolute areas and gross and net changes in different plant functional types (PFTs) derived from ESA CCI products. The results are compared with other datasets. Global areas of forest, cropland and grassland PFTs from ESA are 30.4, 19.3 and 35.7 million km2 in the year 2000. The global forest area is lower than that from LUH2v2h (Hurtt et al., 2011), Hansen et al. (2013) or Houghton and Nassikas (2017) while cropland area is higher than LUH2v2h (Hurtt et al., 2011), in which cropland area is from HYDE 3.2 (Klein Goldewijk et al., 2016). Gross forest loss and gain during 1992-2015 are 1.5 and 0.9 million km2 respectively, resulting in a net forest loss of 0.6 million km2, mainly occurring in South and Central America. The magnitudes of gross changes in forest, cropland and grassland PFTs in the ESA CCI are smaller than those in other datasets. The magnitude of global net cropland gain for the whole period is consistent with HYDE 3.2 (Klein Goldewijk et al., 2016), but most of the increases happened before 2004 in ESA and after 2007 in HYDE 3.2. Brazil, Bolivia and Indonesia are the countries with the largest net forest loss from 1992 to 2015, and the decreased areas are generally consistent with those from Hansen et al. (2013) based on Landsat 30 m resolution images. Despite discrepancies compared to other datasets, and uncertainties in converting into PFTs, the new ESA CCI products provide the first detailed long-term time series of land-cover change and can be implemented in LSMs to characterize recent carbon dynamics

Evaluation and inversion of a net ecosystem carbon exchange model for grasslands and croplands

Science.gov (United States)

Herbst, M.; Klosterhalfen, A.; Weihermueller, L.; Graf, A.; Schmidt, M.; Huisman, J. A.; Vereecken, H.

2017-12-01

A one-dimensional soil water, heat, and CO2 flux model (SOILCO2), a pool concept of soil carbon turnover (RothC), and a crop growth module (SUCROS) was coupled to predict the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon. This model, further referred to as AgroC, was extended with routines for managed grassland as well as for root exudation and root decay. In a first step, the coupled model was applied to two winter wheat sites and one upland grassland site in Germany. The model was calibrated based on soil water content, soil temperature, biometric, and soil respiration measurements for each site, and validated in terms of hourly NEE measured with the eddy covariance technique. The overall model performance of AgroC was acceptable with a model efficiency >0.78 for NEE. In a second step, AgroC was optimized with the eddy covariance NEE measurements to examine the effect of various objective functions, constraints, and data-transformations on estimated NEE, which showed a distinct sensitivity to the choice of objective function and the inclusion of soil respiration data in the optimization process. Both, day and nighttime fluxes, were found to be sensitive to the selected optimization strategy. Additional consideration of soil respiration measurements improved the simulation of small positive fluxes remarkably. Even though the model performance of the selected optimization strategies did not diverge substantially, the resulting annual NEE differed substantially. We conclude that data-transformation, definition of objective functions, and data sources have to be considered cautiously when using a terrestrial ecosystem model to determine carbon balances by means of eddy covariance measurements.

Multiple Observation Types Jointly Constrain Australian Terrestrial Carbon and Water Cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Haverd, Vanessa; Raupach, Michael; Briggs, Peter; Canadell, Pep; Davis, Steven; Isaac, Peter; Law, Rachel; Meyer, Mick; Peters, Glenn; Pickett-Heaps, Christopher; Roxburgh, Stephen; Sherman, Bradford; van Gorsel, Eva; Viscarra Rossel, Raphael; Wang, Ziyuan

2013-04-01

Information about the carbon cycle potentially constrains the water cycle, and vice versa. This paper explores the utility of multiple observation sets to constrain carbon and water fluxes and stores in a land surface model, and a resulting determination of the Australian terrestrial carbon budget. Observations include streamflow from 416 gauged catchments, measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) and net ecosystem production (NEP) from 12 eddy-flux sites, litterfall data, and data on carbon pools. The model is a version of CABLE (the Community Atmosphere-Biosphere-Land Exchange model), coupled with CASAcnp (a biogeochemical model) and SLI (Soil-Litter-Iso, a soil hydrology model including liquid and vapour water fluxes and the effects of litter). By projecting observation-prediction residuals onto model uncertainty, we find that eddy flux measurements provide a significantly tighter constraint on Australian continental net primary production (NPP) than the other data types. However, simultaneous constraint by multiple data types is important for mitigating bias from any single type. Results emerging from the multiply-constrained model are as follows (with all values applying over 1990-2011 and all ranges denoting ±1 standard error): (1) on the Australian continent, a predominantly semi-arid region, over half (0.64±0.05) of the water loss through ET occurs through soil evaporation and bypasses plants entirely; (2) mean Australian NPP is 2200±400 TgC/y, making the NPP/precipitation ratio about the same for Australia as the global land average; (3) annually cyclic ("grassy") vegetation and persistent ("woody") vegetation respectively account for 0.56±0.14 and 0.43±0.14 of NPP across Australia; (4) the average interannual variability of Australia's NEP (±180 TgC/y) is larger than Australia's total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 (149 TgCeq/y), and is dominated by variability in desert and savannah regions. The mean carbon budget over 1990

Radiative losses and electron cooling rates for carbon and oxygen plasma impurities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchand, R.; Bonnin, X.

1992-01-01

Radiative losses and electron cooling rates are calculated for carbon and oxygen ions under conditions relevant to fusion plasmas. Both rates are calculated with the most recent recommended atomic data. A modified coronal model which includes the effects of metastable states is described and used to calculate the rates. Comparisons with other approaches are also discussed. (author). 36 ref, figs

North America's net terrestrial CO2 exchange with the atmosphere 1990-2009

Science.gov (United States)

A.W. King; R.J. Andres; K J. Davis; M. Hafer; D.J. Hayes; D.N. Huntzinger; B. de Jong; W.A. Kurz; A.D. McGuire; R. Vargas; Y. Wei; T.O. West; C.W. Woodall

2015-01-01

Scientific understanding of the global carbon cycle is required for developing national and international policy to mitigate fossil fuel CO2 emissions by managing terrestrial carbon uptake. Toward that understanding and as a contribution to the REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP) project, this paper provides a synthesis of net...

Cacao Cultivation under Diverse Shade Tree Cover Allows High Carbon Storage and Sequestration without Yield Losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Abou Rajab, Yasmin; Leuschner, Christoph; Barus, Henry; Tjoa, Aiyen; Hertel, Dietrich

2016-01-01

One of the main drivers of tropical forest loss is their conversion to oil palm, soy or cacao plantations with low biodiversity and greatly reduced carbon storage. Southeast Asian cacao plantations are often established under shade tree cover, but are later converted to non-shaded monocultures to avoid resource competition. We compared three co-occurring cacao cultivation systems (3 replicate stands each) with different shade intensity (non-shaded monoculture, cacao with the legume Gliricidia sepium shade trees, and cacao with several shade tree species) in Sulawesi (Indonesia) with respect to above- and belowground biomass and productivity, and cacao bean yield. Total biomass C stocks (above- and belowground) increased fivefold from the monoculture to the multi-shade tree system (from 11 to 57 Mg ha-1), total net primary production rose twofold (from 9 to 18 Mg C ha-1 yr-1). This increase was associated with a 6fold increase in aboveground biomass, but only a 3.5fold increase in root biomass, indicating a clear shift in C allocation to aboveground tree organs with increasing shade for both cacao and shade trees. Despite a canopy cover increase from 50 to 93%, cacao bean yield remained invariant across the systems (variation: 1.1-1.2 Mg C ha-1 yr-1). The monocultures had a twice as rapid leaf turnover suggesting that shading reduces the exposure of cacao to atmospheric drought, probably resulting in greater leaf longevity. Thus, contrary to general belief, cacao bean yield does not necessarily decrease under shading which seems to reduce physical stress. If planned properly, cacao plantations under a shade tree cover allow combining high yield with benefits for carbon sequestration and storage, production system stability under stress, and higher levels of animal and plant diversity.

Recent reversal in loss of global terrestrial biomass

KAUST Repository

Liu, Yi Y.; Van Dijk, Albert I J M; De Jeu, Richard A M; Canadell., Josep G.; McCabe, Matthew; Evans, Jason P.; Wang, Guojie

2015-01-01

Vegetation change plays a critical role in the Earth's carbon (C) budget and its associated radiative forcing in response to anthropogenic and natural climate change. Existing global estimates of aboveground biomass carbon (ABC) based on field survey data provide brief snapshots that are mainly limited to forest ecosystems. Here we use an entirely new remote sensing approach to derive global ABC estimates for both forest and non-forest biomes during the past two decades from satellite passive microwave observations. We estimate a global average ABC of 362 PgC over the period 1998-2002, of which 65% is in forests and 17% in savannahs. Over the period 1993-2012, an estimated '0.07 PgC yr '1 ABC was lost globally, mostly resulting from the loss of tropical forests ('0.26 PgC yr '1) and net gains in mixed forests over boreal and temperate regions (+0.13 PgC yr '1) and tropical savannahs and shrublands (+0.05 PgC yr '1). Interannual ABC patterns are greatly influenced by the strong response of water-limited ecosystems to rainfall variability, particularly savannahs. From 2003 onwards, forest in Russia and China expanded and tropical deforestation declined. Increased ABC associated with wetter conditions in the savannahs of northern Australia and southern Africa reversed global ABC loss, leading to an overall gain, consistent with trends in the global carbon sink reported in recent studies. © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Recent reversal in loss of global terrestrial biomass

KAUST Repository

Liu, Yi Y.

2015-03-30

Vegetation change plays a critical role in the Earth\\'s carbon (C) budget and its associated radiative forcing in response to anthropogenic and natural climate change. Existing global estimates of aboveground biomass carbon (ABC) based on field survey data provide brief snapshots that are mainly limited to forest ecosystems. Here we use an entirely new remote sensing approach to derive global ABC estimates for both forest and non-forest biomes during the past two decades from satellite passive microwave observations. We estimate a global average ABC of 362 PgC over the period 1998-2002, of which 65% is in forests and 17% in savannahs. Over the period 1993-2012, an estimated \\'0.07 PgC yr \\'1 ABC was lost globally, mostly resulting from the loss of tropical forests (\\'0.26 PgC yr \\'1) and net gains in mixed forests over boreal and temperate regions (+0.13 PgC yr \\'1) and tropical savannahs and shrublands (+0.05 PgC yr \\'1). Interannual ABC patterns are greatly influenced by the strong response of water-limited ecosystems to rainfall variability, particularly savannahs. From 2003 onwards, forest in Russia and China expanded and tropical deforestation declined. Increased ABC associated with wetter conditions in the savannahs of northern Australia and southern Africa reversed global ABC loss, leading to an overall gain, consistent with trends in the global carbon sink reported in recent studies. © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Projecting the past and future impacts of hurricanes on the carbon balance of eastern U.S. forests (1851-2100)

Science.gov (United States)

Fisk, J.; Hurtt, G. C.; Chambers, J. Q.; Zeng, H.

2009-12-01

In U.S. Atlantic coastal areas, hurricanes are a principal agent of catastrophic wind damage, with dramatic impacts on the structure and functioning of forests. Estimates of the carbon emissions resulting from single storms range as high as ~100 Tg C, an amount equivalent to the annual U.S. carbon sink in forest trees. Recent studies have estimated the historic regional carbon emissions from hurricane activity using an empirically based approach. Here, we use a mechanistic ecosystem model, the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model, driven by maps of mortality and damage based on historic hurricane tracks and future scenarios to predict the past and future impacts of hurricanes on the carbon balance of eastern U.S. forests. Model estimates compare well to previous empirically based estimates, with mean annual biomass loss of 26 Tg C yr-1 (range 0 to ~225 Tg C yr-1) resulting from hurricanes during the period 1851-2000. Using the mechanistic model, we are able to include the effects of both disturbance and recovery on the net carbon flux. We find a regional carbon sink throughout much of the 20th century resulting from forest recovery following a peak in hurricane activity during the late 19th century exceeding biomass loss. Recent increased hurricane activity has resulted in the region becoming a net carbon source. For the future, several recent studies have linked increased sea surface temperatures expected with climate change to increased hurricane activity. Based on these relationships, we investigate a range of scenarios of future hurricane activity and find the potential for substantial increases in emissions from hurricane mortality and reductions in regional carbon stocks. In our scenario with the largest increase in hurricane activity, we find a 35% increase in area disturbed by 2100, but due to the reduction of standing biomass, only a 20% increase in biomass loss per year. Developing this kind of predictive modeling capability that tracks disturbance events and

Net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange in tropical rainforests - sensitivity to environmental drivers and flux measurement methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Z.; Stoy, P. C.

2017-12-01

Tropical rainforests play a central role in the Earth system services of carbon metabolism, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance, and more. They are under threat by direct anthropogenic effects including deforestation and indirect anthropogenic effects including climate change. A synthesis of the factors that determine the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE) across multiple time scales in different tropical rainforests has not been undertaken to date. Here, we study NEE and its components, gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE), across thirteen tropical rainforest research sites with 63 total site-years of eddy covariance data. Results reveal that the five ecosystems that have greater carbon uptakes (with the magnitude of GPP greater than 3000 g C m-2 y-1) sequester less carbon - or even lose it - on an annual basis at the ecosystem scale. This counterintuitive result is because high GPP is compensated by similar magnitudes of RE. Sites that provided subcanopy CO2 storage observations had higher average magnitudes of GPP and RE and consequently lower NEE, highlighting the importance of measurement methodology for understanding carbon dynamics in tropical rainforests. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) constrained GPP at all sites, but to differing degrees. Many environmental variables are significantly related to NEE at time scales greater than one year, and NEE at a rainforest in Malaysia is significantly related to soil moisture variability at seasonal time scales. Climate projections from 13 general circulation models (CMIP5) under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 suggest that many current tropical rainforest sites on the cooler end of the current temperature range are likely to reach a climate space similar to present-day warmer sites by the year 2050, and warmer sites will reach a climate space not currently experienced. Results demonstrate the need to quantify if mature tropical trees acclimate to heat and

Fossil fuel derivatives with reduced carbon. Phase I final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kennel, E.B.; Zondlo, J.W.; Cessna, T.J.

1999-06-30

This project involves the simultaneous production of clean fossil fuel derivatives with reduced carbon and sulfur, along with value-added carbon nanofibers. This can be accomplished because the nanofiber production process removes carbon via a catalyzed pyrolysis reaction, which also has the effect of removing 99.9% of the sulfur, which is trapped in the nanofibers. The reaction is mildly endothermic, meaning that net energy production with real reductions in greenhouse emissions are possible. In Phase I research, the feasibility of generating clean fossil fuel derivatives with reduced carbon was demonstrated by the successful design, construction and operation of a facility capable of utilizing coal as well as natural gas as an inlet feedstock. In the case of coal, for example, reductions in CO{sub 2} emissions can be as much as 70% (normalized according to kilowatts produced), with the majority of carbon safely sequestered in the form of carbon nanofibers or coke. Both of these products are value-added commodities, indicating that low-emission coal fuel can be done at a profit rather than a loss as is the case with most clean-up schemes. The main results of this project were as follows: (1) It was shown that the nanofiber production process produces hydrogen as a byproduct. (2) The hydrogen, or hydrogen-rich hydrocarbon mixture can be consumed with net release of enthalpy. (3) The greenhouse gas emissions from both coal and natural gas are significantly reduced. Because coal consumption also creates coke, the carbon emission can be reduced by 75% per kilowatt-hour of power produced.

Partitioning inter annual variability in net ecosystem exchange between climatic variability and functional change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hui, D.; Luo, Y.; Katul, G.

2003-01-01

Inter annual variability in net ecosystem exchange of carbon is investigated using a homogeneity-of-slopes model to identify the function change contributing to inter annual variability, net ecosystem carbon exchange, and night-time ecosystem respiration. Results of employing this statistical approach to a data set collected at the Duke Forest AmeriFlux site from August 1997 to December 2001 are discussed. The results demonstrate that it is feasible to partition the variation in ecosystem carbon fluxes into direct effects of seasonal and inter annual climatic variability and functional change. 51 refs., 4 tabs., 5 figs

Major losses of nutrients following a severe drought in a boreal forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Houle, Daniel; Lajoie, Geneviève; Duchesne, Louis

2016-11-28

Because of global warming, the frequency and severity of droughts are expected to increase, which will have an impact on forest ecosystem health worldwide 1 . Although the impact of drought on tree growth and mortality is being increasingly documented 2-4 , very little is known about the impact on nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Here, based on long-term monitoring data, we report nutrient fluxes in a boreal forest before, during and following a severe drought in July 2012. During and shortly after the drought, we observed high throughfall (rain collected below the canopy) concentrations of nutrient base cations (potassium, calcium and magnesium), chlorine, phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), differing by one to two orders of magnitude relative to the long-term normal, and resulting in important canopy losses. The high throughfall fluxes had repercussions in the soil solution at a depth of 30 cm, leading to high DOC, chlorine and potassium concentrations. The net potassium losses (atmospheric deposition minus leaching losses) following the drought were especially important, being the equivalent of nearly 20 years of net losses under 'normal' conditions. Our data show that droughts have unexpected impacts on nutrient cycling through impacts on tree canopy and soils and may lead to important episodes of potassium losses from boreal forest ecosystems. The potassium losses associated with drought will add to those originating from tree harvesting and from forest fires and insect outbreaks 5-7 (with the last two being expected to increase in the future as a result of climate change), and may contribute to reduced potassium availability in boreal forests in a warming world.

Oil sands mining and reclamation cause massive loss of peatland and stored carbon

Science.gov (United States)

Rooney, Rebecca C.; Bayley, Suzanne E.; Schindler, David W.

2012-01-01

We quantified the wholesale transformation of the boreal landscape by open-pit oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada to evaluate its effect on carbon storage and sequestration. Contrary to claims made in the media, peatland destroyed by open-pit mining will not be restored. Current plans dictate its replacement with upland forest and tailings storage lakes, amounting to the destruction of over 29,500 ha of peatland habitat. Landscape changes caused by currently approved mines will release between 11.4 and 47.3 million metric tons of stored carbon and will reduce carbon sequestration potential by 5,734–7,241 metric tons C/y. These losses have not previously been quantified, and should be included with the already high estimates of carbon emissions from oil sands mining and bitumen upgrading. A fair evaluation of the costs and benefits of oil sands mining requires a rigorous assessment of impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services. PMID:22411786

Fire frequency drives decadal changes in soil carbon and nitrogen and ecosystem productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Pellegrini, Adam F. A.; Ahlström, Anders; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Reich, Peter B.; Nieradzik, Lars P.; Staver, A. Carla; Scharenbroch, Bryant C.; Jumpponen, Ari; Anderegg, William R. L.; Randerson, James T.; Jackson, Robert B.

2018-01-01

Fire frequency is changing globally and is projected to affect the global carbon cycle and climate. However, uncertainty about how ecosystems respond to decadal changes in fire frequency makes it difficult to predict the effects of altered fire regimes on the carbon cycle; for instance, we do not fully understand the long-term effects of fire on soil carbon and nutrient storage, or whether fire-driven nutrient losses limit plant productivity. Here we analyse data from 48 sites in savanna grasslands, broadleaf forests and needleleaf forests spanning up to 65 years, during which time the frequency of fires was altered at each site. We find that frequently burned plots experienced a decline in surface soil carbon and nitrogen that was non-saturating through time, having 36 per cent (±13 per cent) less carbon and 38 per cent (±16 per cent) less nitrogen after 64 years than plots that were protected from fire. Fire-driven carbon and nitrogen losses were substantial in savanna grasslands and broadleaf forests, but not in temperate and boreal needleleaf forests. We also observe comparable soil carbon and nitrogen losses in an independent field dataset and in dynamic model simulations of global vegetation. The model study predicts that the long-term losses of soil nitrogen that result from more frequent burning may in turn decrease the carbon that is sequestered by net primary productivity by about 20 per cent of the total carbon that is emitted from burning biomass over the same period. Furthermore, we estimate that the effects of changes in fire frequency on ecosystem carbon storage may be 30 per cent too low if they do not include multidecadal changes in soil carbon, especially in drier savanna grasslands. Future changes in fire frequency may shift ecosystem carbon storage by changing soil carbon pools and nitrogen limitations on plant growth, altering the carbon sink capacity of frequently burning savanna grasslands and broadleaf forests.

Global net primary production and heterotrophic respiration for 1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunt, R.E. Jr.; Piper, S.C.; Nemani, R. [Univ. of Montana, Missoula, MT (United States)]|[Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA (United States)] [and others

1995-06-01

An ecosystem process model, BIOME-BGC, was parameterized and used to simulate the actual net primary production and heterotrophic respiration using daily climatic data, land cover type, leaf area index gridded to 1{degree} latitude by 1{degree} longitude grid cells for the year 1987. Global net primary production was 52 Pg C. These estimates were validated directly by two different methods. First, the grid cells were aggregated and used as inputs to a 3D atmospheric transport model, to compare CO{sub 2} station data with predictions. We simulated the intra-annual variation of atmospheric CO{sub 2} well for the northern hemisphere, but not for the southern hemisphere. Second, we calculated the net {sup 13}C uptake of vegetation, which is a function of water use efficiency. The {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratios agreed with measured data, indicating a strong limitation of global primary processes by the hydrologic cycle, especially precipitation. These are different from other global carbon models as we can simulate the year-to-year variation of climate, including El Nino, on the global carbon cycle.

Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abbott, Benjamin W.; Jones, Jeremy B.; Schuur, Edward A. G.

2016-01-01

estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of the critical factors driving carbon balance are unlikely in the near future, so to address this gap, we present estimates from 98 permafrost......-region experts of the response of biomass, wildfire, and hydrologic carbon flux to climate change. Results suggest that contrary to model projections, total permafrost-region biomass could decrease due to water stress and disturbance, factors that are not adequately incorporated in current models. Assessments...... indicate that end-of-the-century organic carbon release from Arctic rivers and collapsing coastlines could increase by 75% while carbon loss via burning could increase four-fold. Experts identified water balance, shifts in vegetation community, and permafrost degradation as the key sources of uncertainty...

26 CFR 1.1374-2 - Net recognized built-in gain.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Net recognized built-in gain. 1.1374-2 Section 1...-in gain. (a) In general. An S corporation's net recognized built-in gain for any taxable year is the... considering only its recognized built-in gain, recognized built-in loss, and recognized built-in gain...

Tropical Wetlands as Carbon Sinks

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, M. B.; Saunders, M.

