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Sample records for total forest sink

  1. Forest biomass carbon sinks in East Asia, with special reference to the relative contributions of forest expansion and forest growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Jingyun; Guo, Zhaodi; Hu, Huifeng; Kato, Tomomichi; Muraoka, Hiroyuki; Son, Yowhan

    2014-06-01

    Forests play an important role in regional and global carbon (C) cycles. With extensive afforestation and reforestation efforts over the last several decades, forests in East Asia have largely expanded, but the dynamics of their C stocks have not been fully assessed. We estimated biomass C stocks of the forests in all five East Asian countries (China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia) between the 1970s and the 2000s, using the biomass expansion factor method and forest inventory data. Forest area and biomass C density in the whole region increased from 179.78 × 10(6) ha and 38.6 Mg C ha(-1) in the 1970s to 196.65 × 10(6) ha and 45.5 Mg C ha(-1) in the 2000s, respectively. The C stock increased from 6.9 Pg C to 8.9 Pg C, with an averaged sequestration rate of 66.9 Tg C yr(-1). Among the five countries, China and Japan were two major contributors to the total region's forest C sink, with respective contributions of 71.1% and 32.9%. In China, the areal expansion of forest land was a larger contributor to C sinks than increased biomass density for all forests (60.0% vs. 40.0%) and for planted forests (58.1% vs. 41.9%), while the latter contributed more than the former for natural forests (87.0% vs. 13.0%). In Japan, increased biomass density dominated the C sink for all (101.5%), planted (91.1%), and natural (123.8%) forests. Forests in South Korea also acted as a C sink, contributing 9.4% of the total region's sink because of increased forest growth (98.6%). Compared to these countries, the reduction in forest land in both North Korea and Mongolia caused a C loss at an average rate of 9.0 Tg C yr(-1), equal to 13.4% of the total region's C sink. Over the last four decades, the biomass C sequestration by East Asia's forests offset 5.8% of its contemporary fossil-fuel CO2 emissions. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Forest carbon sinks in the Northern Hemisphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christine L. Goodale; Michael J. Apps; Richard A. Birdsey; Christopher B. Field; Linda S. Heath; Richard A. Houghton; Jennifer C. Jenkins; Gundolf H. Kohlmaier; Werner Kurz; Shirong Liu; Gert-Jan Nabuurs; Sten Nilsson; Anatoly Z. Shvidenko

    2002-01-01

    There is general agreement that terrestrial systems in the Northern Hemisphere provide a significant sink for atmospheric CO2; however, estimates of the magnitude and distribution of this sink vary greatly. National forest inventories provide strong, measurement-based constraints on the magnitude of net forest carbon uptake. We brought together...

  3. Spatio-temporal changes in biomass carbon sinks in China's forests from 1977 to 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Zhaodi; Hu, Huifeng; Li, Pin; Li, Nuyun; Fang, Jingyun

    2013-07-01

    Forests play a leading role in regional and global carbon (C) cycles. Detailed assessment of the temporal and spatial changes in C sinks/sources of China's forests is critical to the estimation of the national C budget and can help to constitute sustainable forest management policies for climate change. In this study, we explored the spatio-temporal changes in forest biomass C stocks in China between 1977 and 2008, using six periods of the national forest inventory data. According to the definition of the forest inventory, China's forest was categorized into three groups: forest stand, economic forest, and bamboo forest. We estimated forest biomass C stocks for each inventory period by using continuous biomass expansion factor (BEF) method for forest stands, and the mean biomass density method for economic and bamboo forests. As a result, China's forests have accumulated biomass C (i.e., biomass C sink) of 1896 Tg (1 Tg=10(12) g) during the study period, with 1710, 108 and 78 Tg C in forest stands, and economic and bamboo forests, respectively. Annual forest biomass C sink was 70.2 Tg C a(-1), offsetting 7.8% of the contemporary fossil CO2 emissions in the country. The results also showed that planted forests have functioned as a persistent C sink, sequestrating 818 Tg C and accounting for 47.8% of total C sink in forest stands, and that the old-, mid- and young-aged forests have sequestrated 930, 391 and 388 Tg C from 1977 to 2008. Our results suggest that China's forests have a big potential as biomass C sink in the future because of its large area of planted forests with young-aged growth and low C density.

  4. Strong carbon sink of monsoon tropical seasonal forest in Southern Vietnam

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    Deshcherevskaya, Olga; Anichkin, Alexandr; Avilov, Vitaly; Duy Dinh, Ba; Luu Do, Phong; Huan Tran, Cong; Kurbatova, Julia

    2014-05-01

    EC procedures were applied to the raw 10-Hz data, including time-lag compensation, block average, WPL-correction, planar fit, low- and high-frequency corrections etc. in EddyPro software (LI-COR Inc., USA). Calculated fluxes with bad quality flags (more than 6 of 9) were excluded. Spikes due to rains, instrument malfunction were removed too. Storage of CO2 from the surface to the measurement level which is very significant in tall tropical forest was added to the flux. Then low-turbulence correction was applied with u*-threshold of 0.178 m s-1. After these steps only 43 % of 30-min data of 2012 still presented, so the rate of gaps was 57 % (mainly at night and in rains). Data were gapfilled using on-line tool at the web-site of Max-Plank Institute, Germany and Flux-Analysis Tool, Japan. Different gap-filling procedures (non-linear regressions, look-up tables, model evaluation, artificial gaps-method) as well as u*-threshold shifting from 0 to 0.25 resulted in drift of 2012 net carbon exchange total from -296 to -612 g C m-2 (strong carbon sink still remain). Unfortunately, the situation of more then 50 % of gaps in CO2 flux is usual for tropical EC stations because of frequent calm nights. So, a gap-filling algorithm is extremely important for evaluation of long-term totals. We found for Vietnamese data that even few spikes which were not removed before gap-filling can change all-year total by up to 20-50 g m-2 year-1. Especially 'powerful' are big positive values at night in rare-occurred good turbulence. Possibly these values are physical. But they influence regressions in look-up table method dramatically because amount of data in peak of rainy season in night-time is too small. So, the gap-filling algorithm happened to be very sensitive to spikes. Additionally, striking was the fact that storage of CO2 appeared to be the main factor influencing 1-year totals after gap-filling procedure. Taking storage into account shifted the 2012 sum from +182 to -402 g m-2 year

  5. Spatial distribution of carbon sources and sinks in Canada's forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Jing M.; Weimin, Ju; Liu, Jane; Cihlar, Josef; Chen, Wenjun

    2003-01-01

    Annual spatial distributions of carbon sources and sinks in Canada's forests at 1 km resolution are computed for the period from 1901 to 1998 using ecosystem models that integrate remote sensing images, gridded climate, soils and forest inventory data. GIS-based fire scar maps for most regions of Canada are used to develop a remote sensing algorithm for mapping and dating forest burned areas in the 25 yr prior to 1998. These mapped and dated burned areas are used in combination with inventory data to produce a complete image of forest stand age in 1998. Empirical NPP age relationships were used to simulate the annual variations of forest growth and carbon balance in 1 km pixels, each treated as a homogeneous forest stand. Annual CO 2 flux data from four sites were used for model validation. Averaged over the period 1990-1998, the carbon source and sink map for Canada's forests show the following features: (i) large spatial variations corresponding to the patchiness of recent fire scars and productive forests and (ii) a general south-to-north gradient of decreasing carbon sink strength and increasing source strength. This gradient results mostly from differential effects of temperature increase on growing season length, nutrient mineralization and heterotrophic respiration at different latitudes as well as from uneven nitrogen deposition. The results from the present study are compared with those of two previous studies. The comparison suggests that the overall positive effects of non-disturbance factors (climate, CO 2 and nitrogen) outweighed the effects of increased disturbances in the last two decades, making Canada's forests a carbon sink in the 1980s and 1990s. Comparisons of the modeled results with tower-based eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange at four forest stands indicate that the sink values from the present study may be underestimated

  6. Harvested wood products and carbon sink in a young beech high forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pilli R

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available According to art. 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol (KP, Italy has elected forest management as additional human-induced activity to attain the goal of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The whole forest area not subjected to afforestation, reforestation or deforestation processes since 1990 will be considered as managed forest. In order to analyse different management strategies, the Carbon-Pro Project, involving 9 partners of the European CADSES area, considered a young beech high forest (ex-coppice, defined as "transitory silvicultural system" as a common case study for the Pre-alps region. Using data collected with forest plans during the period 1983 - 2005, aboveground and belowground forest carbon stock and sink of a specific forest compartment were estimated by the Carbon Stock Method proposed by the IPCC Guidelines. In order to apply this approach 41 trees were cut and a species-specific allometric equation was developed. Considering the aboveground tree biomass, the carbon sink amounts to 1.99 and 1.84 Mg C ha-1 y-1 for the period 1983 - 1994 and 1994 - 2005 respectively. Adding the belowground tree biomass, the estimated sink amounts to 2.59 and 2.39 Mg C ha-1 y-1 for each period. Taking the harvested wood products (firewood, the total carbon sequestration during the second period is 0.16 Mg C ha-1 y-1. The case study highlights the possible rules for the different management strategies. In effect, the utilisation of the entire increase in aboveground biomass as firewood gives an energy substitution effect but, according to the Marrakesh Accords, it cannot be accounted for the KP. On the other hand, an accumulation strategy gives the maximum possible carbon absorption and retention.

  7. The sustainability of carbon sinks in forests. Studying the sensitivity of forest carbon sinks in the Netherlands, Europe and the Amazon to climate and management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruijt, B.; Kramer, K.; Van den Wyngaert, I.; Groen, R.; Elbers, J.A.; Jans, W.W.P.

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the sustainability of carbon sinks in managed or unmanaged forests of Europe and the Amazon. First, the functioning and seasonal variability of the carbon sink strength in forest ecosystems was analysed in relation to climate variability. For this, existing global data sets of ecosystem fluxes measured by eddy correlation were analysed. A simple, comprehensive empirical model was derived to represent these flux variabilities. Also, new soil respiration measurements were initiated in the Netherlands and Amazonia and their usefulness to understand the uptake- and emission components of carbon exchange was analysed. Then, two long-term forest dynamics models were parameterised (FORSPACE and CENTURY) for Dutch Pinus and Fagus forests, to study the development of forest carbon stocks over a century under different management and climate scenarios. Finally, using the empirical model as well as the long-term models, scenario predictions were made. It turns out that uptake rates are expected to decrease in a climate with higher temperatures, but that storage capacity for carbon can be expected to be slightly enhanced, especially if also the management intensity is carefully tuned down

  8. Tropical secondary forests regenerating after shifting cultivation in the Philippines uplands are important carbon sinks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukul, Sharif A; Herbohn, John; Firn, Jennifer

    2016-03-08

    In the tropics, shifting cultivation has long been attributed to large scale forest degradation, and remains a major source of uncertainty in forest carbon accounting. In the Philippines, shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin, is a major land-use in upland areas. We measured the distribution and recovery of aboveground biomass carbon along a fallow gradient in post-kaingin secondary forests in an upland area in the Philippines. We found significantly higher carbon in the aboveground total biomass and living woody biomass in old-growth forest, while coarse dead wood biomass carbon was higher in the new fallow sites. For young through to the oldest fallow secondary forests, there was a progressive recovery of biomass carbon evident. Multivariate analysis indicates patch size as an influential factor in explaining the variation in biomass carbon recovery in secondary forests after shifting cultivation. Our study indicates secondary forests after shifting cultivation are substantial carbon sinks and that this capacity to store carbon increases with abandonment age. Large trees contribute most to aboveground biomass. A better understanding of the relative contribution of different biomass sources in aboveground total forest biomass, however, is necessary to fully capture the value of such landscapes from forest management, restoration and conservation perspectives.

  9. Increasing carbon sinks in European forests: effect of afforestation and changes in mean growing stock volume

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vilén, T.; Cienciala, E.; Schelhaas, M.; Verkerk, P.J.; Lindner, M.; Peltola, H.

    2016-01-01

    In Europe, both forest area and growing stock have increased since the 1950s, and European forests have acted as a carbon sink during the last six decades. However, the contribution of different factors affecting the sink is not yet clear. In this study, historical inventory data were combined with

  10. From sink to source: Regional variation in U.S. forest carbon futures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wear, David N; Coulston, John W

    2015-11-12

    The sequestration of atmospheric carbon (C) in forests has partially offset C emissions in the United States (US) and might reduce overall costs of achieving emission targets, especially while transportation and energy sectors are transitioning to lower-carbon technologies. Using detailed forest inventory data for the conterminous US, we estimate forests' current net sequestration of atmospheric C to be 173 Tg yr(-1), offsetting 9.7% of C emissions from transportation and energy sources. Accounting for multiple driving variables, we project a gradual decline in the forest C emission sink over the next 25 years (to 112 Tg yr(-1)) with regional differences. Sequestration in eastern regions declines gradually while sequestration in the Rocky Mountain region declines rapidly and could become a source of atmospheric C due to disturbances such as fire and insect epidemics. C sequestration in the Pacific Coast region stabilizes as forests harvested in previous decades regrow. Scenarios simulating climate-induced productivity enhancement and afforestation policies increase sequestration rates, but would not fully offset declines from aging and forest disturbances. Separating C transfers associated with land use changes from sequestration clarifies forests' role in reducing net emissions and demonstrates that retention of forest land is crucial for protecting or enhancing sink strength.

  11. Observations of total RONO2 over the boreal forest: NOx sinks and HNO3 sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. C. Browne

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In contrast with the textbook view of remote chemistry where HNO3 formation is the primary sink of nitrogen oxides, recent theoretical analyses show that formation of RONO2 (ΣANs from isoprene and other terpene precursors is the primary net chemical loss of nitrogen oxides over the remote continents where the concentration of nitrogen oxides is low. This then increases the prominence of questions concerning the chemical lifetime and ultimate fate of ΣANs. We present observations of nitrogen oxides and organic molecules collected over the Canadian boreal forest during the summer which show that ΣANs account for ~20% of total oxidized nitrogen and that their instantaneous production rate is larger than that of HNO3. This confirms the primary role of reactions producing ΣANs as a control over the lifetime of NOx (NOx = NO + NO2 in remote, continental environments. However, HNO3 is generally present in larger concentrations than ΣANs indicating that the atmospheric lifetime of ΣANs is shorter than the HNO3 lifetime. We investigate a range of proposed loss mechanisms that would explain the inferred lifetime of ΣANs finding that in combination with deposition, two processes are consistent with the observations: (1 rapid ozonolysis of isoprene nitrates where at least ~40% of the ozonolysis products release NOx from the carbon backbone and/or (2 hydrolysis of particulate organic nitrates with HNO3 as a product. Implications of these ideas for our understanding of NOx and NOy budget in remote and rural locations are discussed.

  12. Sinks and sources : a strategy to involve forest communities in Tanzania in global climate policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zahabu, E.M.

    2008-01-01

    At present only the sink ability of forest to sequester atmospheric CO2 through establishing new forests is credited under the current UNFCCC climate change mitigation mechanisms in developing countries, i.e. the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. Other forest practices such as

  13. Carbon storage in old-growth forests of the Mid-Atlantic: toward better understanding the eastern forest carbon sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGarvey, Jennifer C; Thompson, Jonathan R; Epstein, Howard E; Shugart, Herman H

    2015-02-01

    Few old-growth stands remain in the matrix of secondary forests that dominates the eastern North American landscape. These remnant stands offer insight on the potential carbon (C) storage capacity of now-recovering secondary forests. We surveyed the remaining old-growth forests on sites characteristic of the general Mid-Atlantic United States and estimated the size of multiple components of forest C storage. Within and between old-growth stands, variability in C density is high and related to overstory tree species composition. The sites contain 219 ± 46 Mg C/ha (mean ± SD), including live and dead aboveground biomass, leaf litter, and the soil O horizon, with over 20% stored in downed wood and snags. Stands dominated by tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) store the most live biomass, while the mixed oak (Quercus spp.) stands overall store more dead wood. Total C density is 30% higher (154 Mg C/ha), and dead wood C density is 1800% higher (46 Mg C/ha) in the old-growth forests than in the surrounding younger forests (120 and 5 Mg C/ha, respectively). The high density of dead wood in old growth relative to secondary forests reflects a stark difference in historical land use and, possibly, the legacy of the local disturbance (e.g., disease) history. Our results demonstrate the potential for dead wood to maintain the sink capacity of secondary forests for many decades to come.

  14. Chronic water stress reduces tree growth and the carbon sink of deciduous hardwood forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brzostek, Edward R; Dragoni, Danilo; Schmid, Hans Peter; Rahman, Abdullah F; Sims, Daniel; Wayson, Craig A; Johnson, Daniel J; Phillips, Richard P

    2014-08-01

    Predicted decreases in water availability across the temperate forest biome have the potential to offset gains in carbon (C) uptake from phenology trends, rising atmospheric CO2 , and nitrogen deposition. While it is well established that severe droughts reduce the C sink of forests by inducing tree mortality, the impacts of mild but chronic water stress on forest phenology and physiology are largely unknown. We quantified the C consequences of chronic water stress using a 13-year record of tree growth (n = 200 trees), soil moisture, and ecosystem C balance at the Morgan-Monroe State Forest (MMSF) in Indiana, and a regional 11-year record of tree growth (n > 300 000 trees) and water availability for the 20 most dominant deciduous broadleaf tree species across the eastern and midwestern USA. We show that despite ~26 more days of C assimilation by trees at the MMSF, increasing water stress decreased the number of days of wood production by ~42 days over the same period, reducing the annual accrual of C in woody biomass by 41%. Across the deciduous forest region, water stress induced similar declines in tree growth, particularly for water-demanding 'mesophytic' tree species. Given the current replacement of water-stress adapted 'xerophytic' tree species by mesophytic tree species, we estimate that chronic water stress has the potential to decrease the C sink of deciduous forests by up to 17% (0.04 Pg C yr(-1) ) in the coming decades. This reduction in the C sink due to mesophication and chronic water stress is equivalent to an additional 1-3 days of global C emissions from fossil fuel burning each year. Collectively, our results indicate that regional declines in water availability may offset the growth-enhancing effects of other global changes and reduce the extent to which forests ameliorate climate warming. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Sources and sinks of diversification and conservation priorities for the Mexican tropical dry forest.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith X Becerra

    Full Text Available Elucidating the geographical history of diversification is critical for inferring where future diversification may occur and thus could be a valuable aid in determining conservation priorities. However, it has been difficult to recognize areas with a higher likelihood of promoting diversification. We reconstructed centres of origin of lineages and identified areas in the Mexican tropical dry forest that have been important centres of diversification (sources and areas where species are maintained but where diversification is less likely to occur (diversity sinks. We used a molecular phylogeny of the genus Bursera, a dominant member of the forest, along with information on current species distributions. Results indicate that vast areas of the forest have historically functioned as diversity sinks, generating few or no extant Bursera lineages. Only a few areas have functioned as major engines of diversification. Long-term preservation of biodiversity may be promoted by incorporation of such knowledge in decision-making.

  16. Managing carbon sinks by changing rotation length in European forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaipainen, Terhi; Liski, Jari; Pussinen, Ari; Karjalainen, Timo

    2004-01-01

    Elongation of rotation length is a forest management activity countries may choose to apply under Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol to help them meet their commitments for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We used the CO2FIX model to analyze how the carbon stocks of trees, soil and wood products depend on rotation length in different European forests. Results predicted that the carbon stock of trees increased in each forest when rotation length was increased, but the carbon stock of soil decreased slightly in German and Finnish Scots pine forests; the carbon stock of wood products also decreased slightly in cases other than the Sitka spruce forest in UK. To estimate the efficiency of increasing rotation length as an Article 3.4 activity, we looked at changes in the carbon stock of trees resulting from a 20-year increase in current rotation lengths. To achieve the largest eligible carbon sink mentioned in Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol, the rotation lengths need to be increased on areas varying from 0.3 to 5.1 Mha depending on the forest. This would in some forests cause 1-6% declines in harvesting possibilities. The possible decreases in the carbon stock of soil indicate that reporting the changes in the carbon stocks of forests under Article 3.4 may require measuring soil carbon

  17. Utilizing Forest Inventory and Analysis Data, Remote Sensing, and Ecosystem Models for National Forest System Carbon Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexa J. Dugan; Richard A. Birdsey; Sean P. Healey; Christopher Woodall; Fangmin Zhang; Jing M. Chen; Alexander Hernandez; James B. McCarter

    2015-01-01

    Forested lands, representing the largest terrestrial carbon sink in the United States, offset 16% of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions through carbon sequestration. Meanwhile, this carbon sink is threatened by deforestation, climate change and natural disturbances. As a result, U.S. Forest Service policies require that National Forests assess baseline carbon stocks...

  18. How costly are carbon offsets : a meta-analysis of forest carbon sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Kooten, G.C.; Eagle, A.J.; Manley, J.; Smolak, T.M.

    2004-01-01

    Carbon terrestrial sinks are one of the many proposed mitigation responses to climate change. Carbon sinks are considered to be a low-cost alternative to fuel switching and reduced fossil fuel consumption for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. This study examined the costs of sequestering carbon in terrestrial ecosystems via forestry activities. A meta-regression analysis was used to determine which factors influence the costs of carbon sequestration via forest activities. Important concerns about how the Kyoto Protocol may be implemented were also addressed. The meta-regression analysis was used to examine 981 estimates from 55 studies on the cost of creating carbon offsets using forestry. Baseline cost estimates are US$46.62 to 260.29 per tC. Tree planting and agroforestry increases costs by more than 200 per cent. Costs are lowest when post-harvest storage of carbon in wood products is considered, or when biomass is substituted for fossil fuels in energy production. The meta-analysis also considered land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) policies that increase the carbon sink functions of terrestrial ecosystems. The main motive for using sinks in the accounting process is that they avoid the use of expensive controls for the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. refs., tabs

  19. Effects of the age class distributions of the temperate and boreal forests on the global CO2 source-sink function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohlmaier, G. H.; Häger, Ch.; Würth, G.; Lüdeke, M. K. B.; Ramge, P.; Badeck, F.-W.; Kindermann, J.; Lang, T.

    1995-02-01

    The rôle of the temperate and boreal forests as a global CO2 source or sink is examined, both for the present time and for the next hundred years. The results of the Forest Resource Assessment for 1990 of the Economic Comission for Europe and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (1992) serve as the main database in this study. Out of the estimated total area of approximately 20106 km2 of forests and wooded lands in the temperate and boreal zone only approximately fifty percent is documented within the category of exploitable forests, which are examined in detail here. In this study, a general formalism of the time evolution of an ensemble of forests within an ecological province is developed using the formalism of the Leslie matrix. This matrix can be formulated if the age class dependent mortalities which arise from the disturbances are known. A distinction is made between the natural disturbances by fire, wind throw and insect infestations and disturbances introduced through harvesting of timber. Through the use of Richards growth function each age class of a given biome is related to the corresponding biomass and annual increment. The data reported on the mean net annual increment and on the mean biomass serve to calibrate the model. The difference of the reported net annual increment and annual fellings of approximately 550 106 m3 roundwood correspond to a sink of 210-330 Mt of carbon per year excluding any changes in the soil balance. It could be shown that the present distribution of forest age classes for the United States, Canada, Europe, or the former Soviet Union does not correspond to a quasi-stationary state, in which biomass is accumulated only due to a stimulated growth under enhanced atmospheric CO2 levels. The present CO2 sink function will not persist in the next century, if harvesting rates increase with 0.5% annually or even less. The future state will also be influenced by the effect of the greenhouse climate, the impact

  20. Long-term carbon sink in Borneo’s forests, halted by drought and vulnerable to edges

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Qie, L.; Lewis, S. L.; Sullivan, M. J. P.; Lopez-Gonzalez, G.; Pickavance, G. C.; Tunderland, T.; Ashotn, P.; Hubau, W.; Abu Salim, K.; Aiba, S.; I.; Banin, L. F.; Berryl, N.; Brearley, F. Q.; Burslem, D. F. R. P.; Dančák, M.; Davies, S. J.; Fredriksson, G.; Hamer, K. C.; Hédl, Radim; Kho, L. K.; Kitayama, K.; Krisnawati, H.; Lhota, S.; Malhi, Y.; Maycock, C.; Metali, F.; Mirmanto, E.; Nagy, L.; Nilus, R.; Ong, R.; Pendry, C. A.; Poulsen, A. D.; Primack, R. B.; Rutishauser, E.; Samsoedin, I.; Saragih, B.; Sist, P.; Slik, J. W. F.; Sukri, R. S.; Svátek, M.; Tan, S.; Tjoa, A.; van Nieuwstadt, M.; Vernimmen, R. R. E.; Yassir, I.; Kidd, P. S.; Firtiadi, M.; Ideris, N. K. H.; Serudin, R. M.; Lim, L. S. A.; Saparudin, M. S.; Phillips, O. L.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 8, Dec 19 (2017), s. 1-11, č. článku 1966. ISSN 2041-1723 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : carbon sink * tree growth * tropical rain forest Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Ecology Impact factor: 12.124, year: 2016

  1. An observational study of the carbon-sink strength of East Asian subtropical evergreen forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan Zhenghong; Zhang Yiping; Zhang Yongjiang; Song Qinhai; Cao Kunfang; Schaefer, D A; Liu Yuhong; Liang Naishen; Hsia, Yue-Joe; Zhou Guoyi; Li Yuelin; Yan Junhua; Juang, Jehn-Yih; Chu Housen; Yu Guirui; Sun Xiaomin

    2012-01-01

    Relatively little is known about the effects of regional warming on the carbon cycle of subtropical evergreen forest ecosystems, which are characterized by year-round growing season and cold winters. We investigated the carbon balance in three typical East Asia subtropical evergreen forests, using eddy flux, soil respiration and leaf-level measurements. Subtropical evergreen forests maintain continuous, high rates of photosynthetic activity, even during winter cold periods. Warm summers enhance photosynthetic rates in a limited way, because overall ecosystem productivity is primarily restrained by radiation levels during the warm period. Conversely, warm climates significantly enhance the respiratory carbon efflux. The finding of lower sensitivity of photosynthesis relative to that of respiration suggests that increased temperature will weaken the carbon-sink strength of East Asia subtropical evergreen forests. (letter)

  2. Boreal forests can have a remarkable role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions locally: Land use-related and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and sinks at the municipal level

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vanhala, Pekka, E-mail: pekka.vanhala@ymparisto.fi [Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Environment Centre, P.O. Box 140, Mechelininkatu 34 a, FI-00251 Helsinki (Finland); Bergström, Irina [Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Environment Centre, P.O. Box 140, Mechelininkatu 34 a, FI-00251 Helsinki (Finland); Haaspuro, Tiina [University of Helsinki, Department of Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 65, Viikinkaari 1, 00014 Helsinki (Finland); Kortelainen, Pirkko; Holmberg, Maria; Forsius, Martin [Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Environment Centre, P.O. Box 140, Mechelininkatu 34 a, FI-00251 Helsinki (Finland)

    2016-07-01

    Ecosystem services have become an important concept in policy-making. Carbon (C) sequestration into ecosystems is a significant ecosystem service, whereas C losses can be considered as an ecosystem disservice. Municipalities are in a position to make decisions that affect local emissions and therefore are important when considering greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. Integrated estimations of fluxes at a regional level help local authorities to develop land use policies for minimising GHG emissions and maximising C sinks. In this study, the Finnish national GHG accounting system is modified and applied at the municipal level by combining emissions and sinks from agricultural land, forest areas, water bodies and mires (land use-related GHG emissions) with emissions from activities such as energy production and traffic (anthropogenic GHG emissions) into the LUONNIKAS calculation tool. The study area consists of 14 municipalities within the Vanajavesi catchment area located in Southern Finland. In these municipalities, croplands, peat extraction sites, water bodies and undrained mires are emission sources, whereas forests are large carbon sinks that turn the land use-related GHG budget negative, resulting in C sequestration into the ecosystem. The annual land use-related sink in the study area was 78 t CO{sub 2} eq km{sup −2} and 2.8 t CO{sub 2} eq per capita. Annual anthropogenic GHG emissions from the area amounted to 250 t CO{sub 2} eq km{sup −2} and 9.2 t CO{sub 2} eq per capita. Since forests are a significant carbon sink and the efficiency of this sink is heavily affected by forest management practices, forest management policy is a key contributing factor for mitigating municipal GHG emissions. - Highlights: • The significance of natural landscapes in the regional C budgets is shown. • Boreal forests can be remarkable C sinks enabling net C sequestration in ecosystems. • The large area of forest may compensate for all C emissions in the municipality.

  3. Biomass carbon stocks in China's forests between 2000 and 2050: a prediction based on forest biomass-age relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Bing; Guo, ZhaoDi; Piao, ShiLong; Fang, JingYun

    2010-07-01

    China's forests are characterized by young forest age, low carbon density and a large area of planted forests, and thus have high potential to act as carbon sinks in the future. Using China's national forest inventory data during 1994-1998 and 1999-2003, and direct field measurements, we investigated the relationships between forest biomass density and forest age for 36 major forest types. Statistical approaches and the predicted future forest area from the national forestry development plan were applied to estimate the potential of forest biomass carbon storage in China during 2000-2050. Under an assumption of continuous natural forest growth, China's existing forest biomass carbon (C) stock would increase from 5.86 Pg C (1 Pg=10(15) g) in 1999-2003 to 10.23 Pg C in 2050, resulting in a total increase of 4.37 Pg C. Newly planted forests through afforestation and reforestation will sequestrate an additional 2.86 Pg C in biomass. Overall, China's forests will potentially act as a carbon sink for 7.23 Pg C during the period 2000-2050, with an average carbon sink of 0.14 Pg C yr(-1). This suggests that China's forests will be a significant carbon sink in the next 50 years.