2007-12-01

This presentation focuses on the tropical wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa. These are an understudied ecosystem in which large emergent grasses and sedges normally dominate and which have the potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon. Measurements of Net Primary Production of these wetlands show that they are some of the highest values recorded for any ecosystem. We have used eddy covariance to measure Net Ecosystem Exchange of pristine and disturbed wetlands and show that pristine systems can have sink strengths as strong as tropical forests while disturbed systems that have been reclaimed for agricultural purposes have a very much reduced carbon sink activity and may be net carbon sources. The management issues surrounding the use of these wetlands illustrate a direct conflict between the production of food crops for the local population and the maintenance of carbon sequestration as an ecosystem service.

Protecting tropical forests from the rapid expansion of rubber using carbon payments.

Science.gov (United States)

Warren-Thomas, Eleanor M; Edwards, David P; Bebber, Daniel P; Chhang, Phourin; Diment, Alex N; Evans, Tom D; Lambrick, Frances H; Maxwell, James F; Nut, Menghor; O'Kelly, Hannah J; Theilade, Ida; Dolman, Paul M

2018-03-02

Expansion of Hevea brasiliensis rubber plantations is a resurgent driver of deforestation, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian rubber extent is massive, equivalent to 67% of oil palm, with rapid further expansion predicted. Results-based carbon finance could dis-incentivise forest conversion to rubber, but efficacy will be limited unless payments match, or at least approach, the costs of avoided deforestation. These include opportunity costs (timber and rubber profits), plus carbon finance scheme setup (transaction) and implementation costs. Using comprehensive Cambodian forest data, exploring scenarios of selective logging and conversion, and assuming land-use choice is based on net present value, we find that carbon prices of $30-$51 per tCO 2 are needed to break even against costs, higher than those currently paid on carbon markets or through carbon funds. To defend forests from rubber, either carbon prices must be increased, or other strategies are needed, such as corporate zero-deforestation pledges, and governmental regulation and enforcement of forest protection.

Fort Hills Oil Sands Project No Net Loss Lake earthfill structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blakely, D.; Sawatsky, L. [Golder Associates Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Wog, K.; Paz, S. [Alberta Environment, Edmonton, AB (Canada). Water Management Operations; Chernys, S. [Petro-Canada, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2007-07-01

The Fort Hills Oil Sands Project (FHOSP) is located north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Fort Hills Energy Corporation (FHEC) must compensate for fish habitat lost as a result of mine development that would disturb natural streams and lakes. FHEC planned to construct a fisheries compensation lake on the north end of its leased property, contained in part by an earthfill structure. Unlike most dam structures, the FHOSP No Net Loss Lake (NNLL) earthfill structure was planned solely for the creation of fisheries compensation habitat. Therefore, the NNLL earthfill structure must be designed with robust features that can handle any foreseeable environmental condition without failure, so that it may be accepted as a sustainable feature of the mine closure landscape. This paper discussed the design features of the NNLL earthfill structure. The paper presented information on the background of the project including regulatory criteria for the fisheries compensation habitat; fisheries compensation habitat location; and design criteria for the NNLL. The features of the NNLL earthfill structure were also discussed. In addition, the paper outlined the dam safety classification for earthfill structure and anticipated system performance. The proposed monitoring program and permanent closure plans were also discussed. It was concluded that the earthfill structure was designed with several features that would allow it to become a part of the closure landscape. These included a high width to height ratio, significant erosion protection, and an aggressive reclamation plan. These features will provide a sound basis for FHEC to apply for a reclamation certificate at the end of mine life. 3 refs., 3 tabs., 8 figs.

Global patterns in human consumption of net primary production

Science.gov (United States)

Imhoff, Marc L.; Bounoua, Lahouari; Ricketts, Taylor; Loucks, Colby; Harriss, Robert; Lawrence, William T.

2004-06-01

The human population and its consumption profoundly affect the Earth's ecosystems. A particularly compelling measure of humanity's cumulative impact is the fraction of the planet's net primary production that we appropriate for our own use. Net primary production-the net amount of solar energy converted to plant organic matter through photosynthesis-can be measured in units of elemental carbon and represents the primary food energy source for the world's ecosystems. Human appropriation of net primary production, apart from leaving less for other species to use, alters the composition of the atmosphere, levels of biodiversity, energy flows within food webs and the provision of important ecosystem services. Here we present a global map showing the amount of net primary production required by humans and compare it to the total amount generated on the landscape. We then derive a spatial balance sheet of net primary production `supply' and `demand' for the world. We show that human appropriation of net primary production varies spatially from almost zero to many times the local primary production. These analyses reveal the uneven footprint of human consumption and related environmental impacts, indicate the degree to which human populations depend on net primary production `imports' and suggest policy options for slowing future growth of human appropriation of net primary production.

Impacts of land use changes on net ecosystem production in the Taihu Lake Basin of China from 1985 to 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xibao; Yang, Guishan; Tan, Yan; Tang, Xuguang; Jiang, Hong; Sun, Xiaoxiang; Zhuang, Qianlai; Li, Hengpeng

2017-03-01

Land use changes play a major role in determining sources and sinks of carbon at regional and global scales. This study employs a modified Global biome model-biogeochemical cycle model to examine the changes in the spatiotemporal pattern of net ecosystem production (NEP) in the Taihu Lake Basin of China during 1985-2010 and the extent to which land use change impacted NEP. The model is calibrated with observed NEP at three flux sites for three dominant land use types in the basin including cropland, evergreen needleleaf forest, and mixed forest. Two simulations are conducted to distinguish the net effects of land use change and increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and nitrogen deposition on NEP. The study estimates that NEP in the basin decreased by 9.8% (1.57 Tg C) from 1985 to 2010, showing an overall downward trend. The NEP distribution exhibits an apparent spatial heterogeneity at the municipal level. Land use changes during 1985-2010 reduced the regional NEP (3.21 Tg C in year 2010) by 19.9% compared to its 1985 level, while the increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and nitrogen deposition compensated for a half of the total carbon loss. Critical measures for regulating rapid urban expansion and population growth and reinforcing environment protection programs are recommended to increase the regional carbon sink.

Plankton community respiration, net ecosystem metabolism, and oxygen dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf: Implications for hypoxia

Science.gov (United States)

Murrell, Michael C.; Stanley, Roman S.; Lehrter, John C.; Hagy, James D.

2013-01-01

We conducted a multi-year study of the Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) to better understand the linkages between water column metabolism and the formation of hypoxia (dissolved oxygen Continental Shelf Research, 29: 1861-1872) to estimate net water column metabolism. There was consistent evidence of net heterotrophy, particularly in western transects, and in deeper waters (>40 m depth), indicating a net organic carbon deficit on the LCS. We offer a simple scale argument to suggest that riverine and inshore coastal waters may be significant sources of organic carbon to account for this deficit. This study provided unprecedented, continental shelf scale coverage of heterotrophic metabolism, which is useful for constraining models of oxygen, carbon, and nutrient dynamics along the LCS.

Above‐ground woody carbon sequestration measured from tree rings is coherent with net ecosystem productivity at five eddy‐covariance sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babst, Flurin; Bouriaud, Olivier; Papale, Dario

2014-01-01

Attempts to combine biometric and eddy‐covariance (EC) quantifications of carbon allocation to different storage pools in forests have been inconsistent and variably successful in the past. We assessed above‐ground biomass changes at five long‐term EC forest stations based on tree‐ring width...... and wood density measurements, together with multiple allometric models. Measurements were validated with site‐specific biomass estimates and compared with the sum of monthly CO2 fluxes between 1997 and 2009. Biometric measurements and seasonal net ecosystem productivity (NEP) proved largely compatible...

Scale-up of Carbon/Carbon Bipolar Plates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David P. Haack

2009-04-08

This project was focused upon developing a unique material technology for use in PEM fuel cell bipolar plates. The carbon/carbon composite material developed in this program is uniquely suited for use in fuel cell systems, as it is lightweight, highly conductive and corrosion resistant. The project further focused upon developing the manufacturing methodology to cost-effectively produce this material for use in commercial fuel cell systems. United Technology Fuel Cells Corp., a leading fuel cell developer was a subcontractor to the project was interested in the performance and low-cost potential of the material. The accomplishments of the program included the development and testing of a low-cost, fully molded, net-shape carbon-carbon bipolar plate. The process to cost-effectively manufacture these carbon-carbon bipolar plates was focused on extensively in this program. Key areas for cost-reduction that received attention in this program was net-shape molding of the detailed flow structures according to end-user design. Correlations between feature detail and process parameters were formed so that mold tooling could be accurately designed to meet a variety of flow field dimensions. A cost model was developed that predicted the cost of manufacture for the product in near-term volumes and long-term volumes (10+ million units per year). Because the roduct uses lowcost raw materials in quantities that are less than competitive tech, it was found that the cost of the product in high volume can be less than with other plate echnologies, and can meet the DOE goal of $4/kW for transportation applications. The excellent performance of the all-carbon plate in net shape was verified in fuel cell testing. Performance equivalent to much higher cost, fully machined graphite plates was found.

NOy production, ozone loss and changes in net radiative heating due to energetic particle precipitation in 2002-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Sinnhuber, Miriam; Berger, Uwe; Funke, Bernd; Nieder, Holger; Reddmann, Thomas; Stiller, Gabriele; Versick, Stefan; von Clarmann, Thomas; Maik Wissing, Jan

2018-01-01

winter, ranging from 10-50 % during solar maximum to 2-10 % during solar minimum. Ozone loss continues throughout polar summer after strong solar proton events in the Southern Hemisphere and after large sudden stratospheric warmings in the Northern Hemisphere. During mid-winter, the ozone loss causes a reduction of the infrared radiative cooling, i.e., a positive change of the net radiative heating (effective warming), in agreement with analyses of geomagnetic forcing in stratospheric temperatures which show a warming in the late winter upper stratosphere. In late winter and spring, the sign of the net radiative heating change turns to negative (effective cooling). This spring-time cooling lasts well into summer and continues until the following autumn after large solar proton events in the Southern Hemisphere, and after sudden stratospheric warmings in the Northern Hemisphere.

Optimizing sampling design to deal with mist-net avoidance in Amazonian birds and bats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Tiago Marques

Full Text Available Mist netting is a widely used technique to sample bird and bat assemblages. However, captures often decline with time because animals learn and avoid the locations of nets. This avoidance or net shyness can substantially decrease sampling efficiency. We quantified the day-to-day decline in captures of Amazonian birds and bats with mist nets set at the same location for four consecutive days. We also evaluated how net avoidance influences the efficiency of surveys under different logistic scenarios using re-sampling techniques. Net avoidance caused substantial declines in bird and bat captures, although more accentuated in the latter. Most of the decline occurred between the first and second days of netting: 28% in birds and 47% in bats. Captures of commoner species were more affected. The numbers of species detected also declined. Moving nets daily to minimize the avoidance effect increased captures by 30% in birds and 70% in bats. However, moving the location of nets may cause a reduction in netting time and captures. When moving the nets caused the loss of one netting day it was no longer advantageous to move the nets frequently. In bird surveys that could even decrease the number of individuals captured and species detected. Net avoidance can greatly affect sampling efficiency but adjustments in survey design can minimize this. Whenever nets can be moved without losing netting time and the objective is to capture many individuals, they should be moved daily. If the main objective is to survey species present then nets should still be moved for bats, but not for birds. However, if relocating nets causes a significant loss of netting time, moving them to reduce effects of shyness will not improve sampling efficiency in either group. Overall, our findings can improve the design of mist netting sampling strategies in other tropical areas.

Conventional intensive logging promotes loss of organic carbon from the mineral soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Christopher; Kirkpatrick, James B; Friedland, Andrew J

2017-01-01

There are few data, but diametrically opposed opinions, about the impacts of forest logging on soil organic carbon (SOC). Reviews and research articles conclude either that there is no effect, or show contradictory effects. Given that SOC is a substantial store of potential greenhouse gasses and forest logging and harvesting is routine, resolution is important. We review forest logging SOC studies and provide an overarching conceptual explanation for their findings. The literature can be separated into short-term empirical studies, longer-term empirical studies and long-term modelling. All modelling that includes major aboveground and belowground biomass pools shows a long-term (i.e. ≥300 years) decrease in SOC when a primary forest is logged and then subjected to harvesting cycles. The empirical longer-term studies indicate likewise. With successive harvests the net emission accumulates but is only statistically perceptible after centuries. Short-term SOC flux varies around zero. The long-term drop in SOC in the mineral soil is driven by the biomass drop from the primary forest level but takes time to adjust to the new temporal average biomass. We show agreement between secondary forest SOC stocks derived purely from biomass information and stocks derived from complex forest harvest modelling. Thus, conclusions that conventional harvests do not deplete SOC in the mineral soil have been a function of their short time frames. Forest managers, climate change modellers and environmental policymakers need to assume a long-term net transfer of SOC from the mineral soil to the atmosphere when primary forests are logged and then undergo harvest cycles. However, from a greenhouse accounting perspective, forest SOC is not the entire story. Forest wood products that ultimately reach landfill, and some portion of which produces some soil-like material there rather than in the forest, could possibly help attenuate the forest SOC emission by adding to a carbon pool in

Low-loss saturable absorbers based on tapered fibers embedded in carbon nanotube/polymer composites

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Amos; Al Araimi, Mohammed; Dmitriev, Artemiy; Lutsyk, Petro; Li, Shen; Mou, Chengbo; Rozhin, Alexey; Sumetsky, Misha; Turitsyn, Sergei

2017-12-01

The emergence of low-dimensional materials has opened new opportunities in the fabrication of compact nonlinear photonic devices. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were among the first of those materials to attract the attention of the photonics community owing to their high third order susceptibility, broadband operation, and ultrafast response. Saturable absorption, in particular, has become a widespread application for nanotubes in the mode-locking of a fiber laser where they are used as nonlinear passive amplitude modulators to initiate pulsed operation. Numerous approaches have been proposed for the integration of nanotubes in fiber systems; these can be divided into those that rely on direct interaction (where the nanotubes are sandwiched between fiber connectors) and those that rely on lateral interaction with the evanescence field of the propagating wave. Tapered fibers, in particular, offer excellent flexibility to adjust the nonlinearity of nanotube-based devices but suffer from high losses (typically exceeding 50%) and poor saturable to non-saturable absorption ratios (typically above 1:5). In this paper, we propose a method to fabricate carbon nanotube saturable absorbers with controllable saturation power, low-losses (as low as 15%), and large saturable to non-saturable loss ratios approaching 1:1. This is achieved by optimizing the procedure of embedding tapered fibers in low-refractive index polymers. In addition, this study sheds light in the operation of these devices, highlighting a trade-off between losses and saturation power and providing guidelines for the design of saturable absorbers according to their application.

Measuring the effect of fuel treatments on forest carbon using landscape risk analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Ager

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Wildfire simulation modelling was used to examine whether fuel reduction treatments can potentially reduce future wildfire emissions and provide carbon benefits. In contrast to previous reports, the current study modelled landscape scale effects of fuel treatments on fire spread and intensity, and used a probabilistic framework to quantify wildfire effects on carbon pools to account for stochastic wildfire occurrence. The study area was a 68 474 ha watershed located on the Fremont-Winema National Forest in southeastern Oregon, USA. Fuel reduction treatments were simulated on 10% of the watershed (19% of federal forestland. We simulated 30 000 wildfires with random ignition locations under both treated and untreated landscapes to estimate the change in burn probability by flame length class resulting from the treatments. Carbon loss functions were then calculated with the Forest Vegetation Simulator for each stand in the study area to quantify change in carbon as a function of flame length. We then calculated the expected change in carbon from a random ignition and wildfire as the sum of the product of the carbon loss and the burn probabilities by flame length class. The expected carbon difference between the non-treatment and treatment scenarios was then calculated to quantify the effect of fuel treatments. Overall, the results show that the carbon loss from implementing fuel reduction treatments exceeded the expected carbon benefit associated with lowered burn probabilities and reduced fire severity on the treated landscape. Thus, fuel management activities resulted in an expected net loss of carbon immediately after treatment. However, the findings represent a point in time estimate (wildfire immediately after treatments, and a temporal analysis with a probabilistic framework used here is needed to model carbon dynamics over the life cycle of the fuel treatments. Of particular importance is the long-term balance between emissions from the

Measuring the effect of fuel treatments on forest carbon using landscape risk analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ager, A. A.; Finney, M. A.; McMahan, A.; Cathcart, J.

2010-12-01

Wildfire simulation modelling was used to examine whether fuel reduction treatments can potentially reduce future wildfire emissions and provide carbon benefits. In contrast to previous reports, the current study modelled landscape scale effects of fuel treatments on fire spread and intensity, and used a probabilistic framework to quantify wildfire effects on carbon pools to account for stochastic wildfire occurrence. The study area was a 68 474 ha watershed located on the Fremont-Winema National Forest in southeastern Oregon, USA. Fuel reduction treatments were simulated on 10% of the watershed (19% of federal forestland). We simulated 30 000 wildfires with random ignition locations under both treated and untreated landscapes to estimate the change in burn probability by flame length class resulting from the treatments. Carbon loss functions were then calculated with the Forest Vegetation Simulator for each stand in the study area to quantify change in carbon as a function of flame length. We then calculated the expected change in carbon from a random ignition and wildfire as the sum of the product of the carbon loss and the burn probabilities by flame length class. The expected carbon difference between the non-treatment and treatment scenarios was then calculated to quantify the effect of fuel treatments. Overall, the results show that the carbon loss from implementing fuel reduction treatments exceeded the expected carbon benefit associated with lowered burn probabilities and reduced fire severity on the treated landscape. Thus, fuel management activities resulted in an expected net loss of carbon immediately after treatment. However, the findings represent a point in time estimate (wildfire immediately after treatments), and a temporal analysis with a probabilistic framework used here is needed to model carbon dynamics over the life cycle of the fuel treatments. Of particular importance is the long-term balance between emissions from the decay of dead trees

Forestry in a greenhouse climate: For wood production or carbon storage?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollard, D.F.W.

1991-01-01

The forest sector is one of the major sources of carbon dioxide in British Columbia, from pulp and papr processing and prescribed burning. To enhance knowledge about carbon budgets, Forestry Canada has developed a simulation model of the carbon pools and fluxes in the Canadian forest sector, which clearly indicates that the boreal forest, with its soils, is a major carbon pool, and also a major source of carbon, from combustion of biomass and soil organic matter. Outside the subarctic, forest growth more than compensates for fire losses in most years, and the forest is therefore calculated to be a net accumulator of carbon. While the conversion of old growth forest to managed stands on shorter rotations reduces stored carbon averaged over space and time, there is potential for managed forests to increase average live biomass, through genetic and silvicultural enhancement and through protection. A serious possibility of positive feedback by forests to the climatic warming exists in peatlands currently subject to permafrost. A warming could lead to substantial emissions of methane and carbon dioxide from vast areas. 14 refs

Quantitative geochemical modeling along a transect off Peru: Carbon cycling in time and space, and the triggering factors for carbon loss and storage

Science.gov (United States)

Arning, Esther T.; van Berk, Wolfgang; Schulz, Hans-Martin

2012-12-01

Early diagenetic processes in Peruvian shelf and slope sediments are numerically reproduced by applying chemical thermodynamics in a complex, universal approach using the PHREEQC (version 2) computer code. The reaction kinetics of organic carbon remineralization are integrated into a set of equilibrium reactions by defining the type and the amount of converted organic matter in a certain time step. We calculate the most intense remineralization of organic carbon for present-day shelf sites, and the final carbon pool is dominated by secondary carbonates. This serves to highlight the influence of organic matter degradation and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) on diagenetic mineral formation. The enrichment of aqueous methane and the formation of methane hydrate only takes place in slope sediments with high sedimentation rates that prevent diffusive loss of methane (e.g., Sites 682 and 688). Moreover, AOM prevents the diffusion of dissolved methane into overlying seawater. Throughout the Miocene period, these sites were located on a former shelf and the total carbon loss from the sediments was significantly higher in comparison with the present-day. Compared with the present-day shelf site, organic matter remineralization is high, and methane is produced but not stored within the sediments. Our model calculations rule out the possibility of present-day and former shelf site sediments off the coast of Peru as methane reservoirs. Remineralized TOC has to be considered, particularly in older sediments, when interpreting TOC profiles and calculating mass accumulation rates of total organic carbon (MARTOC). The more organic matter has been remineralized during the depositional history, the larger the difference between MARTOC calculated from measured TOC data, and from the sum of modeled and measured TOC data. Consequently, most reliable primary productivity calculations are based on the sum of measured relict TOC and the amount of remineralized organic carbon

Underestimated effects of low temperature during early growing season on carbon sequestration of a subtropical coniferous plantation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.-J. Zhang

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The impact of air temperature in early growing season on the carbon sequestration of a subtropical coniferous plantation was discussed through analyzing the eddy flux observations at Qianyanzhou (QYZ site in southern China from 2003 to 2008. This site experienced two cold early growing seasons (with temperature anomalies of 2–5 °C in 2005 and 2008, and a severe summer drought in 2003.
Results indicated that the low air temperature from January to March was the major factor controlling the inter-annual variations in net carbon uptake at this site, rather than the previously thought summer drought. The accumulative air temperature from January to February showed high correlation (R²=0.970, p<0.001 with the annual net ecosystem production (NEP. This was due to the controls of early-month temperature on the plant phenology developing and the growing season length at this subtropical site. The cold spring greatly shortened the growing season length and therefore reduced the carbon uptake period. The eddy flux observations showed a carbon loss of 4.04 g C m⁻² per growing-season day at this coniferous forest site. On the other hand, the summer drought also reduced the net carbon uptake strength because the photosynthesis was more sensitive to water deficit stress than the ecosystem respiration. However, the impact of summer drought occurred within a relatively shorter period and the carbon sequestration went back to the normal level once the drought was relieved.

Decadal-Scale Reduction in Forest Net Ecosystem Production Following Insect Defoliation Contrasts with Short-Term Impacts of Prescribed Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Kenneth L. Clark; Heidi J. Renninger; Nicholas Skowronski; Michael Gallagher; Karina V.R.  Schäfer

2018-01-01

Understanding processes underlying forest carbon dynamics is essential for accurately predicting the outcomes of non-stand-replacing disturbance in intermediate-age forests. We quantified net ecosystem production (NEP), aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and the dynamics of major carbon (C) pools before and during the decade following invasive insect...

A Constructed Freshwater Wetland Shows Signs of Declining Net Ecosystem Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, F. E.; Bergamaschi, B. A.; Windham-Myers, L.; Byrd, K. B.; Drexler, J. Z.; Fujii, R.

2014-12-01

The USGS constructed a freshwater-wetland complex on Twitchell Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), California, USA, in 1997 and maintained it until 2012 to investigate strategies for biomass accretion and reduction of oxidative soil loss. We studied an area of the wetland complex covered mainly by dense patches of hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus) and cattails (Typha spp.), with smaller areas of floating and submerged vegetation, that was maintained at an average depth of 55 cm. Using eddy covariance measurements of carbon and energy fluxes, we found that the combination of water management and the region's Mediterranean climate created conditions where peak growing season daily means of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) reached -45 gCO2 m-2 d-1 and averaged around -30 gCO2 m-2 d-1 between 2002 through 2004. However, when measurements resumed in 2010, NEE rates were a fraction of the rates previously measured, approximately -6 gCO2 m-2 d-1. Interestingly, NEE rates in 2011 doubled compared to 2010 (-13 gCO2 m-2 d-1). Methane fluxes, collected in 2010 to assess a complete atmospheric carbon budget, were positive throughout the year, with daily mean flux values ranging from 50 to 300 mg CH4 m-2 d-1. As a result, methane flux reduced NEE values by approximately one-third, and when the global warming potential was considered, the wetland became a net global warming potential source. We found that carbon cycling in a constructed wetland is complex and can change over annual and decadal timescales. We investigated possible reasons for differences between flux measurements from 2002 to 2004 and those from 2010 and 2011: (1) changes in methodology, (2) differences in weather conditions, (3) differences in gross primary productivity relative to respiration rates, and (4) the amount of living plant tissue relative to brown accumulations of senesced plant litter. We hypothesize that large mats of senesced material within the flux footprint could have

Energy utilization, carbon dioxide emission, and exergy loss in flavored yogurt production process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorgüven, Esra; Özilgen, Mustafa

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of food production processes on the environment in terms of energy and exergy utilization and carbon dioxide emission. There are three different energy utilization mechanisms in food production: Utilization of solar energy by plants to produce agricultural goods; feed consumption by herbivores to produce meat and milk; fossil fuel consumption by industrial processes to perform mixing, cooling, heating, etc. Production of strawberry-flavored yogurt, which involves these three mechanisms, is investigated here thermodynamically. Analysis starts with the cultivation of the ingredients and ends with the transfer of the final product to the market. The results show that 53% of the total exergy loss occurs during the milk production and 80% of the total work input is consumed during the plain yogurt making. The cumulative degree of perfection is 3.6% for the strawberry-flavored yogurt. This value can rise up to 4.6%, if renewable energy resources like hydropower and algal biodiesel are employed instead of fossil fuels. This paper points the direction for the development of new technology in food processing to decrease waste of energy and carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere. -- Highlights: ► Energy and exergy utilization and carbon dioxide emission during strawberry-flavored yogurt production. ► Cumulative degree of perfection of strawberry-flavored yogurt is 3.6%. ► 53% of the total exergy loss occurs during the milk production. ► 80% of the total work input is consumed during the plain yogurt making.

Energy performance of windows based on the net energy gain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Svend; Kragh, Jesper; Laustsen, Jacob Birck

2005-01-01

The paper presents a new method to set up energy performance requirements and energy classes for windows of all dimensions and configurations. The net energy gain of windows is the solar gain minus the heat loss integrated over the heating season. The net energy gain can be calculated for one...... be expressed as a function of two parameters representing the energy performance and two parameters representing the geometry of the window. The two energy performance parameters are the net energy gain per area of the glazing unit and the sum of the heat losses through the frame and the assembly per length...... of the frame. The two geometry numbers are the area of the glazing unit relative to the window area and the length of the frame profiles relative to the window area. Requirements and classes for the energy performance of the window can be given by assigning values to the two energy performance parameters...

Effects of noise-induced hearing loss on parvalbumin and perineuronal net expression in the mouse primary auditory cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Anna; Khaleel, Haroun M; Razak, Khaleel A

2017-07-01

Noise induced hearing loss is associated with increased excitability in the central auditory system but the cellular correlates of such changes remain to be characterized. Here we tested the hypothesis that noise-induced hearing loss causes deterioration of perineuronal nets (PNNs) in the auditory cortex of mice. PNNs are specialized extracellular matrix components that commonly enwrap cortical parvalbumin (PV) containing GABAergic interneurons. Compared to somatosensory and visual cortex, relatively less is known about PV/PNN expression patterns in the primary auditory cortex (A1). Whether changes to cortical PNNs follow acoustic trauma remains unclear. The first aim of this study was to characterize PV/PNN expression in A1 of adult mice. PNNs increase excitability of PV+ inhibitory neurons and confer protection to these neurons against oxidative stress. Decreased PV/PNN expression may therefore lead to a reduction in cortical inhibition. The second aim of this study was to examine PV/PNN expression in superficial (I-IV) and deep cortical layers (V-VI) following noise trauma. Exposing mice to loud noise caused an increase in hearing threshold that lasted at least 30 days. PV and PNN expression in A1 was analyzed at 1, 10 and 30 days following the exposure. No significant changes were observed in the density of PV+, PNN+, or PV/PNN co-localized cells following hearing loss. However, a significant layer- and cell type-specific decrease in PNN intensity was seen following hearing loss. Some changes were present even at 1 day following noise exposure. Attenuation of PNN may contribute to changes in excitability in cortex following noise trauma. The regulation of PNN may open up a temporal window for altered excitability in the adult brain that is then stabilized at a new and potentially pathological level such as in tinnitus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low-loss saturable absorbers based on tapered fibers embedded in carbon nanotube/polymer composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amos Martinez

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The emergence of low-dimensional materials has opened new opportunities in the fabrication of compact nonlinear photonic devices. Single-walled carbon nanotubes were among the first of those materials to attract the attention of the photonics community owing to their high third order susceptibility, broadband operation, and ultrafast response. Saturable absorption, in particular, has become a widespread application for nanotubes in the mode-locking of a fiber laser where they are used as nonlinear passive amplitude modulators to initiate pulsed operation. Numerous approaches have been proposed for the integration of nanotubes in fiber systems; these can be divided into those that rely on direct interaction (where the nanotubes are sandwiched between fiber connectors and those that rely on lateral interaction with the evanescence field of the propagating wave. Tapered fibers, in particular, offer excellent flexibility to adjust the nonlinearity of nanotube-based devices but suffer from high losses (typically exceeding 50% and poor saturable to non-saturable absorption ratios (typically above 1:5. In this paper, we propose a method to fabricate carbon nanotube saturable absorbers with controllable saturation power, low-losses (as low as 15%, and large saturable to non-saturable loss ratios approaching 1:1. This is achieved by optimizing the procedure of embedding tapered fibers in low-refractive index polymers. In addition, this study sheds light in the operation of these devices, highlighting a trade-off between losses and saturation power and providing guidelines for the design of saturable absorbers according to their application.

Diurnal Variation in Gas Exchange: The Balance between Carbon Fixation and Water Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Jack S A; Vialet-Chabrand, Silvere R M; Lawson, Tracy

2017-06-01

Stomatal control of transpiration is critical for maintaining important processes, such as plant water status, leaf temperature, as well as permitting sufficient CO 2 diffusion into the leaf to maintain photosynthetic rates ( A ). Stomatal conductance often closely correlates with A and is thought to control the balance between water loss and carbon gain. It has been suggested that a mesophyll-driven signal coordinates A and stomatal conductance responses to maintain this relationship; however, the signal has yet to be fully elucidated. Despite this correlation under stable environmental conditions, the responses of both parameters vary spatially and temporally and are dependent on species, environment, and plant water status. Most current models neglect these aspects of gas exchange, although it is clear that they play a vital role in the balance of carbon fixation and water loss. Future efforts should consider the dynamic nature of whole-plant gas exchange and how it represents much more than the sum of its individual leaf-level components, and they should take into consideration the long-term effect on gas exchange over time. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Net carbon flux of dead wood in forests of the Eastern US

Science.gov (United States)

C.W. Woodall; M.B. Russell; B.F. Walters; A.W. D' Amato; S. Fraver; G.M. Domke

2015-01-01

Downed dead wood (DDW) in forest ecosystems is a C pool whose net flux is governed by a complex of natural and anthropogenic processes and is critical to the management of the entire forest C pool. As empirical examination of DDW C net flux has rarely been conducted across large scales, the goal of this study was to use a remeasured inventory of DDW C and ancillary...

Net uptake of atmospheric CO2 by coastal submerged aquatic vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Tokoro, Tatsuki; Hosokawa, Shinya; Miyoshi, Eiichi; Tada, Kazufumi; Watanabe, Kenta; Montani, Shigeru; Kayanne, Hajime; Kuwae, Tomohiro

2014-01-01

‘Blue Carbon’, which is carbon captured by marine living organisms, has recently been highlighted as a new option for climate change mitigation initiatives. In particular, coastal ecosystems have been recognized as significant carbon stocks because of their high burial rates and long-term sequestration of carbon. However, the direct contribution of Blue Carbon to the uptake of atmospheric CO2 through air-sea gas exchange remains unclear. We performed in situ measurements of carbon flows, including air-sea CO2 fluxes, dissolved inorganic carbon changes, net ecosystem production, and carbon burial rates in the boreal (Furen), temperate (Kurihama), and subtropical (Fukido) seagrass meadows of Japan from 2010 to 2013. In particular, the air-sea CO2 flux was measured using three methods: the bulk formula method, the floating chamber method, and the eddy covariance method. Our empirical results show that submerged autotrophic vegetation in shallow coastal waters can be functionally a sink for atmospheric CO2. This finding is contrary to the conventional perception that most near-shore ecosystems are sources of atmospheric CO2. The key factor determining whether or not coastal ecosystems directly decrease the concentration of atmospheric CO2 may be net ecosystem production. This study thus identifies a new ecosystem function of coastal vegetated systems; they are direct sinks of atmospheric CO2. PMID:24623530

Microbe-driven turnover offsets mineral-mediated storage of soil carbon under elevated CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Sulman, Benjamin N.; Phillips, Richard P.; Oishi, A. Christopher; Shevliakova, Elena; Pacala, Stephen W.

2014-12-01

The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) to changing environmental conditions represents a critical uncertainty in coupled carbon cycle-climate models. Much of this uncertainty arises from our limited understanding of the extent to which root-microbe interactions induce SOC losses (through accelerated decomposition or `priming') or indirectly promote SOC gains (via `protection' through interactions with mineral particles). We developed a new SOC model to examine priming and protection responses to rising atmospheric CO2. The model captured disparate SOC responses at two temperate free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments. We show that stabilization of `new' carbon in protected SOC pools may equal or exceed microbial priming of `old' SOC in ecosystems with readily decomposable litter and high clay content (for example, Oak Ridge). In contrast, carbon losses induced through priming dominate the net SOC response in ecosystems with more resistant litters and lower clay content (for example, Duke). The SOC model was fully integrated into a global terrestrial carbon cycle model to run global simulations of elevated CO2 effects. Although protected carbon provides an important constraint on priming effects, priming nonetheless reduced SOC storage in the majority of terrestrial areas, partially counterbalancing SOC gains from enhanced ecosystem productivity.

Carbon budget of the vineyard – A new feature of sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pitacco Andrea

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Vineyards received scarce attention in relation to the continuous monitoring of carbon fluxes and the assessment of their overall budget, as a common believe is that agricultural crops cannot be net carbon sinks. Indeed, many technical inputs, massive periodical harvests, and the repeated disturbances of upper soil layers, all contribute to a substantial loss both of the old and newly-synthesized organic matter. Woody perennials, however, can behave differently: they grow a permanent structure, stand undisturbed in the same field for decades, originate abundant pruning debris, and are often grass-covered. We have been monitoring the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE by eddy covariance and the carbon partitioning in a temperate vineyard in North Eastern Italy. Five complete yearly budgets confirm a steady and substantial sink capacity of the system, with a yearly NEE around 800–900 gC m−2, grape harvest representing about 20–25% of it. Biometrical assessment of growth and partitioning show a good agreement with micrometeorological measurements and demonstrate a large input of organic matter into the soil. Even if it can be objected that this sink may be only temporary and the built-up can be substantially disrupted at the end of the vineyard life cycle, these results show that there is a concrete possibility of storing carbon in temperate-climate vineyards, possibly contributing to the global carbon budget. This sink capacity might be accounted in the official calculation of wine carbon footprint and represents a new, relevant feature of their sustainability.

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy characterization and microwave absorption of iron-filled carbon-nitrogen nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Che Renchao; Liang Chongyun; Shi Honglong; Zhou Xingui; Yang Xinan

2007-01-01

Iron-filled carbon-nitrogen (Fe/CN x ) nanotubes and iron-filled carbon (Fe/C) nanotubes were synthesized at 900 deg. C through a pyrolysis reaction of ferrocene/acetonitrile and ferrocene/xylene, respectively. The differences of structure and composition between the Fe/CN x nanotubes and Fe/C nanotubes were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). It was found that the morphology of Fe/CN x nanotubes is more corrugated than that of the Fe/C nanotubes due to the incorporation of nitrogen. By comparing the Fe L 2,3 electron energy-loss spectra of Fe/CN x nanotubes to those of the Fe/C nanotubes, the electron states at the interface between Fe and the tubular wall of both Fe/CN x nanotubes and Fe/C nanotubes were investigated. At the boundary between Fe and the wall of a CN x nanotube, the additional electrons contributed from the doped 'pyridinic-like' nitrogen might transfer to the empty 3d orbital of the encapsulated iron, therefore leading to an intensity suppression of the iron L 2,3 edge and an intensity enhancement of the carbon K edge. However, such an effect could not be found in Fe/C nanotubes. Microwave absorption properties of both Fe/CN x and Fe/C nanocomposites at 2-18 GHz band were studied

Measuring Urban Carbon Footprint from Carbon Flows in the Global Supply Chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yuanchao; Lin, Jianyi; Cui, Shenghui; Khanna, Nina Zheng

2016-06-21

A global multiregional input-output (MRIO) model was built for eight Chinese cities to track their carbon flows. For in-depth understanding of urban carbon footprint from the perspectives of production, consumption, and trade balance, four kinds of footprints and four redefined measurement indicators were calculated. From the global supply chain, urban carbon inflows from Mainland China were larger than outflows, while the carbon outflows to European, principal North American countries and East Asia were much larger than inflows. With the rapid urbanization of China, Construction was the largest consumer and Utilities was the largest producer. Cities with higher consumption (such as Dalian, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing) should change their consumption patterns, while cities with lower production efficiency (such as Dalian, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Chongqing) should improve their technology. The cities of net carbon consumption tended to transfer carbon emissions out of them by trading in carbon-intensive products, while the cities of net carbon production tended to produce carbon-intensive products for nonlocal consumers. Our results indicated that urban carbon abatement requires not only rational consumption and industrial symbiosis at the city level, but also tighter collaboration along all stages of the global supply chain.

Seagrass blue carbon dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico: Stocks, losses from anthropogenic disturbance, and gains through seagrass restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorhaug, Anitra; Poulos, Helen M; López-Portillo, Jorge; Ku, Timothy C W; Berlyn, Graeme P

2017-12-15

Seagrasses comprise a substantive North American and Caribbean Sea blue carbon sink. Yet fine-scale estimates of seagrass carbon stocks, fluxes from anthropogenic disturbances, and potential gains in sedimentary carbon from seagrass restoration are lacking for most of the Western Hemisphere. To begin to fill this knowledge gap in the subtropics and tropics, we quantified organic carbon (C org ) stocks, losses, and gains from restorations at 8 previously-disturbed seagrass sites around the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) (n=128 cores). Mean natural seagrass C org stocks were 25.7±6.7MgC org ha -1 around the GoM, while mean C org stocks at adjacent barren sites that had previously hosted seagrass were 17.8MgC org ha -1 . Restored seagrass beds contained a mean of 38.7±13.1MgC org ha -1 . Mean C org losses differed by anthropogenic impact type, but averaged 20.98±7.14MgC org ha -1 . C org gains from seagrass restoration averaged 20.96±8.59Mgha -1 . These results, when combined with the similarity between natural and restored C org content, highlight the potential of seagrass restoration for mitigating seagrass C org losses from prior impact events. Our GoM basin-wide estimates of natural C org totaled ~36.4Tg for the 947,327ha for the USA-GoM. Including Mexico, the total basin contained an estimated 37.2-37.5Tg C org . Regional US-GoM losses totaled 21.69Tg C org . C org losses differed significantly among anthropogenic impacts. Yet, seagrass restoration appears to be an important climate change mitigation strategy that could be implemented elsewhere throughout the tropics and subtropics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Above-ground woody carbon sequestration measured from tree rings is coherent with net ecosystem productivity at five eddy-covariance sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Babst, Flurin; Bouriaud, Olivier; Papale, Dario; Gielen, Bert; Janssens, Ivan A; Nikinmaa, Eero; Ibrom, Andreas; Wu, Jian; Bernhofer, Christian; Köstner, Barbara; Grünwald, Thomas; Seufert, Günther; Ciais, Philippe; Frank, David

2014-03-01

• Attempts to combine biometric and eddy-covariance (EC) quantifications of carbon allocation to different storage pools in forests have been inconsistent and variably successful in the past. • We assessed above-ground biomass changes at five long-term EC forest stations based on tree-ring width and wood density measurements, together with multiple allometric models. Measurements were validated with site-specific biomass estimates and compared with the sum of monthly CO₂ fluxes between 1997 and 2009. • Biometric measurements and seasonal net ecosystem productivity (NEP) proved largely compatible and suggested that carbon sequestered between January and July is mainly used for volume increase, whereas that taken up between August and September supports a combination of cell wall thickening and storage. The inter-annual variability in above-ground woody carbon uptake was significantly linked with wood production at the sites, ranging between 110 and 370 g C m(-2) yr(-1) , thereby accounting for 10-25% of gross primary productivity (GPP), 15-32% of terrestrial ecosystem respiration (TER) and 25-80% of NEP. • The observed seasonal partitioning of carbon used to support different wood formation processes refines our knowledge on the dynamics and magnitude of carbon allocation in forests across the major European climatic zones. It may thus contribute, for example, to improved vegetation model parameterization and provides an enhanced framework to link tree-ring parameters with EC measurements. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

Economic feasibility of no-tillage and manure for soil carbon sequestration in corn production in northeastern Kansas.

Science.gov (United States)

Pendell, Dustin L; Williams, Jeffery R; Rice, Charles W; Nelson, Richard G; Boyles, Scott B

2006-01-01

This study examined the economic potential of no-tillage versus conventional tillage to sequester soil carbon by using two rates of commercial N fertilizer or beef cattle manure for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production. Yields, input rates, field operations, and prices from an experiment were used to simulate a distribution of net returns for eight production systems. Carbon release values from direct, embodied, and feedstock energies were estimated for each system, and were used with soil carbon sequestration rates from soil tests to determine the amount of net carbon sequestered by each system. The values of carbon credits that provide an incentive for managers to adopt production systems that sequester carbon at greater rates were derived. No-till systems had greater annual soil carbon gains, net carbon gains, and net returns than conventional tillage systems. Systems that used beef cattle manure had greater soil carbon gains and net carbon gains, but lower net returns, than systems that used commercial N fertilizer. Carbon credits would be needed to encourage the use of manure-fertilized cropping systems.

Nutrient additions to a tropical rain forest drive substantial soil carbon dioxide losses to the atmosphere

OpenAIRE

Cleveland, Cory C.; Townsend, Alan R.

2006-01-01

Terrestrial biosphere–atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange is dominated by tropical forests, where photosynthetic carbon (C) uptake is thought to be phosphorus (P)-limited. In P-poor tropical forests, P may also limit organic matter decomposition and soil C losses. We conducted a field-fertilization experiment to show that P fertilization stimulates soil respiration in a lowland tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. In the early wet season, when soluble organic matter inputs to soil are hig...

Nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon excretion and losses in growing pigs fed Danish or Asian diets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prapaspongsa, Trakarn; Vu, Van Thi Khanh; Poulsen, Hanne Damgaard

2008-01-01

The objectives of this study were to determine inputs and outputs of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) and to estimate the nutrient losses during housing and storage in order to address these important parts of the whole manure management systems in pigs fed different diets....

Net ecosystem CO2 exchange over a larch forest in Hokkaido, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huimin Wang; Saigusa, Nobuko; Yamamoto, Susumu; Kondo, Hiroaki; Hirano, Takashi; Toriyama, Atsushi; Fujinuma, Yasumi

2004-01-01

Larch forests are distributed extensively in the east Eurasian continent and are expected to play a significant role in the terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling process. In view of the fact that studies on carbon exchange for this important biome have been very limited, we have initiated a long-term flux observation in a larch forest ecosystem in Hokkaido in northern Japan since 2000. The net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) showed large seasonal and diurnal variation. Generally, the larch forest ecosystem released CO 2 in nighttime and assimilated CO 2 in daytime during the growing season from May to October. The ecosystem started to become a net carbon sink in May, reaching a maximum carbon uptake as high as 186 g C m -2 month -1 in June. With the yellowing, senescing and leaf fall, the ecosystem turned into a carbon source in November. During the non-growing season, the larch forest ecosystem became a net source of CO 2 , releasing an average of 16.7 g C m -2 month -1 . Overall, the ecosystem sequestered 141-240 g C m -2 yr -1 in 2001. The NEE was significantly influenced by environmental factors. Respiration of the ecosystem, for example, was exponentially dependent on air temperature, while photosynthesis was related to the incident PAR in a manner consistent with the Michaelis-Menten model. Although the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was scarcely higher than 15 hPa, the CO 2 uptake rate was also depressed when VPD surpassed 10 hPa (Author)

Historical and future perspectives of global soil carbon response to climate and land-use changes

Science.gov (United States)

Eglin, T.; Ciais, P.; Piao, S. L.; Barre, P.; Bellassen, V.; Cadule, P.; Chenu, C.; Gasser, T.; Koven, C.; Reichstein, M.; Smith, P.

2010-11-01

ABSTRACT In this paper, we attempt to analyse the respective influences of land-use and climate changes on the global and regional balances of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Two time periods are analysed: the historical period 1901-2000 and the period 2000-2100. The historical period is analysed using a synthesis of published data as well as new global and regional model simulations, and the future is analysed using models only. Historical land cover changes have resulted globally in SOC release into the atmosphere. This human induced SOC decrease was nearly balanced by the net SOC increase due to higher CO2 and rainfall. Mechanization of agriculture after the 1950s has accelerated SOC losses in croplands, whereas development of carbon-sequestering practices over the past decades may have limited SOC loss from arable soils. In some regions (Europe, China and USA), croplands are currently estimated to be either a small C sink or a small source, but not a large source of CO2 to the atmosphere. In the future, according to terrestrial biosphere and climate models projections, both climate and land cover changes might cause a net SOC loss, particularly in tropical regions. The timing, magnitude, and regional distribution of future SOC changes are all highly uncertain. Reducing this uncertainty requires improving future anthropogenic CO2 emissions and land-use scenarios and better understanding of biogeochemical processes that control SOC turnover, for both managed and un-managed ecosystems.