  4. Variation in carbohydrate source-sink relations of forest and treeline white spruce in southern, interior and northern Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sveinbjörnsson, Bjartmar; Smith, Matthew; Traustason, Tumi; Ruess, Roger W; Sullivan, Patrick F

    2010-08-01

    Two opposing hypotheses have been presented to explain reduced tree growth at the treeline, compared with growth in lower elevation or lower latitude forests: the carbon source and sink limitation hypotheses. The former states that treeline trees have an unfavorable carbon balance and cannot support growth of the magnitude observed at lower elevations or latitudes, while the latter argues that treeline trees have an adequate carbon supply, but that cold temperatures directly limit growth. In this study, we examined the relative importance of source and sink limitation in forest and treeline white spruce (Picea glauca) in three mountain ranges from southern to northern Alaska. We related seasonal changes in needle nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) content with branch extension growth, an approach we argue is more powerful than using needle NSC concentration. Branch extension growth in the southernmost Chugach Mountains was much greater than in the White Mountains and the Brooks Range. Trees in the Chugach Mountains showed a greater seasonal decline in needle NSC content than trees in the other mountain ranges, and the seasonal change in NSC was correlated with site-level branch growth across mountain ranges. There was no evidence of a consistent difference in branch growth between the forest and treeline sites, which differ in elevation by approximately 100 m. Our results point to a continuum between source and sink limitation of growth, with high-elevation trees in northern and interior Alaska showing greater evidence of sink limitation, and those in southern Alaska showing greater potential for source limitation.

  5. Carbon sinks: An analysis of the economic potential in a mangrove forest of the Colombian Pacific

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lozano Torres, Yancilly

    2007-01-01

    In the present article the author examines the problem of climate change from the perspective offered by the so called flexibility mechanisms introduced by the Kyoto Protocol. The pollution reduction at targeted levels is expected to be achieved at minimum economic costs which are socially acceptable in an exchange market for CO 2 sinks. With this system many developing countries are to participate with the promise of an eco-systemic functionality of natural forests as sources of CO 2 sequestration. It is shown that the potential benefits derived from the forest conservation market as CO 2 sinks is not consistent with social costs or opportunity costs incurred in by many communities, as it is the case of the Colombian south pacific region. In this imbalance, an important role is played by transaction costs which in fact determine the part of the pie corresponding to the community and the bureaucracy.

  6. Ocean carbon sinks and international climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehdanz, Katrin; Tol, Richard S.J.; Wetzel, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    Terrestrial vegetation sinks have entered the Kyoto Protocol as offsets for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, but ocean sinks have escaped attention. Ocean sinks are as unexplored and uncertain as were the terrestrial sinks at the time of negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol. It is not unlikely that certain countries will advocate the inclusion of ocean carbon sinks to reduce their emission reduction obligations in post-2012 negotiations. We use a simple model of the international market for carbon dioxide emissions to evaluate who would gain or loose from allowing for ocean carbon sinks. Our analysis is restricted to information on anthropogenic carbon sequestration within the exclusive economic zone of a country. We use information on the actual carbon flux and derive the human-induced uptake for the period from 1990 onwards. Like the carbon sequestration of business as usual forest management activities, natural ocean carbon sequestration applies at zero costs. The total amount of anthropogenic ocean carbon sequestration is large, also in the exclusive economic zones. As a consequence, it substantially alters the costs of emission reduction for most countries. Countries such as Australia, Denmark, France, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Portugal would gain substantially, and a large number of countries would benefit too. Current net exporters of carbon permits, particularly Russia, would gain less and oppose the inclusion of ocean carbon sinks

  7. Searching Sinks and Sources: CO2 Fluxes Before and After Partial Deforestation of a Spruce Forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ney, P.; Graf, A.; Druee, C.; Esser, O.; Klosterhalfen, A.; Valler, V.; Pick, K.; Vereecken, H.

    2017-12-01

    Forest ecosystems in the northern mid-latitudes act as a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and hence play an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Disturbances of these landscapes may have a significant impact on their ecosystem carbon budget. We present seven years of eddy covariance (EC) measurements (September 2013 to September 2017) over a 70 year old spruce stock, including three years prior to and four years after partial deforestation. We analyzed the seasonal and inter-annual changes of carbon fluxes as affected mainly by the forest transition. The measurements were carried out in a small headwater catchment (38.5 ha) within the TERENO (TERrestrial Environmental Observatories) network in the Eifel National Park Germany (50°30'N, 06°19'E, 595-629 m a.s.l.). An EC system, mounted on the top of a 38 m high tower, continuously samples fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, latent heat and CO2. In August and September 2013, more than 20% of the catchment was deforested and planned for regeneration towards natural deciduous vegetation, and a second EC station (2.5 m height) was installed in the middle of this clearcut. Flux partitioning and gap filling methods were used to calculate full time series and annual carbon budgets of the measured net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and its components gross primary production (GPP) and total ecosystem respiration (Reco). Additionally, soil respiration was measured with manual chambers on a monthly to bi-monthly basis at 25 transect points in the forest and deforested area. Annual sums of NEE represent the forest as a carbon sink with small inter-annual variability. In contrast, the deforested area showed a clear trend. In the first year after partial deforestation, regrowth on the deforested area consisted mainly of grasses and red foxglove (Digitalis purpurea L.), while since the second year also growth of mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and broom (Cytisus scoparius L.) increased. The regrowth of biomass is

  8. To sink or burn? A discussion of the potential contributions of forests to greenhouse gas balances through storing carbon or providing biofuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirschbaum, M.U.F.

    2003-01-01

    Forests can affect net CO 2 emissions by increasing or decreasing the amount of stored carbon, or by supplying biofuels for power generation to substitute for fossil fuels. However, forests store the most carbon when they remain undisturbed and are allowed to grow to maturity, whereas using wood for bioenergy requires wood removal from forests, which reduces on-site carbon storage. Hence, it is difficult to manage a forest simultaneously for maximum carbon storage and supplying fuelwood. For developing optimal strategies for the use of vegetation sinks, it is necessary to consider the feedbacks via the inherent natural adjustments in the global carbon cycle. Increased atmospheric CO 2 currently provides a driving force for carbon uptake by natural carbon reservoirs, such as the world's oceans. When carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored in biomass, it lowers the concentration gradient between the atmosphere and these other reservoirs. This reduces the subsequent inherent rate of CO 2 removal from the atmosphere. This means that transferring a quantity of CO 2 from the atmosphere to a biomass pool lowers the atmospheric concentration the most immediately after the initial removal, but subsequently, the atmospheric concentration trends back towards the values without biospheric removal. The optimal timing for the use of vegetation sinks therefore depends on a number of factors: the length of time over which forest growth can be maintained, whether biomass is used for energy generation and on the nature of the most detrimental aspects of climate-change impacts. Climate-change impacts related to the instantaneous effect of temperature are mitigated less by vegetation sinks than impacts that act via the cumulative effect of increased temperature. It also means that short-term carbon storage in temporary sinks is not generally beneficial in mitigating climate change

  9. STEAM GENERATOR TUBE INTEGRITY ANALYSIS OF A TOTAL LOSS OF ALL HEAT SINKS ACCIDENT FOR WOLSONG NPP UNIT 1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HEOK-SOON LIM

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available A total loss of all heat sinks is considered a severe accident with a low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all heat sinks, the degasser/condenser relief valves (DCRV become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. If a nuclear power plant has a total loss of heat sinks accident, high-temperature steam and differential pressure between the primary heat transport system (PHTS and the steam generator (SG secondary side can cause a SG tube creep rupture. To protect the PHTS during a total loss of all heat sinks accident, a sufficient depressurization capability of the degasser/condenser relief valve and the SG tube integrity is very important. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is necessary to assess the impact of the PHTS overprotection and the SG tube integrity of the primary circuit. This paper describes the analysis of DCRV discharge capacity and the SG tube integrity under a total loss of all heat sink using the CATHENA code. It was found that the DCRV's discharge capacity is enough to protect the overpressure in the PHTS, and the SG tube integrity is maintained in a total loss of all heat accident.

  10. Steam Generator Tube Integrity Analysis of A Total Loss of all Heat Sinks Accident for Wolsong NPP Unit 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Heoksoon; Song, Taeyoung; Chi, Moongoo [Korea Htydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seoungrae [Nuclear Engineering Service and Solution, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-02-15

    A total loss of all heat sinks is considered a severe accident with a low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all heat sinks, the degasser/condenser relief valves (DCRV) become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. If a nuclear power plant has a total loss of heat sinks accident, high-temperature steam and differential pressure between the primary heat transport system (PHTS) and the steam generator (SG) secondary side can cause a SG tube creep rupture. To protect the PHTS during a total loss of all heat sinks accident, a sufficient depressurization capability of the degasser/condenser relief valve and the SG tube integrity is very important. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is necessary to assess the impact of the PHTS overprotection and the SG tube integrity of the primary circuit. This paper describes the analysis of DCRV discharge capacity and the SG tube integrity under a total loss of all heat sink using the CATHENA code. It was found that the DCRV's discharge capacity is enough to protect the overpressure in the PHTS, and the SG tube integrity is maintained in a total loss of all heat accident.

  11. Steam Generator Tube Integrity Analysis of A Total Loss of all Heat Sinks Accident for Wolsong NPP Unit 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Heoksoon; Song, Taeyoung; Chi, Moongoo; Kim, Seoungrae

    2014-01-01

    A total loss of all heat sinks is considered a severe accident with a low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all heat sinks, the degasser/condenser relief valves (DCRV) become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. If a nuclear power plant has a total loss of heat sinks accident, high-temperature steam and differential pressure between the primary heat transport system (PHTS) and the steam generator (SG) secondary side can cause a SG tube creep rupture. To protect the PHTS during a total loss of all heat sinks accident, a sufficient depressurization capability of the degasser/condenser relief valve and the SG tube integrity is very important. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is necessary to assess the impact of the PHTS overprotection and the SG tube integrity of the primary circuit. This paper describes the analysis of DCRV discharge capacity and the SG tube integrity under a total loss of all heat sink using the CATHENA code. It was found that the DCRV's discharge capacity is enough to protect the overpressure in the PHTS, and the SG tube integrity is maintained in a total loss of all heat accident

  12. Greenhouse gas emissions and sinks in the Swedish forest industry; Svenska skogsindustrins emissioner och upptag av vaexthusgaser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hagberg, Linus; Karlsson, Per-Erik; Stripple, Haakan; Ek, Mats; Zetterberg, Therese; Zetterberg, Lars

    2008-06-15

    In this study, the greenhouse gas uptake and emissions are estimated for activities associated with the Swedish forest industry. The study is intended as an update of a previous emission inventory from 1994. The inventory includes uptake and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O) and methane (CH{sub 4}) in the forest ecosystem (all productive forest land in Sweden) and in the forest industrial production system, which here includes forestry and logging, manufacturing industries (pulp and paper industry, the sawmill industry and board industry), and transport of forest raw material and forest products in Sweden. The study shows that the overall net result of the Swedish forest industry activities is an annual removals of greenhouse gases equivalent to 1.6 million tonnes of CO{sub 2} equivalents. The result is however beset with considerable uncertainties, especially with regard to changes in carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. The overall results of the calculations are also dependent on how forest industry activities delineated. The study shows that the issues in the forest industrial production system has decreased by about 40% since the early 1990s from the equivalent 5.8 million tonnes CO{sub 2} equivalents to 3.5 million tonnes of CO{sub 2} equivalent, despite increased production. The study also shows that the forest industry total contributions to the Swedish forest constitutes a net sink of greenhouse gases, which we estimated at 5.2 million tonnes of CO{sub 2} equivalents. This is due primarily to a continued net growth in the Swedish forest, which is the result of an active and sustainable Forestry. Most of the forest land represents a significant lowering of CO{sub 2}, while the organogenic soils, which accounts for a smaller proportion of forest areas, probably account for a significant emission of CO{sub 2}. Above all, included in the calculations of gas exchange in the forest ecosystem, is a large emission of CO{sub 2

  13. The forest as a historic source and sink for carbon dioxide; Skogen som historisk kaella respektive saenka foer koldioxid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kander, A [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Economic History

    1996-06-01

    The aim of the present project is to quantify the changes in the growing stock of timber between 1800 and 1985 in order to find out under which periods and to what extent the forest has served as a source resp. sink for carbon dioxide. These data are compared to the carbon dioxide emissions from combustion of fossil fuels under the same period. Another goal of the project is to find the order of magnitude of the effect of other potential sinks and sources for carbon dioxide. 32 refs, 9 figs, 1 tab

  14. Carbon profile of the managed forest sector in Canada in the 20th century: sink or source?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiaxin; Colombo, Stephen J; Ter-Mikaelian, Michael T; Heath, Linda S

    2014-08-19

    Canada contains 10% of global forests and has been one of the world's largest harvested wood products (HWP) producers. Therefore, Canada's managed forest sector, the managed forest area and HWP, has the potential to significantly increase or reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases. Using the most comprehensive carbon balance analysis to date, this study shows Canada's managed forest area and resulting HWP were a sink of 7510 and 849 teragrams carbon (TgC), respectively, in the period 1901-2010, exceeding Canada's fossil fuel-based emissions over this period (7333 TgC). If Canadian HWP were not produced and used for residential construction, and instead more energy intensive materials were used, there would have been an additional 790 TgC fossil fuel-based emissions. Because the forest carbon increases in the 20th century were mainly due to younger growing forests that resulted from disturbances in the 19th century, and future increases in forest carbon stocks appear uncertain, in coming decades most of the mitigation contribution from Canadian forests will likely accrue from wood substitution that reduces fossil fuel-based emissions and stores carbon, so long as those forests are managed sustainably.

  15. Carbon changes in conterminous US forests associated with growth and major disturbances: 1992-2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Daolan; Ducey, Mark J; Heath, Linda S; Smith, James E

    2011-01-01

    We estimated forest area and carbon changes in the conterminous United States using a remote sensing based land cover change map, forest fire data from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program, and forest growth and harvest data from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. Natural and human-associated disturbances reduced the forest ecosystems' carbon sink by 36% from 1992 to 2001, compared to that without disturbances in the 48 states. Among the three identified disturbances, forest-related land cover change contributed 33% of the total effect in reducing the forest carbon potential sink, while harvests and fires accounted for 63% and 4% of the total effect, respectively. The nation's forests sequestered 1.6 ± 0.1 Pg (10 15 petagram) carbon during the period, or 0.18 Pg C yr -1 , with substantial regional variation. The southern region of the United States was a small net carbon source whereas the greater Pacific Northwest region was a strong net sink. Results of the approach fit reasonably well at an aggregate level with other related estimates of the current forest US greenhouse gas inventory, suggesting that further research using this approach is warranted.

  16. The methane sink associated to soils of natural and agricultural ecosystems in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaldi, Simona; Costantini, Massimo; Cenciarelli, Pietro; Ciccioli, Paolo; Valentini, Riccardo

    2007-01-01

    In the present work, the CH4 sink associated to Italian soils was calculated by using a process-based model controlled by gas diffusivity and microbial activity, which was run by using a raster-based geographical information system. Georeferenced data included land cover CLC2000, soil properties from the European Soil Database, climatic data from the MARS-STAT database, plus several derived soils properties based on published algorithms applied to the above mentioned databases. Overall CH4 consumption from natural and agricultural sources accounted for a total of 43.3 Gg CH4 yr(-1), with 28.1 Gg CH4 yr(-1) removed in natural ecosystems and 15.1 Gg CH4 yr(-1) in agricultural ecosystems. The highest CH4 uptake rates were obtained for natural areas of Southern Apennines and islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and were mainly associated to areas covered by sclerophyllous vegetation (259.7+/-30.2 mg CH4 m(-2) yr(-1)) and broad-leaved forest (237.5 mg CH4 m(-2) yr(-1)). In terms of total sink strength broad-leaved forests were the dominant ecosystem. The overall contribution of each ecosystem type to the whole CH4 sink depended on the total area covered by the specific ecosystem and on its exact geographic distribution. The latter determines the type of climate present in the area and the dominant soil type, both factors which showed to have a strong influence on CH4 uptake rates. The aggregated CH4 sink, calculated for natural ecosystems present in the Italian region, is significantly higher than previously reported estimates, which were extrapolated from fluxes measured in other temperate ecosystems.

  17. Forests and carbon storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael G. Ryan

    2008-01-01

    Forests store much carbon and their growth can be a carbon sink if disturbance or harvesting has killed or removed trees or if trees that can now regrow are planted where they did not historically occur. Forests and long-lived wood products currently offset 310 million metric tons of U.S. fossil fuel emissions of carbon--20 percent of the total (Pacala et al. 2007)....

  18. Stochastic carbon sinks for combating carbon dioxide emissions in the EU

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gren, Ing-Marie; Carlsson, Mattias; Elofsson, Katarina; Munnich, Miriam

    2012-01-01

    This paper carries out numerical calculations on the potential of carbon sinks in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and national commitments under conditions of stochastic carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and carbon sequestration by forests. Chance constraint programming is used to analyze the role of stochastic carbon sinks for national and EU-wide compliance costs. The analytical results show that the inclusion of the carbon sink option can reduce costs for low enough marginal cost and risk discount, but also that costless carbon sinks as by-products from forestry are not part of a cost-effective solution under a high reliability concern. Cost savings are reduced due to risk discounting under a reliability concern, in particular when assigning Chebyshev's inequality as compared with a normal probability distribution. It is also shown that the supply of forest sinks on the market depends on the differences in marginal abatement cost between the trading and the non-trading sectors, and in risk discounting between achievements of the ETS cap and the national commitment. Relatively low marginal abatement cost in the non-trading sector and high risk discounting of national commitment achievements increase the supply of sinks in the market and, hence, reduces the equilibrium price. The empirical application illustrates the importance of risk discounting for the magnitude of cost savings obtained from introducing forest carbon sinks in the EU ETS and national commitments.

  19. Ozone, OH and NO3 sink terms at a coniferous forest site in Central Germany: Role of biogenic VOCs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonn, B.; Bourtsoukidis, S.; Haunold, W.; Sitals, R.; Jacobi, S.

    2012-04-01

    sink terms during daytime. The contributions of monoterpene and isoprene reactions strengthened towards the summer period, while sesquiterpene reactions slowed down. Hydroxyl radical: The picture becomes much more complex for OH. Besides the reaction with nitrogen dioxide, isoprene and monoterpenes were key destructing agents of OH with estimated contributions of about 50-60%, increasing towards the summertime. Contributions of their oxidation products to the total sink of OH are supposed to be less than 20% but showing more intense during summer and less towards cooler periods. Sesquiterpene OH-reactions only contributed to 10% with a maximum of about 20% at the early April. Nitrate radical: NO3 displayed a mixture of the sinks of OH and ozone. The dominant destruction takes place via NOx-reactions (about 50%) and the remainder primarily via monoterpene (36±20%), sesquiterpene (11±8%) and isoprene (2±1%) OH-reactions. From our observations at this particular site it is apparent that the spruce forest provides a quite efficient variety of pathways to compensate oxidation stress. This is essentially displayed in the variation of emission pattern of different compound classes with different reactivity for the three major oxidation agents. One needs to be aware of the fact that the sink is highly variable in space, too. Therefore we conclude: In order to understand and describe the oxidation tolerance of a certain ecosystem one needs to detect at least the reactive hydrocarbons. [1] Jenkin, M.E., Shallcross, D. E., and Harvey, J. N.: Development and application of a possible mechanism for the generation of cis-pinic acid form the ozonolysis of α- and β-pinene. Atmos.Environ., 34, 2837-2850, 2000.

  20. Contributions of secondary forest and nitrogen dynamics to terrestrial carbon uptake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Yang

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available We use a terrestrial carbon-nitrogen cycle component of the Integrated Science Assessment Model (ISAM to investigate the impacts of nitrogen dynamics on regrowing secondary forests over the 20th century. We further examine what the impacts of nitrogen deposition and land use change history are on terrestrial carbon uptake since preindustrial time. Our results suggest that global total net land use emissions for the 1990s associated with changes in cropland, pastureland, and wood harvest are 1.22 GtC/yr. Without considering the secondary forest regrowth, the estimated net global total land use emissions are 1.58 GtC/yr or about 0.36 GtC/yr higher than if secondary forest regrowth is considered. Results also show that without considering the nitrogen dynamics and deposition, the estimated global total secondary forest sink for the 1990s is 0.90 GtC/yr or about 0.54 GtC/yr higher than estimates that include the impacts of nitrogen dynamics and deposition. Nitrogen deposition alone is responsible for about 0.13 GtC/yr of the total secondary forest sink. While nitrogen is not a limiting nutrient in the intact primary forests in tropical regions, our study suggests that nitrogen becomes a limiting nutrient for regrowing secondary forests of the tropical regions, in particular Latin America and Tropical Africa. This is because land use change activities, especially wood harvest, removes large amounts of nitrogen from the system when slash is burnt or wood is removed for harvest. However, our model results show that carbon uptake is enhanced in the tropical secondary forests of the Indian region. We argue that this may be due to enhanced nitrogen mineralization and increased nitrogen availability following land use change in the Indian tropical forest ecosystems. Results also demonstrate that there is a significant amount of carbon accumulating in the Northern Hemisphere where most land use changes and forest regrowth has occurred in recent decades

  1. Combining stable isotope and carbohydrate analyses in phloem sap and fine roots to study seasonal changes of source-sink relationships in a Mediterranean beech forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scartazza, Andrea; Moscatello, Stefano; Matteucci, Giorgio; Battistelli, Alberto; Brugnoli, Enrico

    2015-08-01

    Carbon isotope composition (δ(13)C) and carbohydrate content of phloem sap and fine roots were measured in a Mediterranean beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest throughout the growing season to study seasonal changes of source-sink relationships. Seasonal variations of δ(13)C and content of phloem sap sugars, collected during the daylight period, reflected the changes in soil and plant water status. The correlation between δ(13)C and content of phloem sap sugars, collected from plants belonging to different social classes, was significantly positive only during the driest month of July. In this month, δ(13)C of phloem sap sugars was inversely related to the increment of trunk radial growth and positively related to δ(13)C of fine roots. We conclude that the relationship between δ(13)C and the amount of phloem sap sugars is affected by a combination of causes, such as sink strength, tree social class, changes in phloem anatomy and transport capacity, and phloem loading of sugars to restore sieve tube turgor following the reduced plant water potential under drought conditions. However, δ(13)C and sugar composition of fine roots suggested that phloem transport of leaf sucrose to this belowground component was not impaired by mild drought and that sucrose was in a large part allocated towards fine roots in July, depending on tree social class. Hence, fine roots could represent a functional carbon sink during the dry seasonal periods, when transport and use of assimilates in other sink tissues are reduced. These results indicate a strict link between above- and belowground processes and highlight a rapid response of this Mediterranean forest to changes in environmental drivers to regulate source-sink relationships and carbon sink capacity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Carbon stores, sinks, and sources in forests of northwestern Russia: can we reconcile forest inventories with remote sensing results?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olga N. Krankina; Mark E. Harmon; Warren B. Cohen; Doug R. Oetter; Olga Zyrina; Maureen V. Duane

    2004-01-01

    Forest inventories and remote sensing are the two principal data sources used to estimate carbon (C) stocks and fluxes for large forest regions. National governments have historically relied on forest inventories for assessments but developments in remote sensing technology provide additional opportunities for operational C monitoring. The estimate of total C stock in...

  3. Uncertainty of forest carbon stock changes. Implications to the total uncertainty of GHG inventory of Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monni, S.; Savolainen, I.; Peltoniemi, M.; Lehtonen, A.; Makipaa, R.; Palosuo, T.

    2007-01-01

    Uncertainty analysis facilitates identification of the most important categories affecting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory uncertainty and helps in prioritisation of the efforts needed for development of the inventory. This paper presents an uncertainty analysis of GHG emissions of all Kyoto sectors and gases for Finland consolidated with estimates of emissions/removals from LULUCF categories. In Finland, net GHG emissions in 2003 were around 69 Tg (±15 Tg) CO2 equivalents. The uncertainties in forest carbon sink estimates in 2003 were larger than in most other emission categories, but of the same order of magnitude as in carbon stock change estimates in other land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) categories, and in N2O emissions from agricultural soils. Uncertainties in sink estimates of 1990 were lower, due to better availability of data. Results of this study indicate that inclusion of the forest carbon sink to GHG inventories reported to the UNFCCC increases uncertainties in net emissions notably. However, the decrease in precision is accompanied by an increase in the accuracy of the overall net GHG emissions due to improved completeness of the inventory. The results of this study can be utilised when planning future GHG mitigation protocols and emission trading schemes and when analysing environmental benefits of climate conventions

  4. Extreme late-summer drought causes neutral annual carbon balance in southwestern ponderosa pine forests and grasslands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolb, Thomas; Dore, Sabina; Montes-Helu, Mario

    2013-01-01

    We assessed the impacts of extreme late-summer drought on carbon balance in a semi-arid forest region in Arizona. To understand drought impacts over extremes of forest cover, we measured net ecosystem production (NEP), gross primary production (GPP), and total ecosystem respiration (TER) with eddy covariance over five years (2006–10) at an undisturbed ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest and at a former forest converted to grassland by intense burning. Drought shifted annual NEP from a weak source of carbon to the atmosphere to a neutral carbon balance at the burned site and from a carbon sink to neutral at the undisturbed site. Carbon fluxes were particularly sensitive to drought in August. Drought shifted August NEP at the undisturbed site from sink to source because the reduction of GPP (70%) exceeded the reduction of TER (35%). At the burned site drought shifted August NEP from weak source to neutral because the reduction of TER (40%) exceeded the reduction of GPP (20%). These results show that the lack of forest recovery after burning and the exposure of undisturbed forests to late-summer drought reduce carbon sink strength and illustrate the high vulnerability of forest carbon sink strength in the southwest US to predicted increases in intense burning and precipitation variability. (letter)

  5. Extreme late-summer drought causes neutral annual carbon balance in southwestern ponderosa pine forests and grasslands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolb, Thomas; Dore, Sabina; Montes-Helu, Mario

    2013-03-01

    We assessed the impacts of extreme late-summer drought on carbon balance in a semi-arid forest region in Arizona. To understand drought impacts over extremes of forest cover, we measured net ecosystem production (NEP), gross primary production (GPP), and total ecosystem respiration (TER) with eddy covariance over five years (2006-10) at an undisturbed ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest and at a former forest converted to grassland by intense burning. Drought shifted annual NEP from a weak source of carbon to the atmosphere to a neutral carbon balance at the burned site and from a carbon sink to neutral at the undisturbed site. Carbon fluxes were particularly sensitive to drought in August. Drought shifted August NEP at the undisturbed site from sink to source because the reduction of GPP (70%) exceeded the reduction of TER (35%). At the burned site drought shifted August NEP from weak source to neutral because the reduction of TER (40%) exceeded the reduction of GPP (20%). These results show that the lack of forest recovery after burning and the exposure of undisturbed forests to late-summer drought reduce carbon sink strength and illustrate the high vulnerability of forest carbon sink strength in the southwest US to predicted increases in intense burning and precipitation variability.

  6. Mapping Russian forest biomass with data from satellites and forest inventories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Houghton, R A; Butman, D; Bunn, A G; Krankina, O N; Schlesinger, P; Stone, T A

    2007-01-01

    The forests of Russia cover a larger area and hold more carbon than the forests of any other nation and thus have the potential for a major role in global warming. Despite a systematic inventory of these forests, however, estimates of total carbon stocks vary, and spatial variations in the stocks within large aggregated units of land are unknown, thus hampering measurement of sources and sinks of carbon. We mapped the distribution of living forest biomass for the year 2000 by developing a relationship between ground measurements of wood volume at 12 sites throughout the Russian Federation and data from the MODIS satellite bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) product (MOD43B4). Based on the results of regression-tree analyses, we used the MOD43B4 product to assign biomass values to individual 500 m x 500 m cells in areas identified as forest by two satellite-based maps of land cover. According to the analysis, the total living biomass varied between 46 and 67 Pg, largely because of different estimates of forest area. Although optical data are limited in distinguishing differences in biomass in closed canopy forests, the estimates of total living biomass obtained here varied more in response to different definitions of forest than to saturation of the optical sensing of biomass

  7. Mapping Russian forest biomass with data from satellites and forest inventories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Houghton, R A [Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540 (United States); Butman, D [Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Bunn, A G [Department of Environmental Sciences, Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9181 (United States); Krankina, O N [Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, 202 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-5752 (United States); Schlesinger, P [Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540 (United States); Stone, T A [Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540 (United States)

    2007-10-15

    The forests of Russia cover a larger area and hold more carbon than the forests of any other nation and thus have the potential for a major role in global warming. Despite a systematic inventory of these forests, however, estimates of total carbon stocks vary, and spatial variations in the stocks within large aggregated units of land are unknown, thus hampering measurement of sources and sinks of carbon. We mapped the distribution of living forest biomass for the year 2000 by developing a relationship between ground measurements of wood volume at 12 sites throughout the Russian Federation and data from the MODIS satellite bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) product (MOD43B4). Based on the results of regression-tree analyses, we used the MOD43B4 product to assign biomass values to individual 500 m x 500 m cells in areas identified as forest by two satellite-based maps of land cover. According to the analysis, the total living biomass varied between 46 and 67 Pg, largely because of different estimates of forest area. Although optical data are limited in distinguishing differences in biomass in closed canopy forests, the estimates of total living biomass obtained here varied more in response to different definitions of forest than to saturation of the optical sensing of biomass.