Modelling the impact of soil Carbonic Anhydrase on the net ecosystem exchange of OCS at Harvard forest using the MuSICA model

Science.gov (United States)

Launois, Thomas; Ogée, Jérôme; Commane, Roisin; Wehr, Rchard; Meredith, Laura; Munger, Bill; Nelson, David; Saleska, Scott; Wofsy, Steve; Zahniser, Mark; Wingate, Lisa

2016-04-01

The exchange of CO2 between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is driven by photosynthetic uptake and respiratory loss, two fluxes currently estimated with considerable uncertainty at large scales. Model predictions indicate that these biosphere fluxes will be modified in the future as CO2 concentrations and temperatures increase; however, it still unclear to what extent. To address this challenge there is a need for better constraints on land surface model parameterisations. Additional atmospheric tracers of large-scale CO2 fluxes have been identified as potential candidates for this task. In particular carbonyl sulphide (OCS) has been proposed as a complementary tracer of gross photosynthesis over land, since OCS uptake by plants is dominated by carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity, an enzyme abundant in leaves that catalyses CO2 hydration during photosynthesis. However, although the mass budget at the ecosystem is dominated by the flux of OCS into leaves, some OCS is also exchanged between the atmosphere and the soil and this component of the budget requires constraining. In this study, we adapted the process-based isotope-enabled model MuSICA (Multi-layer Simulator of the Interactions between a vegetation Canopy and the Atmosphere) to include the transport, reaction, diffusion and production of OCS within a forested ecosystem. This model was combined with 3 years (2011-2013) of in situ measurements of OCS atmospheric concentration profiles and fluxes at the Harvard Forest (Massachussets, USA) to test hypotheses on the mechanisms responsible for CA-driven uptake by leaves and soils as well as possible OCS emissions during litter decomposition. Model simulations over the three years captured well the impact of diurnally and seasonally varying environmental conditions on the net ecosystem OCS flux. A sensitivity analysis on soil CA activity and soil OCS emission rates was also performed to quantify their impact on the vertical profiles of OCS inside the

Atmospheric CO2 measurements reveal strong drought sensitivity of Amazonian carbon balance

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, J. B.; Gatti, L.; Gloor, M.; Doughty, C.; Malhi, Y.; Domingues, L. G.; Basso, L. S.; Martinewski, A.; Correia, C.; Borges, V.; Freitas, S. R.; Braz, R.; Anderson, L.; Rocha, H.; Grace, J.; Phillips, O.; Lloyd, J.

2013-12-01

Potential feedbacks between land carbon pools and climate are one of the largest sources of uncertainty for predicting future global climate, but estimates of their sensitivity to climate anomalies in the tropics and determination of underlying mechanisms are either incomplete or strongly model-based. Amazonia alone stores ~150-200 Pg of labile carbon, and has experienced an increasing trend in temperature and extreme floods and droughts over the last two decades. Here we report the first Amazon Basin-wide seasonal and annual carbon balances based on tropospheric greenhouse gas sampling, during an anomalously dry and a wet year, 2010 and 2011, providing the first whole-system assessment of sensitivity to such conditions. During 2010, the Amazon Basin lost 0.5×0.2 PgCyr-1 while in 2011 it was approximately carbon neutral (0.06×0.1 PgCyr-1). Carbon loss via fire was 0.5×0.1 PgCyr-1 in 2010 and 0.3×0.1 PgCyr-1 in 2011, as derived from Basin-wide carbon monoxide (CO) enhancements. Subtracting fire emissions from total carbon flux to derive Basin net biome exchange (NBE) reveals that in 2010 the non-fire regions of the Basin were carbon neutral; in 2011 they were a net carbon sink of -0.3×0.1 PgC yr-1, roughly consistent with a three-decade long intact-forest biomass sink of ~ -0.5×0.3 PgCyr-1 estimated from forest censuses. Altogether, our results suggest that if the recent trend of precipitation extremes persists, the Amazon region may become an increasing carbon source as a result of both emissions from fires and suppression of NBE by drought.

Role of temperate zone forests in the world carbon cycle: problem definition and research needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armentano, T.V.; Hett, J. (eds.)

1979-01-01

The proceedings of a workshop on carbon uptake and losses from temperate zone forests are presented. The goals of the workshop were to analyze existing data on growth and utilization of the temperate zone forest carbon pool and to identify further research needs in relation to the role of temperate forests in the global carbon cycle. Total standing stock and growth recovery transients were examined for most of the temperate region over a period from pre-settlement times to the present, with emphasis on the last three decades. Because of data availability, certain regions and topics were covered more in detail than others. Forest inventory data from most of the commercial timberlands of the north temperate zone suggest these forests have functioned over the past several decades as an annual sink for about 10/sup 9/ metric tons of carbon. Thus, net growth of these forests has withdrawn carbon from the atmosphere at a rate equivalent, approximately, to 50% of the annual rise in atmospheric carbon. Various data inadequacies make this estimate probably no more precise than plus or minus half of the value. Analysis of growth and vegetation changes in New England and the southeastern United States shows that forest biomass has partly recovered since extensive clearing took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. This regrowth represents a net withdrawal of carbon (carbon sink) from the atmosphere in recent decades, although the difference in pool size between present and original forests means that, in the longer term, the two regions have functioned as carbon sources.

Winter respiratory C losses provide explanatory power for net ecosystem productivity

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Haeni, M.; Zweifel, R.; Eugster, W.; Gessler, A.; Zielis, S.; Bernhofer, C.; Carrara, A.; Gruenwald, T.; Havránková, Kateřina; Heinesch, B.; Herbst, M.; Ibrom, A.; Knohl, A.; Lagergren, F.; Law, B. E.; Marek, Michal V.; Matteucci, G.; McCaughey, J. H.; Minerbi, S.; Montagnani, L.; Moors, E.; Olejnik, Janusz; Pavelka, Marian; Pilegaard, K.; Pita, G.; Rodrigues, A.; Sanz Sanchez, M. J.; Schelhaas, M.J.; Urbaniak, M.; Valentini, R.; Varlagin, A.; Vesala, T.; Vincke, C.; Wu, J.; Buchmann, N.

2017-01-01

Roč. 122, č. 1 (2017), s. 243-260 ISSN 2169-8953 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415 Grant - others:COST(IT) FP0903 Action Institutional support: RVO:68378076 Keywords : spaceborne imaging spectroscopy * temperate deciduous forest * mixedwood boreal forest * beech fagus-sylvatica * water-vapor exchange * stem radius change s * carbon uptake * interannual variability * photosynthetic capacity * leaf characteristics * eddy covariance * CO2 exchange * carbon sink * carbon source * growing season length * winter respiration Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7) Impact factor: 3.395, year: 2016

Elevated moisture stimulates carbon loss from mineral soils by releasing protected organic matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wenjuan; Hall, Steven J

2017-11-24

Moisture response functions for soil microbial carbon (C) mineralization remain a critical uncertainty for predicting ecosystem-climate feedbacks. Theory and models posit that C mineralization declines under elevated moisture and associated anaerobic conditions, leading to soil C accumulation. Yet, iron (Fe) reduction potentially releases protected C, providing an under-appreciated mechanism for C destabilization under elevated moisture. Here we incubate Mollisols from ecosystems under C 3 /C 4 plant rotations at moisture levels at and above field capacity over 5 months. Increased moisture and anaerobiosis initially suppress soil C mineralization, consistent with theory. However, after 25 days, elevated moisture stimulates cumulative gaseous C-loss as CO 2 and CH 4 to >150% of the control. Stable C isotopes show that mineralization of older C 3 -derived C released following Fe reduction dominates C losses. Counter to theory, elevated moisture may significantly accelerate C losses from mineral soils over weeks to months-a critical mechanistic deficiency of current Earth system models.

Where Does The Carbon Go? Carbon Dynamics And Fire of a North Australian Tropical Savanna

Science.gov (United States)

Hutley, L. B.; Beringer, J.; Tapper, N. J.; Cernusak, L.

2007-12-01

The role of fire as one of the primary natural carbon cycling mechanisms is a key issue in considering global change feedbacks. In north Australia, the dominant ecosystem is tropical savanna and for mesic savannas within 100 km of the northern coastline, fire, storms and cyclones all impact carbon stocks. Fire is the most frequent disturbance agent as fires burn with a near annual frequency in these systems. We aimed to determine the annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) from these savannas and the impact of fire on productivity. We established a long-term eddy covariance flux tower at Howard Springs, Australia and present here 5 years of data from 2001 to 2005. Fire has direct impacts through emissions but also has indirect effects through the loss of productivity due to reduced functional leaf area index and the carbon costs of rebuilding the canopy. The impact of fire on the canopy latent energy exchange was evident for 40 days while the canopy was rebuilt; however, the carbon balance took approximately 70 days to recover. The annual fire free NEP at Howard Springs was estimated at -4.3 t C ha-1 y-1 with a range of -3.5 to -5.1 t C ha-1 y-1 across years. We calculated the average annual indirect fire effect as 0.7 t C ha-1 y-1 using a neural network model approach and estimated average emissions of fine and coarse fuels as 1.6 t C ha-1 y-1. This allowed us to calculate a net biome production of 2.0 t C ha-1 y-1. We then partitioned this remaining sink and suggest that most of this can be accounted for by woody increment (1.2 t C ha-1 y-1) and shrub encroachment (0.5 t C ha-1 y-1). Given the consistent sink at this site, even under an almost annual fire regime, there may be management options to increase carbon sequestration by reducing fire frequency.

Taphonomic trade-offs in tropical marine death assemblages: Differential time averaging, shell loss, and probable bias in siliciclastic vs. carbonate facies

Science.gov (United States)

Kidwell, Susan M.; Best, Mairi M. R.; Kaufman, Darrell S.

2005-09-01

Radiocarbon-calibrated amino-acid racemization ages of individually dated bivalve mollusk shells from Caribbean reef, nonreefal carbonate, and siliciclastic sediments in Panama indicate that siliciclastic sands and muds contain significantly older shells (median 375 yr, range up to ˜5400 yr) than nearby carbonate seafloors (median 72 yr, range up to ˜2900 yr; maximum shell ages differ significantly at p < 0.02 using extreme-value statistics). The implied difference in shell loss rates is contrary to physicochemical expectations but is consistent with observed differences in shell condition (greater bioerosion and dissolution in carbonates). Higher rates of shell loss in carbonate sediments should lead to greater compositional bias in surviving skeletal material, resulting in taphonomic trade-offs: less time averaging but probably higher taxonomic bias in pure carbonate sediments, and lower bias but greater time averaging in siliciclastic sediments from humid-weathered accretionary arc terrains, which are a widespread setting of tropical sedimentation.

Energy loss of argon in a laser-generated carbon plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, A; Blazević, A; Grande, P L; Harres, K; Hessling, T; Hoffmann, D H H; Knobloch-Maas, R; Kuznetsov, P G; Nürnberg, F; Pelka, A; Schaumann, G; Schiwietz, G; Schökel, A; Schollmeier, M; Schumacher, D; Schütrumpf, J; Vatulin, V V; Vinokurov, O A; Roth, M

2010-02-01

The experimental data presented in this paper address the energy loss determination for argon at 4 MeV/u projectile energy in laser-generated carbon plasma covering a huge parameter range in density and temperature. Furthermore, a consistent theoretical description of the projectile charge state evolution via a Monte Carlo code is combined with an improved version of the CasP code that allows us to calculate the contributions to the stopping power of bound and free electrons for each projectile charge state. This approach gets rid of any effective charge description of the stopping power. Comparison of experimental data and theoretical results allows us to judge the influence of different plasma parameters.

Separating the Effects of Tropical Atlantic and Pacific SST-driven Climate Variability on Amazon Carbon Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Liptak, J.; Keppel-Aleks, G.

2016-12-01

Amazon forests store an estimated 25% percent of global terrestrial carbon per year1, 2, but the responses of Amazon carbon uptake to climate change is highly uncertain. One source of this uncertainty is tropical sea surface temperature variability driven by teleconnections. El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a key driver of year-to-year Amazon carbon exchange, with associated temperature and precipitation changes favoring net carbon storage in La Nina years, and net carbon release during El Nino years3. To determine how Amazon climate and terrestrial carbon fluxes react to ENSO alone and in concert with other SST-driven teleconnections such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), we force the atmosphere (CAM5) and land (CLM4) components of the CESM(BGC) with prescribed monthly SSTs over the period 1950—2014 in a Historical control simulation. We then run an experiment (PAC) with time-varying SSTs applied only to the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean, and repeating SST seasonal cycle climatologies elsewhere. Limiting SST variability to the equatorial Pacific indicates that other processes enhance ENSO-driven Amazon climate anomalies. Compared to the Historical control simulation, warming, drying and terrestrial carbon loss over the Amazon during El Nino periods are lower in the PAC simulation, especially prior to 1990 during the cool phase of the AMO. Cooling, moistening, and net carbon uptake during La Nina periods are also reduced in the PAC simulation, but differences are greater after 1990 during the warm phase of the AMO. By quantifying the relationships among climate drivers and carbon fluxes in the Historical and PAC simulations, we both assess the sensitivity of these relationships to the magnitude of ENSO forcing and quantify how other teleconnections affect ENSO-driven Amazon climate feedbacks. We expect that these results will help us improve hypotheses for how Atlantic and Pacific climate trends will affect future Amazon carbon carbon

Loss of Chromosome 18 in Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Intestine: The Enigma Remains.

Science.gov (United States)

Nieser, Maike; Henopp, Tobias; Brix, Joachim; Stoß, Laura; Sitek, Barbara; Naboulsi, Wael; Anlauf, Martin; Schlitter, Anna M; Klöppel, Günter; Gress, Thomas; Moll, Roland; Bartsch, Detlef K; Heverhagen, Anna E; Knoefel, Wolfram T; Kaemmerer, Daniel; Haybaeck, Johannes; Fend, Falko; Sperveslage, Jan; Sipos, Bence

2017-01-01

Neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine (SI-NETs) exhibit an increasing incidence and high mortality rate. Until now, no fundamental molecular event has been linked to the tumorigenesis and progression of these tumors. Only the loss of chromosome 18 (Chr18) has been shown in up to two thirds of SI-NETs, whereby the significance of this alteration is still not understood. We therefore performed the first comprehensive study to identify Chr18-related events at the genetic, epigenetic and gene/protein expression levels. We did expression analysis of all seven putative Chr18-related tumor suppressors by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Next-generation exome sequencing and SNP array analysis were performed with five SI-NETs with (partial) loss of Chr18. Finally, we analyzed all microRNAs (miRNAs) located on Chr18 by qRT-PCR, comparing Chr18+/- and Chr18+/+ SI-NETs. Only DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) revealed loss of/greatly reduced expression in 6/21 cases (29%). No relevant loss of SMAD2, SMAD4, elongin A3 and CABLES was detected. PMAIP1 and maspin were absent at the protein level. Next-generation sequencing did not reveal relevant recurrent somatic mutations on Chr18 either in an exploratory cohort of five SI-NETs, or in a validation cohort (n = 30). SNP array analysis showed no additional losses. The quantitative analysis of all 27 Chr18-related miRNAs revealed no difference in expression between Chr18+/- and Chr18+/+ SI-NETs. DCC seems to be the only Chr18-related tumor suppressor affected by the monoallelic loss of Chr18 resulting in a loss of DCC protein expression in one third of SI-NETs. No additional genetic or epigenetic alterations were present on Chr18. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Estimation of Community Land Model parameters for an improved assessment of net carbon fluxes at European sites

Science.gov (United States)

Post, Hanna; Vrugt, Jasper A.; Fox, Andrew; Vereecken, Harry; Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan

2017-03-01

The Community Land Model (CLM) contains many parameters whose values are uncertain and thus require careful estimation for model application at individual sites. Here we used Bayesian inference with the DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM(zs)) algorithm to estimate eight CLM v.4.5 ecosystem parameters using 1 year records of half-hourly net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) observations of four central European sites with different plant functional types (PFTs). The posterior CLM parameter distributions of each site were estimated per individual season and on a yearly basis. These estimates were then evaluated using NEE data from an independent evaluation period and data from "nearby" FLUXNET sites at 600 km distance to the original sites. Latent variables (multipliers) were used to treat explicitly uncertainty in the initial carbon-nitrogen pools. The posterior parameter estimates were superior to their default values in their ability to track and explain the measured NEE data of each site. The seasonal parameter values reduced with more than 50% (averaged over all sites) the bias in the simulated NEE values. The most consistent performance of CLM during the evaluation period was found for the posterior parameter values of the forest PFTs, and contrary to the C3-grass and C3-crop sites, the latent variables of the initial pools further enhanced the quality-of-fit. The carbon sink function of the forest PFTs significantly increased with the posterior parameter estimates. We thus conclude that land surface model predictions of carbon stocks and fluxes require careful consideration of uncertain ecological parameters and initial states.

Accounting for forest carbon pool dynamics in product carbon footprints: Challenges and opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newell, Joshua P.; Vos, Robert O.

2012-01-01

Modification and loss of forests due to natural and anthropogenic disturbance contribute an estimated 20% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Although forest carbon pool modeling rarely suggests a ‘carbon neutral’ flux profile, the life cycle assessment community and associated product carbon footprint protocols have struggled to account for the GHG emissions associated with forestry, specifically, and land use generally. Principally, this is due to underdeveloped linkages between life cycle inventory (LCI) modeling for wood and forest carbon modeling for a full range of forest types and harvest practices, as well as a lack of transparency in globalized forest supply chains. In this paper, through a comparative study of U.S. and Chinese coated freesheet paper, we develop the initial foundations for a methodology that rescales IPCC methods from the national to the product level, with reference to the approaches in three international product carbon footprint protocols. Due to differences in geographic origin of the wood fiber, the results for two scenarios are highly divergent. This suggests that both wood LCI models and the protocols need further development to capture the range of spatial and temporal dimensions for supply chains (and the associated land use change and modification) for specific product systems. The paper concludes by outlining opportunities to measure and reduce uncertainty in accounting for net emissions of biogenic carbon from forestland, where timber is harvested for consumer products. - Highlights: ► Typical life cycle assessment practice for consumer products often excludes significant land use change emissions when estimating carbon footprints. ► The article provides a methodology to rescale IPCC guidelines for product-level carbon footprints. ► Life cycle inventories and product carbon footprint protocols need more comprehensive land use-related accounting. ► Interdisciplinary collaboration linking the LCA and

Arctic carbon cycling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Christensen, Torben R; Rysgaard, SØREN; Bendtsen, JØRGEN; Else, Brent; Glud, Ronnie N; van Huissteden, J.; Parmentier, F.J.W.; Sachs, Torsten; Vonk, J.E.

2017-01-01

The marine Arctic is considered a net carbon sink, with large regional differences in uptake rates. More regional modelling and observational studies are required to reduce the uncertainty among current estimates. Robust projections for how the Arctic Ocean carbon sink may evolve in the future are

The biogeochemistry of bioenergy landscapes: carbon, nitrogen, and water considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, G Philip; Hamilton, Stephen K; Del Grosso, Stephen J; Parton, William J

2011-06-01

The biogeochemical liabilities of grain-based crop production for bioenergy are no different from those of grain-based food production: excessive nitrate leakage, soil carbon and phosphorus loss, nitrous oxide production, and attenuated methane uptake. Contingent problems are well known, increasingly well documented, and recalcitrant: freshwater and coastal marine eutrophication, groundwater pollution, soil organic matter loss, and a warming atmosphere. The conversion of marginal lands not now farmed to annual grain production, including the repatriation of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other conservation set-aside lands, will further exacerbate the biogeochemical imbalance of these landscapes, as could pressure to further simplify crop rotations. The expected emergence of biorefinery and combustion facilities that accept cellulosic materials offers an alternative outcome: agricultural landscapes that accumulate soil carbon, that conserve nitrogen and phosphorus, and that emit relatively small amounts of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Fields in these landscapes are planted to perennial crops that require less fertilizer, that retain sediments and nutrients that could otherwise be transported to groundwater and streams, and that accumulate carbon in both soil organic matter and roots. If mixed-species assemblages, they additionally provide biodiversity services. Biogeochemical responses of these systems fall chiefly into two areas: carbon neutrality and water and nutrient conservation. Fluxes must be measured and understood in proposed cropping systems sufficient to inform models that will predict biogeochemical behavior at field, landscape, and regional scales. Because tradeoffs are inherent to these systems, a systems approach is imperative, and because potential biofuel cropping systems and their environmental contexts are complex and cannot be exhaustively tested, modeling will be instructive. Modeling alternative biofuel cropping systems converted

Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Forest Carbon Sequestration and Water Loss in a Chronosequence of Three Douglas-Fir Stands in the Pacific Northwest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianming Dou

2015-05-01

Full Text Available To examine the effect of nitrogen (N fertilization on forest carbon (C sequestration and water loss, we used an artificial neural network model to estimate C fluxes and evapotranspiration (ET in response to N fertilization during four post-fertilization years in a Pacific Northwest chronosequence of three Douglas-fir stands aged 61, 22 and 10 years old in 2010 (DF49, HDF88 and HDF00, respectively. Results showed that N fertilization increased gross primary productivity (GPP for all three sites in all four years with the largest absolute increase at HDF00 followed by HDF88. Ecosystem respiration increased in all four years at HDF00, but decreased over the last three years at HDF88 and over all four years at DF49. As a result, fertilization increased the net ecosystem productivity of all three stands with the largest increase at HDF88, followed by DF49. Fertilization had no discernible effect on ET in any of the stands. Consequently, fertilization increased water use efficiency (WUE in all four post-fertilization years at all three sites and also increased light use efficiency (LUE of all the stands, especially HDF00. Our results suggest that the effects of fertilization on forest C sequestration and water loss may be associated with stand age and fertilization; the two younger stands appeared to be more efficient than the older stand with respect to GPP, WUE and LUE.

Mechanisms and ecological role of carbon transfer within coastal seascapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyndes, Glenn A; Nagelkerken, Ivan; McLeod, Rebecca J; Connolly, Rod M; Lavery, Paul S; Vanderklift, Mathew A

2014-02-01

that affect the integrity of connectivity among ecosystems. Loss of habitat, net primary production (NPP) and overfishing pose the greatest risks to carbon transfer in temperate saltmarsh and tropical estuaries, particularly through their effects on nekton abundance and movement. In comparison, habitat/NPP loss and climate change are likely to be the major risks to carbon transfer in temperate fjords and temperate open coasts through alteration in the amount of POC and/or DOC/DIC being transported. While we have highlighted the importance of these vectors in coastal seascapes, there is limited quantitative data on the effects of these vectors on recipient systems. It is only through quantifying those subsidies that we can effectively incorporate complex interactions into the management of the marine environment and its resources. © 2013 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2013 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Modeling Root Exudation, Priming and Protection in Soil Carbon Responses to Elevated CO2 from Ecosystem to Global Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Sulman, B. N.; Phillips, R.; Shevliakova, E.; Oishi, A. C.; Pacala, S. W.