  8. Fluxes of inorganic and organic arsenic species in a Norway spruce forest floor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, J.-H. [Department of Soil Ecology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth (Germany)], E-mail: jenhow.huang@uni-bayreuth.de; Matzner, Egbert [Department of Soil Ecology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth (Germany)

    2007-09-15

    To identify the role of the forest floor in arsenic (As) biogeochemistry, concentrations and fluxes of inorganic and organic As in throughfall, litterfall and forest floor percolates at different layers were investigated. Nearly 40% of total As{sub total} input (5.3 g As ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1}) was retained in Oi layer, whereas As{sub total} fluxes from Oe and Oa layers exceeded the input by far (10.8 and 20 g As ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1}, respectively). Except dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), fluxes of organic As decreased with depth of forest floor so that <10% of total deposition (all <0.3 g As ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1}) reached the mineral soil. All forest floor layers are sinks for most organic As. Conversely, Oe and Oa layers are sources of As{sub total}, arsenite, arsenate and DMA. Significant correlations (r {>=} 0.43) between fluxes of As{sub total}, arsenite, arsenate or DMA and water indicate hydrological conditions and adsorption-desorption as factors influencing their release from the forest floor. The higher net release of arsenite from Oe and Oa and of DMA from Oa layer in the growing than dormant season also suggests microbial influences on the release of arsenite and DMA. - The forest floor layers are generally a source for inorganic arsenic species but a sink for most organic arsenic species under the present deposition rate.

  9. Global modelling of the total OH reactivity: investigations on the “missing” OH sink and its atmospheric implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Ferracci

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The hydroxyl radical (OH plays a crucial role in the chemistry of the atmosphere as it initiates the removal of most trace gases. A number of field campaigns have observed the presence of a missing OH sink in a variety of regions across the planet. A comparison of direct measurements of the OH loss frequency, also known as total OH reactivity (kOH, with the sum of individual known OH sinks (obtained via the simultaneous detection of species such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides indicates that, in some cases, up to 80 % of kOH is unaccounted for. In this work, the UM-UKCA chemistry-climate model was used to investigate the wider implications of the missing reactivity on the oxidising capacity of the atmosphere. Simulations of the present-day atmosphere were performed and the model was evaluated against an array of field measurements to verify that the known OH sinks were reproduced well, with a resulting good agreement found for most species. Following this, an additional sink was introduced to simulate the missing OH reactivity as an emission of a hypothetical molecule, X, which undergoes rapid reaction with OH. The magnitude and spatial distribution of this sink were underpinned by observations of the missing reactivity. Model runs showed that the missing reactivity accounted for on average 6 % of the total OH loss flux at the surface and up to 50 % in regions where emissions of the additional sink were high. The lifetime of the hydroxyl radical was reduced by 3 % in the boundary layer, whilst tropospheric methane lifetime increased by 2 % when the additional OH sink was included. As no OH recycling was introduced following the initial oxidation of X, these results can be interpreted as an upper limit of the effects of the missing reactivity on the oxidising capacity of the troposphere. The UM-UKCA simulations also allowed us to establish the atmospheric implications of the newly characterised reactions of peroxy

  10. Carbon accumulation in European forests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ciais, P.; Schelhaas, M.J.; Zaehle, S.; Piao, S.L.; Cescatti, A.; Liski, J.; Luyssaert, S.; Le-Maire, G.; Schulze, E.D.; Bouriaud, O.; Freibauer, A.; Valentini, R.; Nabuurs, G.J.

    2008-01-01

    European forests are intensively exploited for wood products, yet they also form a sink for carbon. European forest inventories, available for the past 50 years, can be combined with timber harvest statistics to assess changes in this carbon sink. Analysis of these data sets between 1950 and 2000

  11. Forest biomass carbon stocks and variation in Tibet's carbon-dense forests from 2001 to 2050.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiangyang; Wang, Genxu; Huang, Mei; Chang, Ruiying; Ran, Fei

    2016-10-05

    Tibet's forests, in contrast to China's other forests, are characterized by primary forests, high carbon (C) density and less anthropogenic disturbance, and they function as an important carbon pool in China. Using the biomass C density data from 413 forest inventory sites and a spatial forest age map, we developed an allometric equation for the forest biomass C density and forest age to assess the spatial biomass C stocks and variation in Tibet's forests from 2001 to 2050. The results indicated that the forest biomass C stock would increase from 831.1 Tg C in 2001 to 969.4 Tg C in 2050, with a net C gain of 3.6 Tg C yr -1 between 2001 and 2010 and a decrease of 1.9 Tg C yr -1 between 2040 and 2050. Carbon tends to allocate more in the roots of fir forests and less in the roots of spruce and pine forests with increasing stand age. The increase of the biomass carbon pool does not promote significant augmentation of the soil carbon pool. Our findings suggest that Tibet's mature forests will remain a persistent C sink until 2050. However, afforestation or reforestation, especially with the larger carbon sink potential forest types, such as fir and spruce, should be carried out to maintain the high C sink capacity.

  12. Reduced Future Precipitation Makes Permanence of Amazonian Carbon Sinks Questionable

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, V.

    2011-12-01

    The tropical forests of the Amazon, considered as a tipping element in Earth's climate system, provide several ecosystem services including the maintenance of favourable regional climatic conditions in the region and storage of large amounts of carbon in their above- and below-ground pools. While it is nearly impossible, at present, to put a dollar value on these ecosystem services, the developed countries have started paying large sums of money to developing countries in the tropics to reduce deforestation. Norway recently committed up to $1 billion to the Amazon fund. The United Nations' Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) program also financially supports national activities of 13 countries worldwide. The primary assumption inherent in paying for avoiding deforestation is that avoided land use change emissions contribute towards climate change mitigation. In addition, the standing forests that are spared deforestation contribute towards additional carbon sinks associated with the CO2 fertilization effect. Implicit in this reasoning is the understanding that the carbon sinks provided by avoided deforestation have some "permanence" associated with them, at least in the order of 50-100 years. Clearly, if "avoided deforestation" is essentially "delayed deforestation" then the benefits will not be long lasting. More importantly, changes in climate have the potential to adversely affect the permanence of carbon sinks, whether they are being paid for or not. This presentation will address the question of "permanence" by analyzing simulations of the second generation Canadian Earth system model (CanESM2) that are contributing results to the upcoming fifth Coupled Modeled Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). CanESM2 results for the future RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios show, that due to reduced future precipitation, the Amazonian region remains a net source of carbon over the 21st century in all scenarios. The carbon losses during the recent

  13. Forest biomass carbon stocks and variation in Tibet’s carbon-dense forests from 2001 to 2050

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiangyang; Wang, Genxu; Huang, Mei; Chang, Ruiying; Ran, Fei

    2016-01-01

    Tibet’s forests, in contrast to China’s other forests, are characterized by primary forests, high carbon (C) density and less anthropogenic disturbance, and they function as an important carbon pool in China. Using the biomass C density data from 413 forest inventory sites and a spatial forest age map, we developed an allometric equation for the forest biomass C density and forest age to assess the spatial biomass C stocks and variation in Tibet’s forests from 2001 to 2050. The results indicated that the forest biomass C stock would increase from 831.1 Tg C in 2001 to 969.4 Tg C in 2050, with a net C gain of 3.6 Tg C yr−1 between 2001 and 2010 and a decrease of 1.9 Tg C yr−1 between 2040 and 2050. Carbon tends to allocate more in the roots of fir forests and less in the roots of spruce and pine forests with increasing stand age. The increase of the biomass carbon pool does not promote significant augmentation of the soil carbon pool. Our findings suggest that Tibet’s mature forests will remain a persistent C sink until 2050. However, afforestation or reforestation, especially with the larger carbon sink potential forest types, such as fir and spruce, should be carried out to maintain the high C sink capacity. PMID:27703215

  14. A significant carbon sink in temperate forests in Beijing: based on 20-year field measurements in three stands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, JianXiao; Hu, XueYang; Yao, Hui; Liu, GuoHua; Ji, ChenJun; Fang, JingYun

    2015-11-01

    Numerous efforts have been made to characterize forest carbon (C) cycles and stocks in various ecosystems. However, long-term observation on each component of the forest C cycle is still lacking. We measured C stocks and fluxes in three permanent temperate forest plots (birch, oak and pine forest) during 2011–2014, and calculated the changes of the components of the C cycle related to the measurements during 1992–1994 at Mt. Dongling, Beijing, China. Forest net primary production in birch, oak, and pine plots was 5.32, 4.53, and 6.73 Mg C ha-1 a-1, respectively. Corresponding net ecosystem production was 0.12, 0.43, and 3.53 Mg C ha-1 a-1. The C stocks and fluxes in 2011–2014 were significantly larger than those in 1992–1994 in which the biomass C densities in birch, oak, and pine plots increased from 50.0, 37.7, and 54.0 Mg C ha-1 in 1994 to 101.5, 77.3, and 110.9 Mg C ha-1 in 2014; soil organic C densities increased from 207.0, 239.1, and 231.7 Mg C ha-1 to 214.8, 241.7, and 238.4 Mg C ha-1; and soil heterotrophic respiration increased from 2.78, 3.49, and 1.81 Mg C ha-1 a-1 to 5.20, 4.10, and 3.20 Mg C ha-1 a-1. These results suggest that the mountainous temperate forest ecosystems in Beijing have served as a carbon sink in the last two decades. These observations of C stocks and fluxes provided field-based data for a long-term study of C cycling in temperate forest ecosystems.

  15. 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.

  16. Old-growth forests as global carbon sinks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luyssaert, S; Schulze, E.D.; Börner, A.

    2008-01-01

    Old- growth forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere(1,2) at rates that vary with climate and nitrogen deposition(3). The sequestered carbon dioxide is stored in live woody tissues and slowly decomposing organic matter in litter and soil(4). Old- growth forests therefore serve as a global

  17. Valuing external effects of carbon sink in ley production for energy use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aengquist, P.

    1997-01-01

    In this study, an attempt is made to calculate the external effects of carbon sink in soil and biomass on land use for ley production. A crop production including ley is compared with the energy obtained from the forest and other crop outputs without ley. Ley production occupies a larger portion of the carbon sink into the soil than the energy obtained either from the forest or from crop production without ley. Considering the amount of energy obtained from living materials, the portion gained from the forest covers a larger sink than the two other crop systems. A carbon sink, which keeps the carbon away from the atmosphere, helps reduce the greenhouse effect. Hence, the value of this effect is calculated by following the overall cost-benefit analysis principles. Furthermore, as the carbon sink will be in use for a very long time, the analysis also covers the issue, importance and choice of discounting rates. Accordingly, it is argued that the social discount rate should be the same as the expected economic growth rate for the actual period in question. For instance, during the last 20 years, the growth rate has been less than 2% per year. From this rate one must subtract environmental costs which were not included in the GDP. Likewise, including the logistic discount rate, the future growth rate may be restricted by environmental legislations. In addition to the choice of social and logistic discount rates, different valuation methods are also discussed. The Swedish Parliament's target for stabilizing the emission rate of carbon dioxide by the year 2000 to the level of 1990 is taken as a basis for valuation. The marginal cost for reaching this target is used as a main valuation method and is calculated at the rate of 0.386 SEK/kg carbon dioxide. 38 refs, 11 figs, 26 tabs

  18. Negative emissions from stopping deforestation and forest degradation, globally.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houghton, Richard A; Nassikas, Alexander A

    2018-01-01

    Forest growth provides negative emissions of carbon that could help keep the earth's surface temperature from exceeding 2°C, but the global potential is uncertain. Here we use land-use information from the FAO and a bookkeeping model to calculate the potential negative emissions that would result from allowing secondary forests to recover. We find the current gross carbon sink in forests recovering from harvests and abandoned agriculture to be -4.4 PgC/year, globally. The sink represents the potential for negative emissions if positive emissions from deforestation and wood harvest were eliminated. However, the sink is largely offset by emissions from wood products built up over the last century. Accounting for these committed emissions, we estimate that stopping deforestation and allowing secondary forests to grow would yield cumulative negative emissions between 2016 and 2100 of about 120 PgC, globally. Extending the lifetimes of wood products could potentially remove another 10 PgC from the atmosphere, for a total of approximately 130 PgC, or about 13 years of fossil fuel use at today's rate. As an upper limit, the estimate is conservative. It is based largely on past and current practices. But if greater negative emissions are to be realized, they will require an expansion of forest area, greater efficiencies in converting harvested wood to long-lasting products and sources of energy, and novel approaches for sequestering carbon in soils. That is, they will require current management practices to change. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. The relative contributions of forest growth and areal expansion to forest biomass carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    P. Li; J. Zhu; H. Hu; Z. Guo; Y. Pan; R. Birdsey; J. Fang

    2016-01-01

    Forests play a leading role in regional and global terrestrial carbon (C) cycles. Changes in C sequestration within forests can be attributed to areal expansion (increase in forest area) and forest growth (increase in biomass density). Detailed assessment of the relative contributions of areal expansion and forest growth to C sinks is crucial to reveal the mechanisms...

  20. Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brienen, R J W; Phillips, O L; Feldpausch, T R; Gloor, E; Baker, T R; Lloyd, J; Lopez-Gonzalez, G; Monteagudo-Mendoza, A; Malhi, Y; Lewis, S L; Vásquez Martinez, R; Alexiades, M; Álvarez Dávila, E; Alvarez-Loayza, P; Andrade, A; Aragão, L E O C; Araujo-Murakami, A; Arets, E J M M; Arroyo, L; Aymard C, G A; Bánki, O S; Baraloto, C; Barroso, J; Bonal, D; Boot, R G A; Camargo, J L C; Castilho, C V; Chama, V; Chao, K J; Chave, J; Comiskey, J A; Cornejo Valverde, F; da Costa, L; de Oliveira, E A; Di Fiore, A; Erwin, T L; Fauset, S; Forsthofer, M; Galbraith, D R; Grahame, E S; Groot, N; Hérault, B; Higuchi, N; Honorio Coronado, E N; Keeling, H; Killeen, T J; Laurance, W F; Laurance, S; Licona, J; Magnussen, W E; Marimon, B S; Marimon-Junior, B H; Mendoza, C; Neill, D A; Nogueira, E M; Núñez, P; Pallqui Camacho, N C; Parada, A; Pardo-Molina, G; Peacock, J; Peña-Claros, M; Pickavance, G C; Pitman, N C A; Poorter, L; Prieto, A; Quesada, C A; Ramírez, F; Ramírez-Angulo, H; Restrepo, Z; Roopsind, A; Rudas, A; Salomão, R P; Schwarz, M; Silva, N; Silva-Espejo, J E; Silveira, M; Stropp, J; Talbot, J; ter Steege, H; Teran-Aguilar, J; Terborgh, J; Thomas-Caesar, R; Toledo, M; Torello-Raventos, M; Umetsu, R K; van der Heijden, G M F; van der Hout, P; Guimarães Vieira, I C; Vieira, S A; Vilanova, E; Vos, V A; Zagt, R J

    2015-03-19

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide records indicate that the land surface has acted as a strong global carbon sink over recent decades, with a substantial fraction of this sink probably located in the tropics, particularly in the Amazon. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the terrestrial carbon sink will evolve as climate and atmospheric composition continue to change. Here we analyse the historical evolution of the biomass dynamics of the Amazon rainforest over three decades using a distributed network of 321 plots. While this analysis confirms that Amazon forests have acted as a long-term net biomass sink, we find a long-term decreasing trend of carbon accumulation. Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared to the 1990s. This is a consequence of growth rate increases levelling off recently, while biomass mortality persistently increased throughout, leading to a shortening of carbon residence times. Potential drivers for the mortality increase include greater climate variability, and feedbacks of faster growth on mortality, resulting in shortened tree longevity. The observed decline of the Amazon sink diverges markedly from the recent increase in terrestrial carbon uptake at the global scale, and is contrary to expectations based on models.

  1. Forest carbon sink: A potential forest investment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Chaocheng; Zhang, Yi; Cheng, Dongxiang

    2017-01-01

    A major problem being confronted to our human society currently is that the global temperature is undoubtedly considered to be rising significantly year by year due to abundant human factors releasing carbon dioxide to around atmosphere. The problem of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide can be addressed in a number of ways. One of these is forestry and forest management. Hence, this paper investigates a number of current issues related to mitigating the global warming problem from the point of forestry view previous to discussion on ongoing real-world activities utilizing forestry specifically to sequester carbon.

  2. Tamm Review: Sequestration of carbon from coarse woody debris in forest soils

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Magnússon, R.Í.; Tietema, A.; Cornelissen, J.H.C.; Hefting, M.M.; Kalbitz, K.

    2016-01-01

    Worldwide, forests have absorbed around 30% of global anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, thereby acting as important carbon (C) sinks. It is proposed that leaving large fragments of dead wood, coarse woody debris (CWD), in forest ecosystems may contribute to the forest C sink

  3. Size and frequency of natural forest disturbances and the Amazon forest carbon balance

    Science.gov (United States)

    F.D.B. Espirito-Santo; M. Gloor; M. Keller; Y. Malhi; S. Saatchi; B. Nelson; R.C. Oliveira Junior; C. Pereira; J. Lloyd; S. Frolking; M. Palace; Y.E. Shimabukuro; V. Duarte; A. Monteagudo Mendoza; G. Lopez-Gonzalez; T.R. Baker; T.R. Feldpausch; R.J.W. Brienen; G.P. Asner; D.S. Boyd; O.L. Phillips

    2014-01-01

    Forest inventory studies in the Amazon indicate a large terrestrial carbon sink. However, field plots may fail to represent forest mortality processes at landscape-scales of tropical forests. Here we characterize the frequency distribution of disturbance events in natural forests from 0.01 ha to 2,651 ha size throughout Amazonia using a novel...

  4. Assimilation of repeated woody biomass observations constrains decadal ecosystem carbon cycle uncertainty in aggrading forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smallman, T. L.; Exbrayat, J.-F.; Mencuccini, M.; Bloom, A. A.; Williams, M.

    2017-03-01

    Forest carbon sink strengths are governed by plant growth, mineralization of dead organic matter, and disturbance. Across landscapes, remote sensing can provide information about aboveground states of forests and this information can be linked to models to estimate carbon cycling in forests close to steady state. For aggrading forests this approach is more challenging and has not been demonstrated. Here we apply a Bayesian approach, linking a simple model to a range of data, to evaluate their information content, for two aggrading forests. We compare high information content analyses using local observations with retrievals using progressively sparser remotely sensed information (repeated, single, and no woody biomass observations). The net biome productivity of both forests is constrained to be a net sink with litter dynamics at one forest, while at the second forest total dead organic matter estimates are within observational uncertainty. The uncertainty of retrieved ecosystem traits in the repeated biomass analysis is reduced by up to 50% compared to analyses with less biomass information. This study quantifies the importance of repeated woody observations in constraining the dynamics of both wood and dead organic matter, highlighting the benefit of proposed remote sensing missions.

  5. Sink strength simulations using the Monte Carlo method: Applied to spherical traps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlgren, T.; Bukonte, L.

    2017-12-01

    The sink strength is an important parameter for the mean-field rate equations to simulate temporal changes in the micro-structure of materials. However, there are noteworthy discrepancies between sink strengths obtained by the Monte Carlo and analytical methods. In this study, we show the reasons for these differences. We present the equations to estimate the statistical error for sink strength calculations and show the way to determine the sink strengths for multiple traps. We develop a novel, very fast Monte Carlo method to obtain sink strengths. The results show that, in addition to the well-known sink strength dependence of the trap concentration, trap radius and the total sink strength, the sink strength also depends on the defect diffusion jump length and the total trap volume fraction. Taking these factors into account, allows us to obtain a very accurate analytic expression for the sink strength of spherical traps.

  6. Measurements of total OH reactivity during PROPHET-AMOS 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rickly, P.; Sakowski, J.; Bottorff, B.; Lew, M.; Stevens, P. S.; Sklaveniti, S.; Locoge, N.; Dusanter, S.

    2017-12-01

    As one of the main oxidant in the atmosphere, the hydroxyl radical (OH) initiates the oxidation of volatile organic compounds that can lead to the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosols. Understanding both the sources and sinks of OH is therefore important to address issues related to air quality and climate change. Measurements of total OH reactivity can provide an important test of our understanding of the OH radical budget. Recent measurements of total reactivity in many environments have been greater than calculated based on the measured concentration of VOCs, suggesting that important OH sinks in these environments are not well characterized. Measurements of total OH reactivity were performed in a forested environment during the PROPHET - AMOS field campaign (Program for Research on Oxidants: PHotochemisty, Emissions, and Transport - Atmospheric Measurements of Oxidants in Summer) using the Comparative Reactivity Method (CRM) and the Total OH Loss Rate Method (TOHLM). The site is characterized by large emissions of isoprene and monoterpenes and low anthropogenic influence. Measurements of total OH reactivity using these two techniques agree to within their respective uncertainties, giving confidence in the measured OH reactivity. In addition, measurements of trace gases (VOCs, NOx, O3) were used to perform a comprehensive apportionment of OH sinks. These measurements are used in a chemical model using the Master Chemical Mechanism to calculate the expected OH reactivity. The results will be compared to previous measurements of total OH reactivity at this site.

  7. ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF CO2 STORAGE AND SINK ENHANCEMENT OPTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bert Bock; Richard Rhudy; Howard Herzog; Michael Klett; John Davison; Danial G. De La Torre Ugarte; Dale Simbeck

    2003-02-01

    This project developed life-cycle costs for the major technologies and practices under development for CO{sub 2} storage and sink enhancement. The technologies evaluated included options for storing captured CO{sub 2} in active oil reservoirs, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep aquifers, coal beds, and oceans, as well as the enhancement of carbon sequestration in forests and croplands. The capture costs for a nominal 500 MW{sub e} integrated gasification combined cycle plant from an earlier study were combined with the storage costs from this study to allow comparison among capture and storage approaches as well as sink enhancements.

  8. Sinks without borders: Snowshoe hare dynamics in a complex landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, Paul C.; Mills, L. Scott

    2009-01-01

    A full understanding of population dynamics of wide-ranging animals should account for the effects that movement and habitat use have on individual contributions to population growth or decline. Quantifying the per-capita, habitat-specific contribution to population growth can clarify the value of different patch types, and help to differentiate population sources from population sinks. Snowshoe hares, Lepus americanus, routinely use various habitat types in the landscapes they inhabit in the contiguous US, where managing forests for high snowshoe hare density is a priority for conservation of Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis. We estimated density and demographic rates via mark–recapture live trapping and radio-telemetry within four forest stand structure (FSS) types at three study areas within heterogeneous managed forests in western Montana. We found support for known fate survival models with time-varying individual covariates representing the proportion of locations in each of the FSS types, with survival rates decreasing as use of open young and open mature FSS types increased. The per-capita contribution to overall population growth increased with use of the dense mature or dense young FSS types and decreased with use of the open young or open mature FSS types, and relatively high levels of immigration appear to be necessary to sustain hares in the open FSS types. Our results support a conceptual model for snowshoe hares in the southern range in which sink habitats (open areas) prevent the buildup of high hare densities. More broadly, we use this system to develop a novel approach to quantify demographic sources and sinks for animals making routine movements through complex fragmented landscapes.

  9. Recent Changes to the Strength of the CO2 Sink in Boreal Land Regions (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, D. J.; McGuire, A. D.; Kicklighter, D. W.; Gurney, K. R.; Melillo, J. M.

    2009-12-01

    Studies suggest that high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems have had a significant influence on the global carbon budget by acting as a substantial sink of atmospheric CO2 over the latter part of the 20th Century. However, recent changes in the controlling factors of this sink, including surface air temperature warming and increases in the frequency and severity of disturbances, have the potential to alter the C balance of boreal land regions. Whether these ecosystems continue to sequester atmospheric CO2 in the face of these changes is a key question in global change science and policy, as any changes to the strength of this major terrestrial sink will have important implications for the global C budget and climate system. Here, we diagnose and attribute contemporary terrestrial CO2 sink strength in the boreal land regions using a biogeochemical process model within a simulation framework that incorporates the impacts of recent changes in atmospheric chemistry and climate variability, as well as fire, forest management and agricultural land use regimes. The simulations estimate that the boreal land regions acted as a net sink of 102 TgC yr-1 from 1960 to 1980 that declined in strength to 28 TgC yr-1 for the 1990s and switched to a source of 99 TgC yr-1 from years 2000 to 2006. The weakening sink strength in the 1990s was largely a result of C losses from Boreal North American tundra and forest ecosystems through increasing decomposition of soil organic matter in response to warmer temperatures. Compared to previous decades, a near doubling of fire emissions was the major factor causing the boreal land regions to switch to a net C source since 2000 when large burn years occurred across the region, particularly in forests of Boreal Asia. A steady sink averaging 23 TgC yr-1 was estimated for Boreal European ecosystems from 1960 to 2006, with the ‘fertilization’ effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and N deposition primarily responsible for the

  10. Model for estimating air pollutant uptake by forests: calculation of forest absorption of sulfur dioxide from dispersed sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Sinclair, T.R.; Knoerr, K.R.

    1975-01-01

    The computer model presented in this paper is designed to estimate the uptake of air pollutants by forests. The model utilizes submodels to describe atmospheric diffusion immediately above and within the canopy, and into the sink areas within or on the trees. The program implementing the model is general and can be used with only minor changes for any gaseous pollutant. To illustrate the utility of the model, estimates are made of the sink strength of forests for sulfur dioxide. The results agree with experimentally derived estimates of sulfur dioxide uptake in crops and forest trees. (auth)

  11. The influences of CO2 fertilization and land use change on the total aboveground biomass in Amazonian tropical forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castanho, A. D.; Zhang, K.; Coe, M. T.; Costa, M. H.; Moorcroft, P. R.

    2012-12-01

    Field observations from undisturbed old-growth Amazonian forest plots have recently reported on the temporal variation of many of the physical and chemical characteristics such as: physiological properties of leaves, above ground live biomass, above ground productivity, mortality and turnover rates. However, although this variation has been measured, it is still not well understood what mechanisms control the observed temporal variability. The observed changes in time are believed to be a result of a combination of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, climate variability, recovery from natural disturbance (drought, wind blow, flood), and increase of nutrient availability. The time and spatial variability of the fertilization effect of CO2 on above ground biomass will be explored in more detail in this work. A precise understanding of the CO2 effect on the vegetation is essential for an accurate prediction of the future response of the forest to climate change. To address this issue we simultaneously explore the effects of climate variability, historical CO2 and land-use change on total biomass and productivity using two different Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVM). We use the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) and the Ecosystem Demography Model 2.1 (ED2.1). Using land use changes database from 1700 - 2008 we reconstruct the total carbon balance in the Amazonian forest in space and time and present how the models predict the forest as carbon sink or source and explore why the model and field data diverge from each other. From 1970 to 2005 the Amazonian forest has been exposed to an increase of approximately 50 ppm in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Preliminary analyses with the IBIS and ED2.1 dynamic vegetation model shows the CO2 fertilization effect could account for an increase in above ground biomass of 0.03 and 0.04 kg-C/m2/yr on average for the Amazon basin, respectively. The annual biomass change varies temporally and spatially from about 0

  12. Restoring forest structure and process stabilizes forest carbon in wildfire-prone southwestern ponderosa pine forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurteau, Matthew D; Liang, Shuang; Martin, Katherine L; North, Malcolm P; Koch, George W; Hungate, Bruce A

    2016-03-01

    Changing climate and a legacy of fire-exclusion have increased the probability of high-severity wildfire, leading to an increased risk of forest carbon loss in ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern USA. Efforts to reduce high-severity fire risk through forest thinning and prescribed burning require both the removal and emission of carbon from these forests, and any potential carbon benefits from treatment may depend on the occurrence of wildfire. We sought to determine how forest treatments alter the effects of stochastic wildfire events on the forest carbon balance. We modeled three treatments (control, thin-only, and thin and burn) with and without the occurrence of wildfire. We evaluated how two different probabilities of wildfire occurrence, 1% and 2% per year, might alter the carbon balance of treatments. In the absence of wildfire, we found that thinning and burning treatments initially reduced total ecosystem carbon (TEC) and increased net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB). In the presence of wildfire, the thin and burn treatment TEC surpassed that of the control in year 40 at 2%/yr wildfire probability, and in year 51 at 1%/yr wildfire probability. NECB in the presence of wildfire showed a similar response to the no-wildfire scenarios: both thin-only and thin and burn treatments increased the C sink. Treatments increased TEC by reducing both mean wildfire severity and its variability. While the carbon balance of treatments may differ in more productive forest types, the carbon balance benefits from restoring forest structure and fire in southwestern ponderosa pine forests are clear.

  13. Phenotypic plasticity despite source-sink population dynamics in a long-lived perennial plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Jill T; Sparks, Jed P; Geber, Monica A

    2010-11-01

    • Species that exhibit adaptive plasticity alter their phenotypes in response to environmental conditions, thereby maximizing fitness in heterogeneous landscapes. However, under demographic source-sink dynamics, selection should favor traits that enhance fitness in the source habitat at the expense of fitness in the marginal habitat. Consistent with source-sink dynamics, the perennial blueberry, Vaccinium elliottii (Ericaceae), shows substantially higher fitness and population sizes in dry upland forests than in flood-prone bottomland forests, and asymmetrical gene flow occurs from upland populations into bottomland populations. Here, we examined whether this species expresses plasticity to these distinct environments despite source-sink dynamics. • We assessed phenotypic responses to a complex environmental gradient in the field and to water stress in the glasshouse. • Contrary to expectations, V. elliottii exhibited a high degree of plasticity in foliar and root traits (specific leaf area, carbon isotope ratios, foliar nitrogen content, root : shoot ratio, root porosity and root architecture). • We propose that plasticity can be maintained in source-sink systems if it is favored within the source habitat and/or a phylogenetic artifact that is not costly. Additionally, plasticity could be advantageous if habitat-based differences in fitness result from incipient niche expansion. Our results illuminate the importance of evaluating phenotypic traits and fitness components across heterogeneous landscapes. © The Authors (2010). Journal compilation © New Phytologist Trust (2010).

  14. The stage-classified matrix models project a significant increase in biomass carbon stocks in China's forests between 2005 and 2050.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Huifeng; Wang, Shaopeng; Guo, Zhaodi; Xu, Bing; Fang, Jingyun

    2015-06-25

    China's forests are characterized by young age, low carbon (C) density and a large plantation area, implying a high potential for increasing C sinks in the future. Using data of provincial forest area and biomass C density from China's forest inventories between 1994 and 2008 and the planned forest coverage of the country by 2050, we developed a stage-classified matrix model to predict biomass C stocks of China's forests from 2005 to 2050. The results showed that total forest biomass C stock would increase from 6.43 Pg C (1 Pg = 10(15) g) in 2005 to 9.97 Pg C (95% confidence interval: 8.98 ~ 11.07 Pg C) in 2050, with an overall net C gain of 78.8 Tg C yr(-1) (56.7 ~ 103.3 Tg C yr(-1); 1 Tg = 10(12) g). Our findings suggest that China's forests will be a large and persistent biomass C sink through 2050.

  15. CO2 fluxes near a forest edge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sogachev, Andrey; Leclerc, Monique Y.; Zhang, Gensheng

    2008-01-01

    In contrast with recent advances on the dynamics of the flow at a forest edge, few studies have considered its role on scalar transport and, in particular, on CO2 transfer. The present study addresses the influence of the abrupt roughness change on forest atmosphere CO2 exchange and contrasts...... as a function of both sources/sinks distribution and the vertical structure of the canopy. Results suggest that the ground source plays a major role in the formation of wave-like vertical CO2 flux behavior downwind of a forest edge, despite the fact that the contribution of foliage sources/sinks changes...

  16. Forest science and technology to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases - an overview, with emphasis on carbon in Canada's forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savidge, R.A.

    2001-01-01

    The forest as a CO 2 sink comprises, in addition to mature and immature trees, C accumulated in understorey plants, animals, forest soils, peat bogs and wetlands. Estimates of how much carbon (C) is entering and leaving a forest ecosystem cannot be obtained merely by estimating gaseous CO 2 fluxes. The C cycle also involves direct transfer of CO 2 to soil in rain and snow, non-photosynthetic or 'dark' fixation of CO 2 by myriad soil and aquatic micro-organisms, roots, fungi and animals, and loss of C in forms other than CO 2 via air, groundwater flow and runoff. The complexity of the carbon cycle challenges us to develop reliably accurate means of inventorying C accumulation in trees. In productive forests the C of wood can be determined by estimating tree merchantable volume and, by density conversion, mass of dry wood. Percentage C in dry wood varies by species and type of wood, but otherwise C of wood can be readily calculated. The C present in foliage, branches, bark and roots can, as a first approximation, be assumed to be equivalent to that in the merchantable boles. National Forestry Database statistics and our elemental analysis data on total carbon in wood were used to determine how much C is present in and being removed annually from Canadian forests. In 1998 Canada extracted 45 million tonnes of C of wood from 0.5% of its more than 244 million hectares (ha) of productive forest area. That annual harvest contained less than 0.001% of the 6400 gigatonnes of C of wood existing in boles of merchantable trees. However, harvesting over the last three centuries has reduced C content m productive forests to well below 50% of their pre-1700 sink capacity. To refill the sink, it is proposed that a ceiling of 50 million tonnes C of wood be set as the annual allowable cut. Mean temperature increases of as much as 8 o C have been forecast for Canada over the next 100 years. The impact of those increases on tree growth and survival will depend not so much on changes

  17. Acidotolerant Bacteria and Fungi as a Sink of Methanol-Derived Carbon in a Deciduous Forest Soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mareen Morawe

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Methanol is an abundant atmospheric volatile organic compound that is released from both living and decaying plant material. In forest and other aerated soils, methanol can be consumed by methanol-utilizing microorganisms that constitute a known terrestrial sink. However, the environmental factors that drive the biodiversity of such methanol-utilizers have been hardly resolved. Soil-derived isolates of methanol-utilizers can also often assimilate multicarbon compounds as alternative substrates. Here, we conducted a comparative DNA stable isotope probing experiment under methylotrophic (only [13C1]-methanol was supplemented and combined substrate conditions ([12C1]-methanol and alternative multi-carbon [13Cu]-substrates were simultaneously supplemented to (i identify methanol-utilizing microorganisms of a deciduous forest soil (European beech dominated temperate forest in Germany, (ii assess their substrate range in the soil environment, and (iii evaluate their trophic links to other soil microorganisms. The applied multi-carbon substrates represented typical intermediates of organic matter degradation, such as acetate, plant-derived sugars (xylose and glucose, and a lignin-derived aromatic compound (vanillic acid. An experimentally induced pH shift was associated with substantial changes of the diversity of active methanol-utilizers suggesting that soil pH was a niche-defining factor of these microorganisms. The main bacterial methanol-utilizers were members of the Beijerinckiaceae (Bacteria that played a central role in a detected methanol-based food web. A clear preference for methanol or multi-carbon substrates as carbon source of different Beijerinckiaceae-affiliated phylotypes was observed suggesting a restricted substrate range of the methylotrophic representatives. Apart from Bacteria, we also identified the yeasts Cryptococcus and Trichosporon as methanol-derived carbon-utilizing fungi suggesting that further research is needed to

  18. Large CO2 Sinks: Their role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases from an international, national (Canadian) and provincial (Alberta) perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunter, W.D.; Wong, S.; Cheel, D.B.; Sjostrom, G.

    1998-01-01

    Significant reduction of CO 2 emissions on a global scale may be achieved by reduction of energy intensity, by reduction of carbon intensity or by capture and storage of CO 2 . A portfolio of these methods is required to achieve the large reductions required; of which utilization of carbon sinks (i.e. material, geosphere and biosphere) will be an important player. Material sinks will probably only play a minor role as compared to biosphere and geosphere sinks in storage of CO 2 . Biosphere sinks are attractive because they can sequester CO 2 from a diffuse source whereas geosphere sinks require a pure waste stream of CO 2 (obtained by using expensive separation methods). On the other hand, environmental factors and storage time favor geosphere sinks. It is expected that a combination of the two will be used in order to meet emission reduction targets over the next 100 yr.A critical look is taken at capacities, retention/residence times, rates of uptake and relative cost of utilization of biosphere and geosphere sinks at three scales - global, national (Canada) and provincial (Alberta). Biosphere sinks considered are oceans, forests and soils. Geosphere sinks considered are enhanced oil recovery, coal beds, depleted oil and gas reservoirs and deep aquifers. The largest sinks are oceans and deep aquifers. The other biosphere and geosphere sinks have total capacities approximately of an order of lower magnitude. The sinks that will probably be used first are those that are economically viable such as enhanced oil-recovery, agriculture, forestry and possibly enhanced coalbed methane-recovery. The other sinks will be used when these options have been exhausted or are not available or a penalty (e.g. carbon tax) exists. Although the data tabulated for these sinks is only regarded as preliminary, it provides a starting point for assessment of the role of large sinks in meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. (Copyright (c) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam

  19. The role of forest disturbance in global forest mortality and terrestrial carbon fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pugh, Thomas; Arneth, Almut; Smith, Benjamin; Poulter, Benjamin

    2017-04-01

    Large-scale forest disturbance dynamics such as insect outbreaks, wind-throw and fires, along with anthropogenic disturbances such as logging, have been shown to turn forests from carbon sinks into intermittent sources, often quite dramatically so. There is also increasing evidence that disturbance regimes in many regions are changing as a result of climatic change and human land-management practices. But how these landscape-scale events fit into the wider picture of global tree mortality is not well understood. Do such events dominate global carbon turnover, or are their effects highly regional? How sensitive is global terrestrial carbon exchange to realistic changes in the occurrence rate of such disturbances? Here, we combine recent advances in global satellite observations of stand-replacing forest disturbances and in compilations of forest inventory data, with a global terrestrial ecosystem model which incorporates an explicit representation of the role of disturbance in forest dynamics. We find that stand-replacing disturbances account for a fraction of wood carbon turnover that varies spatially from less than 5% in the tropical rainforest to ca. 50% in the mid latitudes, and as much as 90% in some heavily-managed regions. We contrast the size of the land-atmosphere carbon flux due to this disturbance with other components of the terrestrial carbon budget. In terms of sensitivity, we find a quasi log-linear relationship of disturbance rate to total carbon storage. Relatively small changes in disturbance rates at all latitudes have marked effects on vegetation carbon storage, with potentially very substantial implications for the global terrestrial carbon sink. Our results suggest a surprisingly small effect of disturbance type on large-scale forest vegetation dynamics and carbon storage, with limited evidence of widespread increases in nitrogen limitation as a result of increasing future disturbance. However, the influence of disturbance type on soil carbon

  20. The stage-classified matrix models project a significant increase in biomass carbon stocks in China’s forests between 2005 and 2050

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Huifeng; Wang, Shaopeng; Guo, Zhaodi; Xu, Bing; Fang, Jingyun

    2015-01-01

    China’s forests are characterized by young age, low carbon (C) density and a large plantation area, implying a high potential for increasing C sinks in the future. Using data of provincial forest area and biomass C density from China’s forest inventories between 1994 and 2008 and the planned forest coverage of the country by 2050, we developed a stage-classified matrix model to predict biomass C stocks of China’s forests from 2005 to 2050. The results showed that total forest biomass C stock would increase from 6.43 Pg C (1 Pg = 1015 g) in 2005 to 9.97 Pg C (95% confidence interval: 8.98 ~ 11.07 Pg C) in 2050, with an overall net C gain of 78.8 Tg C yr−1 (56.7 ~ 103.3 Tg C yr−1; 1 Tg = 1012 g). Our findings suggest that China’s forests will be a large and persistent biomass C sink through 2050. PMID:26110831

  1. CO2 deficit in temperate forest soils receiving high atmospheric N-deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischer, Siegfried

    2003-02-01

    Evidence is provided for an internal CO2 sink in forest soils, that may have a potential impact on the global CO2-budget. Lowered CO2 fraction in the soil atmosphere, and thus lowered CO2 release to the aboveground atmosphere, is indicated in high N-deposition areas. Also at forest edges, especially of spruce forest, where additional N-deposition has occurred, the soil CO2 is lowered, and the gradient increases into the closed forest. Over the last three decades the capacity of the forest soil to maintain the internal sink process has been limited to a cumulative supply of approximately 1000 and 1500 kg N ha(-1). Beyond this limit the internal soil CO2 sink becomes an additional CO2 source, together with nitrogen leaching. This stage of "nitrogen saturation" is still uncommon in closed forests in southern Scandinavia, however, it occurs in exposed forest edges which receive high atmospheric N-deposition. The soil CO2 gradient, which originally increases from the edge towards the closed forest, becomes reversed.

  2. Hurricane impacts on US forest carbon sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steven G. McNulty

    2002-01-01

    Recent focus has been given to US forests as a sink for increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Current estimates of US Forest carbon sequestration average approximately 20 Tg (i.e. 1012 g) year. However, predictions of forest carbon sequestration often do not include the influence of hurricanes on forest carbon storage. Intense hurricanes...

  3. Carbon stocks and flux in French forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupouey, Jean-Luc; Pignard, Gerome; Badeau, Vincent; Thimonier, A.; Dhote, Jean-Francois; Nepveu, G.; Berges, L.; Augusto, L.; Belkacem, S.; Nys, C.

    2000-01-01

    Forests contain most of the carbon stored in the earth's biomass (81 %) and could play a role in CO 2 mitigation to a certain extent. We estimate French forest carbon stocks in biomass to be 860 MtC on 14.5 million hectares of forests, and 1,140 MtC in forest soils. Total carbon in the 14.5 million hectares of French forests is estimated at 2,000 MtC. Average annual flux for the 1979/91 period is 10.5 MtC/y, i.e. 10 % of national fossil fuel emissions. The main causes of this net carbon uptake are the rapid increase of forest area, increasing productivity due to environmental changes, ageing or, in some localized areas, more intensive silviculture practices. These carbon sinks are not offset by the harvesting level which remains low on average (61 % of the annual volume growth). Forestry carbon mitigation options applicable in France are discussed. The need for global economic and ecological budgets (including carbon stocks, soil fertility and biodiversity) of the possible alternatives is stressed. (authors)

  4. Nitrogen Deposition Effects on Soil Carbon Dynamics in Temperate Forests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ginzburg Ozeri, Shimon

    Soils contain the largest fraction of terrestrial carbon (C). Understanding the factors regulating the decomposition and storage of soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for predictions of the C sink strength of the terrestrial environment in the light of global change. Elevated long-term nitrog...... implications for modelling the carbon sink-strength of temperate forests under global change.......Soils contain the largest fraction of terrestrial carbon (C). Understanding the factors regulating the decomposition and storage of soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for predictions of the C sink strength of the terrestrial environment in the light of global change. Elevated long-term nitrogen...... (N) deposition into forest ecosystems has been increasing globally and was hypothesized to raise soil organic C (SOC) stocks by increasing forest productivity and by reducing SOM decomposition. Yet, these effects of N deposition on forest SOC stocks are uncertain and largely based on observations...

  5. Forest vegetation as a sink for atmospheric particulates: Quantitative studies in rain and dry deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russel, I.J.; Choquette, C.E.; Fang, S.; Dundulis, W.P.; Pao, A.A.; Pszenny, A.A.P.

    1981-01-01

    Radionuclides in the atmosphere are associated with nonradioactive air particulates and hence serve to trace the fluxes of air particulates to various surfaces. Natural and artificial radioactivities found in the atmosphere have been measured in vegetation for 10 years to elucidate some of the mechanisms of acquirement by forest trees of atmospheric particulates. Whole tree analysis, in conjunction with soil assay, have served to establish the fraction of the flux of radionuclides retained by above-ground tissues of a forest stand. Interpretation is facilitated because most radionuclides in the atmosphere are superficially acquired. Typically 5--20% of the total open field flux is retained by the forest canopy in a moderately rainy climate (120 cm/year). Short-lived daughters of radon give a dry deposition velocity of particulates in the Aitken size range of 0.03--0.05 cm/s, thus permitting an estimate of transient removal by forest canopies by dry deposition of this size fraction

  6. High carbon dioxide uptake by subtropical forest ecosystems in the East Asian monsoon region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Guirui; Chen, Zhi; Piao, Shilong; Peng, Changhui; Ciais, Philippe; Wang, Qiufeng; Li, Xuanran; Zhu, Xianjin

    2014-01-01

    Temperate- and high-latitude forests have been shown to contribute a carbon sink in the Northern Hemisphere, but fewer studies have addressed the carbon balance of the subtropical forests. In the present study, we integrated eddy covariance observations established in the 1990s and 2000s to show that East Asian monsoon subtropical forests between 20°N and 40°N represent an average net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of 362 ± 39 g C m−2 yr−1 (mean ± 1 SE). This average forest NEP value is higher than that of Asian tropical and temperate forests and is also higher than that of forests at the same latitudes in Europe–Africa and North America. East Asian monsoon subtropical forests have comparable NEP to that of subtropical forests of the southeastern United States and intensively managed Western European forests. The total NEP of East Asian monsoon subtropical forests was estimated to be 0.72 ± 0.08 Pg C yr−1, which accounts for 8% of the global forest NEP. This result indicates that the role of subtropical forests in the current global carbon cycle cannot be ignored and that the regional distributions of the Northern Hemisphere's terrestrial carbon sinks are needed to be reevaluated. The young stand ages and high nitrogen deposition, coupled with sufficient and synchronous water and heat availability, may be the primary reasons for the high NEP of this region, and further studies are needed to quantify the contribution of each underlying factor. PMID:24639529

  7. Temporal evolution of carbon budgets of the Appalachian forests in the U.S. from 1972 to 2000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, J.; Liu, S.; Loveland, Thomas R.

    2006-01-01

    Estimating dynamic terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) sources and sinks over large areas is difficult. The scaling of C sources and sinks from the field level to the regional level has been challenging due to the variations of climate, soil, vegetation, and disturbances. As part of an effort to estimate the spatial, temporal, and sectional dimensions of the United States C sources and sinks (the U.S. Carbon Trends Project), this study estimated the forest ecosystem C sequestration of the Appalachian region (186,000 km2) for the period of 1972–2000 using the General Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS) that has a strong capability of assimilating land use and land cover change (LUCC) data. On 82 sampling blocks in the Appalachian region, GEMS used sequential 60 m resolution land cover change maps to capture forest stand-replacing events and used forest inventory data to estimate non-stand-replacing changes. GEMS also used Monte Carlo approaches to deal with spatial scaling issues such as initialization of forest age and soil properties. Ensemble simulations were performed to incorporate the uncertainties of input data. Simulated results show that from 1972 to 2000 the net primary productivity (NPP), net ecosystem productivity (NEP), and net biome productivity (NBP) averaged 6.2 Mg C ha−1 y−1 (±1.1), 2.2 Mg C ha−1 y−1 (±0.6), and 1.8 Mg C ha−1 y−1(±0.6), respectively. The inter-annual variability was driven mostly by climate. Detailed C budgets for the year 2000 were also calculated. Within a total 148,000 km2 forested area, average forest ecosystem C density was estimated to be 186 Mg C ha−1 (±20), of which 98 Mg C ha−1 (±12) was in biomass and 88 Mg C ha−1 (±13) was in litter and soil. The total simulated C stock of the Appalachian forests was estimated to be 2751 Tg C (±296), including 1454 Tg C (±178) in living biomass and 1297 Tg C (±192) in litter and soil. The total net C sequestration (i

  8. 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.

  9. The Bela Forest Ecosystem of District Jhelum, A Potential Carbon Sink

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saeed, S.; Ashraf, M. I.; Ahmad, A.; Rahman, Z.

    2016-01-01

    The present study was carried out in the Bela forest of District Jhelum (Punjab). The study was aimed to estimate the growing stock, biomass and carbon stock of the Bela plantation. Carbon stock in the Bela plantation was assessed in the Upperstory vegetation, understorey vegetation and in soil. The major tree species in the Bela plantation of the study site were Eucalyptus camaldulensis (EC), Dalbergia sissoo (DS), Broussonetia papyrifera (BP), Morus alba (MA) and Acacia modesta(AM). The results of the present study reveled that specie wise stem density ranges from 8 ± 1 to 274 ± 3 trees ha-1 while the mean stem density was 691 ± 13 trees ha-1. The mean height of the trees were in the ranged of 9.51 ± 0.98 m (Morus alba) to 18.97 ± 2.48m (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The value of basal area ranges from 0.22 ± 0.01 m/sup 2/ha/sup -1/ to 18.17 ± 0.28 m2ha/sup -1/. The average recorded stem volume was 278.92 ± 7.41 m3ha/sup -1/.The total tree biomass varied between 0.71 ± 0.05 t ha/sup -1/ to 176.31 ± 3.19 t ha/sup -1/. The total calculated biomass in the shrubs and grasses was 4.93 ± 2.7 t ha/sup -1/ while the recorded total carbon stock in the shrubs and grasses was 2.45 ± 1.35 t ha/sup -1/. Average soil carbon stock was determined as 30.19 ± 12.10 t ha/sup -1/ in the study area. Over all the Bela forest of the study site stored about 198.18 ± 18 t ha/sup -1/ of carbon. Among the different carbon pools the maximum carbon was stored by the Upper storey vegetation biomass (83.53%) fallowed by soil (15.23%) while the minimum carbon stock was stored in Understory vegetation biomass (1.23%). (author)

  10. Minimizing total costs of forest roads with computer-aided design ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    imum total road costs, while conforming to design specifications, environmental ..... quality, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, an appropriate design ..... Soil, Water and Timber Management: Forest Engineering Solutions in Response to.

  11. Biomass estimation in forest ecosystems - a review | Wakawa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Forest ecosystems plays an important role in global warming serving as both sink and source of one of the prominent green house gases, carbon dioxide (CO2). Biomass estimation in forest ecosystems is an important aspect of forest management processes aimed at ensuring sustainability. The choice of appropriate ...

  12. Future forest aboveground carbon dynamics in the central United States: the importance of forest demographic processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenchi Jin; Hong S. He; Frank R. Thompson; Wen J. Wang; Jacob S. Fraser; Stephen R. Shifley; Brice B. Hanberry; William D. Dijak

    2017-01-01

    The Central Hardwood Forest (CHF) in the United States is currently a major carbon sink, there are uncertainties in how long the current carbon sink will persist and if the CHF will eventually become a carbon source. We used a multi-model ensemble to investigate aboveground carbon density of the CHF from 2010 to 2300 under current climate. Simulations were done using...

  13. Spatiotemporal distribution and national measurement of the global carbonate carbon sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huiwen; Wang, Shijie; Bai, Xiaoyong; Luo, Weijun; Tang, Hong; Cao, Yue; Wu, Luhua; Chen, Fei; Li, Qin; Zeng, Cheng; Wang, Mingming

    2018-06-21

    The magnitudes, spatial distributions and contributions to global carbon budget of the global carbonate carbon sink (CCS) still remain uncertain, allowing the problem of national measurement of CCS remain unresolved which will directly influence the fairness of global carbon markets and emission trading. Here, based on high spatiotemporal resolution ecological, meteorological raster data and chemical field monitoring data, combining highly reliable machine learning algorithm with the thermodynamic dissolution equilibrium model, we estimated the new CCS of 0.89 ± 0.23 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C yr -1 ), amounting to 74.50% of global net forest sink and accounting for 28.75% of terrestrial sinks or 46.81% of the missing sink. Our measurement for 142 nations of CCS showed that Russia, Canada, China and the USA contribute over half of the global CCS. We also presented the first global fluxes maps of the CCS with spatial resolution of 0.05°, exhibiting two peaks in equatorial regions (10°S to 10°N) and low latitudes (10°N to 35°N) in Northern Hemisphere. By contrast, there are no peaks in Southern Hemisphere. The greatest average carbon sink flux (CCSF), i.e., 2.12 tC ha -1  yr -1 , for 2000 to 2014 was contributed by tropical rainforest climate near the equator, and the smallest average CCSF was presented in tropical arid zones, showing a magnitude of 0.26 tC ha -1  yr -1 . This research estimated the magnitudes, spatial distributions, variations and contributions to the global carbon budget of the CCS in a higher spatiotemporal representativeness and expandability way, which, via multiple mechanisms, introduced an important sink in the terrestrial carbon sink system and the global missing sink and that can help us further reveal and support our understanding of global rock weathering carbon sequestration, terrestrial carbon sink system and global carbon cycle dynamics which make our understanding of global change more comprehensive

  14. Modelling recolonization of second-growth forest stands by the north american red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyquist, B; Tyson, R; Larsen, K

    2007-05-01

    In this paper, we present a model for source-sink population dynamics where the locations of source and sink habitats change over time. We do this in the context of the population dynamics of the North American red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, within a forest environment subject to harvesting and regrowth. Harvested patches of forest are initially sinks, then eventually become source habitat again as the forest regrows. At the same time, each harvested patch is gradually recolonized by squirrels from other forest patches. We are interested in the interaction of forest harvesting dynamics with squirrel population dynamics. This depends on the harvesting schedule, and on the choices squirrels make when deciding whether to settle in a mature forest patch or in a recently harvested patch. We find that the time it takes for a second-growth forest patch to be recolonized at the mature forest level is longer than the time required for the habitat quality to be restored to the mature forest level. We also notice that recolonization pressure decreases squirrel populations in neighbouring patches. The connectivity between forest patches and the cutting schedule used also affect the time course of recolonization and steady-state population levels.

  15. Estimating national forest carbon stocks and dynamics: combining models and remotely sensed information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smallman, Thomas Luke; Exbrayat, Jean-François; Bloom, Anthony; Williams, Mathew

    2017-04-01

    Forests are a critical component of the global carbon cycle, storing significant amounts of carbon, split between living biomass and dead organic matter. The carbon budget of forests is the most uncertain component of the global carbon cycle - it is currently impossible to quantify accurately the carbon source/sink strength of forest biomes due to their heterogeneity and complex dynamics. It has been a major challenge to generate robust carbon budgets across landscapes due to data scarcity. Models have been used for estimating carbon budgets, but outputs have lacked an assessment of uncertainty, making a robust assessment of their reliability and accuracy challenging. Here a Metropolis Hastings - Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MH-MCMC) data assimilation framework has been used to combine remotely sensed leaf area index (MODIS), biomass (where available) and deforestation estimates, in addition to forest planting information from the UK's national forest inventory, an estimate of soil carbon from the Harmonized World Database (HWSD) and plant trait information with a process model (DALEC) to produce a constrained analysis with a robust estimate of uncertainty of the UK forestry carbon budget between 2000 and 2010. Our analysis estimates the mean annual UK forest carbon sink at -3.9 MgC ha-1 yr-1 with a 95 % confidence interval between -4.0 and -3.1 MgC ha-1yr-1. The UK national forest inventory (NFI) estimates the mean UK forest carbon sink to be between -1.4 and -5.5 MgC ha-1 yr-1. The analysis estimate for total forest biomass stock in 2010 is estimated at 229 (177/232) TgC, while the NFI an estimated total forest biomass carbon stock of 216 TgC. Leaf carbon area (LCA) is a key plant trait which we are able to estimate using our analysis. Comparison of median estimates for (LCA) retrieved from the analysis and a UK land cover map show higher and lower values for LCA are estimated areas dominated by needle leaf and broad leaf forests forest respectively, consistent with

  16. Tropical forests and the changing earth system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Simon L

    2006-01-29

    Tropical forests are global epicentres of biodiversity and important modulators of the rate of climate change. Recent research on deforestation rates and ecological changes within intact forests, both areas of recent research and debate, are reviewed, and the implications for biodiversity (species loss) and climate change (via the global carbon cycle) addressed. Recent impacts have most likely been: (i) a large source of carbon to the atmosphere, and major loss of species, from deforestation and (ii) a large carbon sink within remaining intact forest, accompanied by accelerating forest dynamism and widespread biodiversity changes. Finally, I look to the future, suggesting that the current carbon sink in intact forests is unlikely to continue, and that the tropical forest biome may even become a large net source of carbon, via one or more of four plausible routes: changing photosynthesis and respiration rates, biodiversity changes in intact forest, widespread forest collapse via drought, and widespread forest collapse via fire. Each of these scenarios risks potentially dangerous positive feedbacks with the climate system that could dramatically accelerate and intensify climate change. Given that continued land-use change alone is already thought to be causing the sixth mass extinction event in Earth's history, should such feedbacks occur, the resulting biodiversity and societal consequences would be even more severe.

  17. The use of forests to mitigate global warming - designing programs that work for utilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmes, N.R.