2014-12-01

The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) to changing environmental conditions represents a critical uncertainty in coupled carbon cycle-climate models. Much of this uncertainty arises from our limited understanding of the extent to which plants induce SOC losses (through accelerated decomposition or "priming") or promote SOC gains (via stabilization through physico-chemical protection). We developed a new SOC model, "Carbon, Organisms, Rhizosphere and Protection in the Soil Environment" (CORPSE), to examine the net effect of priming and protection in response to rising atmospheric CO2, and conducted simulations of rhizosphere priming effects at both ecosystem and global scales. At the ecosystem scale, the model successfully captured and explained disparate SOC responses at the Duke and Oak Ridge free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments. We show that stabilization of "new" carbon in protected SOC pools may equal or exceed microbial priming of "old" SOC in ecosystems with readily decomposable litter (e.g. Oak Ridge). In contrast, carbon losses owing to priming dominate the net SOC response in ecosystems with more resistant litters (e.g. Duke). For global simulations, the model was fully integrated into the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) land model LM3. Globally, priming effects driven by enhanced root exudation and expansion of the rhizosphere reduced SOC storage in the majority of terrestrial areas, partially counterbalancing SOC gains from the enhanced ecosystem productivity driven by CO2 fertilization. Collectively, our results suggest that SOC stocks globally depend not only on temperature and moisture, but also on vegetation responses to environmental changes, and that protected C may provide an important constraint on priming effects.

State factor relationships of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen losses from unpolluted temperate forest watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Perakis, S.S.; Hedin, L.O.

2007-01-01

We sampled 100 unpolluted, old-growth forested watersheds, divided among 13 separate study areas over 5 years in temperate southern Chile and Argentina, to evaluate relationships among dominant soil-forming state factors and dissolved carbon and nitrogen concentrations in watershed streams. These watersheds provide a unique opportunity to examine broad-scale controls over carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) biogeochemistry in the absence of significant human disturbance from chronic N deposition and land use change. Variations in the ratio dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to nitrogen (DON) in watershed streams differed by underlying soil parent material, with average C:N = 29 for watersheds underlain by volcanic ash and basalt versus C:N = 73 for sedimentary and metamorphic parent materials, consistent with stronger adsorption of low C:N hydrophobic materials by amorphous clays commonly associated with volcanic ash and basalt weathering. Mean annual precipitation was related positively to variations in both DOC (range: 0.2-9.7 mg C/L) and DON (range: 0.008-0.135 mg N/L) across study areas, suggesting that variations in water volume and concentration may act synergistically to influence C and N losses across dry to wet gradients in these forest ecosystems. Dominance of vegetation by broadleaf versus coniferous trees had negligible effects on organic C and N concentrations in comparison to abiotic factors. We conclude that precipitation volume and soil parent material are important controls over chemical losses of dissolved organic C and N from unpolluted temperate forest watersheds. Our results raise the possibility that biotic imprints on watershed C and N losses may be less pronounced in naturally N-poor forests than in areas impacted by land use change and chronic N deposition. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

NOy production, ozone loss and changes in net radiative heating due to energetic particle precipitation in 2002–2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sinnhuber

2018-01-01

the models in nearly every polar winter, ranging from 10–50 % during solar maximum to 2–10 % during solar minimum. Ozone loss continues throughout polar summer after strong solar proton events in the Southern Hemisphere and after large sudden stratospheric warmings in the Northern Hemisphere. During mid-winter, the ozone loss causes a reduction of the infrared radiative cooling, i.e., a positive change of the net radiative heating (effective warming, in agreement with analyses of geomagnetic forcing in stratospheric temperatures which show a warming in the late winter upper stratosphere. In late winter and spring, the sign of the net radiative heating change turns to negative (effective cooling. This spring-time cooling lasts well into summer and continues until the following autumn after large solar proton events in the Southern Hemisphere, and after sudden stratospheric warmings in the Northern Hemisphere.

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Zanotelli

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Carbon use efficiency (CUE, the ratio of net primary production (NPP over gross primary production (GPP, is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global GPP estimates with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, NPP and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010. We applied a measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard, both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on a yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m−2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m−2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruit: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 �

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy-covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotelli, D.; Montagnani, L.; Manca, G.; Tagliavini, M.

2012-10-01

Carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global estimates of gross primary production with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, net primary production (NPP) and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a~measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross-check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m-2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m-2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruits: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.09, was higher than the previously suggested

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotelli, D.; Montagnani, L.; Manca, G.; Tagliavini, M.

2013-05-01

Carbon use efficiency (CUE), the ratio of net primary production (NPP) over gross primary production (GPP), is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global GPP estimates with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, NPP and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard, both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on a yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m-2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m-2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruit: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.12, was higher

Can heterotrophic uptake of dissolved organic carbon and zooplankton mitigate carbon budget deficits in annually bleached corals?

Science.gov (United States)

Levas, Stephen; Grottoli, Andréa G.; Schoepf, Verena; Aschaffenburg, Matthew; Baumann, Justin; Bauer, James E.; Warner, Mark E.

2016-06-01

Annual coral bleaching events due to increasing sea surface temperatures are predicted to occur globally by the mid-century and as early as 2025 in the Caribbean, and severely impact coral reefs. We hypothesize that heterotrophic carbon (C) in the form of zooplankton and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a significant source of C to bleached corals. Thus, the ability to utilize multiple pools of fixed carbon and/or increase the amount of fixed carbon acquired from one or more pools of fixed carbon (defined here as heterotrophic plasticity) could underlie coral acclimatization and persistence under future ocean-warming scenarios. Here, three species of Caribbean coral— Porites divaricata, P. astreoides, and Orbicella faveolata—were experimentally bleached for 2.5 weeks in two successive years and allowed to recover in the field. Zooplankton feeding was assessed after single and repeat bleaching, while DOC fluxes and the contribution of DOC to the total C budget were determined after single bleaching, 11 months on the reef, and repeat bleaching. Zooplankton was a large C source for P. astreoides, but only following single bleaching. DOC was a source of C for single-bleached corals and accounted for 11-36 % of daily metabolic demand (CHARDOC), but represented a net loss of C in repeat-bleached corals. In repeat-bleached corals, DOC loss exacerbated the negative C budgets in all three species. Thus, the capacity for heterotrophic plasticity in corals is compromised under annual bleaching, and heterotrophic uptake of DOC and zooplankton does not mitigate C budget deficits in annually bleached corals. Overall, these findings suggest that some Caribbean corals may be more susceptible to repeat bleaching than to single bleaching due to a lack of heterotrophic plasticity, and coral persistence under increasing bleaching frequency may ultimately depend on other factors such as energy reserves and symbiont shuffling.

Enhanced transfer of terrestrially derived carbon to the atmosphere in a flooding event

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi, Thomas S.; Garcia-Tigreros, Fenix; Yvon-Lewis, Shari A.; Shields, Michael; Mills, Heath J.; Butman, David; Osburn, Christopher; Raymond, Peter A.; Shank, G. Christopher; DiMarco, Steven F.; Walker, Nan; Kiel Reese, Brandi; Mullins-Perry, Ruth; Quigg, Antonietta; Aiken, George R.; Grossman, Ethan L.

2013-01-01

Rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, global climate change, and the sustainability of the Earth's biosphere are great societal concerns for the 21st century. Global climate change has, in part, resulted in a higher frequency of flooding events, which allow for greater exchange between soil/plant litter and aquatic carbon pools. Here we demonstrate that the summer 2011 flood in the Mississippi River basin, caused by extreme precipitation events, resulted in a “flushing” of terrestrially derived dissolved organic carbon (TDOC) to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Data from the lower Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers showed that the DOC flux to the northern Gulf of Mexico during this flood was significantly higher than in previous years. We also show that consumption of radiocarbon-modern TDOC by bacteria in floodwaters in the lower Atchafalaya River and along the adjacent shelf contributed to northern Gulf shelf waters changing from a net sink to a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere in June and August 2011. This work shows that enhanced flooding, which may or may not be caused by climate change, can result in rapid losses of stored carbon in soils to the atmosphere via processes in aquatic ecosystems.

The effects of land cover and land use change on the contemporary carbon balance of the arctic and boreal terrestrial ecosystems of northern Eurasia

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Daniel J.; McGuire, A. David; Kicklighter, David W.; Burnside , Todd J.; Melillo, Jerry M.

2010-01-01

Recent changes in climate, disturbance regimes and land use and management systems in Northern Eurasia have the potential to disrupt the terrestrial sink of atmospheric CO2 in a way that accelerates global climate change. To determine the recent trends in the carbon balance of the arctic and boreal ecosystems of this region, we performed a retrospective analysis of terrestrial carbon dynamics across northern Eurasia over a recent 10-year period using a terrestrial biogeochemical process model. The results of the simulations suggest a shift in direction of the net flux from the terrestrial sink of earlier decades to a net source on the order of 45 Tg C year−1between 1997 and 2006. The simulation framework and subsequent analyses presented in this study attribute this shift to a large loss of carbon from boreal forest ecosystems, which experienced a trend of decreasing precipitation and a large area burned during this time period.

Aspects regarding at 13C isotope separation column control using Petri nets system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boca, M L; Ciortea, M E

2015-01-01

This paper is intended to show that Petri nets can be also applicable in the chemical industry. It used linear programming, modeling underlying Petri nets, especially discrete event systems for isotopic separation, the purpose of considering and control events in real-time through graphical representations. In this paper it is simulate the control of 13 C Isotope Separation column using Petri nets. The major problem with 13 C comes from the difficulty of obtaining it and raising its natural fraction. Carbon isotopes can be obtained using many methods, one of them being the cryogenic distillation of carbon monoxide. Some few aspects regarding operating conditions and the construction of such cryogenic plants are known today, and even less information are available as far as the separation process modeling and control are concerned. In fact, the efficient control of the carbon monoxide distillation process represents a necessity for large-scale 13 C production. Referring to a classic distillation process, some models for carbon isotope separation have been proposed, some based on mass, component and energy balance equations, some on the nonlinear wave theory or the Cohen equations. For modeling the system it was used Petri nets because in this case it is deal with discrete event systems. In use of the non-timed and with auxiliary times Petri model, the transport stream was divided into sections and these sections will be analyzed successively. Because of the complexity of the system and the large amount of calculations required it was not possible to analyze the system as a unitary whole. A first attempt to model the system as a unitary whole led to the blocking of the model during simulation, because of the large processing times. (paper)

Environmental controls on daytime net community calcification on a Red Sea reef flat

KAUST Repository

Bernstein, W. N.

2016-01-23

Coral growth and carbonate accumulation form the foundation of the coral reef ecosystem. Changes in environmental conditions due to coastal development, climate change, and ocean acidification may pose a threat to net carbonate production in the near future. Controlled laboratory studies demonstrate that calcification by corals and coralline algae is sensitive to changes in aragonite saturation state (Ωa), as well as temperature, light, and nutrition. Studies also show that the dissolution rate of carbonate substrates is impacted by changes in carbonate chemistry. The sensitivity of coral reefs to these parameters must be confirmed and quantified in the natural environment in order to predict how coral reefs will respond to local and global changes, particularly ocean acidification. We estimated the daytime hourly net community metabolic rates, both net community calcification (NCC) and net community productivity (NCP), at Sheltered Reef, an offshore platform reef in the central Red Sea. Average NCC was 8 ± 3 mmol m−2 h−1 in December 2010 and 11 ± 1 mmol m−2 h−1 in May 2011, and NCP was 21 ± 7 mmol m−2 h−1 in December 2010 and 44 ± 4 mmol m−2 h−1 in May 2011. We also monitored a suite of physical and chemical properties to help relate the rates at Sheltered Reef to published rates from other sites. While previous research shows that short-term field studies investigating the NCC–Ωa relationship have differing results due to confounding factors, it is important to continue estimating NCC in different places, seasons, and years, in order to monitor changes in NCC versus Ω in space and time, and to ultimately resolve a broader understanding of this relationship.

Scaling net ecosystem production and net biome production over a heterogeneous region in the western United States

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D. P. Turner

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Bottom-up scaling of net ecosystem production (NEP and net biome production (NBP was used to generate a carbon budget for a large heterogeneous region (the state of Oregon, 2.5×10⁵ km² in the western United States. Landsat resolution (30 m remote sensing provided the basis for mapping land cover and disturbance history, thus allowing us to account for all major fire and logging events over the last 30 years. For NEP, a 23-year record (1980–2002 of distributed meteorology (1 km resolution at the daily time step was used to drive a process-based carbon cycle model (Biome-BGC. For NBP, fire emissions were computed from remote sensing based estimates of area burned and our mapped biomass estimates. Our estimates for the contribution of logging and crop harvest removals to NBP were from the model simulations and were checked against public records of forest and crop harvesting. The predominately forested ecoregions within our study region had the highest NEP sinks, with ecoregion averages up to 197 gC m⁻² yr⁻¹. Agricultural ecoregions were also NEP sinks, reflecting the imbalance of NPP and decomposition of crop residues. For the period 1996–2000, mean NEP for the study area was 17.0 TgC yr⁻¹, with strong interannual variation (SD of 10.6. The sum of forest harvest removals, crop removals, and direct fire emissions amounted to 63% of NEP, leaving a mean NBP of 6.1 TgC yr⁻¹. Carbon sequestration was predominantly on public forestland, where the harvest rate has fallen dramatically in the recent years. Comparison of simulation results with estimates of carbon stocks, and changes in carbon stocks, based on forest inventory data showed generally good agreement. The carbon sequestered as NBP, plus accumulation of forest products in slow turnover pools, offset 51% of the annual emissions of fossil fuel CO₂ for the state. State-level NBP dropped below zero in 2002

Independents' group posts loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, V.; Price, R.B.

1992-01-01

Low oil gas prices and special charges caused the group of 50 U.S. independent producers Oil and Gas Journal tracks to post a combined loss in first half 1992. The group logged a net loss of $53 million in the first half compared with net earnings of $354 million in first half 1991, when higher oil prices during the Persian Gulf crisis buoyed earnings in spite of crude oil and natural gas production declines. The combined loss in the first half follows a 45% drop in the group's earnings in 1991 and compares with the OGJ group of integrated oil companies whose first half 1992 income fell 47% from the prior year. Special charges, generally related to asset writedowns, accounted for most of the almost $560 million in losses posted by about the third of the group. Nerco Oil and Gas Inc., Vancouver, Wash., alone accounted for almost half that total with charges related to an asset writedown of $238 million in the first quarter. Despite the poor first half performance, the outlook is bright for sharply improved group earnings in the second half, assuming reasonably healthy oil and gas prices and increased production resulting from acquisitions and in response to those prices

Annual carbon balance of a peatland 10 yr following restoration

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M. Strack

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Undisturbed peatlands represent long-term net sinks of carbon; however, peat extraction converts these systems into large and persistent sources of greenhouse gases. Although rewetting and restoration following peat extraction have taken place over the last several decades, very few studies have investigated the longer term impact of this restoration on peatland carbon balance. We determined the annual carbon balance of a former horticulturally-extracted peatland restored 10 yr prior to the study and compared these values to the carbon balance measured at neighboring unrestored and natural sites. Carbon dioxide (CO2 and methane (CH4 fluxes were measured using the chamber technique biweekly during the growing season from May to October 2010 and three times over the winter period. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC export was measured from remnant ditches in the unrestored and restored sites. During the growing season the restored site had greater uptake of CO2 than the natural site when photon flux density was greater than 1000 μmol m−2 s−1, while the unrestored site remained a source of CO2. Ecosystem respiration was similar between natural and restored sites, which were both significantly lower than the unrestored site. Methane flux remained low at the restored site except from open water pools, created as part of restoration, and remnant ditches. Export of DOC during the growing season was 5.0 and 28.8 g m−2 from the restored and unrestored sites, respectively. Due to dry conditions during the study year all sites acted as net carbon sources with annual balance of the natural, restored and unrestored sites of 250.7, 148.0 and 546.6 g C m−2, respectively. Although hydrological conditions and vegetation community at the restored site remained intermediate between natural and unrestored conditions, peatland restoration resulted in a large reduction in annual carbon loss from the system resulting in a carbon balance more similar to a natural

Simultaneous reductions in emissions of black carbon and co-emitted species will weaken the aerosol net cooling effect

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Wang, Z. L.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X. Y.

2015-04-01

Black carbon (BC), a distinct type of carbonaceous material formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil and biomass based fuels under certain conditions, can interact with solar radiation and clouds through its strong light-absorption ability, thereby warming the Earth's climate system. Some studies have even suggested that global warming could be slowed down in the short term by eliminating BC emission due to its short lifetime. In this study, we estimate the influence of removing some sources of BC and other co-emitted species on the aerosol radiative effect by using an aerosol-climate atmosphere-only model BCC_AGCM2.0.1_CUACE/Aero with prescribed sea surface temperature and sea ice cover, in combination with the aerosol emissions from the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios. We find that the global annual mean aerosol net cooling effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) will be enhanced by 0.12 W m-2 compared with recent past year 2000 levels if the emissions of only BC are reduced to the level projected for 2100 based on the RCP2.6 scenario. This will be beneficial~for the mitigation of global warming. However, both aerosol negative direct and indirect radiative effects are weakened when BC and its co-emitted species (sulfur dioxide and organic carbon) are simultaneously reduced. Relative to year 2000 levels, the global annual mean aerosol net cooling effect at the TOA will be weakened by 1.7-2.0 W m-2 if the emissions of all these aerosols are decreased to the levels projected for 2100 in different ways based on the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios. Because there are no effective ways to remove the BC exclusively without influencing the other co-emitted components, our results therefore indicate that a reduction in BC emission can lead to an unexpected warming on the Earth's climate system in the future.

Author Correction: Global patterns in mangrove soil carbon stocks and losses

Science.gov (United States)

Atwood, Trisha B.; Connolly, Rod M.; Almahasheer, Hanan; Carnell, Paul E.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Lewis, Carolyn J. Ewers; Irigoien, Xabier; Kelleway, Jeffrey J.; Lavery, Paul S.; Macreadie, Peter I.; Serrano, Oscar; Sanders, Christian J.; Santos, Isaac; Steven, Andrew D. L.; Lovelock, Catherine E.

2018-03-01

In the version of this Article originally published, the potential carbon loss from soils as a result of mangrove deforestation was incorrectly given as `2.0-75 Tg C yr-1'; this should have read `2-8 Tg C yr-1'. The corresponding emissions were incorrectly given as ` 7.3-275 Tg of CO2e'; this should have read ` 7-29 Tg of CO2e'. The corresponding percentage equivalent of these emissions compared with those from global terrestrial deforestation was incorrectly given as `0.2-6%'; this should have read `0.6-2.4%'. These errors have now been corrected in all versions of the Article.

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle Variability [version 1; referees: 2 approved

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Dennis Baldocchi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available A growing literature is reporting on how the terrestrial carbon cycle is experiencing year-to-year variability because of climate anomalies and trends caused by global change. As CO2 concentration records in the atmosphere exceed 50 years and as satellite records reach over 30 years in length, we are becoming better able to address carbon cycle variability and trends. Here we review how variable the carbon cycle is, how large the trends in its gross and net fluxes are, and how well the signal can be separated from noise. We explore mechanisms that explain year-to-year variability and trends by deconstructing the global carbon budget. The CO2 concentration record is detecting a significant increase in the seasonal amplitude between 1958 and now. Inferential methods provide a variety of explanations for this result, but a conclusive attribution remains elusive. Scientists have reported that this trend is a consequence of the greening of the biosphere, stronger northern latitude photosynthesis, more photosynthesis by semi-arid ecosystems, agriculture and the green revolution, tropical temperature anomalies, or increased winter respiration. At the global scale, variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle can be due to changes in constituent fluxes, gross primary productivity, plant respiration and heterotrophic (microbial respiration, and losses due to fire, land use change, soil erosion, or harvesting. It remains controversial whether or not there is a significant trend in global primary productivity (due to rising CO2, temperature, nitrogen deposition, changing land use, and preponderance of wet and dry regions. The degree to which year-to-year variability in temperature and precipitation anomalies affect global primary productivity also remains uncertain. For perspective, interannual variability in global gross primary productivity is relatively small (on the order of 2 Pg-C y-1 with respect to a large and uncertain background (123 +/- 4 Pg-C y-1

Soil carbon sequestration and biochar as negative emission technologies.

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Smith, Pete

2016-03-01

Despite 20 years of effort to curb emissions, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew faster during the 2000s than in the 1990s, which presents a major challenge for meeting the international goal of limiting warming to deforestation, showed that all NETs have significant limits to implementation, including economic cost, energy requirements, land use, and water use. In this paper, I assess the potential for negative emissions from soil carbon sequestration and biochar addition to land, and also the potential global impacts on land use, water, nutrients, albedo, energy and cost. Results indicate that soil carbon sequestration and biochar have useful negative emission potential (each 0.7 GtCeq. yr(-1) ) and that they potentially have lower impact on land, water use, nutrients, albedo, energy requirement and cost, so have fewer disadvantages than many NETs. Limitations of soil carbon sequestration as a NET centre around issues of sink saturation and reversibility. Biochar could be implemented in combination with bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. Current integrated assessment models do not represent soil carbon sequestration or biochar. Given the negative emission potential of SCS and biochar and their potential advantages compared to other NETs, efforts should be made to include these options within IAMs, so that their potential can be explored further in comparison with other NETs for climate stabilization. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration in National Parks: Values for the Conterminous United States

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Richardson, Leslie A.; Huber, Christopher; Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Koontz, Lynne

2015-01-01

Lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS) provide a wide range of beneficial services to the American public. This study quantifies the ecosystem service value of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems within NPS units in the conterminous United States for which data were available. Combining annual net carbon balance data with spatially explicit NPS land unit boundaries and social cost of carbon estimates, this study calculates the net metric tons of carbon dioxide sequestered annually by park unit under baseline conditions, as well as the associated economic value to society. Results show that, in aggregate, NPS lands in the conterminous United States are a net carbon sink, sequestering more than 14.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The associated societal value of this service is estimated at approximately $582.5 million per year. While this analysis provides a broad overview of the annual value of carbon sequestration on NPS lands averaged over a five year baseline period, it should be noted that carbon fluxes fluctuate from year to year, and there can be considerable variation in net carbon balance and its associated value within a given park unit. Future research could look in-depth at the spatial heterogeneity of carbon flux within specific NPS land units.