    1990-01-01

    This paper discusses the use of forests as carbon sinks by utilities to offset carbon dioxide production by fossil-fueled power plants. The topics of the paper include greenhouse gases, greenhouse effect, why trees are carbon sinks, planning a carbon sequestering program based on trees and forests, and descriptions of specific types of programs

  18. Carbon uptake by mature Amazon forests has mitigated Amazon nations' carbon emissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Oliver L; Brienen, Roel J W

    2017-12-01

    Several independent lines of evidence suggest that Amazon forests have provided a significant carbon sink service, and also that the Amazon carbon sink in intact, mature forests may now be threatened as a result of different processes. There has however been no work done to quantify non-land-use-change forest carbon fluxes on a national basis within Amazonia, or to place these national fluxes and their possible changes in the context of the major anthropogenic carbon fluxes in the region. Here we present a first attempt to interpret results from ground-based monitoring of mature forest carbon fluxes in a biogeographically, politically, and temporally differentiated way. Specifically, using results from a large long-term network of forest plots, we estimate the Amazon biomass carbon balance over the last three decades for the different regions and nine nations of Amazonia, and evaluate the magnitude and trajectory of these differentiated balances in relation to major national anthropogenic carbon emissions. The sink of carbon into mature forests has been remarkably geographically ubiquitous across Amazonia, being substantial and persistent in each of the five biogeographic regions within Amazonia. Between 1980 and 2010, it has more than mitigated the fossil fuel emissions of every single national economy, except that of Venezuela. For most nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname) the sink has probably additionally mitigated all anthropogenic carbon emissions due to Amazon deforestation and other land use change. While the sink has weakened in some regions since 2000, our analysis suggests that Amazon nations which are able to conserve large areas of natural and semi-natural landscape still contribute globally-significant carbon sequestration. Mature forests across all of Amazonia have contributed significantly to mitigating climate change for decades. Yet Amazon nations have not directly benefited from providing this global scale

  19. Lifetime Optimization of a Multiple Sink Wireless Sensor Network through Energy Balancing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tapan Kumar Jain

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The wireless sensor network consists of small limited energy sensors which are connected to one or more sinks. The maximum energy consumption takes place in communicating the data from the nodes to the sink. Multiple sink WSN has an edge over the single sink WSN where very less energy is utilized in sending the data to the sink, as the number of hops is reduced. If the energy consumed by a node is balanced between the other nodes, the lifetime of the network is considerably increased. The network lifetime optimization is achieved by restructuring the network by modifying the neighbor nodes of a sink. Only those nodes are connected to a sink which makes the total energy of the sink less than the threshold. This energy balancing through network restructuring optimizes the network lifetime. This paper depicts this fact through simulations done in MATLAB.

  20. The role of forests in climate change: Nordic experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Portin, A.; Barua, S.; Clarke, M.; Camargo, M.; Viding, J.; Pekkanen, M.

    2013-08-15

    The objective of this project is to discuss the role of forests in Nordic countries in climate change mitigation and discuss the possible roles of forests as a part of a cost-effective climate policy. The report aims to provide a comprehensive and easily digestible way to better understand the issue. The report includes a discussion on the role of forests for enhancing carbon stocks and carbon sinks in the Nordic countries. The extent of above- and below-ground biomass and their role as forests carbon sinks in Nordic forests is analysed. The use of wood in products, buildings and as bioenergy is examined. Finally the report presents emissions trading schemes from around the globe that allow offsets and credits from forest projects on them and provides an analysis on the feasibility of such a scheme for the Nordic region. The report has been commissioned by the Working Group on Environment and Economics under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study was carried out by Indufor. (Author)

  1. Genetic Algorithm Design of a 3D Printed Heat Sink

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Tong [ORNL; Ozpineci, Burak [ORNL; Ayers, Curtis William [ORNL

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, a genetic algorithm- (GA-) based approach is discussed for designing heat sinks based on total heat generation and dissipation for a pre-specified size andshape. This approach combines random iteration processesand genetic algorithms with finite element analysis (FEA) to design the optimized heat sink. With an approach that prefers survival of the fittest , a more powerful heat sink can bedesigned which can cool power electronics more efficiently. Some of the resulting designs can only be 3D printed due totheir complexity. In addition to describing the methodology, this paper also includes comparisons of different cases to evaluate the performance of the newly designed heat sinkcompared to commercially available heat sinks.

  2. Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouillon, S.; Borges, A.V.; Castaneda-Moya, E.; Diele, K.; Dittmar, T.; Duke, N.C.; Kristensen, E.; Lee, S.-Y.; Marchand, C.; Middelburg, J.J.; Rivera-Monroy, V. H.; Smith, T. J.; Twilley, R.R.

    2008-01-01

    Mangrove forests are highly productive but globally threatened coastal ecosystems, whose role in the carbon budget of the coastal zone has long been debated. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available data on carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems. A reassessment of global mangrove primary production from the literature results in a conservative estimate of ???-218 ?? 72 Tg C a-1. When using the best available estimates of various carbon sinks (organic carbon export, sediment burial, and mineralization), it appears that >50% of the carbon fixed by mangrove vegetation is unaccounted for. This unaccounted carbon sink is conservatively estimated at ??? 112 ?? 85 Tg C a-1, equivalent in magnitude to ??? 30-40% of the global riverine organic carbon input to the coastal zone. Our analysis suggests that mineralization is severely underestimated, and that the majority of carbon export from mangroves to adjacent waters occurs as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). CO2 efflux from sediments and creek waters and tidal export of DIC appear to be the major sinks. These processes are quantitatively comparable in magnitude to the unaccounted carbon sink in current budgets, but are not yet adequately constrained with the limited published data available so far. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

  3. Seeking potential contributions to future carbon budget in conterminous US forests considering disturbances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fangmin; Pan, Yude; Birdsey, Richard A.; Chen, Jing M.; Dugan, Alexa

    2017-11-01

    Currently, US forests constitute a large carbon sink, comprising about 9 % of the global terrestrial carbon sink. Wildfire is the most significant disturbance influencing carbon dynamics in US forests. Our objective is to estimate impacts of climate change, CO2 concentration, and nitrogen deposition on the future net biome productivity (NBP) of US forests until the end of twenty-first century under a range of disturbance conditions. We designate three forest disturbance scenarios under one future climate scenario to evaluate factor impacts for the future period (2011-2100): (1) no wildfires occur but forests continue to age (Saging), (2) no wildfires occur and forest ages are fixed in 2010 (Sfixed_nodis), and (3) wildfires occur according to a historical pattern, consequently changing forest age (Sdis_age_change). Results indicate that US forests remain a large carbon sink in the late twenty-first century under the Sfixed_nodis scenario; however, they become a carbon source under the Saging and Sdis_age_change scenarios. During the period of 2011 to 2100, climate is projected to have a small direct effect on NBP, while atmospheric CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition have large positive effects on NBP regardless of the future climate and disturbance scenarios. Meanwhile, responses to past disturbances under the Sfixed_nodis scenario increase NBP regardless of the future climate scenarios. Although disturbance effects on NBP under the Saging and Sdis_age_change scenarios decrease with time, both scenarios experience an increase in NBP prior to the 2050s and then a decrease in NBP until the end of the twenty-first century. This study indicates that there is potential to increase or at least maintain the carbon sink of conterminous US forests at the current level if future wildfires are reduced and age structures are maintained at a productive mix. The effects of CO2 on the future carbon sink may overwhelm effects of other factors at the end of the twenty

  4. Reconsideration of atmospheric CO2 lifetime: potential mechanism for explaining CO2 missing sink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuchi, R.; Gorbacheva, T.; Gerardo, R.

    2009-04-01

    Carbon cycle data (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1996) indicate that fossil fuel use accounts for emissions to the atmosphere of 5.5±0.5 GtC (Gigatons of carbon) annually. Other important processes in the global CO2 budget are tropical deforestation, estimated to generate about 1.6±1.0 GtC/yr; absorption by the oceans, removing about 2.0±0.8 GtC/yr; and regrowth of northern forests, taking up about 0.5±0.5 GtC/yr. However, accurate measurements of CO2 show that the atmosphere is accumulating only about 3.3±0.2 GtC/yr. The imbalance of about 1.3±1.5 GtC/yr, termed the "missing sink", represents the difference between the estimated sources and the estimated sinks of CO2; that is, we do not know where all of the anthropogenic CO2 is going. Several potential mechanisms have been proposed to explain this missing carbon, such as CO2 fertilization, climate change, nitrogen deposition, land use change, forest regrowth et al. Considering the complexity of ecosystem, most of ecosystem model cannot handle all the potential mechanisms to reproduce the real world. It has been believed that the dominant sink mechanism is the fertilizing effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and the addition to soils of fixed nitrogen from fossil-fuel burning and agricultural fertilizers. However, a recent analysis of long-term observations of the change in biomass and growth rates suggests that such fertilization effects are much too small to explain more than a small fraction of the observed sink. In addition, long-term experiments in which small forest patches and other land ecosystems have been exposed to elevated CO2 levels for extended periods show a rapid decrease of the fertilization effect after an initial enhancement. We will explore this question of the missing sink in atmospheric CO2 residence time. Radioactive and stable carbon isotopes (13-C/12-C) show the real CO2 lifetime is about 5 years; i.e. CO2 is quickly taken out of the atmospheric

  5. Sink-to-Sink Coordination Framework Using RPL: Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meer M. Khan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available RPL (Routing Protocol for low power and Lossy networks is recommended by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF for IPv6-based LLNs (Low Power and Lossy Networks. RPL uses a proactive routing approach and each node always maintains an active path to the sink node. Sink-to-sink coordination defines syntax and semantics for the exchange of any network defined parameters among sink nodes like network size, traffic load, mobility of a sink, and so forth. The coordination allows sink to learn about the network condition of neighboring sinks. As a result, sinks can make coordinated decision to increase/decrease their network size for optimizing over all network performance in terms of load sharing, increasing network lifetime, and lowering end-to-end latency of communication. Currently, RPL does not provide any coordination framework that can define message exchange between different sink nodes for enhancing the network performance. In this paper, a sink-to-sink coordination framework is proposed which utilizes the periodic route maintenance messages issued by RPL to exchange network status observed at a sink with its neighboring sinks. The proposed framework distributes network load among sink nodes for achieving higher throughputs and longer network’s life time.

  6. Taking credit : Canada and the role of sinks in international climate negotiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, D.

    2001-01-01

    This report serves as a guide in explaining the significant, but complicated role that terrestrial carbon sinks play in international climate negotiations and the continuing need for major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The role that terrestrial carbon sinks should play in the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol was one of the main reasons for impasse in negotiations at the treaty talks in the Hague in November 2000. The issue is based on the allowance of countries to receive credits under the Kyoto Protocol for using forests and lands to absorb and store carbon. Storing carbon could be part of a menu of options to slow the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. However, it was argued that without strong crediting rules and guidelines, countries like Canada could use interpretations that would allow them to weaken the emission reduction commitments made under the Protocol. This paper explained why some countries support expansive crediting of sinks and others are strongly opposed to their inclusion in the Protocol. The paper also provided a technical explanation of the science of sinks and the carbon cycle upon which policy decisions must be based. The five chapters of the report were entitled: (1) sinks and international climate negotiations, (2) counting carbon in the industrialized world, (3) counting carbon in the developing world, (4) terrestrial carbon sinks as carbon offset mechanisms, and (5) effects of land use practices and climate change on carbon exchange in terrestrial ecosystems. A decision regarding the allowance of carbon sinks will be reached in the talks scheduled for the end of July 2001 in Bonn, Germany. refs., tabs., figs

  7. Carbon Consequences of Forest Disturbance and Recovery Across the Conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Christopher A.; Collatz, G. James; Masek, Jeffrey; Goward, Samuel N.

    2012-01-01

    Forests of North America are thought to constitute a significant long term sink for atmospheric carbon. The United States Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has developed a large data base of stock changes derived from consecutive estimates of growing stock volume in the US. These data reveal a large and relatively stable increase in forest carbon stocks over the last two decades or more. The mechanisms underlying this national increase in forest stocks may include recovery of forests from past disturbances, net increases in forest area, and growth enhancement driven by climate or fertilization by CO2 and Nitrogen. Here we estimate the forest recovery component of the observed stock changes using FIA data on the age structure of US forests and carbon stocks as a function of age. The latter are used to parameterize forest disturbance and recovery processes in a carbon cycle model. We then apply resulting disturbance/recovery dynamics to landscapes and regions based on the forest age distributions. The analysis centers on 28 representative climate settings spread about forested regions of the conterminous US. We estimate carbon fluxes for each region and propagate uncertainties in calibration data through to the predicted fluxes. The largest recovery-driven carbon sinks are found in the South central, Pacific Northwest, and Pacific Southwest regions, with spatially averaged net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of about 100 g C / square m / a driven by forest age structure. Carbon sinks from recovery in the Northeast and Northern Lake States remain moderate to large owing to the legacy of historical clearing and relatively low modern disturbance rates from harvest and fire. At the continental scale, we find a conterminous U.S. forest NEP of only 0.16 Pg C/a from age structure in 2005, or only 0.047 Pg C/a of forest stock change after accounting for fire emissions and harvest transfers. Recent estimates of NEP derived from inventory stock change

  8. The production of phytolith-occluded carbon in China's forests: implications to biogeochemical carbon sequestration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhaoliang; Liu, Hongyan; Li, Beilei; Yang, Xiaomin

    2013-09-01

    The persistent terrestrial carbon sink regulates long-term climate change, but its size, location, and mechanisms remain uncertain. One of the most promising terrestrial biogeochemical carbon sequestration mechanisms is the occlusion of carbon within phytoliths, the silicified features that deposit within plant tissues. Using phytolith content-biogenic silica content transfer function obtained from our investigation, in combination with published silica content and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) data of leaf litter and herb layer in China's forests, we estimated the production of phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) in China's forests. The present annual phytolith carbon sink in China's forests is 1.7 ± 0.4 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , 30% of which is contributed by bamboo because the production flux of PhytOC through tree leaf litter for bamboo is 3-80 times higher than that of other forest types. As a result of national and international bamboo afforestation and reforestation, the potential of phytolith carbon sink for China's forests and world's bamboo can reach 6.8 ± 1.5 and 27.0 ± 6.1 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , respectively. Forest management practices such as bamboo afforestation and reforestation may significantly enhance the long-term terrestrial carbon sink and contribute to mitigation of global climate warming. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. 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.

  10. Carbon trading and carbon taxation: how to consider biotic sources and sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madlener, Reinhard; Schlamadinger, Bernhard

    1999-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol (KP) to the UNFCCC includes land-use change and forestry in the carbon accounting process, limited to afforestation, reforestation and deforestation since 1990, and explicitly provides for the option of using a variety of flexibility mechanisms to meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets stipulated in a more cost-efficient manner. Domestically, different countries might adopt different approaches to achieve their emission reduction objectives, such as carbon trading or carbon taxation, and it is not clear to date what the implications for bioenergy use, forestry, and land-use change can be expected to be. With respect to national GHG emissions trading, the main issues studied in this paper are: Should trading of fossil fuel emissions allowances be coupled with trading of biotic credits and debits? Should credits for carbon sequestration in forests be auctioned or grandfathered? Should there be a distinction between a carbon permit issued for an additional biotic sink and those issued for fossil fuel carbon emissions? Is there a difference for biotic carbon sinks and sources between one-time permits and permits that allow a continued release of GHG over some pre-specified time? Should permits be issued only for the carbon-stock changes that count under the KP? With respect to national carbon taxation schemes, two questions are investigated: Should a tax credit be given for afforestation/reforestation (and a tax debit for deforestation)? Should tax credits also be given for projects that sequester carbon but do not count under the KP (such as forest protection rather than forest management)? For both schemes a crucial point is that by the formulation chosen in the KP two different classes of forest are created (i.e. those counted and those not counted under the KP), so that the implications for land prices might be significant. From a conceptual point of view this paper addresses the above-mentioned questions and contrasts some of the major

  11. How costly are carbon offsets? A meta-analysis of carbon forest sinks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooten, van G.C.; Eagle, A.J.; Manley, J.; Smolak, T.

    2004-01-01

    Carbon terrestrial sinks are seen as a low-cost alternative to fuel switching and reduced fossil fuel use for lowering atmospheric CO2. As a result of agreements reached at Bonn and Marrakech, carbon offsets have taken on much greater importance in meeting Kyoto targets for the first commitment

  12. ESTIMATION OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION BY RUSSIAN FORESTS: GEOSPATIAL ISSUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. V. Malysheva

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Сategories of carbon sequestration assessment for Russian forests are identified by GIS toolkit. Those are uniform by bioclimatic and site-specific conditions strata corresponding to modern version of bioclimatic forest district division. Stratification of forests at early stage substantially reduces the ambiguity of the evaluation because phytomass conversion sequestration capacity and expansion factor dependent on site-specific condition for calculating of forest carbon sink are absolutely necessary. Forest management units were linked to strata. Biomass conversion and expansion factor for forest carbon sink assessment linked to the strata were recalculated for forest management units. All operations were carried out with GIS analytical toolkit due to accessible functionalities. Units for forest carbon storage inventory and forest carbon balance calculation were localized. Production capacity parameters and forest carbon sequestration capacity have been visualized on maps complied by ArcGIS. Based on spatially-explicit information, we have found out that the greatest annual rates of forest’s carbon accumulation in Russian forests fall into mixed coniferous-deciduous forests of European-Ural part of Russia to Kaliningrad, Smolensk and Briansk Regions, coniferous-deciduous forests close to the boundary of Khabarovsk Region and Primorskij Kray in the Far East, as well as separate forest management units of Kabardino-Balkariya NorthCaucasian mountain area. The geospatial visualization of carbon sequestration by Russian forests and carbon balance assessment has been given.

  13. Carbon pool densities and a first estimate of the total carbon pool in the Mongolian forest-steppe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulamsuren, Choimaa; Klinge, Michael; Degener, Jan; Khishigjargal, Mookhor; Chenlemuge, Tselmeg; Bat-Enerel, Banzragch; Yeruult, Yolk; Saindovdon, Davaadorj; Ganbaatar, Kherlenchimeg; Tsogtbaatar, Jamsran; Leuschner, Christoph; Hauck, Markus

    2016-02-01

    The boreal forest biome represents one of the most important terrestrial carbon stores, which gave reason to intensive research on carbon stock densities. However, such an analysis does not yet exist for the southernmost Eurosiberian boreal forests in Inner Asia. Most of these forests are located in the Mongolian forest-steppe, which is largely dominated by Larix sibirica. We quantified the carbon stock density and total carbon pool of Mongolia's boreal forests and adjacent grasslands and draw conclusions on possible future change. Mean aboveground carbon stock density in the interior of L. sibirica forests was 66 Mg C ha(-1) , which is in the upper range of values reported from boreal forests and probably due to the comparably long growing season. The density of soil organic carbon (SOC, 108 Mg C ha(-1) ) and total belowground carbon density (149 Mg C ha(-1) ) are at the lower end of the range known from boreal forests, which might be the result of higher soil temperatures and a thinner permafrost layer than in the central and northern boreal forest belt. Land use effects are especially relevant at forest edges, where mean carbon stock density was 188 Mg C ha(-1) , compared with 215 Mg C ha(-1) in the forest interior. Carbon stock density in grasslands was 144 Mg C ha(-1) . Analysis of satellite imagery of the highly fragmented forest area in the forest-steppe zone showed that Mongolia's total boreal forest area is currently 73 818 km(2) , and 22% of this area refers to forest edges (defined as the first 30 m from the edge). The total forest carbon pool of Mongolia was estimated at ~ 1.5-1.7 Pg C, a value which is likely to decrease in future with increasing deforestation and fire frequency, and global warming. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Carbon storage in Ontario's forests, 2000-2100

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombo, S.J.; Chen, J.; Ter-Mikaelian, M.T.

    2007-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges facing modern society is rapid climate change resulting from greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere, primarily in the form of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. The effects of climate change on natural environments will inevitably affect people as well, if left unchanged. In addition to many other societal benefits, forests store large amounts of carbon. As a result, it is necessary to understand how forest management and natural processes affect forest carbon storage. Such information can be utilized to manage forests so that they function as carbon sinks and help reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. This report employed data about Ontario's forest structure and information from the forest management planning process and past harvests to describe carbon in forests and wood products today and through to the end of this century. The paper described the methods used for the study which included modification of the United States national forest carbon model, FORCARB2, to predict Ontario's forest carbon budgets in order to make carbon projections congruent with forest management plans. The modified forest carbon model, which is called FORCARB-ON, predicts carbon in live trees, understory vegetation, forest floor, standing and down dead wood, and soil. Ontario's managed forests are projected to increase carbon storage by 433 million tonnes from 2000 to 2100. The largest forest sink will be in wood products, accounting for 364 million tonnes of carbon storage over the century. 22 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs

  15. Forest management techniques for carbon dioxide storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujimori, Takao [Forestry and Forest Products Research Inst., Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan)

    1993-12-31

    In the global ecosystem concerning carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, the forest ecosystem plays an important role. In effect, the ratio of forest biomass to total terrestrial biomass is about 90%, and the ratio of carbon stored in the forest biomass to that in the atmosphere is two thirds. When soils and detritus of forests are added, there is more C stored in forests than in the atmosphere, about 1.3 times or more. Thus, forests can be regarded as the great holder of C on earth. If the area of forest land on the earth is constantly maintained and forests are in the climax stage, the uptake of C and the release of C by and from the forests will balance. In this case, forests are neither sinks nor sources of CO{sub 2} although they store a large amount of C. However, when forests are deforested, they become a source of C; through human activities, forests have become a source of C. According to a report by the IPCC, 1.6{+-}1.2 PgC is annually added to the atmosphere by deforestation. According to the FAO (1992), the area of land deforested annually in the tropics from 1981 to 1990 was 16.9 x 10{sup 6} ha. This value is nearly half the area of Japanese land. The most important thing for the CO{sub 2} environment concerning forests is therefore how to reduce deforestation and to successfully implement a forestation or reforestation.

  16. Reconciling apparent inconsistencies in estimates of terrestrial CO2 sources and sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    House, J.I.; Prentice, I.C.; Heimann, M.; Ramankutty, N.

    2003-01-01

    The magnitude and location of terrestrial carbon sources and sinks remains subject to large uncertainties. Estimates of terrestrial CO 2 fluxes from ground-based inventory measurements typically find less carbon uptake than inverse model calculations based on atmospheric CO 2 measurements, while a wide range of results have been obtained using models of different types. However, when full account is taken of the processes, pools, time scales and geographic areas being measured, the different approaches can be understood as complementary rather than inconsistent, and can provide insight as to the contribution of various processes to the terrestrial carbon budget. For example, quantitative differences between atmospheric inversion model estimates and forest inventory estimates in northern extratropical regions suggest that carbon fluxes to soils (often not accounted for in inventories), and into non-forest vegetation, may account for about half of the terrestrial uptake. A consensus of inventory and inverse methods indicates that, in the 1980s, northern extratropical land regions were a large net sink of carbon, and the tropics were approximately neutral (albeit with high uncertainty around the central estimate of zero net flux). The terrestrial flux in southern extratropical regions was small. Book-keeping model studies of the impacts of land-use change indicated a large source in the tropics and almost zero net flux for most northern extratropical regions; similar land use change impacts were also recently obtained using process-based models. The difference between book-keeping land-use change model studies and inversions or inventories was previously interpreted as a 'missing' terrestrial carbon uptake. Land-use change studies do not account for environmental or many management effects (which are implicitly included in inventory and inversion methods). Process-based model studies have quantified the impacts of CO 2 fertilisation and climate change in addition to

  17. Estimating sources, sinks and fluxes of reactive atmospheric compounds within a forest canopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    While few dispute the significance of within-canopy sources or sinks of reactive gaseous and particulate compounds, their estimation continues to be the subject of active research and debate. Reactive species undergo turbulent dispersion within an inhomogeneous flow field, and ma...

  18. Above Ground Biomass-carbon Partitioning, Storage and Sequestration in a Rehabilitated Forest, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kueh, J.H.R.; Majid, N.M.A.; Seca, G.; Ahmed, O.H.

    2013-01-01

    Forest degradation and deforestation are some of the major global concerns as it can reduce forest carbon storage and sequestration capacity. Forest rehabilitation on degraded forest areas has the potential to improve carbon stock, hence mitigate greenhouse gases emission. However, the carbon storage and sequestration potential in a rehabilitated tropical forest remains unclear due to the lack of information. This paper reports an initiative to estimate biomass-carbon partitioning, storage and sequestration in a rehabilitated forest. The study site was at the UPM-Mitsubishi Corporation Forest Rehabilitation Project, UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Bintulu, Sarawak. A plot of 20 x 20 m 2 was established each in site 1991 (Plot 1991), 1999 (Plot 1999) and 2008 (Plot 2008). An adjacent natural regenerating secondary forest plot (Plot NF) was also established for comparison purposes. The results showed that the contribution of tree component biomass/ carbon to total biomass/ carbon was in the order of main stem > branch > leaf. As most of the trees were concentrated in diameter size class = 10 cm for younger rehabilitated forests, the total above ground biomass/ carbon was from this class. These observations suggest that the forests are in the early successional stage. The total above ground biomass obtained for the rehabilitated forest ranged from 4.3 to 4,192.3 kg compared to natural regenerating secondary forest of 3,942.3 kg while total above ground carbon ranged from 1.9 to 1,927.9 kg and 1,820.4 kg, respectively. The mean total above ground biomass accumulated ranged from 1.3 x 10 -2 to 20.5 kg/ 0.04 ha and mean total carbon storage ranged from 5.9 x 10 -3 to 9.4 kg/ 0.04 ha. The total CO 2 sequestrated in rehabilitated forest ranged from 6.9 to 7,069.1 kg CO 2 / 0.04 ha. After 19 years, the rehabilitated forest had total above ground biomass and carbon storage comparable to the natural regeneration secondary forest. The forest rehabilitated activities have the

  19. Methane production potential and microbial community structure for different forest soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, Y.; Ueyama, M.; Kominami, Y.; Endo, R.; Tokumoto, H.; Hirano, T.; Takagi, K.; Takahashi, Y.; Iwata, H.; Harazono, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Forest soils are often considered as a methane (CH4) sink, but anaerobic microsites potentially decrease the sink at the ecosystem scale. In this study, we measured biological CH4 production potential of soils at various ecosystems, including upland forests, a lowland forest, and a bog, and analyzed microbial community structure using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Three different types of soil samples (upland, bank of the stream, and center of the stream) were collected from Yamashiro forest meteorology research site (YMS) at Kyoto, Japan, on 11 May 2017. The soils were incubated at dark and anaerobic conditions under three different temperatures (37°C, 25°C, and 10°C) from 9 June 2017. The upland soils emitted CH4 with largest yields among the three soils at 37°C and 25°C, although no CH4 emission was observed at 10°C. For all temperature ranges, the emission started to increase with a 14- to 20-days lag after the start of the incubation. The lag indicates a slow transition to anaerobic conditions; as dissolved oxygen in water decreased, the number and/or activity of anaerobic bacteria like methanogens increased. The soils at the bank and center of the stream emitted CH4 with smaller yields than the upland soils in the three temperature ranges. The microbial community analyses indicate that methanogenic archaea presented at the three soils including the aerobic upland soil, but compositions of methanogenic archaea were different among the soils. In upland soils, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, such as Methanobacterium and Methanothermobacter, consisted almost all of the total methanogen detected. In the bank and center of the stream, soils contained approximately 10-25% of acetoclastic methanogens, such as Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta, among the total methanogen detected. Methanotrophs, a genus of Methanobacteriaceae, was appeared in the all types of soils. We will present results from same incubation and 16S rRNA analyses for other ecosystems, including

  20. Assessment Of Carbon Leakage In Multiple Carbon-Sink Projects: ACase Study In Jambi Province, Indonesia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boer, Rizaldi; Wasrin, Upik R.; Hendri, Perdinan; Dasanto,Bambang D.; Makundi, Willy; Hero, Julius; Ridwan, M.; Masripatin, Nur

    2007-06-01

    Rehabilitation of degraded forest land throughimplementation of carbon sink projects can increase terrestrial carbonstock. However, carbon emissions outside the project boundary, which iscommonly referred to as leakage, may reduce or negate the sequestrationbenefits. This study assessed leakage from carbon sink projects thatcould potentially be implemented in the study area comprised of elevensub-districts in the Batanghari District, Jambi Province, Sumatra,Indonesia. The study estimates the probability of a given land use/coverbeing converted into other uses/cover, by applying a logit model. Thepredictor variables were: proximity to the center of the land use area,distance to transportation channel (road or river), area of agriculturalland, unemployment (number of job seekers), job opportunities, populationdensity and income. Leakage was estimated by analyzing with and withoutcarbon sink projects scenarios. Most of the predictors were estimated asbeing significant in their contribution to land use cover change. Theresults of the analysis show that leakage in the study area can be largeenough to more than offset the project's carbon sequestration benefitsduring the period 2002-2012. However, leakage results are very sensitiveto changes of carbon density of the land uses in the study area. Byreducing C-density of lowland and hill forest by about 10 percent for thebaseline scenario, the leakage becomes positive. Further data collectionand refinement is therefore required. Nevertheless, this study hasdemonstrated that regional analysis is a useful approach to assessleakage.

  1. Edge effects resulting from forest fragmentation enhance carbon uptake and its vulnerability to climate change in temperate broadleaf forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinmann, A.; Hutyra, L.

    2016-12-01

    Forest fragmentation resulting from land use and land cover change is a ubiquitous, ongoing global phenomenon with profound impacts on the growing conditions of the world's remaining forest. However, our understanding of forest carbon dynamics and their response to climate largely comes from unfragmented forest systems, which presents an important mismatch between the landscapes we study and those we aim to characterize. The temperate broadleaf forest makes a large contribution to the global terrestrial carbon sink, but is also the most heavily fragmented forest biome in the world. We use field measurements and geospatial analyses to characterize carbon dynamics in temperate broadleaf forest fragments. We show that forest growth and biomass increase by 89 ± 17% and 64 ± 12%, respectively, from the forest interior to edge. These ecosystem edge enhancements are not currently captured by models or approaches to quantifying regional C balance, but across southern New England, USA it increases carbon uptake and storage by 12.5 ± 2.9% and 9.6 ± 1.4%, respectively. However, we also find that forest growth near the edge declines three times faster than in the interior in response to heat stress during the growing season. Using climate projections, we show that future heat stress could reduce the forest edge growth enhancement by one-third by the end of the century. These findings contrast studies of edge effects in the world's other major forest biomes and indicate that the strength of the temperate broadleaf forest carbon sink and its capacity to mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions may be stronger, but also more sensitive to climate change than previous estimates suggest.