Net Primary Production and Carbon Stocks for Subarctic Mesic-Dry Tundras with Contrasting Microtopography, Altitude, and Dominant Species

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campioli, Matteo; Michelsen, Anders; Demey, A

2009-01-01

Mesic-dry tundras are widespread in the Arctic but detailed assessments of net primary production (NPP) and ecosystem carbon (C) stocks are lacking. We addressed this lack of knowledge by determining the seasonal dynamics of aboveground vascular NPP, annual NPP, and whole-ecosystem C stocks in five...... mesic-dry tundras in Northern Sweden with contrasting microtopography, altitude, and dominant species. Those measurements were paralleled by the stock assessments of nitrogen (N), the limiting nutrient. The vascular production was determined by harvest or in situ growing units, whereas the nonvascular...... hermaphroditum is more productive than Cassiope tetragona vegetation. Although the large majority of the apical NPP occurred in early-mid season (85%), production of stems and evergreen leaves proceeded until about 2 weeks before senescence. Most of the vascular vegetation was belowground (80%), whereas most...

Beyond annual budgets: carbon flux at different temporal scales in fire-prone Siberian Scots pine forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirth, C.; Czimczik, C.I.; Schulze, E.D.

2002-01-01

Along four chronosequences of fire-prone Siberian Scots pine forests we compared net primary production (NPP) and two different mass-based estimates of net ecosystem productivity (NEP C and NEP S ). NEP C quantifies changes in carbon pools along the chronosequences, whereas NEP S estimates the short-term stand-level carbon balance in intervals between fires. The chronosequences differed in the mean return interval of surface fires (unburned or moderately burned, 40 yr; heavily burned, 25 yr) and site quality (lichen versus Vaccinium type). Of the Vaccinium type (higher site quality) only a moderately burned chronosequence was studied. NEP C was derived from the rate of changes of two major carbon pools along the chronosequence time axes: (1) decomposition of old coarse woody debris (CWD) left from the previous generation after stand-replacing fire, and (2) accumulation of new carbon in biomass, CWD and soil organic layer by the regenerating stand. Young stands of all chronosequences were losing carbon at rates of -4 to -19 mol C/m 2 /yr (-48 to -228 g C/m 2 /yr). Depending on initial CWD pools and site-specific accumulation rates the stands became net carbon sinks after 12 yr (Vaccinium type) to 24 yr (lichen type) following the stand-replacing fire and offset initial carbon losses after 27 and 70 yr, respectively. Highest NEP C was reached in the unburned chronosequence (10.8 mol C/m 2 /yr or 130 g C/m 2 /yr). Maximum NEP C in the burned chronosequences ranged from 1.8 to 5.1 mol C/m 2 /yr (22 to 61 g C/m 2 /yr) depending on site quality and fire regime. Around a stand age of 200 yr NEP C was 1.6 ± 0.6 mol C/m 2 /yr (19 ± 7 g C/m 2 /yr) across all chronosequences. NEP S represents the current stand-level carbon accumulation in intervals between recurring surface fires and can be viewed as a mass-based analogue of net ecosystem exchange measured with flux towers. It was estimated based on measurements of current woody NPP, modelled decomposition of measured CWD

Impact of land use change on soil carbon loss of the Sikkim Himalayan piedmont

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Prokop, Pawel; Ploskonka, Dominik

2014-05-01

Natural and human causes of change in land use on soil carbon were studied at the outlet of the Tista River from the Sikkim Himalayas over the last 150 years. Analysis of topographic maps and satellite images indicates that the land reforms related to location of tea gardens in the piedmont caused rapid deforestation of terraces in the late 19th century. Continuous population growth after 1930 initiated the replacement of floodplain forest by rice cultivation. Both processes changed soil carbon content and intensified fluvial activity expressed through terrace erosion. The replacement of natural forest by tea cultivation reduced the soil carbon content within terraces from 1.95 kg to 1.77 kg (in 1 m of topsoil) respectively. The replacement of natural forest by rice reduced the soil carbon content within floodplains from 0.42 kg to 0.23 kg (in 1 m topsoil) respectively. Much more dangerous, was terrace erosion leading to permanent removal of sediment including soil. The total loss of soil carbon in a 1 m thick soil layer due to conversion of 5 km2 forest to tea cultivation was about 900 t between 1930 and 2010. While the total soil carbon removed due to 1.8 km2 terrace erosion reached 3510 t in the same period. Result is the outcome of research project 2012/05/B/ST10/00309 of the National Science Centre (Poland).

Estimating the carbon budget and maximizing future carbon uptake for a temperate forest region in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Forests of the Midwest U.S. provide numerous ecosystem services. Two of these, carbon sequestration and wood production, are often portrayed as conflicting. Currently, carbon management and biofuel policies are being developed to reduce atmospheric CO2 and national dependence on foreign oil, and increase carbon storage in ecosystems. However, the biological and industrial forest carbon cycles are rarely studied in a whole-system structure. The forest system carbon balance is the difference between the biological (net ecosystem production) and industrial (net emissions from forest industry) forest carbon cycles, but to date this critical whole system analysis is lacking. This study presents a model of the forest system, uses it to compute the carbon balance, and outlines a methodology to maximize future carbon uptake in a managed forest region. Results We used a coupled forest ecosystem process and forest products life cycle inventory model for a regional temperate forest in the Midwestern U.S., and found the net system carbon balance for this 615,000 ha forest was positive (2.29 t C ha-1 yr-1). The industrial carbon budget was typically less than 10% of the biological system annually, and averaged averaged 0.082 t C ha-1 yr-1. Net C uptake over the next 100-years increased by 22% or 0.33 t C ha-1 yr-1 relative to the current harvest rate in the study region under the optized harvest regime. Conclusions The forest’s biological ecosystem current and future carbon uptake capacity is largely determined by forest harvest practices that occurred over a century ago, but we show an optimized harvesting strategy would increase future carbon sequestration, or wood production, by 20-30%, reduce long transportation chain emissions, and maintain many desirable stand structural attributes that are correlated to biodiversity. Our results for this forest region suggest that increasing harvest over the next 100 years increases the strength of

Estimating the carbon budget and maximizing future carbon uptake for a temperate forest region in the U.S.

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Peckham Scott D

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Forests of the Midwest U.S. provide numerous ecosystem services. Two of these, carbon sequestration and wood production, are often portrayed as conflicting. Currently, carbon management and biofuel policies are being developed to reduce atmospheric CO2 and national dependence on foreign oil, and increase carbon storage in ecosystems. However, the biological and industrial forest carbon cycles are rarely studied in a whole-system structure. The forest system carbon balance is the difference between the biological (net ecosystem production and industrial (net emissions from forest industry forest carbon cycles, but to date this critical whole system analysis is lacking. This study presents a model of the forest system, uses it to compute the carbon balance, and outlines a methodology to maximize future carbon uptake in a managed forest region. Results We used a coupled forest ecosystem process and forest products life cycle inventory model for a regional temperate forest in the Midwestern U.S., and found the net system carbon balance for this 615,000 ha forest was positive (2.29 t C ha-1 yr-1. The industrial carbon budget was typically less than 10% of the biological system annually, and averaged averaged 0.082 t C ha-1 yr-1. Net C uptake over the next 100-years increased by 22% or 0.33 t C ha-1 yr-1 relative to the current harvest rate in the study region under the optized harvest regime. Conclusions The forest’s biological ecosystem current and future carbon uptake capacity is largely determined by forest harvest practices that occurred over a century ago, but we show an optimized harvesting strategy would increase future carbon sequestration, or wood production, by 20-30%, reduce long transportation chain emissions, and maintain many desirable stand structural attributes that are correlated to biodiversity. Our results for this forest region suggest that increasing harvest over the next 100�

Horizontal ichthyoplankton tow-net system with unobstructed net opening

Science.gov (United States)

Nester, Robert T.

1987-01-01

The larval fish sampler described here consists of a modified bridle, frame, and net system with an obstruction-free net opening and is small enough for use on boats 10 m or less in length. The tow net features a square net frame attached to a 0.5-m-diameter cylinder-on-cone plankton net with a bridle designed to eliminate all obstructions forward of the net opening, significantly reducing currents and vibrations in the water directly preceding the net. This system was effective in collecting larvae representing more than 25 species of fish at sampling depths ranging from surface to 10 m and could easily be used at greater depths.

Whole Watershed Quantification of Net Carbon Fluxes by Erosion and Deposition within the Christina River Basin Critical Zone Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Aufdenkampe, A. K.; Karwan, D. L.; Aalto, R. E.; Marquard, J.; Yoo, K.; Wenell, B.; Chen, C.

2013-12-01

to organic carbon and nitrogen content with stable isotope (13C, 15N) and radiocarbon (14C) abundance to quantify OC/SA and organic carbon sources and mean age. We then use multivariate mixing model analysis to quantify the fractional contribution of each source end-member to each sample of suspended or deposited sediments. Last, we calculate a predicted OC/SA based on source end-member mixing and compare to the measured OC/SA to quantify net change in mineral complexed carbon. Aufdenkampe, A.K. et al. Riverine coupling of biogeochemical cycles between land, oceans, and atmosphere. Frontiers Ecol. Environ. 9, 53-60 (2011). Walling, D. E. Tracing suspended sediment sources in catchments and river systems. Sci. Total Environ. 34, 159-184 (2005).

Relationships between net primary productivity and forest stand age in U.S. forests

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Liming He; Jing M. Chen; Yude Pan; Richard Birdsey; Jens. Kattge

2012-01-01

Net primary productivity (NPP) is a key flux in the terrestrial ecosystem carbon balance, as it summarizes the autotrophic input into the system. Forest NPP varies predictably with stand age, and quantitative information on the NPP-age relationship for different regions and forest types is therefore fundamentally important for forest carbon cycle modeling. We used four...

Evaluation and uncertainty analysis of regional-scale CLM4.5 net carbon flux estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Post, Hanna; Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan; Han, Xujun; Baatz, Roland; Montzka, Carsten; Schmidt, Marius; Vereecken, Harry

2018-01-01

Modeling net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at the regional scale with land surface models (LSMs) is relevant for the estimation of regional carbon balances, but studies on it are very limited. Furthermore, it is essential to better understand and quantify the uncertainty of LSMs in order to improve them. An important key variable in this respect is the prognostic leaf area index (LAI), which is very sensitive to forcing data and strongly affects the modeled NEE. We applied the Community Land Model (CLM4.5-BGC) to the Rur catchment in western Germany and compared estimated and default ecological key parameters for modeling carbon fluxes and LAI. The parameter estimates were previously estimated with the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach DREAM(zs) for four of the most widespread plant functional types in the catchment. It was found that the catchment-scale annual NEE was strongly positive with default parameter values but negative (and closer to observations) with the estimated values. Thus, the estimation of CLM parameters with local NEE observations can be highly relevant when determining regional carbon balances. To obtain a more comprehensive picture of model uncertainty, CLM ensembles were set up with perturbed meteorological input and uncertain initial states in addition to uncertain parameters. C3 grass and C3 crops were particularly sensitive to the perturbed meteorological input, which resulted in a strong increase in the standard deviation of the annual NEE sum (σ ∑ NEE) for the different ensemble members from ˜ 2 to 3 g C m-2 yr-1 (with uncertain parameters) to ˜ 45 g C m-2 yr-1 (C3 grass) and ˜ 75 g C m-2 yr-1 (C3 crops) with perturbed forcings. This increase in uncertainty is related to the impact of the meteorological forcings on leaf onset and senescence, and enhanced/reduced drought stress related to perturbation of precipitation. The NEE uncertainty for the forest plant functional type (PFT) was considerably lower (σ ∑ NEE ˜ 4.0-13.5 g C

Derivation of Hamaker Dispersion Energy of Amorphous Carbon Surfaces in Contact with Liquids Using Photoelectron Energy-Loss Spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Godet, Christian; David, Denis

2017-12-01

Hamaker interaction energies and cutoff distances have been calculated for disordered carbon films, in contact with purely dispersive (diiodomethane) or polar (water) liquids, using their experimental dielectric functions ɛ ( q, ω) obtained over a broad energy range. In contrast with previous works, a q-averaged q is derived from photoelectron energy-loss spectroscopy (XPS-PEELS) where the energy loss function (ELF) q is a weighted average over allowed transferred wave vector values, q, given by the physics of bulk plasmon excitation. For microcrystalline diamond and amorphous carbon films with a wide range of (sp3/sp2 + sp3) hybridization, non-retarded Hamaker energies, A 132 ( L < 1 nm), were calculated in several configurations, and distance and wavenumber cutoff values were then calculated based on A 132 and the dispersive work of adhesion obtained from contact angles. A geometric average approximation, H 0 CVL = ( H 0 CVC H 0 LVL )1/2, holds for the cutoff separation distances obtained for carbon-vacuum-liquid (CVL), carbon-vacuum-carbon (CVC) and liquid-vacuum-liquid (LVL) equilibrium configurations. The linear dependence found for A CVL, A CLC and A CLV values as a function of A CVC, for each liquid, allows predictive relationships for Hamaker energies (in any configuration) using experimental determination of the dispersive component of the surface tension, {γ}_{CV}^d , and a guess value of the cutoff distance H 0 CVC of the solid. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Can pelagic net heterotrophy account for carbon fluxes from eastern Canadian lakes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubois, Kristal; Carignan, Richard; Veizer, Jan

2009-01-01

Lakes worldwide are commonly oversaturated with CO 2 , however the source of this CO 2 oversaturation is not well understood. To examine the magnitude of the C flux to the atmosphere and determine if an excess of respiration (R) over gross primary production (GPP) is sufficient to account for this C flux, metabolic parameters and stable isotopes of dissolved O 2 and C were measured in 23 Quebec lakes. All of the lakes sampled were oversaturated with CO 2 over the sampling period, on average 221 ± 25%. However, little evidence was found to conclude that this CO 2 oversaturation was the result of an excess of pelagic R over GPP. In lakes Croche and a l'Ours, where CO 2 flux, R and GPP were measured weekly, the annual difference between pelagic GPP and R, or net primary production (NPP), was not sufficient to account for the size of the CO 2 flux to the atmosphere. In Lac Croche average annual NPP was 14.4 mg C m -2 d -1 while the average annual flux of CO 2 to the atmosphere was 34 mg C m -2 d -1 . In Lac a l'Ours average annual NPP was -9.1 mg C m -2 d -1 while the average annual flux of CO 2 to the atmosphere was 55 mg C m -2 d -1 . In all of the lakes sampled, O 2 saturation averaged 104.0 ± 1.7% during the ice-free season and the isotopic composition of dissolved O 2 (δ 18 O DO ) was 22.9 ± 0.3 per mille , lower than atmospheric values and indicative of net autotrophy. Carbon evasion was not a function of R, nor did the isotopic signature of dissolved CO 2 in the lakes present evidence of excess R over GPP. External inputs of C must therefore subsidize the lake to explain the continued CO 2 oversaturation. The isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic C (δ 13 C DIC ) indicates that the CO 2 oversaturation cannot be attributed to in situ aerobic respiration. δ 13 C DIC reveals a source of excess C enriched in 13 C, which may be accounted for by anaerobic sediment respiration or groundwater inputs followed by kinetic isotope fractionation during degassing

Higher-moment measurements of net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions at STAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Amal

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report the measurements of the various moments, such as mean, standard deviation (σ), skewness (S) and kurtosis (κ) of the net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions at mid-rapidity in Au + Au collisions from √(s NN )=7.7 to 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC. This work has been done with the aim to locate the critical point on the QCD phase diagram. These moments and their products are related to the thermodynamic susceptibilities of conserved quantities such as net baryon number, net charge, and net strangeness as well as to the correlation length of the system which diverges in an ideal infinite thermodynamic system at the critical point. For a finite system, existing for a finite time, a non-monotonic behavior of these variables would indicate the presence of the critical point. Furthermore, we also present the moment products Sσ, κσ 2 of net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions as a function of collision centrality and energy. The energy and the centrality dependence of higher moments and their products have been compared with different models

Past and present of sediment and carbon biogeochemical cycling models

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F. T. Mackenzie

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The global carbon cycle is part of the much more extensive sedimentary cycle that involves large masses of carbon in the Earth's inner and outer spheres. Studies of the carbon cycle generally followed a progression in knowledge of the natural biological, then chemical, and finally geological processes involved, culminating in a more or less integrated picture of the biogeochemical carbon cycle by the 1920s. However, knowledge of the ocean's carbon cycle behavior has only within the last few decades progressed to a stage where meaningful discussion of carbon processes on an annual to millennial time scale can take place. In geologically older and pre-industrial time, the ocean was generally a net source of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere owing to the mineralization of land-derived organic matter in addition to that produced in situ and to the process of CaCO3 precipitation. Due to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations because of fossil fuel combustion and land use changes, the direction of the air-sea CO2 flux has reversed, leading to the ocean as a whole being a net sink of anthropogenic CO2. The present thickness of the surface ocean layer, where part of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions are stored, is estimated as of the order of a few hundred meters. The oceanic coastal zone net air-sea CO2 exchange flux has also probably changed during industrial time. Model projections indicate that in pre-industrial times, the coastal zone may have been net heterotrophic, releasing CO2 to the atmosphere from the imbalance between gross photosynthesis and total respiration. This, coupled with extensive CaCO3 precipitation in coastal zone environments, led to a net flux of CO2 out of the system. During industrial time the coastal zone ocean has tended to reverse its trophic status toward a non-steady state situation of net autotrophy, resulting in net uptake of anthropogenic CO2 and storage of carbon in the coastal ocean, despite the significant calcification

Convergent Evolution towards High Net Carbon Gain Efficiency Contributes to the Shade Tolerance of Palms (Arecaceae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ren-Yi Ma

Full Text Available Most palm species occur in the shaded lower strata of tropical rain forests, but how their traits relate to shade adaptation is poorly understood. We hypothesized that palms are adapted to the shade of their native habitats by convergent evolution towards high net carbon gain efficiency (CGEn, which is given by the maximum photosynthetic rate to dark respiration rate ratio. Leaf mass per area, maximum photosynthetic rate, dark respiration and N and P concentrations were measured in 80 palm species grown in a common garden, and combined with data of 30 palm species growing in their native habitats. Compared to other species from the global leaf economics data, dicotyledonous broad-leaved trees in tropical rainforest or other monocots in the global leaf economics data, palms possessed consistently higher CGEn, achieved by lowered dark respiration and fairly high foliar P concentration. Combined phylogenetic analyses of evolutionary signal and trait evolution revealed convergent evolution towards high CGEn in palms. We conclude that high CGEn is an evolutionary strategy that enables palms to better adapt to shady environments than coexisting dicot tree species, and may convey advantages in competing with them in the tropical forest understory. These findings provide important insights for understanding the evolution and ecology of palms, and for understanding plant shade adaptations of lower rainforest strata. Moreover, given the dominant role of palms in tropical forests, these findings are important for modelling carbon and nutrient cycling in tropical forest ecosystems.

Quantitative assessment of carbon sequestration reduction induced by disturbances in temperate Eurasian steppe

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yizhao; Ju, Weimin; Groisman, Pavel; Li, Jianlong; Propastin, Pavel; Xu, Xia; Zhou, Wei; Ruan, Honghua

2017-11-01

The temperate Eurasian steppe (TES) is a region where various environmental, social, and economic stresses converge. Multiple types of disturbance exist widely across the landscape, and heavily influence carbon cycling in this region. However, a current quantitative assessment of the impact of disturbances on carbon sequestration is largely lacking. In this study, we combined the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS), the Shiyomi grazing model, and the global fire model (Glob-FIRM) to investigate the impact of the two major types of disturbance in the TES (i.e. domestic grazing and fire) on regional carbon sequestration. Model performance was validated using satellite data and field observations. Model outputs indicate that disturbance has a significant impact on carbon sequestration at a regional scale. The annual total carbon lost due to disturbances was 7.8 TgC yr-1, accounting for 14.2% of the total net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Domestic grazing plays the dominant role in terrestrial carbon consumption, accounting for 95% of the total carbon lost from the two disturbances. Carbon losses from both disturbances significantly increased from 1999 to 2008 (R 2 = 0.82, P ecosystems.

Variations of net ecosystem production due to seasonal precipitation differences in a tropical dry forest of northwest Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Verduzco, Vivian S.; Garatuza-Payán, Jaime; Yépez, Enrico A.; Watts, Christopher J.; Rodríguez, Julio C.; Robles-Morua, Agustin; Vivoni, Enrique R.

2015-10-01

Due to their large extent and high primary productivity, tropical dry forests (TDF) are important contributors to atmospheric carbon exchanges in subtropical and tropical regions. In northwest Mexico, a bimodal precipitation regime that includes winter precipitation derived from Pacific storms and summer precipitation from the North American monsoon (NAM) couples water availability with ecosystem processes. We investigated the net ecosystem production of a TDF ecosystem using a 4.5 year record of water and carbon fluxes obtained from the eddy covariance method complemented with remotely sensed data. We identified a large CO2 efflux at the start of the summer season that is strongly related to the preceding winter precipitation and greenness. Since this CO2 efflux occurs prior to vegetation green-up, we infer that respiration is mainly due to decomposition of soil organic matter accumulated from the prior growing season. Overall, ecosystem respiration has an important effect on the net ecosystem production but can be overwhelmed by the strength of the primary productivity during the NAM. Precipitation characteristics during NAM have significant controls on sustaining carbon fixation in the TDF into the fall season. We identified that a threshold of ~350 to 400 mm of monsoon precipitation leads to a switch in the annual carbon balance in the TDF ecosystem from a net source (+102 g C/m2/yr) to a net sink (-249 g C/m2/yr). This monsoonal precipitation threshold is typically exceeded one out of every 2 years. The close coupling of winter and summer periods with respect to carbon fluxes suggests that the annual carbon balance is dependent on precipitation amounts in both seasons in TDF ecosystems.

How can soil organic carbon stocks in agriculture be maintained or increased?

Science.gov (United States)

Don, Axel; Leifeld, Jens

2015-04-01

CO2 emissions from soils are 10 times higher than anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil burning with around 60 Pg C a-1. At the same time around 60 Pg of carbon is added to the soils as litter from roots and leaves. Thus, the balance between both fluxes is supposed to be zero for the global earth system in steady state without human perturbations. However, the global carbon flux has been altered by humans since thousands of years by extracting biomass carbon as food, feed and fiber with global estimate of 40% of net primary productivity (NPP). This fraction is low in forests but agricultural systems, in particular croplands, are systems with a high net exported carbon fraction. Soils are mainly input driven systems. Agricultural soils depend on input to compensate directly for i) respiration losses, ii) extraction of carbon (and nitrogen) and depletion (e.g. via manure) or indirectly via enhances NPP (e.g. via fertilization management). In a literature review we examined the role of biomass extraction and carbon input via roots, crop residues and amendments (manure, slurry etc.) to agricultural soil's carbon stocks. Recalcitrance of biomass carbon was found to be of minor importance for long-term carbon storage. Thus, also the impact of crop type on soil carbon dynamics seems mainly driven by the amount of crop residuals of different crop types. However, we found distinct differences in the efficiency of C input to refill depleted soil C stocks between above ground C input or below ground root litter C input, with root-C being more efficient due to slower turnover rates. We discuss the role of different measures to decrease soil carbon turnover (e.g. decreased tillage intensity) as compared to measures that increase C input (e.g. cover crops) in the light of global developments in agricultural management with ongoing specialization and segregation between catch crop production and dairy farms.