  2. Background Document for Workshop no.3 of Forest Carbon Management Workshop Series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griss, P.

    2002-01-01

    Pollution Probe has organized a series of workshops on forest carbon management (FCM) in Canada in order to examine the opportunities, policies and infrastructure for Canada. This report summarizes the events of the third workshop which explored the verification of carbon stocks in forests. It also incorporates the results of the first 2 workshops. There are substantial opportunities for greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to obtain carbon credits through FCM. Canada, a proponent for the eligibility of FCM under the Kyoto Protocol, must develop these opportunities domestically although policies and infrastructure needed to support FCM activities are not yet clearly identified. The Kyoto Protocol allows developed countries to use international emissions trading to help meet emissions commitments. Details for emissions trading in Canada are still being negotiated and an effective forest-based methodology for carbon dioxide equivalent credit creation must be developed. This paper reviewed the role of forests in creating or canceling out removal units (RMUs) in deforestation, afforestation, reforestation, and forest management. From an FCM perspective, buyers of carbon credits have several choices in the development of their offset portfolio, including: (1) energy type versus carbon sinks, (2) forest sinks versus agricultural/soil sinks, (3) domestic projects versus international projects, and (4) Joint Implementation projects in developed countries versus Clean Development Mechanism projects in developing countries. tabs., figs., appendices

  3. The new forest carbon accounting framework for the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant M. Domke; John W. Coulston; Christopher W. Woodall

    2015-01-01

    The forest carbon accounting system used in recent National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGI) was developed more than a decade ago when the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis annual inventory system was in its infancy and contemporary questions regarding the terrestrial sink (e.g., attribution) did not exist. The time has come to develop a new...

  4. Research activities related to the role of forests and forestry in climate change mitigation in Austria. COST E21 Workshop. Contribution of forests and forestry to mitigate greenhouse effects. Joensuu (Finland. 28-30 Sep 2000

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiss P.

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Forests and forestry play important roles in Austria with its close to 50/ forest cover. This paper provides details about the Austrian forest carbon inventory, discusses briefly the sources and sinks accounted under the land use, land use change and forestry articles of the Kyoto Protocol, and presents an integrated carbon model (Austrian C-Balance Model that was developed to include not only the forest sector, but other sectors that are greenhouse-gas relevant. Improvements in forest management practices are seen as important possibilities of increasing the carbon sink strength of Austrian forests, but also of pursuing other goals such as increased biodiversity and resistance to future climate-change impacts. This paper presents a process model and a carbon accounting model that are applicable for evaluating carbon impacts of changes in forest management.

  5. Treatment of the loss of ultimate heat sink initiating events in the IRSN level 1 PSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupuy, Patricia; Georgescu, Gabriel; Corenwinder, Francois

    2014-01-01

    The total loss of the ultimate heat sink is an initiating event which, even it is mainly of external origin, has been considered in the frame of internal events Level 1 PSA by IRSN. The on-going actions on the development of external hazards PSA and the recent incident of loss of the heat sink induced by the ingress of vegetable matter that occurred in France in 2009 have pointed out the need to improve the modeling of the loss of the heat sink initiating event and sequences to better take into account the fact that this loss may be induced by external hazards and thus affect all the site units. The paper presents the historical steps of the modeling of the total loss of the heat sink, the safety stakes of this modeling, the main assumptions used by IRSN in the associated PSA for the 900 MWe reactors and the results obtained. The total loss of the heat sink was not initially addressed in the safety demonstration of French NPPs. On the basis of the insights of the first probabilistic assessments performed in the 80's, the risks associated to this 'multiple failure situation' turned out to be very significant and design and organisational improvements were implemented on the plants. Reviews of the characterization of external hazards and of their consequences on the installations and French operating feedback have revealed that extreme hazards may induce a total loss of the heat sink. Moreover, the accident that occurred at Fukushima in 2011 has pointed out the risk of such a loss of long duration at all site units in case of extreme hazards. In this context, it seems relevant to further improve the modelling of the total loss of the heat sink by considering the external hazards that may cause this loss. In a first step, IRSN has improved the assumptions and data used in the loss of the heat sink PSA model, in particular by considering that such a loss may affect all the site units. The next challenge will be the deeper analysis of the impact of external hazards on

  6. Interannual Variations in Ecosystem Oxidative Ratio in Croplands, Deciduous Forest, Coniferous Forest, and Early Successional Forest Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masiello, C. A.; Hockaday, W. C.; Gallagher, M. E.; Calligan, L.

    2009-12-01

    Ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP) can vary significantly with annual variations in precipitation and temperature. These climate variations can also drive changes in plant carbon allocation patterns. Shifting allocation patterns can lead to variation in net ecosystem biochemical stocks (e.g. kg cellulose, lignin, protein, and lipid/ha), which can in turn lead to shifts in ecosystem oxidative ratio (OR). OR is the molar ratio of O2 released : CO2 fixed during biosynthesis. Major plant biochemicals vary substantially in oxidative ratio, ranging from average organic acid OR values of 0.75 to average lipid OR values of 1.37 (Masiello et al., 2008). OR is a basic property of ecosystem biochemistry, and is also an essential variable needed to constrain the size of the terrestrial biospheric carbon sink (Keeling et al., 1996). OR is commonly assumed to be 1.10 (e.g. Prentice et al., 2001), but small variations in net ecosystem OR can drive large errors in estimates of the size of the terrestrial carbon sink (Randerson et al., 2006). We hypothesized that interannual changes in climate may drive interannual variation in ecosystem OR values. Working at Kellogg Biological Station NSF LTER, we measured the annual average OR of coniferous and deciduous forests, an early successional forest, and croplands under both corn and soy. There are clear distinctions between individual ecosystems (e.g., the soy crops have a higher OR than the corn crops, and the coniferous forests have a higher OR than the deciduous forests), but the ecosystems themselves retained remarkably constant annual OR values between 1998 and 2008.

  7. How the eastern US National Forests were formed [Book review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louis R. Iverson

    2014-01-01

    As a landscape ecologist conducting research on eastern forests for the US Forest Service (e.g., www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas), I was eager to learn about how the eastern National Forests came to be, as these forests now play such an important part of the natural world and provide a large carbon sink. The book did not disappoint and I'm confident that it will be...

  8. Sink-oriented Dynamic Location Service Protocol for Mobile Sinks with an Energy Efficient Grid-Based Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyunseung Choo

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Sensor nodes transmit the sensed information to the sink through wireless sensor networks (WSNs. They have limited power, computational capacities and memory. Portable wireless devices are increasing in popularity. Mechanisms that allow information to be efficiently obtained through mobile WSNs are of significant interest. However, a mobile sink introduces many challenges to data dissemination in large WSNs. For example, it is important to efficiently identify the locations of mobile sinks and disseminate information from multi-source nodes to the multi-mobile sinks. In particular, a stationary dissemination path may no longer be effective in mobile sink applications, due to sink mobility. In this paper, we propose a Sink-oriented Dynamic Location Service (SDLS approach to handle sink mobility. In SDLS, we propose an Eight-Direction Anchor (EDA system that acts as a location service server. EDA prevents intensive energy consumption at the border sensor nodes and thus provides energy balancing to all the sensor nodes. Then we propose a Location-based Shortest Relay (LSR that efficiently forwards (or relays data from a source node to a sink with minimal delay path. Our results demonstrate that SDLS not only provides an efficient and scalable location service, but also reduces the average data communication overhead in scenarios with multiple and moving sinks and sources.

  9. Sink-oriented Dynamic Location Service Protocol for Mobile Sinks with an Energy Efficient Grid-Based Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Hyeonjae; Park, Kwangjin; Hwang, Dae-Joon; Choo, Hyunseung

    2009-01-01

    Sensor nodes transmit the sensed information to the sink through wireless sensor networks (WSNs). They have limited power, computational capacities and memory. Portable wireless devices are increasing in popularity. Mechanisms that allow information to be efficiently obtained through mobile WSNs are of significant interest. However, a mobile sink introduces many challenges to data dissemination in large WSNs. For example, it is important to efficiently identify the locations of mobile sinks and disseminate information from multi-source nodes to the multi-mobile sinks. In particular, a stationary dissemination path may no longer be effective in mobile sink applications, due to sink mobility. In this paper, we propose a Sink-oriented Dynamic Location Service (SDLS) approach to handle sink mobility. In SDLS, we propose an Eight-Direction Anchor (EDA) system that acts as a location service server. EDA prevents intensive energy consumption at the border sensor nodes and thus provides energy balancing to all the sensor nodes. Then we propose a Location-based Shortest Relay (LSR) that efficiently forwards (or relays) data from a source node to a sink with minimal delay path. Our results demonstrate that SDLS not only provides an efficient and scalable location service, but also reduces the average data communication overhead in scenarios with multiple and moving sinks and sources.

  10. Forest disturbance and North American carbon flux

    Science.gov (United States)

    S. N. Goward; J. G. Masek; W. Cohen; G. Moisen; G. J. Collatz; S. Healey; R. A. Houghton; C. Huang; R. Kennedy; B. Law; S. Powell; D. Turner; M. A. Wulder

    2008-01-01

    North America's forests are thought to be a significant sink for atmospheric carbon. Currently, the rate of sequestration by forests on the continent has been estimated at 0.23 petagrams of carbon per year, though the uncertainty about this estimate is nearly 50%. This offsets about 13% of the fossil fuel emissions from the continent [Pacala et al., 2007]. However...

  11. Carbon carry capacity and carbon sequestration potential in China based on an integrated analysis of mature forest biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, YingChun; Yu, GuiRui; Wang, QiuFeng; Zhang, YangJian; Xu, ZeHong

    2014-12-01

    Forests play an important role in acting as a carbon sink of terrestrial ecosystem. Although global forests have huge carbon carrying capacity (CCC) and carbon sequestration potential (CSP), there were few quantification reports on Chinese forests. We collected and compiled a forest biomass dataset of China, a total of 5841 sites, based on forest inventory and literature search results. From the dataset we extracted 338 sites with forests aged over 80 years, a threshold for defining mature forest, to establish the mature forest biomass dataset. After analyzing the spatial pattern of the carbon density of Chinese mature forests and its controlling factors, we used carbon density of mature forests as the reference level, and conservatively estimated the CCC of the forests in China by interpolation methods of Regression Kriging, Inverse Distance Weighted and Partial Thin Plate Smoothing Spline. Combining with the sixth National Forest Resources Inventory, we also estimated the forest CSP. The results revealed positive relationships between carbon density of mature forests and temperature, precipitation and stand age, and the horizontal and elevational patterns of carbon density of mature forests can be well predicted by temperature and precipitation. The total CCC and CSP of the existing forests are 19.87 and 13.86 Pg C, respectively. Subtropical forests would have more CCC and CSP than other biomes. Consequently, relying on forests to uptake carbon by decreasing disturbance on forests would be an alternative approach for mitigating greenhouse gas concentration effects besides afforestation and reforestation.

  12. Harmonizing national forest inventories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronald E. McRoberts; Erkki O. Tomppo; Klemens Schadauer; Göran. Ståhl

    2012-01-01

    International agreements increasingly require that countries report estimates of national forest resources. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires that countries submit annual reports of greenhouse gas emissions and removals by sources and sinks. The Convention on Biological Diversity requires that countries identify and monitor components...

  13. Carbon and water fluxes from ponderosa pine forests disturbed by wildfire and thinning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dore, S; Kolb, T E; Montes-Helu, M; Eckert, S E; Sullivan, B W; Hungate, B A; Kaye, J P; Hart, S C; Koch, G W; Finkral, A

    2010-04-01

    Disturbances alter ecosystem carbon dynamics, often by reducing carbon uptake and stocks. We compared the impact of two types of disturbances that represent the most likely future conditions of currently dense ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States: (1) high-intensity fire and (2) thinning, designed to reduce fire intensity. High-severity fire had a larger impact on ecosystem carbon uptake and storage than thinning. Total ecosystem carbon was 42% lower at the intensely burned site, 10 years after burning, than at the undisturbed site. Eddy covariance measurements over two years showed that the burned site was a net annual source of carbon to the atmosphere whereas the undisturbed site was a sink. Net primary production (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET), and water use efficiency were lower at the burned site than at the undisturbed site. In contrast, thinning decreased total ecosystem carbon by 18%, and changed the site from a carbon sink to a source in the first posttreatment year. Thinning also decreased ET, reduced the limitation of drought on carbon uptake during summer, and did not change water use efficiency. Both disturbances reduced ecosystem carbon uptake by decreasing gross primary production (55% by burning, 30% by thinning) more than total ecosystem respiration (TER; 33-47% by burning, 18% by thinning), and increased the contribution of soil carbon dioxide efflux to TER. The relationship between TER and temperature was not affected by either disturbance. Efforts to accurately estimate regional carbon budgets should consider impacts on carbon dynamics of both large disturbances, such as high-intensity fire, and the partial disturbance of thinning that is often used to prevent intense burning. Our results show that thinned forests of ponderosa pine in the southwestern United States are a desirable alternative to intensively burned forests to maintain carbon stocks and primary production.

  14. Transfer, sources and sinks for major and trace elements in urban and rural areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schnetger, B.; Brumsack, H.J.; Heinrichs, H.

    1996-01-01

    Spider webs and air filter samples from 11 German cities were analyzed for major and trace elements to determine the composition of urban particulates. Model calculation was used for the estimation of the sources (fraction of components with decreasing importance): tire abrasion, diesel soot, tar, material from the earth crust and brick abrasion, concrete abrasion, sulfur, gasoline soot, cement production, hard coal ash, lignite fly ash, steel production, waste incineration, sea spray, oil combustion, brake abrasion. Heavy metals in city dust are mostly related to traffic and industrial high temperature processes. The most important sink for the metals and acids of polluted air masses was found to be the forested areas of mountains exposed to the main wind direction. High enrichment of heavy metals and low pH values in the top soils of such areas (Harz Mountain, Germany) were found. From previously (now damaged) forested areas an acid front moves downward. Metals from the top soils were dissolved by this process. In the investigated area precipitation of the released metals takes place in the lakes and a drinking water reservoir. These sinks again become a source when acidification increases. (author)

  15. Environmental change and the carbon balance of Amazonian forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aragao, Luiz E.O.C.; Poulter, Benjamin

    2014-01-01

    Extreme climatic events and land-use change are known to influence strongly the current carbon cycle of Amazonia, and have the potential to cause significant global climate impacts. This review intends to evaluate the effects of both climate and anthropogenic perturbations on the carbon balance of the Brazilian Amazon and to understand how they interact with each other. By analysing the outputs of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 4 (AR4) model ensemble, we demonstrate that Amazonian temperatures and water stress are both likely to increase over the 21. Century. Curbing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 62% in 2010 relative to the 1990's mean decreased the Brazilian Amazon's deforestation contribution to global land use carbon emissions from 17% in the 1990's and early 2000's to 9% by 2010. Carbon sources in Amazonia are likely to be dominated by climatic impacts allied with forest fires (48.3% relative contribution) during extreme droughts. The current net carbon sink (net biome productivity, NBP) of +0.16 (ranging from +0.11 to +0.21) PgCyear-1 in the Brazilian Amazon, equivalent to 13.3% of global carbon emissions from land-use change for 2008, can be negated or reversed during drought years [NBP=-0.06 (-0.31 to +0.01) PgCyear -1 ]. Therefore, reducing forest fires, in addition to reducing deforestation, would be an important measure for minimizing future emissions. Conversely, doubling the current area of secondary forests and avoiding additional removal of primary forests would help the Amazonian gross forest sink to offset approximately 42% of global land-use change emissions. We conclude that a few strategic environmental policy measures are likely to strengthen the Amazonian net carbon sink with global implications. Moreover, these actions could increase the resilience of the net carbon sink to future increases in drought frequency. (authors)

  16. Environmental change and the carbon balance of Amazonian forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aragão, Luiz E O C; Poulter, Benjamin; Barlow, Jos B; Anderson, Liana O; Malhi, Yadvinder; Saatchi, Sassan; Phillips, Oliver L; Gloor, Emanuel

    2014-11-01

    Extreme climatic events and land-use change are known to influence strongly the current carbon cycle of Amazonia, and have the potential to cause significant global climate impacts. This review intends to evaluate the effects of both climate and anthropogenic perturbations on the carbon balance of the Brazilian Amazon and to understand how they interact with each other. By analysing the outputs of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 4 (AR4) model ensemble, we demonstrate that Amazonian temperatures and water stress are both likely to increase over the 21st Century. Curbing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 62% in 2010 relative to the 1990s mean decreased the Brazilian Amazon's deforestation contribution to global land use carbon emissions from 17% in the 1990s and early 2000s to 9% by 2010. Carbon sources in Amazonia are likely to be dominated by climatic impacts allied with forest fires (48.3% relative contribution) during extreme droughts. The current net carbon sink (net biome productivity, NBP) of +0.16 (ranging from +0.11 to +0.21) Pg C year(-1) in the Brazilian Amazon, equivalent to 13.3% of global carbon emissions from land-use change for 2008, can be negated or reversed during drought years [NBP = -0.06 (-0.31 to +0.01) Pg C year(-1) ]. Therefore, reducing forest fires, in addition to reducing deforestation, would be an important measure for minimizing future emissions. Conversely, doubling the current area of secondary forests and avoiding additional removal of primary forests would help the Amazonian gross forest sink to offset approximately 42% of global land-use change emissions. We conclude that a few strategic environmental policy measures are likely to strengthen the Amazonian net carbon sink with global implications. Moreover, these actions could increase the resilience of the net carbon sink to future increases in drought frequency. © 2014 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2014 Cambridge Philosophical

  17. Minimum success criteria at SGTR combined with loss of secondary heat sink

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parzer, I.; Petelin, S.

    1993-01-01

    A parametric analysis has been performed investigating minimum success criteria for the hypothetical Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) accident in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Nuclear Power Plant, combined with the total loss of secondary heat sink. The analyses have been performed by RELAP5/MOD2 and MOD3 computer codes using Krsko NPP input deck. The Krsko NPP is a 2-loop Westinghouse PWR, 640 MWe, located in Slovenia and operating from 1981. Two break sizes have been chosen for the SGTR event: 2 and 5 double-ended broken tubes have been assumed. Total loss of secondary heat sink has been assumed from the beginning of the calculation. The ways of cooling down the plant after the postulated accident have been investigated, including Bleed ampersand Feed through the primary system. The NPP Krsko Emergency Operating Procedures (EOP) have been verified for this case. Some suggestions have been made, how to improve FR-H.1 procedure (Loss of Secondary Heat Sink), to include some steps, which take into account also SGTR when it is combined with loss of secondary heat sink. Possible misinterpretations of E-0 procedure (Reactor Trip or Safety Injection) have been studied

  18. Harvesting Carbon from Eastern US Forests: Opportunities and Impacts of an Expanding Bioenergy Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah C. Davis

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Eastern forests of the US are valued both as a carbon sink and a wood resource. The amount of biomass that can be harvested sustainably from this biome for bioenergy without compromising the carbon sink is uncertain. Using past literature and previously validated models, we assessed four scenarios of biomass harvest in the eastern US: partial harvests of mixed hardwood forests, pine plantation management, short-rotation woody cropping systems, and forest residue removal. We also estimated the amount and location of abandoned agricultural lands in the eastern US that could be used for biomass production. Greater carbon storage was estimated to result from partial harvests and residue removals than from plantation management and short-rotation cropping. If woody feedstocks were cultivated with a combination of intensive management on abandoned lands and partial harvests of standing forest, we estimate that roughly 176 Tg biomass y−1 (~330,000 GWh or ~16 billion gallons of ethanol could be produced sustainably from the temperate forest biome of the eastern US. This biomass could offset up to ~63 Tg C y−1 that are emitted from fossil fuels used for heat and power generation while maintaining a terrestrial C sink of ~8 Tg C y−1.

  19. Sinking towards destiny: High throughput measurement of phytoplankton sinking rates through time-resolved fluorescence plate spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannon, Catherine C; Campbell, Douglas A

    2017-01-01

    Diatoms are marine primary producers that sink in part due to the density of their silica frustules. Sinking of these phytoplankters is crucial for both the biological pump that sequesters carbon to the deep ocean and for the life strategy of the organism. Sinking rates have been previously measured through settling columns, or with fluorimeters or video microscopy arranged perpendicularly to the direction of sinking. These side-view techniques require large volumes of culture, specialized equipment and are difficult to scale up to multiple simultaneous measures for screening. We established a method for parallel, large scale analysis of multiple phytoplankton sinking rates through top-view monitoring of chlorophyll a fluorescence in microtitre well plates. We verified the method through experimental analysis of known factors that influence sinking rates, including exponential versus stationary growth phase in species of different cell sizes; Thalassiosira pseudonana CCMP1335, chain-forming Skeletonema marinoi RO5A and Coscinodiscus radiatus CCMP312. We fit decay curves to an algebraic transform of the decrease in fluorescence signal as cells sank away from the fluorometer detector, and then used minimal mechanistic assumptions to extract a sinking rate (m d-1) using an RStudio script, SinkWORX. We thereby detected significant differences in sinking rates as larger diatom cells sank faster than smaller cells, and cultures in stationary phase sank faster than those in exponential phase. Our sinking rate estimates accord well with literature values from previously established methods. This well plate-based method can operate as a high throughput integrative phenotypic screen for factors that influence sinking rates including macromolecular allocations, nutrient availability or uptake rates, chain-length or cell size, degree of silification and progression through growth stages. Alternately the approach can be used to phenomically screen libraries of mutants.

  20. Offset of the potential carbon sink from boreal forestation by decreases in surface albedo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betts, R.A.

    2000-01-01

    Carbon uptake by forestation is one method proposed to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and so limit the radiative forcing of climate change. But the overall impact of forestation on climate will also depend on other effects associated with the creation of new forests. In particular the albedo of a forested landscape is generally lower than that of cultivated land, especially when snow is lying, and decreasing albedo exerts a positive radiative forcing on climate. Here I simulate the radiative forcings associated with changes in surface albedo as a result of forestation in temperate and boreal forest areas, and translate these forcings into equivalent changes in local carbon stock for comparison with estimated carbon sequestration potentials. I suggest that in many boreal forest areas, the positive forcing induced by decreases in albedo can offset the negative forcing that is expected from carbon sequestration. Some high-latitude forestation activities may therefore increase climate change, rather that mitigating it as intended

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. Effects of climate, CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, and stand age changes on the carbon budget of China's forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, C.; Ju, W.; Zhang, F.; Mao, D.; Wang, X.

    2017-12-01

    Forests play an irreplaceable role in the Earth's terrestrial carbon budget which retard the atmospheric CO2 buildup. Understanding the factors controlling forest carbon budget is critical for reducing uncertainties in projections of future climate. The relative importance of climate, atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, and stand age changes on carbon budget, however, remains unclear for China's forests. In this study, we quantify individual contribution of these drivers to the trends of forest carbon budget in China from 1901 to 2012 by integrating national datasets, the updated Integrated Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Cycle (InTEC) model and factorial simulations. Results showed that the average carbon sink in China's forests from 1982 to 2012 was 186.9 Tg C yr-1 with 68% (127.6 Tg C yr-1) of the sink in living biomass because of the integrated effects of climate, atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, and stand age factors. Compared with the simulation of all factors combined, the estimated carbon sink during 1901-2012 would be reduced by 41.8 Tg C yr-1 if climate change, atmospheric CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition factors were omitted, and reduced by 25.0 Tg C yr-1 if stand age factor was omitted. In most decades, these factors increased forest carbon sinks with the largest of 101.3, 62.9, and 44.0 Tg C yr-1 from 2000 to 2012 contributed by stand age, CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition, respectively. During 1901-2012, climate change, CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition and stand age contributed -13.3, 21.4, 15.4 and 25.0 Tg C yr-1 to the averaged carbon sink of China's forests, respectively. Our study also showed diverse regional patterns of forest carbon budget related to the importance of driving factors. Stand age effect was the largest in most regions, but the effects of CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition were dominant in southern China.

  4. The carbon balance and greenhouse effects of the Finnish forest sector at present, in the past and future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pingoud, K [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

    1997-12-31

    In this study the greenhouse impact of the total Finnish forest sector was considered, which means that the estimated emissions and sink effects from exported forest products were also included. The forest biomass is and seems to be in the next decades the most important factor in the carbon balance of the total forest sector. The development alternatives of forest industries and waste management practices has still a remarkable influence on the greenhouse impact of the Finnish forest sector. The waste management practices in the future has an important influence on the emissions but the exact net greenhouse impact of the landfills is still uncertain. However, the methane emissions from existing landfills can be reduced essentially by gas recovery. Increased incineration and energy recovery of wood waste (and replacing fossil fuel use by it) is also a future alternative for reducing the greenhouse effects in the forest sector. The sequestration of carbon by increasing the storages of long-lived wood products in use meets difficulties in practice because of all the material losses in wood using chain and the natural removal of old wood products. An important advantage of mechanical wood processing and the succeeding refinement chain is still their relative low use of energy

  5. The carbon balance and greenhouse effects of the Finnish forest sector at present, in the past and future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pingoud, K. [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

    1996-12-31

    In this study the greenhouse impact of the total Finnish forest sector was considered, which means that the estimated emissions and sink effects from exported forest products were also included. The forest biomass is and seems to be in the next decades the most important factor in the carbon balance of the total forest sector. The development alternatives of forest industries and waste management practices has still a remarkable influence on the greenhouse impact of the Finnish forest sector. The waste management practices in the future has an important influence on the emissions but the exact net greenhouse impact of the landfills is still uncertain. However, the methane emissions from existing landfills can be reduced essentially by gas recovery. Increased incineration and energy recovery of wood waste (and replacing fossil fuel use by it) is also a future alternative for reducing the greenhouse effects in the forest sector. The sequestration of carbon by increasing the storages of long-lived wood products in use meets difficulties in practice because of all the material losses in wood using chain and the natural removal of old wood products. An important advantage of mechanical wood processing and the succeeding refinement chain is still their relative low use of energy

  6. Cryptic Methane Emissions from Upland Forest Ecosystems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Megonigal, Patrick [Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (United States); Pitz, Scott [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States); Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (United States)

    2016-04-19

    This exploratory research on Cryptic Methane Emissions from Upland Forest Ecosystems was motivated by evidence that upland ecosystems emit 36% as much methane to the atmosphere as global wetlands, yet we knew almost nothing about this source. The long-term objective was to refine Earth system models by quantifying methane emissions from upland forests, and elucidate the biogeochemical processes that govern upland methane emissions. The immediate objectives of the grant were to: (i) test the emerging paradigm that upland trees unexpectedly transpire methane, (ii) test the basic biogeochemical assumptions of an existing global model of upland methane emissions, and (iii) develop the suite of biogeochemical approaches that will be needed to advance research on upland methane emissions. We instrumented a temperate forest system in order to explore the processes that govern upland methane emissions. We demonstrated that methane is emitted from the stems of dominant tree species in temperate upland forests. Tree emissions occurred throughout the growing season, while soils adjacent to the trees consumed methane simultaneously, challenging the concept that forests are uniform sinks of methane. High frequency measurements revealed diurnal cycling in the rate of methane emissions, pointing to soils as the methane source and transpiration as the most likely pathway for methane transport. We propose the forests are smaller methane sinks than previously estimated due to stem emissions. Stem emissions may be particularly important in upland tropical forests characterized by high rainfall and transpiration, resolving differences between models and measurements. The methods we used can be effectively implemented in order to determine if the phenomenon is widespread.

  7. Reconstructing European forest management from 1600 to 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGrath, M. J.; Luyssaert, S.; Meyfroidt, P.; Kaplan, J. O.; Buergi, M.; Chen, Y.; Erb, K.; Gimmi, U.; McInerney, D.; Naudts, K.; Otto, J.; Pasztor, F.; Ryder, J.; Schelhaas, M.-J.; Valade, A.

    2015-04-01

    European forest use for fuel, timber and food dates back to pre-Roman times. Century-scale ecological processes and their legacy effects require accounting for forest management when studying today's forest carbon sink. Forest management reconstructions that are used to drive land surface models are one way to quantify the impact of both historical and today's large scale application of forest management on today's forest-related carbon sink and surface climate. In this study we reconstruct European forest management from 1600 to 2010 making use of diverse approaches, data sources and assumptions. Between 1600 and 1828, a demand-supply approach was used in which wood supply was reconstructed based on estimates of historical annual wood increment and land cover reconstructions. For the same period demand estimates accounted for the fuelwood needed in households, wood used in food processing, charcoal used in metal smelting and salt production, timber for construction and population estimates. Comparing estimated demand and supply resulted in a spatially explicit reconstruction of the share of forests under coppice, high stand management and forest left unmanaged. For the reconstruction between 1829 and 2010 a supply-driven back-casting method was used. The method used age reconstructions from the years 1950 to 2010 as its starting point. Our reconstruction reproduces the most important changes in forest management between 1600 and 2010: (1) an increase of 593 000 km2 in conifers at the expense of deciduous forest (decreasing by 538 000 km2), (2) a 612 000 km2 decrease in unmanaged forest, (3) a 152 000 km2 decrease in coppice management, (4) a 818 000 km2 increase in high stand management, and (5) the rise and fall of litter raking which at its peak in 1853 removed 50 Tg dry litter per year.