Successional changes in live and dead wood carbon stores: implications for net ecosystem productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Janisch, J E; Harmon, M E

2002-02-01

If forests are to be used in CO2 mitigation projects, it is essential to understand and quantify the impacts of disturbance on net ecosystem productivity (NEP; i.e., the change in ecosystem carbon (C) storage with time). We examined the influence of live tree and coarse woody debris (CWD) on NEP during secondary succession based on data collected along a 500-year chronosequence on the Wind River Ranger District, Washington. We developed a simple statistical model of live and dead wood accumulation and decomposition to predict changes in the woody component of NEP, which we call NEP(w). The transition from negative to positive NEP(w), for a series of scenarios in which none to all wood was left after disturbance, occurred between 0 and 57 years after disturbance. The timing of this transition decreased as live-tree growth rates increased, and increased as CWD left after disturbance increased. Maximum and minimum NEP(w) for all scenarios were 3.9 and -14.1 Mg C ha-1 year-1, respectively. Maximum live and total wood C stores of 319 and 393 Mg C ha(-1), respectively, were reached approximately 200 years after disturbance. Decomposition rates (k) of CWD ranged between 0.013 and 0.043 year-1 for individual stands. Regenerating stands took 41 years to attain a mean live wood mass equivalent to the mean mass of CWD left behind after logging, 40 years to equal the mean CWD mass in 500-year-old forest, and more than 150 years to equal the mean total live and dead wood in an old-growth stand. At a rotation age of 80 years, regenerating stands stored approximately half the wood C of the remaining nearby old-growth forests (predominant age 500 years), indicating that conversion of old-growth forests to younger managed forests results in a significant net release of C to the atmosphere.

Intensive ground vegetation growth mitigates the carbon loss after forest disturbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zehetgruber, Bernhard; Kobler, Johannes; Dirnböck, Thomas; Jandl, Robert; Seidl, Rupert; Schindlbacher, Andreas

2017-01-01

Slow or failed tree regeneration after forest disturbance is increasingly observed in the central European Alps, potentially amplifying the carbon (C) loss from disturbance. We aimed at quantifying C dynamics of a poorly regenerating disturbance site with a special focus on the role of non-woody ground vegetation. Soil CO 2 efflux, fine root biomass, ground vegetation biomass, tree increment and litter input were assessed in (i) an undisturbed section of a ~ 110 years old Norway spruce stand, (ii) in a disturbed section which was clear-cut six years ago (no tree regeneration), and (iii) in a disturbed section which was clear-cut three years ago (no tree regeneration). Total soil CO 2 efflux was similar across all stand sections (8.5 ± 0.2 to 8.9 ± 0.3 t C ha -1  yr. -1 ). The undisturbed forest served as atmospheric C sink (2.1 t C ha -1  yr. -1 ), whereas both clearings were C sources to the atmosphere. The source strength three years after disturbance (-5.5 t C ha -1  yr. -1 ) was almost twice as high as six years after disturbance (-2.9 t C ha -1  yr. -1 ), with declining heterotrophic soil respiration and the high productivity of dense graminoid ground vegetation mitigating C loss. C loss after disturbance decreases with time and ground vegetation growth. Dense non-woody ground vegetation cover can hamper tree regeneration but simultaneously decrease the ecosystem C loss. The role of ground vegetation should be more explicitly taken into account in forest C budgets assessing disturbance effects.

Changes in the Carbon Cycle of Amazon Ecosystems During the 2010 Drought

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Christophera; Klooster, Steven; Hiatt, Cyrus; Genovese, Vanessa; Castilla-Rubino, Juan Carlos

2011-01-01

Satellite remote sensing was combined with the NASA-CASA carbon cycle simulation model to evaluate the impact of the 2010 drought (July through September) throughout tropical South America. Results indicated that net primary production (NPP) in Amazon forest areas declined by an average of 7% in 2010 compared to 2008. This represented a loss of vegetation CO2 uptake and potential Amazon rainforest growth of nearly 0.5 Pg C in 2010. The largest overall decline in ecosystem carbon gains by land cover type was predicted for closed broadleaf forest areas of the Amazon River basin, including a large fraction of regularly flooded forest areas. Model results support the hypothesis that soil and dead wood carbon decomposition fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere were elevated during the drought period of 2010 in periodically flooded forest areas, compared to forests outside the main river floodplains.

Changes in the carbon cycle of Amazon ecosystems during the 2010 drought

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potter, Christopher; Klooster, Steven; Hiatt, Cyrus; Genovese, Vanessa; Castilla-Rubio, Juan Carlos

2011-01-01

Satellite remote sensing was combined with the NASA-CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) carbon cycle simulation model to evaluate the impact of the 2010 drought (July through September) throughout tropical South America. Results indicated that net primary production in Amazon forest areas declined by an average of 7% in 2010 compared to 2008. This represented a loss of vegetation CO 2 uptake and potential Amazon rainforest growth of nearly 0.5 Pg C in 2010. The largest overall decline in ecosystem carbon gains by land cover type was predicted for closed broadleaf forest areas of the Amazon river basin, including a large fraction of regularly flooded forest areas. Model results support the hypothesis that soil and dead wood carbon decomposition fluxes of CO 2 to the atmosphere were elevated during the drought period of 2010 in periodically flooded forest areas, compared to those for forests outside the main river floodplains.

Seven years of recent European net terrestrial carbon dioxide exchange constrained by atmospheric observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, W.; Krol, M. C.; van der Werf, G. R.; Houweling, S.; Jones, C. D.; Hughes, J.; Schaefer, K.; Masarie, K. A.; Jacobson, A. R.; Miller, J. B.; Cho, C. H.; Ramonet, M.; Schmidt, M.; Ciattaglia, L.; Apadula, F.; Heltai, D.; Meinhardt, F.; di Sarra, A. G.; Piacentino, S.; Sferlazzo, D.; Aalto, T.; Hatakka, J.; StröM, J.; Haszpra, L.; Meijer, H. A J; van Der Laan, S.; Neubert, R. E M; Jordan, A.; Rodó, X.; Morguí, J. A.; Vermeulen, A. T.; Popa, Maria Elena; Rozanski, K.; Zimnoch, M.; Manning, A. C.; Leuenberger, M.; Uglietti, C.; Dolman, A. J.; Ciais, P.; Heimann, M.; Tans, P.

2010-01-01

We present an estimate of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 in Europe for the years 2001-2007. It is derived with a data assimilation that uses a large set of atmospheric CO2 mole fraction observations (∼70 000) to guide relatively simple descriptions of terrestrial and oceanic net exchange, while

Seven years of recent European net terrestrial carbon dioxide exchange constrained by atmospheric observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, W.; Krol, M.C.; Werf, van der G.R.; Houweling, S.; Jones, C.D.; Hughes, J.; Schaefer, K.; Masarie, K.A.

2010-01-01

We present an estimate of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 in Europe for the years 2001–2007. It is derived with a data assimilation that uses a large set of atmospheric CO2 mole fraction observations (~70 000) to guide relatively simple descriptions of terrestrial and oceanic net exchange, while

Seven years of recent European net terrestrial carbon dioxide exchange constrained by atmospheric observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, W.; Krol, M; van der Werf, G. R.; Houweling, S.; Jones, C. D.; Hughes, J.; Schaefer, K.; Masarie, K. A.; Jacobson, A. R.; Miller, J. B.; Cho, C. H.; Ramonet, M.; Schmidt, M.; Ciattaglia, L.; Apadula, F.; Helta, D.; Meinhardt, F.; di Sarra, A. G.; Piacentino, S.; Sferlazzo, D.; Aalto, T.; Hatakka, J.; Strom, J.; Haszpra, L.; Meijer, H. A. J.; van der Laan, S.; Neubert, R. E. M.; Jordan, A.; Rodo, X.; Morgui, J. -A.; Vermeulen, A. T.; Popa, E.; Rozanski, K.; Zimnoch, M.; Manning, A. C.; Leuenberger, M.; Uglietti, C.; Dolman, A. J.; Ciais, P.; Heimann, M.; Tans, P. P.; Heltai, D.; Ström, J.

We present an estimate of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO(2) in Europe for the years 2001-2007. It is derived with a data assimilation that uses a large set of atmospheric CO(2) mole fraction observations (similar to 70 000) to guide relatively simple descriptions of terrestrial and oceanic net

NACP North American 8-km Net Ecosystem Exchange and Component Fluxes, 2004

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This data set provides modeled carbon flux estimates at 8-km spatial resolution over North America for the year 2004 of (1) net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of...

Effects of Revegetation on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Erosion-Induced Carbon Loss under Extreme Rainstorms in the Hill and Gully Region of the Loess Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yujin; Jiao, Juying; Wang, Zhijie; Cao, Binting; Wei, Yanhong; Hu, Shu

2016-04-29

The Loess Plateau, an ecologically vulnerable region, has long been suffering from serious soil erosion. Revegetation has been implemented to control soil erosion and improve ecosystems in the Loess Plateau region through a series of ecological recovery programs. However, the increasing atmospheric CO₂ as a result of human intervention is affecting the climate by global warming, resulting in the greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as storms that may weaken the effectiveness of revegetation and cause severe soil erosion. Most research to date has evaluated the effectiveness of revegetation on soil properties and soil erosion of different land use or vegetation types. Here, we study the effect of revegetation on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and erosion-induced carbon loss related to different plant communities, particularly under extreme rainstorm events. The erosion-pin method was used to quantify soil erosion, and soil samples were taken at soil depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-20 cm to determine the SOC content for 13 typical hillside revegetation communities in the year of 2013, which had the highest rainfall with broad range, long duration and high intensity since 1945, in the Yanhe watershed. The SOC concentrations of all plant communities increased with soil depth when compared with slope cropland, and significant increases (p soil loss and SOC loss were both 1.0), the relative soil loss and SOC loss of the other 12 plant communities in 2013 ranged from 1.5 to 9.4 and 0.30 to 1.73, respectively. Natural shrub and forest communities showed greater resistance to rainstorm erosion than grassland communities. The natural grassland communities with lower SOC content produced lower SOC loss even with higher soil loss, natural secondary forest communities produced higher SOC loss, primarily because of their higher SOC content, and the artificial R. pseudoacacia community with greater soil loss produced higher SOC loss. These results

Loss of the soil carbon storage function of drained forested peatlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Wüst-Galley

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Peatlands form a large but unstable C store. Drainage of peatlands converts them into C sources, which is undesirable if increases in atmospheric CO2 levels are to be minimised. Therefore, quantification of C stocks and an understanding of which ecosystems or management regimes are capturing or emitting C is needed. Such information is scarce for temperate European forests. We studied the soil properties of sixteen peatlands in Switzerland, representing three forest types, to test whether peatlands that are more strongly affected by drainage (according to vegetation have lost their function as C sinks or stores. Bulk density and ash enrichment, as well as H/C, O/C and C/N quotients, indicated that the soils of the two forest types that appeared to be more strongly affected by drainage were more degraded and had lost their functions as C stores. Long-term net rates of C loss estimated using the ash residue method were similar across all three forest types, for sites where this could be estimated.

Application of electron energy loss spectroscopy for single wall carbon nanotubes (review)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mittal, N.; Jain, S.; Mittal, J.

2015-01-01

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is among the few techniques that are available for the characterization of modified single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) having nanometer dimensions (~1-3 nm). CNTs can be modified either by surface functionalization or coating, between bundles of nanotubes by doping, intercalation and fully or partially filling the central core. EELS is an exclusive technique for the identification, composition analysis, and crystallization studies of the chemicals and materials used for the modification of SWCNTs. The present paper serves as a compendium of research work on the application of EELS for the characterization of modified SWCNTs. (authors)

Carbon-nitrogen feedbacks in the UVic ESCM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Wania

2012-09-01

Full Text Available A representation of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle is introduced into the UVic Earth System Climate Model (UVic ESCM. The UVic ESCM now contains five terrestrial carbon pools and seven terrestrial nitrogen pools: soil, litter, leaves, stem and roots for both elements and ammonium and nitrate in the soil for nitrogen. Nitrogen cycles through plant tissue, litter, soil and the mineral pools before being taken up again by the plant. Biological N₂ fixation and nitrogen deposition represent external inputs to the plant-soil system while losses occur via leaching. Simulated carbon and nitrogen pools and fluxes are in the range of other models and observations. Gross primary production (GPP for the 1990s in the CN-coupled version is 129.6 Pg C a⁻¹ and net C uptake is 0.83 Pg C a⁻¹, whereas the C-only version results in a GPP of 133.1 Pg C a⁻¹ and a net C uptake of 1.57 Pg C a⁻¹. At the end of a transient experiment for the years 1800–1999, where radiative forcing is held constant but CO₂ fertilisation for vegetation is permitted to occur, the CN-coupled version shows an enhanced net C uptake of 1.05 Pg C a⁻¹, whereas in the experiment where CO₂ is held constant and temperature is transient the land turns into a C source of 0.60 Pg C a⁻¹ by the 1990s. The arithmetic sum of the temperature and CO₂ effects is 0.45 Pg C a⁻¹, 0.38 Pg C a⁻¹ lower than seen in the fully forced model, suggesting a strong nonlinearity in the CN-coupled version. Anthropogenic N deposition has a positive effect on Net Ecosystem Production of 0.35 Pg C a⁻¹. Overall, the UVic CN-coupled version shows similar characteristics to other CN-coupled Earth System Models, as measured by net C balance and sensitivity to changes in climate, CO₂ and temperature.

HANPP Collection: Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) by Country and Product

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) by Country and Product portion of the HANPP Collection contains tabular data on carbon-equivalents of...

Carbon cycle dynamics within Oregon’s urban-suburban-forested-agricultural landscapes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Law, Beverly E. [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Still, Christopher Jason [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Schmidt, Andres [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)

2017-06-15

sinks) is net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB), which accounts for NEP and losses associated with harvest removals and wildfire emissions. Here, we focus on forests because they have the largest effect on carbon sequestration. We found that NECB in Oregon averaged 18.8 Tg C per year in 2011-2015, offsetting fossil fuel emissions (16 Tg C per year). Annual fire emissions reducing NECB by about 5% (0.97 Tg C per year) in the state. The mesic Coast Range and West Cascades ecoregions that make up the western third of Oregon account for 60% of the forest NECB. This analysis illustrates that annual emissions from forests disturbances are low relative to annual fossil fuel emissions for the same area (Law et al. 2017, Hudiburg et al. in review).

Eddy covariance measurements of net C exchange in the CAM bioenergy crop, Agave tequiliana

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Nick A.; Choncubhair, Órlaith Ní; Males, Jamie; del Real Laborde, José Ignacio; Rubio-Cortés, Ramón; Griffiths, Howard; Lanigan, Gary

2016-04-01

Bioenergy crop cultivation may focus more on low grade and marginal lands in order to avoid competition with food production for land and water resources. However, in many regions, this would require improvements in plant water-use efficiency that are beyond the physiological capacity of most C3 and C4 bioenergy crop candidates. Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, such as Agave tequiliana, can combine high above-ground productivity with as little as 20% of the water demand of C3 and C4 crops. This is achieved through temporal separation of carboxylase activities, with stomata opening at night to allow gas exchange and minimise transpirational losses. Previous studies have employed 'bottom-up' methodologies to investigate carbon (C) accumulation and productivity in Agave, by scaling leaf-level gas exchange and titratable acidity (TA) with leaf area index or maximum productivity. We used the eddy covariance (EC) technique to quantify ecosystem-scale gas exchange over an Agave plantation in Mexico ('top-down' approach). Measurements were made over 252 days, including the transition from wet to dry periods. Results were cross-validated against diel changes in titratable acidity, leaf-unfurling rates, energy exchange fluxes and reported biomass yields. Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 displayed a CAM rhythm that alternated from a net C sink at night to a net C source during the day and partitioned canopy fluxes (gross C assimilation, FA,EC) showed a characteristic four-phase CO2 exchange pattern. The projected ecosystem C balance indicated that the site was a net sink of -333 ± 24 g C m-2 y-1, comprising cumulative soil respiration of 692 ± 7 g C m-2 y-1 and FA,EC of -1025 ± 25 g C m-2 y-1. EC-estimated biomass yield was 20.1 Mg ha-1 y-1. Average integrated daily FA,EC was -234 ± 5 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1 and persisted almost unchanged after 70 days of drought conditions. Our results suggest that the carbon acquisition strategy of drought avoidance employed by Agave

Estimating annual soil carbon loss in agricultural peatland soils using a nitrogen budget approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Emilie R; van Kessel, Chris; Horwath, William R; Linquist, Bruce A

2015-01-01

Around the world, peatland degradation and soil subsidence is occurring where these soils have been converted to agriculture. Since initial drainage in the mid-1800s, continuous farming of such soils in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta) has led to subsidence of up to 8 meters in places, primarily due to soil organic matter (SOM) oxidation and physical compaction. Rice (Oryza sativa) production has been proposed as an alternative cropping system to limit SOM oxidation. Preliminary research on these soils revealed high N uptake by rice in N fertilizer omission plots, which we hypothesized was the result of SOM oxidation releasing N. Testing this hypothesis, we developed a novel N budgeting approach to assess annual soil C and N loss based on plant N uptake and fallow season N mineralization. Through field experiments examining N dynamics during growing season and winter fallow periods, a complete annual N budget was developed. Soil C loss was calculated from SOM-N mineralization using the soil C:N ratio. Surface water and crop residue were negligible in the total N uptake budget (3 - 4 % combined). Shallow groundwater contributed 24 - 33 %, likely representing subsurface SOM-N mineralization. Assuming 6 and 25 kg N ha-1 from atmospheric deposition and biological N2 fixation, respectively, our results suggest 77 - 81 % of plant N uptake (129 - 149 kg N ha-1) was supplied by SOM mineralization. Considering a range of N uptake efficiency from 50 - 70 %, estimated net C loss ranged from 1149 - 2473 kg C ha-1. These findings suggest that rice systems, as currently managed, reduce the rate of C loss from organic delta soils relative to other agricultural practices.

Fire, carbon, and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amiro, B.; Flannigan, M.

2005-01-01

One million hectares of forest are harvested in Canada annually, with 1 to 8 million hectares destroyed by fire and a further 10 to 25 million hectares consumed by insects. Enhanced disturbances have meant that Canadian forests are becoming carbon sources instead of carbon sinks. Canadian fire statistics from the year 1920 were provided along with a map of large fires between 1980 and 1999. A cycle of combustion losses, decomposition and regeneration of forests was presented, along with a stylized concept of forest carbon life cycles with fire. Direct emissions from forests fires were evaluated. An annual net ecosystem production in Canadian boreal forests and stand age was presented. Projections of areas burned were presented based on weather and fire danger relationships, with statistics suggesting that a 75 to 120 per cent increase is likely to occur by the end of this century. Trend observations show that areas burned are correlated with increasing temperature caused by anthropogenic effects. Prevention, detection, suppression and fuels management were presented as areas that needed improvement in fire management. However, management strategies may only postpone an increase in forest fires. Changes in disturbances such as fire and insects will be a significant early impact of climate change on forests. tabs., figs

Global patterns in mangrove soil carbon stocks and losses

KAUST Repository

Atwood, Trisha B.

2017-06-26

Mangrove soils represent a large sink for otherwise rapidly recycled carbon (C). However, widespread deforestation threatens the preservation of this important C stock. It is therefore imperative that global patterns in mangrove soil C stocks and their susceptibility to remineralization are understood. Here, we present patterns in mangrove soil C stocks across hemispheres, latitudes, countries and mangrove community compositions, and estimate potential annual CO2 emissions for countries where mangroves occur. Global potential CO2 emissions from soils as a result of mangrove loss were estimated to be ~7.0 Tg CO2e yr−1. Countries with the highest potential CO2 emissions from soils are Indonesia (3,410 Gg CO2e yr−1) and Malaysia (1,288 Gg CO2e yr−1). The patterns described serve as a baseline by which countries can assess their mangrove soil C stocks and potential emissions from mangrove deforestation.

Ordered mesoporous carbon coating on cordierite: Synthesis and application as an efficient adsorbent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan, Ying, E-mail: ywan@shnu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234 (China); Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234 (China); Cui, Xiangting; Wen, Zhentao [Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234 (China)

2011-12-30

Highlight: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Surfactant self-assembly of ordered mesoporous carbon coating on honeycomb cordierite. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Carbon coating with opened, hexagonally ordered pore arrays. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Honeycomb adsorbents for removal of p-chlorophenol. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The adsorbents exhibit large processing volume, and great advantages in reusability. - Abstract: Ordered mesoporous carbon coating on the honeycomb cordierite substrate has been prepared using low-polymerized phenolic resins as carbon sources and triblock copolymer F127 as the structure directing agent via the evaporation induced self-assembly route. The high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen sorption techniques prove the hexagonally ordered pore arrays of carbon coating on the cordierite. The honeycomb monolith adsorbents coated by ordered mesoporous carbons are directly used without any activation, and exhibit adsorption capacities for chlorinated organic pollutants in water with 200 mg/g for p-chlorophenol and 178 mg/g for p-chloroaniline (with respect to the net carbon coating), high adsorption ratio for low-concentration pollutants, large processing volumes and reusability. More than 200 repeated times can be achieved without obvious loss in both adsorption capacity and weight.

Mississippi Basin Carbon Project: upland soil database for sites in Nishnabotna River basin, Iowa

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, J.W.; Fries, T.L.; Haughy, R.; Kramer, L.; Zheng, Shuhui

2001-01-01

The conversion of land from its native state to an agricultural use commonly results in a significant loss of soil carbon (Mann, 1985; Davidson and Ackerman, 1993). Globally, this loss is estimated to account for as much as 1/3 of the net CO2 emissions for the period of 1850 to 1980 (Houghton and others, 1983). Roughly 20 to 40 percent of original soil carbon is estimated to be lost as CO2 as a result of agricultural conversion, or "decomposition enhancement". Global models use this estimate along with land conversion data to provide agricultural contributions of CO2 emissions for global carbon budgets (Houghton and others, 1983; Schimel, 1995). Soil erosion rates are significantly (10X) higher on croplands than on their undisturbed equivalents (Dabney and others, 1997). Most of the concern over erosion is related to diminished productivity of the uplands (Stallings, 1957; McGregor and others, 1969; Rhoton, 1990) or to increased hazards and navigability of the lowlands in the late 1800's to early 1900's. Yet because soil carbon is concentrated at the soil surface, with an exponential decline in concentration with depth (Harden et al, 1999), it is clear that changes in erosion rates seen on croplands must also impact soil carbon storage and terrestrial carbon budgets as well. As yet, erosional losses of carbon are not included in global carbon budgets explicitly as a factor in land conversion nor implicitly as a portion of the decomposition enhancement. However, recent work by Lal and others (1995) and by Stallard (1998) suggests that significant amounts of eroded soil may be stored in man-made reservoirs and depositional environments as a result of agricultural conversion. Moreover, Stallard points out that eroding soils have the potential for replacing part of the carbon trapped in man-made reservoirs. If true, then the global carbon budget may grossly underestimate or ignore a significant sink term resulting from the burial of eroded soil.