  8. Regulation of assimilate import into sink organs: Update on molecular drivers of sink strength

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saadia eBihmidine

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Recent developments have altered our view of molecular mechanisms that determine sink strength, defined here as the capacity of non-photosynthetic structures to compete for import of photoassimilates. We review new findings from diverse systems, including stems, seeds, flowers, and fruits. An important advance has been the identification of new transporters and facilitators with major roles in the accumulation and equilibration of sugars at a cellular level. Exactly where each exerts its effect varies among systems. Sugarcane and sweet sorghum stems, for example, both accumulate high levels of sucrose, but may do so via different paths. The distinction is central to strategies for targeted manipulation of sink strength using transporter genes, and shows the importance of system-specific analyses. Another major advance has been the identification of deep hypoxia as a feature of normal grain development. This means that molecular drivers of sink strength in endosperm operate in very low oxygen levels, and under metabolic conditions quite different than previously assumed. Successful enhancement of sink strength has nonetheless been achieved in grains by up-regulating genes for starch biosynthesis. Additionally, our understanding of sink strength is enhanced by awareness of the dual roles played by invertases (INV, not only in sucrose metabolism, but also in production of the hexose sugar signals that regulate cell-cycle and cell-division programs. These contributions of INV to cell expansion and division prove to be vital for establishment of young sinks ranging from flowers to fruit. Since INV genes are themselves sugar-responsive feast genes, they can mediate a feed-forward enhancement of sink strength when assimilates are abundant. Greater overall productivity and yield have thus been attained in key instances, indicating that even broader enhancements may be achievable as we discover the detailed molecular mechanisms that drive sink strength

  9. Soil fertility limits carbon sequestration by forest ecosystems in a CO2-enriched atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ram Oren; David S. Ellsworth; Kurt H. Johnsen; Nathan Phillips; Brent E. Ewers; Chris Maier; Karina V.R. Schafer; Heather McCarthy; George Hendrey; Steven G. McNulty; Gabriel G. Katul

    2001-01-01

    Northern mid-latitude forests are a large terrestrial carbon sink. Ignoring nutrient limitations, large increases in carbon sequestration from carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization are expected in these forests. Yet, forests are usually relegated to sites of moderate to poor fertility, where tree growth is often limited by nutrient supply, in...

  10. Investigation of internally finned LED heat sinks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bin; Xiong, Lun; Lai, Chuan; Tang, Yumei

    2018-03-01

    A novel heat sink is proposed, which is composed of a perforated cylinder and internally arranged fins. Numerical studies are performed on the natural convection heat transfer from internally finned heat sinks; experimental studies are carried out to validate the numerical results. To compare the thermal performances of internally finned heat sinks and externally finned heat sinks, the effects of the overall diameter, overall height, and installation direction on maximum temperature, air flow and heat transfer coefficient are investigated. The results demonstrate that internally finned heat sinks show better thermal performance than externally finned heat sinks; the maximum temperature of internally finned heat sinks decreases by up to 20% compared with the externally finned heat sinks. The existence of a perforated cylinder and the installation direction of the heat sink affect the thermal performance significantly; it is shown that the heat transfer coefficient of the heat sink with the perforated cylinder is improved greater than that with the imperforated cylinder by up to 34%, while reducing the mass of the heat sink by up to 13%. Project supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Sichuan Provincial Education Department (No. 18ZB0516) and the Sichuan University of Arts and Science (No. 2016KZ009Y).

  11. Mercury dynamics and mass balance in a subtropical forest, southwestern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ma

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The mid-subtropical forest area in southwest China was affected by anthropogenic mercury (Hg emissions over the past 3 decades. We quantified mercury dynamics on the forest field and measured fluxes and pools of Hg in litterfall, throughfall, stream water and forest soil in an evergreen broadleaved forest field in southwestern China. Total Hg (THg input by the throughfall and litterfall was assessed at 32.2 and 42.9 µg m−2 yr−1, respectively, which was remarkably higher than those observed from other forest fields in the background of North America and Europe. Hg fluxes across the soil–air interface (18.6 mg m−2 yr−1 and runoff and/or stream flow (7.2 µg m−2 yr−1 were regarded as the dominant ways for THg export from the forest field. The forest field hosts an enormous amount of atmospheric Hg, and its reserves is estimated to be 25 341 µg m2. The ratio of output to input Hg fluxes (0.34 is higher compared with other study sites. The higher output / input ratio may represent an important ecological risk for the downstream aquatic ecosystems, even if the forest field could be an effective sink of Hg.

  12. Consequences of alternative tree-level biomass estimation procedures on U.S. forest carbon stock estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant M. Domke; Christopher W. Woodall; James E. Smith; James A. Westfall; Ronald E. McRoberts

    2012-01-01

    Forest ecosystems are the largest terrestrial carbon sink on earth and their management has been recognized as a relatively cost-effective strategy for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. Forest carbon stocks in the U.S. are estimated using data from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. In an attempt to balance accuracy with...

  13. Quantifying the source-sink balance and carbohydrate content in three tomato cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao eLi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The effect of supplementary lighting on plant growth depends on the balance between assimilate production in source leaves and the overall capacity of the plants to use assimilates. This study aims at quantifying the source-sink balance and carbohydrate content of three tomato cultivars differing in fruit size, and to investigate to what extent the source/sink ratio correlates with the potential fruit size. Cultivars Komeett (large size, Capricia (medium size and Sunstream (small size, cherry tomato were grown at similar crop management as in commercial practice. Supplementary lighting was applied. Source strength was estimated from total plant growth rate using periodic destructive plant harvests in combination with the crop growth model TOMSIM. Sink strength was estimated from potential fruit growth rate which was determined from non-destructively measuring the fruit growth rate at non-limiting assimilate supply, growing only one fruit on each truss. Carbohydrate content in leaves and stems were periodically determined. During the early growth stage, ‘Komeett’ and ‘Capricia’ showed sink limitation and ‘Sunstream’ was close to sink limitation. Subsequently, during the fully fruiting stage all three cultivars were strongly source-limited as indicated by the low source/sink ratio (average source/sink ratio from 50 days after planting onwards was 0.17, 0.22 and 0.33 for ‘Komeett’, ‘Capricia’ and ‘Sunstream’, respectively. Carbohydrate content in leaves and stems increased linearly with the source/sink ratio. We conclude that under high irradiance tomato plants are sink-limited during their early growth stage, the level of sink limitation differs between cultivars but is not correlated with their potential fruit size. During the fully fruiting stage tomato plants are source-limited and the extent of source limitation of a cultivar is positively correlated with its potential fruit size.

  14. Successional dynamics drive tropical forest nutrient limitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, C.; Hedin, L. O. O.

    2017-12-01

    It is increasingly recognized that nutrients such as N and P may significantly constrain the land carbon sink. However, we currently lack a complete understanding of these nutrient cycles in forest ecosystems and how to incorporate them into Earth System Models. We have developed a framework of dynamic forest nutrient limitation, focusing on the role of secondary forest succession and canopy gap disturbances as bottlenecks of high plant nutrient demand and limitation. We used succession biomass data to parameterize a simple ecosystem model and examined the dynamics of nutrient limitation throughout tropical secondary forest succession. Due to the patterns of biomass recovery in secondary tropical forests, we found high nutrient demand from rapid biomass accumulation in the earliest years of succession. Depending on previous land use scenarios, soil nutrient availability may also be low in this time period. Coupled together, this is evidence that there may be high biomass nutrient limitation early in succession, which is partially met by abundant symbiotic nitrogen fixation from certain tree species. We predict a switch from nitrogen limitation in early succession to one of three conditions: (i) phosphorus only, (ii) phosphorus plus nitrogen, or (iii) phosphorus, nitrogen, plus light co-limitation. We will discuss the mechanisms that govern the exact trajectory of limitation as forests build biomass. In addition, we used our model to explore scenarios of tropical secondary forest impermanence and the impacts of these dynamics on ecosystem nutrient limitation. We found that secondary forest impermanence exacerbates nutrient limitation and the need for nitrogen fixation early in succession. Together, these results indicate that biomass recovery dynamics early in succession as well as their connection to nutrient demand and limitation are fundamental for understanding and modeling nutrient limitation of the tropical forest carbon sink.

  15. Terrestrial carbon losses from mountaintop coal mining offset regional forest carbon sequestration in the 21st century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elliott Campbell, J; Fox, James F; Acton, Peter M

    2012-01-01

    Studies that quantify the spatial and temporal variability of carbon sources and sinks provide process-level information for the prediction of future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide as well as verification of current emission agreements. Assessments of carbon sources and sinks for North America that compare top-down atmospheric constraints with bottom-up inventories find particularly large carbon sinks in the southeastern US. However, this southeastern US sink may be impacted by extreme land-use disturbance events due to mountaintop coal mining (MCM). Here we apply ecosystem modeling and field experiment data to quantify the potential impact of future mountaintop coal mining on the carbon budget of the southern Appalachian forest region. For projections based on historical mining rates, grassland reclamation, and the continued regrowth of un-mined forests, we find that the southern Appalachian forests switch from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source by year 2025–33 with a 30%–35% loss in terrestrial carbon stocks relative to a scenario with no future mining by the year 2100. Alternatively, scenarios of forest sequestration due to the effect of CO 2 fertilization result in a 15%–24% loss in terrestrial carbon stocks by the year 2100 for mining scenarios relative to scenarios with no future mining. These results suggest that while power plant stack emissions are the dominant life-cycle stage in coal-fired electricity, accounting for mountaintop coal mining in bottom-up inventories may be a critical component of regional carbon budgets. (letter)

  16. Quantifying the Carbon Balance of Forest Restoration and Wildfire under Projected Climate in the Fire-Prone Southwestern US.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurteau, Matthew D

    2017-01-01

    Climate projections for the southwestern US suggest a warmer, drier future and have the potential to impact forest carbon (C) sequestration and post-fire C recovery. Restoring forest structure and surface fire regimes initially decreases total ecosystem carbon (TEC), but can stabilize the remaining C by moderating wildfire behavior. Previous research has demonstrated that fire maintained forests can store more C over time than fire suppressed forests in the presence of wildfire. However, because the climate future is uncertain, I sought to determine the efficacy of forest management to moderate fire behavior and its effect on forest C dynamics under current and projected climate. I used the LANDIS-II model to simulate carbon dynamics under early (2010-2019), mid (2050-2059), and late (2090-2099) century climate projections for a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) dominated landscape in northern Arizona. I ran 100-year simulations with two different treatments (control, thin and burn) and a 1 in 50 chance of wildfire occurring. I found that control TEC had a consistent decline throughout the simulation period, regardless of climate. Thin and burn TEC increased following treatment implementation and showed more differentiation than the control in response to climate, with late-century climate having the lowest TEC. Treatment efficacy, as measured by mean fire severity, was not impacted by climate. Fire effects were evident in the cumulative net ecosystem exchange (NEE) for the different treatments. Over the simulation period, 32.8-48.9% of the control landscape was either C neutral or a C source to the atmosphere and greater than 90% of the thin and burn landscape was a moderate C sink. These results suggest that in southwestern ponderosa pine, restoring forest structure and surface fire regimes provides a reasonable hedge against the uncertainty of future climate change for maintaining the forest C sink.

  17. Quantifying the Carbon Balance of Forest Restoration and Wildfire under Projected Climate in the Fire-Prone Southwestern US.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew D Hurteau

    Full Text Available Climate projections for the southwestern US suggest a warmer, drier future and have the potential to impact forest carbon (C sequestration and post-fire C recovery. Restoring forest structure and surface fire regimes initially decreases total ecosystem carbon (TEC, but can stabilize the remaining C by moderating wildfire behavior. Previous research has demonstrated that fire maintained forests can store more C over time than fire suppressed forests in the presence of wildfire. However, because the climate future is uncertain, I sought to determine the efficacy of forest management to moderate fire behavior and its effect on forest C dynamics under current and projected climate. I used the LANDIS-II model to simulate carbon dynamics under early (2010-2019, mid (2050-2059, and late (2090-2099 century climate projections for a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa dominated landscape in northern Arizona. I ran 100-year simulations with two different treatments (control, thin and burn and a 1 in 50 chance of wildfire occurring. I found that control TEC had a consistent decline throughout the simulation period, regardless of climate. Thin and burn TEC increased following treatment implementation and showed more differentiation than the control in response to climate, with late-century climate having the lowest TEC. Treatment efficacy, as measured by mean fire severity, was not impacted by climate. Fire effects were evident in the cumulative net ecosystem exchange (NEE for the different treatments. Over the simulation period, 32.8-48.9% of the control landscape was either C neutral or a C source to the atmosphere and greater than 90% of the thin and burn landscape was a moderate C sink. These results suggest that in southwestern ponderosa pine, restoring forest structure and surface fire regimes provides a reasonable hedge against the uncertainty of future climate change for maintaining the forest C sink.

  18. Future restrictions for sinks in the CDM. How about a cap on supply?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forner, C.; Jotzo, F.

    2002-01-01

    The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is expected to result in only a small role for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), including afforestation and reforestation projects. Wide ranging concerns regarding sinks in the CDM have been reflected in the Marrakech Accords capping the total amount of emission offsets from sinks projects to be used by Annex I countries. Decisions about the second commitment period and beyond are likely to be of far greater importance for these projects. This paper contributes to the discussion on how caps on sinks under the CDM could be used to obtain overall improved outcomes for developing countries. We examine two distinctive ways in which quantitative caps on sinks in the CDM can be implemented: one, restricting the use of sinks CERs to meet targets, as under the Marrakech Accords (a cap on demand); and two, restricting supply of sink CERs using a quota system. We argue in favour of a supply side cap, if Parties are to preserve the idea of limiting sinks in the CDM. Limiting the supply of credits could lead to better financial outcomes for developing countries as a whole, make higher-cost projects viable which may have better sustainability impacts, and provide an alternative to deal with equity concerns between developing countries

  19. Chapter 6: quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed forest systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coeli Hoover; Richard Birdsey; Bruce Goines; Peter Lahm; Yongming Fan; David Nowak; Stephen Prisley; Elizabeth Reinhardt; Ken Skog; David Skole; James Smith; Carl Trettin; Christopher. Woodall

    2014-01-01

    This chapter provides guidance for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with entity-level fluxes from the forestry sector. In particular, it focuses on methods for estimating carbon stocks and stock change from managed forest systems. Section 6.1 provides an overview of the sector. Section 6.2 describes the methods for forest carbon stock accounting....

  20. Carbon dynamics after forest harvest in Central Siberia: the ZOTTO footprint area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panov, Alexey; Zrazhevskaya, Galina; Shibistova, Olga; Onuchin, Alexander; Heimann, Martin

    2013-04-01

    Temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere have been recognized as important carbon sinks. Accurate calculation of forest carbon budget and estimation of the temporal variations of forest net carbon fluxes are important topics to elucidate the ''missing sink'' question and follow up the changing carbon dynamics in forests. In the frame of the ongoing Russian-German partner project the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO; www.zottoproject.org) a unique international research platform for large-scale climatic observations is operational about 20 km west of the Yenisei river (60.8°N; 89.35°E). The data of the ongoing greenhouse gas and aerosol measurements at the tall tower are used in atmospheric inversions studies to infer the distribution of carbon sinks and sources over the whole Northern Eurasia. The tall tower footprint area estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes are highly demanded for bottom-up validation of inversion estimates. The ZOTTO site lies in a vast region of forests and wetlands, still relatively undisturbed by anthropogenic influences, but a moderate human impact on vegetation, represented mainly by logging activities, becomes essential. Therefore, accurate estimates of carbon pools in vegetation and soil following harvesting are essential to inversion studies for ZOTTO and critical to predictions of both local ecosystem sustainability and global C exchange with the atmosphere. We present our investigation of carbon dynamics after forest harvest in the tall tower footprint area (~1000 km2). The changes in C pools and annual sequestration were quantified among several clear-cut lichen pine (Pinus sylvestris Lamb.) stands representing various stages of secondary succession with a "space-for-time substitution" technique. When viewed as a chronosequence, these stands represent snapshots showing how the effects of logging may propagate through time. The study concluded that ecosystems during the first 15 yrs after forest harvest become C

  1. Drivers of methane uptake by montane forest soils in the Peruvian Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sam; Diem, Torsten; Huaraca Quispe, Lidia; Cahuana, Adan; Meir, Patrick; Teh, Yit

    2016-04-01

    The exchange of methane between the soils of humid tropical forests and the atmosphere is relatively poorly documented. This is particularly true of montane settings where variations between uptake and emission of atmospheric methane have been observed. Whilst most of these ecosystems appear to function as net sinks for atmospheric methane, some act as considerable sources. In regions like the Andes, humid montane forests are extensive and a better understanding of the magnitude and controls on soil-atmosphere methane exchange is required. We report methane fluxes from upper montane cloud forest (2811 - 2962 m asl), lower montane cloud forest (1532 - 1786 m asl), and premontane forest (1070 - 1088 m asl) soils in south-eastern Peru. Between 1000 and 3000 m asl, mean annual air temperature and total annual precipitation decrease from 24 ° C and 5000 mm to 12 ° C and 1700 mm. The study region experiences a pronounced wet season between October and April. Monthly measurements of soil-atmosphere gas exchange, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil oxygen concentration, available ammonium and available nitrate were made from February 2011 in the upper and lower montane cloud forests and July 2011 in the premontane forest to June 2013. These soils acted as sinks for atmospheric methane with mean net fluxes for wet and dry season, respectively, of -2.1 (0.2) and -1.5 (0.1) mg CH4 m-2 d-1 in the upper montane forest; -1.5 (0.2) and -1.4 (0.1) mg CH4 m-2 d-1in the lower montane forest; and -0.3 (0.2) and -0.2 (0.2) mg CH4 m-2 d-1 in the premontane forest. Spatial variations among forest types were related to available nitrate and water-filled pore space suggesting that nitrate inhibition of oxidation or constraints on the diffusional supply of methane to methanotrophic communities may be important controls on methane cycling in these soils. Seasonality in methane exchange, with weaker uptake related to increased water-filled pore space and soil temperature during the wet

  2. The role of plantation sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Read, Peter

    2001-01-01

    In this paper it is argued that in the long term biofuel should play a significant role in global climate policy. Recent technological developments, as well as sustainable development criteria, would favour growing biofuel in community- scale plantations in developing countries. It is also pointed out that the lead times involved in growing biofuels are so great that the inclusion of biofuel plantation sinks in the CDM for the first commitment period would be desirable. It is suggested that to meet opposition to the inclusion of plantation sinks in the first commitment period plantation, sinks should be linked to biofuels technology development and production, and a biofuels obligation for plantation sink projects in the CDM should be established. (Author)

  3. Key role of symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in tropical forest secondary succession

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Batterman, S.A.; Hedin, L.O.; Breugel, van M.; Ransijn, J.; Craven, D.J.; Hall, J.S.

    2013-01-01

    Forests contribute a significant portion of the land carbon sink, but their ability to sequester CO2 may be constrained by nitrogen1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, a major plant-limiting nutrient. Many tropical forests possess tree species capable of fixing atmospheric dinitrogen (N2)7, but it is unclear whether

  4. Carbon and nitrogen pools in oak-hickory forests of varying productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donald J. Kaczmarek; Karyn S. Rodkey; Robert T. Reber; Phillip E. Pope; Felix, Jr. Ponder

    1995-01-01

    Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage capacities are critical issues facing forest ecosystem management in the face of potential global climate change. The amount of C sequestered by forest ecosystems can be a significant sink for increasing atmospheric CO2 levels. N availability can interact with other environmental factors such as water...

  5. Key role of symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in tropical forest secondary succession

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Batterman, Sarah A.; Hedin, Lars O.; Van Breugel, Michiel

    2013-01-01

    Forests contribute a significant portion of the land carbon sink, but their ability to sequester CO 2 may be constrained by nitrogen, a major plant-limiting nutrient. Many tropical forests possess tree species capable of fixing atmospheric dinitrogen (N 2), but it is unclear whether this function...... tree species across the entire forest age sequence. These findings show that symbiotic N 2 fixation can have a central role in nitrogen cycling during tropical forest stand development, with potentially important implications for the ability of tropical forests to sequester CO 2....

  6. Decadal change of forest biomass carbon stocks and tree demography in the Delaware River Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bing Xu; Yude Pan; Alain F. Plante; Arthur Johnson; Jason Cole; Richard Birdsey

    2016-01-01

    Quantifying forest biomass carbon (C) stock change is important for understanding forest dynamics and their feedbacks with climate change. Forests in the northeastern U.S. have been a net carbon sink in recent decades, but C accumulation in some northern hardwood forests has been halted due to the impact of emerging stresses such as invasive pests, land use change and...

  7. Elevated atmospheric deposition and dynamics of mercury in a remote upland forest of southwestern China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu Xuewu; Feng Xinbin; Zhu Wanze; Rothenberg, S.; Yao Heng; Zhang Hui

    2010-01-01

    Mt. Gongga area in southwest China was impacted by Hg emissions from industrial activities and coal combustion, and annual means of atmospheric TGM and PHg concentrations at a regional background station were 3.98 ng m -3 and 30.7 pg m -3 , respectively. This work presents a mass balance study of Hg in an upland forest in this area. Atmospheric deposition was highly elevated in the study area, with the annual mean THg deposition flux of 92.5 μg m -2 yr -1 . Total deposition was dominated by dry deposition (71.8%), and wet deposition accounted for the remaining 28.2%. Forest was a large pool of atmospheric Hg, and nearly 76% of the atmospheric input was stored in forest soil. Volatilization and stream outflow were identified as the two major pathways for THg losses from the forest, which yielded mean output fluxes of 14.0 and 8.6 μg m -2 yr -1 , respectively. - Upland forest ecosystem is a great sink of atmospheric mercury in southwest China.

  8. Thermal management of electronics using phase change material based pin fin heat sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baby, R; Balaji, C

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports the results of an experimental study carried out to explore the thermal characteristics of phase change material based heat sinks for electronic equipment cooling. The phase change material (PCM) used in this study is n – eicosane. All heat sinks used in the present study are made of aluminium with dimensions of 80 × 62 mm 2 base with a height of 25 mm. Pin fins acts as the thermal conductivity enhancer (TCE) to improve the distribution of heat more uniformly as the thermal conductivity of the PCM is very low. A total of three different pin fin heat sink geometries with 33, 72 and 120 pin fins filled with phase change materials giving rise to 4%, 9% and 15% volume fractions of the TCE respectively were experimentally investigated. Baseline comparisons are done with a heat sink filled with PCM, without any fin. Studies are conducted for heat sinks on which a uniform heat load is applied at the bottom for the finned and unfinned cases. The effect of pin fins of different volume fractions with power levels ranging from 4 to 8 W corresponding to a heat flux range of 1. 59 to 3.17 kW/m 2 , was explored in this paper. The volume fraction of the PCM (PCM volume / (Total volume – fin volume)) is also varied as 0. 3, 0.6 and 1 to determine the effect of PCM volume on the overall performance of the electronic equipment.

  9. Complex forest dynamics indicate potential for slowing carbon accumulation in the southeastern United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coulston, John W; Wear, David N; Vose, James M

    2015-01-23

    Over the past century forest regrowth in Europe and North America expanded forest carbon (C) sinks and offset C emissions but future C accumulation is uncertain. Policy makers need insights into forest C dynamics as they anticipate emissions futures and goals. We used land use and forest inventory data to estimate how forest C dynamics have changed in the southeastern United States and attribute changes to land use, management, and disturbance causes. From 2007-2012, forests yielded a net sink of C because of net land use change (+6.48 Tg C yr(-1)) and net biomass accumulation (+75.4 Tg C yr(-1)). Forests disturbed by weather, insect/disease, and fire show dampened yet positive forest C changes (+1.56, +1.4, +5.48 Tg C yr(-1), respectively). Forest cutting caused net decreases in C (-76.7 Tg C yr(-1)) but was offset by forest growth (+143.77 Tg C yr(-1)). Forest growth rates depend on age or stage of development and projected C stock changes indicate a gradual slowing of carbon accumulation with anticipated forest aging (a reduction of 9.5% over the next five years). Additionally, small shifts in land use transitions consistent with economic futures resulted in a 40.6% decrease in C accumulation.

  10. Effects of forest management on productivity and carbon sequestration: A review and hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    A. Noormets; D. Epron; J.C. Domec; S.G. McNulty; T. Fox; G. Sun; J.S. King

    2015-01-01

    With an increasing fraction of the world’s forests being intensively managed for meeting humanity’s need for wood, fiber and ecosystem services, quantitative understanding of the functional changes in these ecosystems in comparison with natural forests is needed. In particular, the role of managed forests as long-term carbon (C) sinks and for mitigating climate change...

  11. Exploring the 'permanent forest' paradigm: might renewable commercial forest estates lead to greater net greenhouse abatement over the longer term?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Graeme

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Understanding permanence: A common perception exists which suggests that long term or 'permanent' tree plantings are considered a superior form of (post 1990) carbon sink, and commercial plantations (which allow for harvesting and replanting) are less useful for abatement. However, common to all forms of forest carbon sink is the issue of permanence. None of these are truly permanent stores of carbon because at any point either a fire, disease, harvest or major event can mean part of the carbon store is released. Why then the perceived bias against sink projects which allow for commercial harvesting and replanting? Let's not forget - things are getting hotter: Australian projections for climate change provide plenty of challenges for current and future forest managers. Over the next century many key forest species may have to endure conditions outside their'current growing range. This poses risks for the emergent offsets industry which needs to be actively managed. Simply planting local indigenous species alone may no longer be the only best practice. Think 'true fate of carbon': It is important that our thinking is not constrained by current rules, as these will continually be refined as our knowledge about carbon systems improves over the next century (between now and 2100 there will be 22 post-Kyoto negotiation periods). Our key focus should be in considering the 'true fate' of carbon, and the real contribution to greenhouse abatement. Policy makers need to keep this in mind, and ensure that the entire carbon life cycle is considered in their decision making. 'Standing forest' versus 'Net abatement effect': There are two effective means for forests to achieve genuine greenhouse abatement. One is the carbon sequestered and stored in the 'standing forest', the other is the greenhouse benefit (carbon flow or net abatement effect) of an ongoing and renewable supply of tree based products from the site (wood, fibre, biomass, biofuel), which replace

  12. Trailblazing the Carbon Cycle of Tropical Forests from Puerto Rico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandra Brown; Ariel Lugo

    2017-01-01

    We review the literature that led to clarifying the role of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle from a time when they were considered sources of atmospheric carbon to the time when they were found to be atmospheric carbon sinks. This literature originates from work conducted by US Forest Service scientists in Puerto Rico and their collaborators. It involves the...