Mississippi Basin Carbon Project; upland soil database for sites in Yazoo Basin, northern Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, J.W.; Fries, T.L.; Huntington, T.G.

1999-01-01

The conversion of land from its native state to an agricultural use commonly results in a significant loss of soil carbon (Mann, 1985; Davidson and Ackerman, 1993). Globally, this loss is estimated to account for as much as 1/3 of the net CO2 emissions for the period of 1850 to 1980 (Houghton et al, 1983). Roughly 20 to 40 percent of original soil carbon is estimated to be lost as CO2 as a result of agricultural conversion, or 'decomposition enhancement', and global models use this estimate along with land conversion data to provide agricultural contributions of CO2 emissions for global carbon budgets (Houghton and others, 1983; Schimel, 1995). As yet, erosional losses of carbon are not included in global carbon budgets explicitly as a factor in land conversion nor implicitly as a portion of the decomposition enhancement. However, recent work by Lal et al (1995) and by Stallard (1998) suggests that significant amounts of eroded soil may be stored in man-made reservoirs and depositional environments as a result of agricultural conversion. Moreover, Stallard points out that if eroding soils have the potential for replacing part of the carbon trapped in man-made reservoirs, then the global carbon budget may grossly underestimate or ignore a significant sink term resulting from the burial of eroded soil. Soil erosion rates are significantly (10X) higher on croplands than on their undisturbed equivalents (Dabney et al, 1997). Most of the concern over erosion is related to diminished productivity of the uplands (Stallings, 1957; McGregor et al, 1993; Rhoton and Tyler, 1990) or to increased hazards and navigability of the lowlands in the late 1800's to early 1900's. Yet because soil carbon is concentrated at the soil surface, with an exponential decline in concentration with depth, it is clear that changes in erosion rates seen on croplands must also impact soil carbon storage and terrestrial carbon budgets as well.

An integrated approach to modeling changes in land use, land cover, and disturbance and their impact on ecosystem carbon dynamics: a case study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin M. Sleeter

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Increased land-use intensity (e.g. clearing of forests for cultivation, urbanization, often results in the loss of ecosystem carbon storage, while changes in productivity resulting from climate change may either help offset or exacerbate losses. However, there are large uncertainties in how land and climate systems will evolve and interact to shape future ecosystem carbon dynamics. To address this we developed the Land Use and Carbon Scenario Simulator (LUCAS to track changes in land use, land cover, land management, and disturbance, and their impact on ecosystem carbon storage and flux within a scenario-based framework. We have combined a state-and-transition simulation model (STSM of land change with a stock and flow model of carbon dynamics. Land-change projections downscaled from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES were used to drive changes within the STSM, while the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS ecosystem model was used to derive input parameters for the carbon stock and flow model. The model was applied to the Sierra Nevada Mountains ecoregion in California, USA, a region prone to large wildfires and a forestry sector projected to intensify over the next century. Three scenario simulations were conducted, including a calibration scenario, a climate-change scenario, and an integrated climate- and land-change scenario. Based on results from the calibration scenario, the LUCAS age-structured carbon accounting model was able to accurately reproduce results obtained from the process-based biogeochemical model. Under the climate-only scenario, the ecoregion was projected to be a reliable net sink of carbon, however, when land use and disturbance were introduced, the ecoregion switched to become a net source. This research demonstrates how an integrated approach to carbon accounting can be used to evaluate various drivers of ecosystem carbon change in a robust, yet transparent

An integrated approach to modeling changes in land use, land cover, and disturbance and their impact on ecosystem carbon dynamics: a case study in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California

Science.gov (United States)

Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Liu, Jinxun; Daniel, Colin; Frid, Leonardo; Zhu, Zhiliang

2015-01-01

Increased land-use intensity (e.g. clearing of forests for cultivation, urbanization), often results in the loss of ecosystem carbon storage, while changes in productivity resulting from climate change may either help offset or exacerbate losses. However, there are large uncertainties in how land and climate systems will evolve and interact to shape future ecosystem carbon dynamics. To address this we developed the Land Use and Carbon Scenario Simulator (LUCAS) to track changes in land use, land cover, land management, and disturbance, and their impact on ecosystem carbon storage and flux within a scenario-based framework. We have combined a state-and-transition simulation model (STSM) of land change with a stock and flow model of carbon dynamics. Land-change projections downscaled from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) were used to drive changes within the STSM, while the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) ecosystem model was used to derive input parameters for the carbon stock and flow model. The model was applied to the Sierra Nevada Mountains ecoregion in California, USA, a region prone to large wildfires and a forestry sector projected to intensify over the next century. Three scenario simulations were conducted, including a calibration scenario, a climate-change scenario, and an integrated climate- and land-change scenario. Based on results from the calibration scenario, the LUCAS age-structured carbon accounting model was able to accurately reproduce results obtained from the process-based biogeochemical model. Under the climate-only scenario, the ecoregion was projected to be a reliable net sink of carbon, however, when land use and disturbance were introduced, the ecoregion switched to become a net source. This research demonstrates how an integrated approach to carbon accounting can be used to evaluate various drivers of ecosystem carbon change in a robust, yet transparent modeling

[Effects of selective cutting on the carbon density and net primary productivity of a mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forest in Northeast China].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qi; Cai, Hui-Ying; Jin, Guang-Ze

2013-10-01

To accurately quantify forest carbon density and net primary productivity (NPP) is of great significance in estimating the role of forest ecosystems in global carbon cycle. By using the forest inventory and allometry approaches, this paper measured the carbon density and NPP of the virgin broadleaved-Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest and of the broadleaved-Korean pine forest after 34 years selective-cutting (the cutting intensity was 30%, and the cutting trees were in large diameter class). The total carbon density of the virgin and selective-cutting broadleaved-Korean pine forests was (397.95 +/- 93.82) and (355.61 +/- 59.37) t C x hm(-2), respectively. In the virgin forest, the carbon density of the vegetation, debris, and soil accounted for 31.0%, 3.1%, and 65.9% of the total carbon pool, respectively; in the selective-cutting forest, the corresponding values were 31.7%, 2.9%, and 65.4%, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the total carbon density and the carbon density of each component between the two forests. The total NPP of the virgin and selective-cutting forests was (36.27 +/- 0.36) and (6.35 +/- 0.70) t C x hm(-2) x a(-1), among which, the NPP of overstory, understory, and fine roots in virgin forest and selective-cutting forest accounted for 60.3%, 2.0%, and 37.7%, and 66.1%, 2.0%, and 31.2%, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the total NPP and the contribution rate of each component between the two forests. However, the ratios of the needle and broadleaf NPPs of the virgin and selective-cutting forests were 47.24:52.76 and 20.48:79.52, respectively, with a significant difference. The results indicated that the carbon density and NPP of the broadleaved-Korean pine forest after 34 years selective-cutting recovered to the levels of the virgin broadleaved-Korean pine forest.

Asymmetric warming significantly affects net primary production, but not ecosystem carbon balances of forest and grassland ecosystems in northern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Hongxin; Feng, Jinchao; Axmacher, Jan C; Sang, Weiguo

2015-03-13

We combine the process-based ecosystem model (Biome-BGC) with climate change-scenarios based on both RegCM3 model outputs and historic observed trends to quantify differential effects of symmetric and asymmetric warming on ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of six ecosystem types representing different climatic zones of northern China. Analysis of covariance shows that NPP is significant greater at most ecosystems under the various environmental change scenarios once temperature asymmetries are taken into consideration. However, these differences do not lead to significant differences in NEP, which indicates that asymmetry in climate change does not result in significant alterations of the overall carbon balance in the dominating forest or grassland ecosystems. Overall, NPP, Rh and NEP are regulated by highly interrelated effects of increases in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations and precipitation changes, while the magnitude of these effects strongly varies across the six sites. Further studies underpinned by suitable experiments are nonetheless required to further improve the performance of ecosystem models and confirm the validity of these model predictions. This is crucial for a sound understanding of the mechanisms controlling the variability in asymmetric warming effects on ecosystem structure and functioning.

Asymmetric warming significantly affects net primary production, but not ecosystem carbon balances of forest and grassland ecosystems in northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Hongxin; Feng, Jinchao; Axmacher, Jan C.; Sang, Weiguo

2015-03-01

We combine the process-based ecosystem model (Biome-BGC) with climate change-scenarios based on both RegCM3 model outputs and historic observed trends to quantify differential effects of symmetric and asymmetric warming on ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of six ecosystem types representing different climatic zones of northern China. Analysis of covariance shows that NPP is significant greater at most ecosystems under the various environmental change scenarios once temperature asymmetries are taken into consideration. However, these differences do not lead to significant differences in NEP, which indicates that asymmetry in climate change does not result in significant alterations of the overall carbon balance in the dominating forest or grassland ecosystems. Overall, NPP, Rh and NEP are regulated by highly interrelated effects of increases in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations and precipitation changes, while the magnitude of these effects strongly varies across the six sites. Further studies underpinned by suitable experiments are nonetheless required to further improve the performance of ecosystem models and confirm the validity of these model predictions. This is crucial for a sound understanding of the mechanisms controlling the variability in asymmetric warming effects on ecosystem structure and functioning.

US forest carbon calculation tool: forest-land carbon stocks and net annual stock change

Science.gov (United States)

James E. Smith; Linda S. Heath; Michael C. Nichols

2007-01-01

The Carbon Calculation Tool 4.0, CCTv40.exe, is a computer application that reads publicly available forest inventory data collected by the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) and generates state-level annualized estimates of carbon stocks on forest land based on FORCARB2 estimators. Estimates can be recalculated as...

Effect of photo-selective nettings on post-harvest quality and bioactive compounds in selected tomato cultivars.

Science.gov (United States)

Selahle, Maphoko Kamogelo; Sivakumar, Dharini; Soundy, Puffy

2014-08-01

Photo-selective coloured netting is referred to as a 'new agro-technological' concept adopted to manipulate light quality changes that can induce favourable responses in plants. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars AlvaV, Irit and SCX 248 grown under the black net (commercial net, 25% shading) showed higher weight loss, loss of firmness, ascorbic acid content and decline in the ratio of soluble solids content/titrable acidity during post-harvest storage (low-temperature storage at 10°C and 90% relative humidity for 21 days followed by market shelf conditions at 25°C for 2 days). During post-harvest storage, lycopene, β-carotene, total phenolic content and antioxidant scavenging activity were higher in cvs AlfaV and Irit grown under the black or pearl nets. However, the β-carotene, total phenolic content and antioxidant scavenging activity were higher in SCX 248 grown under the red net during post-harvest storage. Cultivar AlfaV grown under the red and pearl nets had a higher number of odour active aroma compounds during post-harvest storage. Panellists preferred cv. AlfaV grown under the pearl nets after storage based on taste, overall appearance and firm textured fruits. Pearl photo-selective nets retained the overall fruit quality and bioactive components in cvs AlfaV and Irit during post-harvest storage. Red photo-selective nets, however, showed greater influence on retention of overall fruit quality and bioactive compounds in cv. SCX 248 during post-harvest storage. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Economic approach to assess the forest carbon implications of biomass energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Daigneault, Adam; Sohngen, Brent; Sedjo, Roger

2012-06-05

There is widespread concern that biomass energy policy that promotes forests as a supply source will cause net carbon emissions. Most of the analyses that have been done to date, however, are biological, ignoring the effects of market adaptations through substitution, net imports, and timber investments. This paper uses a dynamic model of forest and land use management to estimate the impact of United States energy policies that emphasize the utilization of forest biomass on global timber production and carbon stocks over the next 50 years. We show that when market factors are included in the analysis, expanded demand for biomass energy increases timber prices and harvests, but reduces net global carbon emissions because higher wood prices lead to new investments in forest stocks. Estimates are sensitive to assumptions about whether harvest residues and new forestland can be used for biomass energy and the demand for biomass. Restricting biomass energy to being sourced only from roundwood on existing forestland can transform the policy from a net sink to a net source of emissions. These results illustrate the importance of capturing market adjustments and a large geographic scope when measuring the carbon implications of biomass energy policies.

Gap filling strategies for defensible annual sums of net ecosystem exchange

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Falge, E.; Baldocchi, D.; Olson, R.; Anthoni, P.; Aubinet, M.; Bernhofer, C.; Burba, G.; Ceulemans, R.; Clement, R.; Dolman, H.; Granier, A.; Gross, P.; Grünwald, T.; Hollinger, D.; Jensen, N.O.; Katul, G.; Keronen, P.; Kowalski, A.; Lai, C.T.; Law, B.E.; Meyers, T.; Moncrieff, J.; Moors, E.J.; Munger, J.W.; Pilegaard, K.; Rebmann, C.; Suyker, A.; Tenhunen, J.; Tu, K.

2001-01-01

Heightened awareness of global change issues within both science and political communities has increased interest in using the global network of eddy covariance flux towers to more fully understand the impacts of natural and anthropogenic phenomena on the global carbon balance. Comparisons of net

Variations in organic carbon fluxes from Long Island Sound to the Continental Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, P.; Whitney, M. M.

2017-12-01

Organic carbon balances for the Long Island Sound estuary over the years 2009-2012 are presented to assess the particulate and dissolved organic carbon contributions of the estuary to the adjacent shelf waters with respect to the Delaware and Chesapeake. Observations were coupled to a hydrodynamic model (ROMS) for both seasonal and annual estimates. During stratified summer periods, LIS was consistently a net exporter of OC to the continental shelf. LIS annual net carbon export however, varied with river flow. The heterotrophic or autotrophic nature of LIS also shifted seasonally and inter-annually. During the mass balance analysis period LIS ranged between net OC import from the continental shelf and heterotrophy in the lowest river flow year (2012) and net export of OC and autotrophy in the highest flow year (2011). Analysis suggests that LIS switches from net OC import to export when the annual river inputs exceed 19 km3 yr-1. Applying these thresholds to the annual river flow record suggests that net import occurred in 15% of the last 20 years and that LIS usually is a net exporter of OC (85%). Annually averaged LIS carbon export values based on river flow conditions over the last 20 yr are estimated at 56 ± 64 x 106 km3 yr-1. Analysis also suggests that LIS shifts from net heterotrophic to net autotrophic when annual river flow exceeds 26 km3 yr-1 (35% of the last 20 yr). Net heterotrophic conditions are most common, representing 65% of the last 20 yr.

Calculating carbon mass balance from unsaturated soil columns treated with CaSO₄₋minerals: test of soil carbon sequestration.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Young-Soo; Tokunaga, Tetsu K

2014-12-01

Renewed interest in managing C balance in soils is motivated by increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and consequent climate change. Here, experiments were conducted in soil columns to determine C mass balances with and without addition of CaSO4-minerals (anhydrite and gypsum), which were hypothesized to promote soil organic carbon (SOC) retention and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) precipitation as calcite under slightly alkaline conditions. Changes in C contents in three phases (gas, liquid and solid) were measured in unsaturated soil columns tested for one year and comprehensive C mass balances were determined. The tested soil columns had no C inputs, and only C utilization by microbial activity and C transformations were assumed in the C chemistry. The measurements showed that changes in C inventories occurred through two processes, SOC loss and SIC gain. However, the measured SOC losses in the treated columns were lower than their corresponding control columns, indicating that the amendments promoted SOC retention. The SOC losses resulted mostly from microbial respiration and loss of CO2 to the atmosphere rather than from chemical leaching. Microbial oxidation of SOC appears to have been suppressed by increased Ca(2+) and SO4(2)(-) from dissolution of CaSO4 minerals. For the conditions tested, SIC accumulation per m(2) soil area under CaSO4-treatment ranged from 130 to 260 g C m(-1) infiltrated water (20-120 g C m(-1) infiltrated water as net C benefit). These results demonstrate the potential for increasing C sequestration in slightly alkaline soils via CaSO4-treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mixed-layer carbon cycling at the Kuroshio Extension Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Fassbender, Andrea J.; Sabine, Christopher L.; Cronin, Meghan F.; Sutton, Adrienne J.

2017-02-01

Seven years of data from the NOAA Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) surface mooring, located in the North Pacific Ocean carbon sink region, were used to evaluate drivers of mixed-layer carbon cycling. A time-dependent mass balance approach relying on two carbon tracers was used to diagnostically evaluate how surface ocean processes influence mixed-layer carbon concentrations over the annual cycle. Results indicate that the annual physical carbon input is predominantly balanced by biological carbon uptake during the intense spring bloom. Net annual gas exchange that adds carbon to the mixed layer and the opposing influence of net precipitation that dilutes carbon concentrations make up smaller contributions to the annual mixed-layer carbon budget. Decomposing the biological term into annual net community production (aNCP) and calcium carbonate production (aCaCO3) yields 7 ± 3 mol C m-2 yr-1 aNCP and 0.5 ± 0.3 mol C m-2 yr-1 aCaCO3, giving an annually integrated particulate inorganic carbon to particulate organic carbon production ratio of 0.07 ± 0.05, as a lower limit. Although we find that vertical physical processes dominate carbon input to the mixed layer at KEO, it remains unclear how horizontal features, such as eddies, influence carbon production and export by altering nutrient supply as well as the depth of winter ventilation. Further research evaluating linkages between Kuroshio Extension jet instabilities, eddy activity, and nutrient supply mechanisms is needed to adequately characterize the drivers and sensitivities of carbon cycling near KEO.

Comparison of modeling approaches for carbon partitioning: Impact on estimates of global net primary production and equilibrium biomass of woody vegetation from MODIS GPP

Science.gov (United States)

Ise, Takeshi; Litton, Creighton M.; Giardina, Christian P.; Ito, Akihiko

2010-12-01

Partitioning of gross primary production (GPP) to aboveground versus belowground, to growth versus respiration, and to short versus long-lived tissues exerts a strong influence on ecosystem structure and function, with potentially large implications for the global carbon budget. A recent meta-analysis of forest ecosystems suggests that carbon partitioning to leaves, stems, and roots varies consistently with GPP and that the ratio of net primary production (NPP) to GPP is conservative across environmental gradients. To examine influences of carbon partitioning schemes employed by global ecosystem models, we used this meta-analysis-based model and a satellite-based (MODIS) terrestrial GPP data set to estimate global woody NPP and equilibrium biomass, and then compared it to two process-based ecosystem models (Biome-BGC and VISIT) using the same GPP data set. We hypothesized that different carbon partitioning schemes would result in large differences in global estimates of woody NPP and equilibrium biomass. Woody NPP estimated by Biome-BGC and VISIT was 25% and 29% higher than the meta-analysis-based model for boreal forests, with smaller differences in temperate and tropics. Global equilibrium woody biomass, calculated from model-specific NPP estimates and a single set of tissue turnover rates, was 48 and 226 Pg C higher for Biome-BGC and VISIT compared to the meta-analysis-based model, reflecting differences in carbon partitioning to structural versus metabolically active tissues. In summary, we found that different carbon partitioning schemes resulted in large variations in estimates of global woody carbon flux and storage, indicating that stand-level controls on carbon partitioning are not yet accurately represented in ecosystem models.

A description and comparison of selected forest carbon registries: a guide for States considering the development of a forest carbon registry

Science.gov (United States)

Jessica Call; Jennifer Hayes

2007-01-01

There is increasing interest in tools for measuring and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Two tools that have been receiving a lot of attention include carbon markets and carbon registries. Carbon registries are established to record and track net carbon emission levels over time. These registries provide quantifiable and verifiable carbon...

Net-baryon-, net-proton-, and net-charge kurtosis in heavy-ion collisions within a relativistic transport approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nahrgang, Marlene; Schuster, Tim; Stock, Reinhard; Mitrovski, Michael; Bleicher, Marcus

2012-01-01

We explore the potential of net-baryon, net-proton and net-charge kurtosis measurements to investigate the properties of hot and dense matter created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Contrary to calculations in a grand-canonical ensemble we explicitly take into account exact electric and baryon charge conservation on an event-by-event basis. This drastically limits the width of baryon fluctuations. A simple model to account for this is to assume a grand-canonical distribution with a sharp cut-off at the tails. We present baseline predictions of the energy dependence of the net-baryon, net-proton and net-charge kurtosis for central (b≤2.75 fm) Pb+Pb/Au+Au collisions from E lab =2A GeV to √(s NN )=200 GeV from the UrQMD model. While the net-charge kurtosis is compatible with values around zero, the net-baryon number decreases to large negative values with decreasing beam energy. The net-proton kurtosis becomes only slightly negative for low √(s NN ). (orig.)

Carbon source/sink function of a subtropical, eutrophic lake determined from an overall mass balance and a gas exchange and carbon burial balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Hong; Xing Yangping; Xie Ping; Ni Leyi; Rong Kewen

2008-01-01

Although studies on carbon burial in lake sediments have shown that lakes are disproportionately important carbon sinks, many studies on gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface have demonstrated that lakes are supersaturated with CO 2 and CH 4 causing a net release of CO 2 and CH 4 to the atmosphere. In order to more accurately estimate the net carbon source/sink function of lake ecosystems, a more comprehensive carbon budget is needed, especially for gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface. Using two methods, overall mass balance and gas exchange and carbon burial balance, we assessed the carbon source/sink function of Lake Donghu, a subtropical, eutrophic lake, from April 2003 to March 2004. With the overall mass balance calculations, total carbon input was 14 905 t, total carbon output was 4950 t, and net carbon budget was +9955 t, suggesting that Lake Donghu was a great carbon sink. For the gas exchange and carbon burial balance, gaseous carbon (CO 2 and CH 4 ) emission across the water-air interface totaled 752 t while carbon burial in the lake sediment was 9477 t. The ratio of carbon emission into the atmosphere to carbon burial into the sediment was only 0.08. This low ratio indicates that Lake Donghu is a great carbon sink. Results showed good agreement between the two methods with both showing Lake Donghu to be a great carbon sink. This results from the high primary production of Lake Donghu, substantive allochthonous carbon inputs and intensive anthropogenic activity. Gaseous carbon emission accounted for about 15% of the total carbon output, indicating that the total output would be underestimated without including gaseous carbon exchange. - Due to high primary production, substantive allochthonous carbon inputs and intensive anthropogenic acitivity, subtropical, eutrophic Lake Donghu is a great carbon sink