  13. Monitoring, modelling and managing Canada's forest carbon cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurz, W.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents information concerning the management of carbon stocks both globally and in Canada, with reference to the fact that forests may contribute to carbon emissions problems. Global fossil carbon emissions statistics were provided, as well as data of forest area per capita in Canada and various countries. Details of forest management options and carbon accounting with reference to the Kyoto Protocol were reviewed. An explanation of forest management credits in national accounts was provided. An explanation of carbon sinks and carbon sources was also presented, along with details of stand level carbon dynamics. A model for calculating landscape level carbon stocks was presented, with reference to increasing and decreasing disturbances. A hypothetical landscape example was provided. It was concluded that age-class structure affect the amount of carbon stored in landscape; age-class structure also affect carbon dynamics; and responses reflect the change in disturbance regimes. An overview of international reporting requirements was presented. Canadian harvests equal 54,000 tonnes of carbon per year. It was recommended that managed forests could increase carbon in forests while also managing carbon harvests to meet society's needs. A chart presenting forest management details was presented, along with a hypothetical landscape example and a forecast for cumulative changes after 50 years, The benefits and challenges of forest management were reviewed as well as options regarding salvaging and deforestation avoidance. A carbon budget model was presented. It was concluded that forests in Canada could be used in a greenhouse gas management strategy. However, changes in disturbance may mean the difference between net source or net sink. Details of biomass were presented and multi-mode combustion facilities. The feasibility of biomass as a fuel source was discussed, with reference to hydrogen fuel. Gas composition profiles were provided, as well as details of

  14. A synthesis of the impact of Russian forests on the global carbon budget for 1961-1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shvidenko, Anatoly; Nilsson, Sten

    2003-01-01

    An attempt is made to synthesize the current understanding of the impact of Russian forests on the global carbon (C) budget for the period 1961-1998 (37 years), based on a detailed inventory of pools and fluxes in 1988-1992, and a historical reconstruction of a full forest carbon budget for 1961-1998. All major intermediate indicators of the budget (phytomass, net primary production, impact of disturbances, soil respiration, etc.) were independently estimated and compared with earlier reported results. During the entire period, the C pools of Russian forest land (FL, 882.0 106 ha in 1998) increased by 433 Tg C/yr, of which 153 Tg C/yr are accumulated in live biomass, 57 Tg C/yr in above- and below-ground dead wood, and 223 Tg C/yr are sequestered in soil. A significant part of this increase deals with land-cover changes. The annual average C uptake by the FL from the atmosphere, defined by a flux-based method, is estimated to be 322 Tg C/yr for 1961-1998. The lateral transport to the lithosphere and hydrosphere comprised 47 Tg C/yr (including charcoal), which is considered part of the 'missing C sink.' The uncertainties (excluding unrecognized biases) of averages for the entire period are estimated to be in the range of ±5-8% and ±24% for major fluxes out/into the atmosphere and for net ecosystem exchange, respectively (a priori confidential probability of 0.9). If the impact of land-cover change is excluded, the average annual sink in 1961-1998, estimated by both pool- and flux-based methods, was 268 ± 94 and 272 ± 68 Tg C/yr, respectively. The reported results are in line with recent estimates for Northern Eurasia made by inverse modeling at the continental scale, if land classes other than forests contribute to the total sink of terrestrial vegetation

  15. What's Up with Sinking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blintz, William

    2005-01-01

    In Hamlet, Shakespeare invites readers to ponder a famous philosophical question: To be or not to be? That is the question. In this issue, two trade books invite students to explore the question: To sink or not to sink? That is the experiment. Though both books are targeted for younger children, teachers can use these books with elementary…

  16. The Development of an Expert System for Decision Making in Forest Resources Managemant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Ilyana Mohd Zukki

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Tropical forests are a repository of biodiversity which provides habitats for more than 50% of the earth’s plant and animal species, an important sink for carbon stores which provides many goods and ecosystem services and a critical contributor to livelihoods, mainly of the indigenous groups which are totally dependent on forests. Yet, forests are under pressure. Tropical forests are among the earth’s most threatened ecosystems, particularly threatened by human activities and climate change. Consequently, tropical forests are loosing capacity to provide basic goods and services that are essentials to human livelihood. Hence, every decision involving forest utilization should consider various criteria that are important for sustainable forest management. However, making decision about forest resources management often involves balancing conflicting, inadequate and incompatible values of many users and usage of a resource. One of the most fundamental and difficult task is the effective integration of environmental, economic and social values to achieve and maintain ecologically sustainable development. Therefore, an integrated technology such as an Analytical Hierarchy Process and expert systems is essential to be performed in making decision process for forest resources management because an AHP method is capable to capture both tangible and intangible criteria. This study places emphasis on the development of expert system for forest resources management to assist decision makers to select the best forest resources use based on Malaysian Criteria and Indicators [(MC&I2002].

  17. Predicting Stem Total and Assortment Volumes in an Industrial Pinus taeda L. Forest Plantation Using Airborne Laser Scanning Data and Random Forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alberto Silva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Improvements in the management of pine plantations result in multiple industrial and environmental benefits. Remote sensing techniques can dramatically increase the efficiency of plantation management by reducing or replacing time-consuming field sampling. We tested the utility and accuracy of combining field and airborne lidar data with Random Forest, a supervised machine learning algorithm, to estimate stem total and assortment (commercial and pulpwood volumes in an industrial Pinus taeda L. forest plantation in southern Brazil. Random Forest was populated using field and lidar-derived forest metrics from 50 sample plots with trees ranging from three to nine years old. We found that a model defined as a function of only two metrics (height of the top of the canopy and the skewness of the vertical distribution of lidar points has a very strong and unbiased predictive power. We found that predictions of total, commercial, and pulp volume, respectively, showed an adjusted R2 equal to 0.98, 0.98 and 0.96, with unbiased predictions of −0.17%, −0.12% and −0.23%, and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE values of 7.83%, 7.71% and 8.63%. Our methodology makes use of commercially available airborne lidar and widely used mathematical tools to provide solutions for increasing the industry efficiency in monitoring and managing wood volume.

  18. Modeling the energy performance of event-driven wireless sensor network by using static sink and mobile sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiehui; Salim, Mariam B; Matsumoto, Mitsuji

    2010-01-01

    Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) designed for mission-critical applications suffer from limited sensing capacities, particularly fast energy depletion. Regarding this, mobile sinks can be used to balance the energy consumption in WSNs, but the frequent location updates of the mobile sinks can lead to data collisions and rapid energy consumption for some specific sensors. This paper explores an optimal barrier coverage based sensor deployment for event driven WSNs where a dual-sink model was designed to evaluate the energy performance of not only static sensors, but Static Sink (SS) and Mobile Sinks (MSs) simultaneously, based on parameters such as sensor transmission range r and the velocity of the mobile sink v, etc. Moreover, a MS mobility model was developed to enable SS and MSs to effectively collaborate, while achieving spatiotemporal energy performance efficiency by using the knowledge of the cumulative density function (cdf), Poisson process and M/G/1 queue. The simulation results verified that the improved energy performance of the whole network was demonstrated clearly and our eDSA algorithm is more efficient than the static-sink model, reducing energy consumption approximately in half. Moreover, we demonstrate that our results are robust to realistic sensing models and also validate the correctness of our results through extensive simulations.

  19. Modeling the Energy Performance of Event-Driven Wireless Sensor Network by Using Static Sink and Mobile Sink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiehui; Salim, Mariam B.; Matsumoto, Mitsuji

    2010-01-01

    Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) designed for mission-critical applications suffer from limited sensing capacities, particularly fast energy depletion. Regarding this, mobile sinks can be used to balance the energy consumption in WSNs, but the frequent location updates of the mobile sinks can lead to data collisions and rapid energy consumption for some specific sensors. This paper explores an optimal barrier coverage based sensor deployment for event driven WSNs where a dual-sink model was designed to evaluate the energy performance of not only static sensors, but Static Sink (SS) and Mobile Sinks (MSs) simultaneously, based on parameters such as sensor transmission range r and the velocity of the mobile sink v, etc. Moreover, a MS mobility model was developed to enable SS and MSs to effectively collaborate, while achieving spatiotemporal energy performance efficiency by using the knowledge of the cumulative density function (cdf), Poisson process and M/G/1 queue. The simulation results verified that the improved energy performance of the whole network was demonstrated clearly and our eDSA algorithm is more efficient than the static-sink model, reducing energy consumption approximately in half. Moreover, we demonstrate that our results are robust to realistic sensing models and also validate the correctness of our results through extensive simulations. PMID:22163503

  20. Simulation of Forest Cover Dynamics for Eastern Eurasian Boreal Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shugart, H. H.; Yan, X.; Zhang, N.; Isaev, A. S.; Shuman, J. K.

    2006-12-01

    We are developing and testing a boreal zone forest dynamics model capable of simulating the forest cover dynamics of the Eurasian boreal forest, a major biospheric ecosystem with potentially large roles in the planetary carbon cycle and in the feedback between terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. In appreciating the role of this region in the coupling between atmosphere and terrestrial surface, on must understand the interactions between CO2 source/sink relationships (associated with growing or clearing forests) and the albedo effects (from changes in terrestrial surface cover). There is some evidence that in the Eurasian Boreal zone, the Carbon budget effects from forest change may oppose the albedo changes. This creates complex feedbacks between surface and atmosphere and motivates the need for a forest dynamics model that simultaneous represents forest vegetation and carbon storage and release. A forest dynamics model applied to Eastern Eurasia, FAREAST, has been tested using three types of information: 1. Direct species composition comparisons between simulated and observed mature forests at the same locations; 2. Forest type comparisons between simulated and observed forests along altitudinal gradients of several different mountains; 3. Comparison with forest stands in different succession stages of simulated forests. Model comparisons with independent data indicate the FAREAST model is capable of representing many of the broad features of the forests of Northeastern China. After model validation in the Northeast China region, model applications were developed for the forests of the Russian Far East. Continental-scale forest cover can be simulated to a relatively realistic degree using a forest gap model with standard representations of individual-plant processes. It appears that such a model, validated relatively locally in this case, in Northeastern China, can then be applied over a much larger region and under conditions of climatic change.

  1. Tropical rainforest carbon sink declines during El Niño as a result of reduced photosynthesis and increased respiration rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavaleri, Molly A; Coble, Adam P; Ryan, Michael G; Bauerle, William L; Loescher, Henry W; Oberbauer, Steven F

    2017-10-01

    Changes in tropical forest carbon sink strength during El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events can indicate future behavior under climate change. Previous studies revealed ˜6 Mg C ha -1  yr -1 lower net ecosystem production (NEP) during ENSO year 1998 compared with non-ENSO year 2000 in a Costa Rican tropical rainforest. We explored environmental drivers of this change and examined the contributions of ecosystem respiration (RE) and gross primary production (GPP) to this weakened carbon sink. For 1998-2000, we estimated RE using chamber-based respiration measurements, and we estimated GPP in two ways: using (1) the canopy process model MAESTRA, and (2) combined eddy covariance and chamber respiration data. MAESTRA-estimated GPP did not statistically differ from GPP estimated using approach 2, but was ˜ 28% greater than published GPP estimates for the same site and years using eddy covariance data only. A 7% increase in RE (primarily increased soil respiration) and a 10% reduction in GPP contributed equally to the difference in NEP between ENSO year 1998 and non-ENSO year 2000. A warming and drying climate for tropical forests may yield a weakened carbon sink from both decreased GPP and increased RE. Understanding physiological acclimation will be critical for the large carbon stores in these ecosystems. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  2. A Cross-Layered Communication Protocol for Load Balancing in Large Scale Multi-sink Wireless Sensor Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erman-Tüysüz, A.; Mutter, T.; van Hoesel, L.F.W.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    2008-01-01

    One of the fundamental operations in sensor networks is convergecast which refers to the communication pattern in which data is collected from a set of sensor nodes and forwarded to a common end-point gateway, namely sink node, in the network. In case of multiple sinks within the network, the total

  3. A Cross-Layered Communication Protocol for Load Balancing in Large Scale Multi-sink Wireless Sensor Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erman-Tüysüz, A.; Mutter, T.; van Hoesel, L.F.W.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    One of the fundamental operations in sensor networks is convergecast which refers to the communication pattern in which data is collected from a set of sensor nodes and forwarded to a common end-point gateway, namely sink node, in the network. In case of multiple sinks within the network, the total

  4. Carbon exchanges and their responses to temperature and precipitation in forest ecosystems in Yunnan, Southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei, Xuehai; Song, Qinghai; Zhang, Yiping; Liu, Yuntong; Sha, Liqing; Yu, Guirui; Zhang, Leiming; Duan, Changqun; Deng, Yun; Wu, Chuansheng; Lu, Zhiyun; Luo, Kang; Chen, Aiguo; Xu, Kun; Liu, Weiwei; Huang, Hua; Jin, Yanqiang; Zhou, Ruiwu; Li, Jing; Lin, Youxing; Zhou, Liguo; Fu, Yane; Bai, Xiaolong; Tang, Xianhui; Gao, Jinbo; Zhou, Wenjun; Grace, John

    2018-03-01

    Forest ecosystems play an increasingly important role in the global carbon cycle. However, knowledge on carbon exchanges, their spatio-temporal patterns, and the extent of the key controls that affect carbon fluxes is lacking. In this study, we employed 29-site-years of eddy covariance data to observe the state, spatio-temporal variations and climate sensitivity of carbon fluxes (gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R eco ), and net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE)) in four representative forest ecosystems in Yunnan. We found that 1) all four forest ecosystems were carbon sinks (the average NEE was -3.40tCha -1 yr -1 ); 2) contrasting seasonality of the NEE among the ecosystems with a carbon sink mainly during the wet season in the Yuanjiang savanna ecosystem (YJ) but during the dry season in the Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest ecosystem (XSBN), besides an equivalent NEE uptake was observed during the wet/dry season in the Ailaoshan subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem (ALS) and Lijiang subalpine coniferous forest ecosystem (LJ); 3) as the GPP increased, the net ecosystem production (NEP) first increased and then decreased when the GPP>17.5tCha -1 yr -1 ; 4) the precipitation determines the carbon sinks in the savanna ecosystem (e.g., YJ), while temperature did so in the tropical forest ecosystem (e.g., XSBN); 5) overall, under the circumstances of warming and decreased precipitation, the carbon sink might decrease in the YJ but maybe increase in the ALS and LJ, while future strength of the sink in the XSBN is somewhat uncertain. However, based on the redundancy analysis, the temperature and precipitation combined together explained 39.7%, 32.2%, 25.3%, and 29.6% of the variations in the NEE in the YJ, XSBN, ALS and LJ, respectively, which indicates that considerable changes in the NEE could not be explained by variations in the temperature and precipitation. Therefore, the effects of other factors (e.g., CO 2 concentration, N

  5. Geography of Global Forest Carbon Stocks & Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saatchi, S. S.; Yu, Y.; Xu, L.; Yang, Y.; Fore, A.; Ganguly, S.; Nemani, R. R.; Zhang, G.; Lefsky, M. A.; Sun, G.; Woodall, C. W.; Naesset, E.; Seibt, U. H.

    2014-12-01

    Spatially explicit distribution of carbon stocks and dynamics in global forests can greatly reduce the uncertainty in the terrestrial portion of the global carbon cycle by improving estimates of emissions and uptakes from land use activities, and help with green house gas inventory at regional and national scales. Here, we produce the first global distribution of carbon stocks in living woody biomass at ~ 100 m (1-ha) resolution for circa 2005 from a combination of satellite observations and ground inventory data. The total carbon stored in live woody biomass is estimated to be 337 PgC with 258 PgC in aboveground and 79 PgC in roots, and partitioned globally in boreal (20%), tropical evergreen (50%), temperate (12%), and woodland savanna and shrublands (15%). We use a combination of satellite observations of tree height, remote sensing data on deforestation and degradation to quantify the dynamics of these forests at the biome level globally and provide geographical distribution of carbon storage dynamics in terms sinks and sources globally.

  6. [Review of lime carbon sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li Li; Ling, Jiang Hua; Tie, Li; Wang, Jiao Yue; Bing, Long Fei; Xi, Feng Ming

    2018-01-01

    Under the background of "missing carbon sink" mystery and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology development, this paper summarized the lime material flow process carbon sink from the lime carbonation principles, impact factors, and lime utilization categories in chemical industry, metallurgy industry, construction industry, and lime kiln ash treatment. The results showed that the lime carbonation rate coefficients were mainly impacted by materials and ambient conditions; the lime carbon sink was mainly in chemical, metallurgy, and construction industries; and current researches focused on the mechanisms and impact factors for carbonation, but their carbon sequestration calculation methods had not been proposed. Therefore, future research should focus on following aspects: to establish a complete system of lime carbon sequestration accounting method in view of material flow; to calculate lime carbon sequestration in both China and the world and explain their offset proportion of CO 2 emission from lime industrial process; to analyze the contribution of lime carbon sequestration to missing carbon sink for clarifying part of missing carbon sinks; to promote the development of carbon capture and storage technology and provide some scientific bases for China's international negotiations on climate change.

  7. Litterfall mercury deposition in Atlantic forest ecosystem from SE – Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teixeira, Daniel C.; Montezuma, Rita C.; Oliveira, Rogério R.; Silva-Filho, Emmanoel V.

    2012-01-01

    Litterfall is believed to be the major flux of Hg to soils in forested landscapes, yet much less is known about this input on tropical environment. The Hg litterfall flux was measured during one year in Atlantic Forest fragment, located within Rio de Janeiro urban perimeter, in the Southeastern region of Brazil. The results indicated a mean annual Hg concentration of 238 ± 52 ng g −1 and a total annual Hg deposition of 184 ± 8.2 μg m −2 y −1 . The negative correlation observed between rain precipitation and Hg concentrations is probably related to the higher photosynthetic activity observed during summer. The total Hg concentration in leaves from the most abundant species varied from 60 to 215 ng g −1 . Hg concentration showed a positive correlation with stomatal and trichomes densities. These characteristics support the hypothesis that Tropical Forest is an efficient mercury sink and litter plays a key role in Hg dynamics. - Highlights: ► The litter production from an Atlantic Forest was measured by one year. ► Concentration and flux of mercury was measured from these litter samples. ► The Hg concentrations from 5 trees were taken. ► Correlations between the data found and meteorological and anatomical plant parameters were confronted. ► The high Hg values found and their distribution points to a great sequester potential from this biome. - Hg high values in litter are a pattern found at Tropical Forest, it seems to be correlated with physio-anatomical plant characteristics from this biome.

  8. Soil carbon storage estimation in a forested watershed using quantitative soil-landscape modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    James A. Thompson; Randall K. Kolka

    2005-01-01

    Carbon storage in soils is important to forest ecosystems. Moreover, forest soils may serve as important C sinks for ameliorating excess atmospheric CO2. Spatial estimates of soil organic C (SOC) storage have traditionally relied upon soil survey maps and laboratory characterization data. This approach does not account for inherent variability...

  9. Spatially explicit analysis of field inventories for national forest carbon monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C. Marvin

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Tropical forests provide a crucial carbon sink for a sizable portion of annual global CO2 emissions. Policies that incentivize tropical forest conservation by monetizing forest carbon ultimately depend on accurate estimates of national carbon stocks, which are often based on field inventory sampling. As an exercise to understand the limitations of field inventory sampling, we tested whether two common field-plot sampling approaches could accurately estimate carbon stocks across approximately 76 million ha of Perúvian forests. A 1-ha resolution LiDAR-based map of carbon stocks was used as a model of the country’s carbon geography. Results Both field inventory sampling approaches worked well in estimating total national carbon stocks, almost always falling within 10 % of the model national total. However, the sampling approaches were unable to produce accurate spatially-explicit estimates of the carbon geography of Perú, with estimates falling within 10 % of the model carbon geography across no more than 44 % of the country. We did not find any associations between carbon stock errors from the field plot estimates and six different environmental variables. Conclusions Field inventory plot sampling does not provide accurate carbon geography for a tropical country with wide ranging environmental gradients such as Perú. The lack of association between estimated carbon errors and environmental variables suggests field inventory sampling results from other nations would not differ from those reported here. Tropical forest nations should understand the risks associated with primarily field-based sampling approaches, and consider alternatives leading to more effective forest conservation and climate change mitigation.

  10. Factoring out natural and indirect human effects on terrestrial carbon sources and sinks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canadell, J.G. [Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 3023, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Kirschbaum, M.U.F. [Environmental Biology Group, RSBS, Australian National University, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601 (Australia); Kurz, W.A. [Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5 (Canada); Sanz, M.J. [Fundacion CEAM, Parque Tecnologico, Charles H. Darwin 14, 46980 Paterna, Valencia (Spain); Schlamadinger, B. [Joanneum Research, Elisabethstrasse 11, Graz A-8010 (Austria); Yamagata, Y. [Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute of Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506 (Japan)

    2007-06-15

    The capacity to partition natural, indirect, and direct human-induced effects on terrestrial carbon (C) sources and sinks is necessary to be able to predict future terrestrial C dynamics and thus their influence on atmospheric CO2 growth. However, it will take a number of years before we can better attribute quantitative estimates of the contribution of various C processes to the net C balance. In a policy context, factoring out natural and indirect human-induced effects on C sources and sinks from the direct human-induced influences, is seen as a requirement of a C accounting approach that establishes a clear and unambiguous connection between human activities and the assignment of C credits and debits. We present options for factoring out various groups of influences including climate variability, CO2 and N fertilization, and legacies from forest management. These are: (1) selecting longer accounting or measurement periods to reduce the effects of inter-annual variability; (2) correction of national inventories for inter-annual variability; (3) use of activity-based accounting and C response curves; (4) use of baseline scenarios or benchmarks at the national level; (5) stratification of the landscape into units with distinct average C stocks. Other, more sophisticated modeling approaches (e.g., demographic models in combination with forest inventories; process-based models) are possible options for future C accounting systems but their complexity and data requirements make their present adoption more difficult in an inclusive international C accounting system.

  11. Factoring out natural and indirect human effects on terrestrial carbon sources and sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canadell, J.G.; Kirschbaum, M.U.F.; Kurz, W.A.; Sanz, M.J.; Schlamadinger, B.; Yamagata, Y.

    2007-01-01

    The capacity to partition natural, indirect, and direct human-induced effects on terrestrial carbon (C) sources and sinks is necessary to be able to predict future terrestrial C dynamics and thus their influence on atmospheric CO2 growth. However, it will take a number of years before we can better attribute quantitative estimates of the contribution of various C processes to the net C balance. In a policy context, factoring out natural and indirect human-induced effects on C sources and sinks from the direct human-induced influences, is seen as a requirement of a C accounting approach that establishes a clear and unambiguous connection between human activities and the assignment of C credits and debits. We present options for factoring out various groups of influences including climate variability, CO2 and N fertilization, and legacies from forest management. These are: (1) selecting longer accounting or measurement periods to reduce the effects of inter-annual variability; (2) correction of national inventories for inter-annual variability; (3) use of activity-based accounting and C response curves; (4) use of baseline scenarios or benchmarks at the national level; (5) stratification of the landscape into units with distinct average C stocks. Other, more sophisticated modeling approaches (e.g., demographic models in combination with forest inventories; process-based models) are possible options for future C accounting systems but their complexity and data requirements make their present adoption more difficult in an inclusive international C accounting system

  12. Soil, plant, and transport influences on methane in a subalpine forest under high ultraviolet irradiance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Baer

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies have demonstrated direct methane emission from plant foliage under aerobic conditions, particularly under high ultraviolet (UV irradiance. We examined the potential importance of this phenomenon in a high-elevation conifer forest using micrometeorological techniques. Vertical profiles of methane and carbon dioxide in forest air were monitored every 2 h for 6 weeks in summer 2007. Day to day variability in above-canopy CH4 was high, with observed values in the range 1790 to 1910 nmol mol−1. High CH4 was correlated with high carbon monoxide and related to wind direction, consistent with pollutant transport from an urban area by a well-studied mountain-plain wind system. Soils were moderately dry during the study. Vertical gradients of CH4 were small but detectable day and night, both near the ground and within the vegetation canopy. Gradients near the ground were consistent with the forest soil being a net CH4 sink. Using scalar similarity with CO2, the magnitude of the summer soil CH4 sink was estimated at ~1.7 mg CH4 m−2 h−1, which is similar to other temperate forest upland soils. The high-elevation forest was naturally exposed to high UV irradiance under clear sky conditions, with observed peak UVB irradiance >2 W m−2. Gradients and means of CO2 within the canopy under daytime conditions showed net uptake of CO2 due to photosynthetic drawdown as expected. No evidence was found for a significant foliar CH4 source in the vegetation canopy, even under high UV conditions. While the possibility of a weak foliar source cannot be excluded given the observed soil sink, overall this subalpine forest was a net sink for atmospheric methane during the growing season.

  13. Old-growth forests can accumulate carbon in soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, G.; Liu, S.; Li, Z.; Zhang, Dongxiao; Tang, X.; Zhou, C.; Yan, J.; Mo, J.

    2006-01-01

    Old-growth forests have traditionally been considered negligible as carbon sinks because carbon uptake has been thought to be balanced by respiration. We show that the top 20-centimeter soil layer in preserved old-growth forests in southern China accumulated atmospheric carbon at an unexpectedly high average rate of 0.61 megagrams of carbon hectare-1 year-1 from 1979 to 2003. This study suggests that the carbon cycle processes in the belowground system of these forests are changing in response to the changing environment. The result directly challenges the prevailing belief in ecosystem ecology regarding carbon budget in old-growth forests and supports the establishment of a new, nonequilibrium conceptual framework to study soil carbon dynamics.

  14. How much primary coastal temperate rain forest should society retain? Carbon uptake, recreation and other values

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kooten, van G.C.; Bulte, E.H.

    2000-01-01

    In this study, average and marginal approaches for determining optimal preservation of primary forests on British Columbia's coast are compared. When the market values from timber, mushrooms, etc., and nonmarket benefits (e.g., carbon sink, preservation values) of preserving old-growth forests are

  15. Kyoto protocol: analysis of options for further development of commitments for the second commitment period. Part ''sinks in the second commitment period''; Kyoto-Protokoll: Untersuchung von Optionen fuer die Weiterentwicklung der Verpflichtungen fuer die 2. Verpflichtungsperiode. Teilvorhaben ''Senken in der 2. Verpflichtungsperiode''

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schulze, Ernst-Detlef; Freibauer, Annette [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Biogeochemie, Jena (Germany); Matthes, Felix Christian; Herold, Anke [Oeko-Institut, Berlin (Germany); Wouters, Frank; Hoehne, Niklas [ECOFYS GmbH, Koeln (Germany)

    2007-03-15

    The project aimed at developing and analysing options for commitments in a future climate regime with focus on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). Based on experiences from the past international negotiations and the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), options for core rules were described and analysed according to a catalogue of criteria for environmental and and political success. A literature review, own calculations and a model developed in the frame of the project for calculating forest management effects on carbon stock changes in biomass, soil and wood products were used to quantitatively determine the potential carbon sources and sinks by afforestation, deforestation, forestry and agricultural management in important countries and globally for the next decades, up to one century. The results show that forest management determines the future role of the LULUCF sector in Annex-I countries. The magnitude of future carbon sinks is driven by the age structure of the forests and follows region specific trends. Emissions from deforestation in Non-Annex-I countries exceed by far the potential carbon sinks in managed forests of Annex-I countries. It will be essential for future negotiations to clarify first the accounting rules for carbon sources and sinks in agriculture, forests and other land uses and the relation between the LULUCF sector and other sectors before quantitative emission limitation targets are set. This is even more important in light of a potential integration of emission reductions from deforestation and degradation in a future carbon trading scheme. Experiences with the past national greenhouse gas inventories under the UNFCCC demonstrate that the LULUCF sector could in the future be treated in the same way as the other sectors. National trends in carbon sources and sinks in forests and from deforestation and degradation need to be considered when future emission limitation targets

  16. Measuring and modeling carbon balance in mountainous Northern Rocky mixed conifer forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudiburg, T. W.; Berardi, D.; Stenzel, J.

    2016-12-01

    Drought and wildfire caused by changing precipitation patterns, increased temperatures, increased fuel loads, and decades of fire suppression are reducing forest carbon uptake from local to continental scales. This trend is especially widespread in Idaho and the intermountain west and has important implications for climate change and forest management options. Given the key role of forests in climate regulation, understanding forest response to drought and the feedbacks to the atmosphere is a key research and policy-relevant priority globally. As temperature, fire, and precipitation regimes continue to change and there is increased risk of forest mortality, measurements and modeling at temporal and spatial scales that are conducive to understanding the impacts and underlying mechanisms of carbon and nutrient cycling become critically important. Until recently, sub-daily measurements of ecosystem carbon balance have been limited in remote, mountainous terrain (e.g Northern Rocky mountain forests). Here, we combine new measurement technology and state-of-the-art ecosystem modeling to determine the impact of drought on the total carbon balance of a mature, mixed-conifer forest in Northern Idaho. Our findings indicate that drought had no impact on aboveground NPP, despite early growing season reductions in soil moisture and fine root biomass compared to non-drought years in the past. Modeled estimates of net ecosystem production (NEP) suggest that a simultaneous reduction in heterotrophic respiration increased the carbon sink for this forest. This has important implications for forest management, such as thinning where the objectives are to increase forest resilience to fire and drought, but may decrease NEP.

  17. Forest carbon trading : legal, policy, ecological and aboriginal issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elgie, S.

    2005-01-01

    Canada's forest ecosystems store 88 billion tonnes of carbon, with trees alone storing 13 billion tonnes, twice the global annual carbon emissions. Carbon trading could affect forest management. Certain types of forest carbon project will offer cost-effective carbon sequestration options. This paper addresses current concerns about forest carbon trading such as phony carbon gains, biodiversity impact and increased fossil fuel emissions. Statistics were presented with information on global carbon stocks. The Kyoto Protocol requires that Canada must count all changes in forest carbon stocks resulting from afforestation, reforestation or deforestation, and that Canada has the option of counting carbon stock changes from forest management. The decision must be made by 2006, and considerations are whether to present projected net source or sink, or whether to count current commercially managed areas or all timber productive areas. An outline of federal constitutional authority power regarding Kyoto was presented, including limits and risks of trade and treaty powers. The economics of forest carbon were outlined with reference to increasing forest carbon storage. A two-pronged approach was advised, with avoided logging and plantation and intensive management securing carbon and timber benefits. Examples of pre-Kyoto pilots were presented, including the SaskPower project, the Little Red River Cree project and the Labrador Innu project. The disadvantages of offset trading were presented. It was concluded that forest carbon markets are part of a larger vision for sustainable development in Canada's north, especially for aboriginal peoples, and may indicate a growing market for ecological services. Constitutional limits to federal power to regulate carbon trading are not insurmountable, but require care. Ownerships of forest carbon rights raises important policy and legal issues, including aboriginal right, efficiency and equity. An estimated cost of forest carbon projects

  18. Advances of study on atmospheric methane oxidation (consumption) in forest soil

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WANG Chen-rui; SHI Yi; YANG Xiao-ming; WU Jie; YUE Jin

    2003-01-01

    Next to CO2, methane (CH4) is the second important contributor to global warming in the atmosphere and global atmospheric CH4 budget depends on both CH4 sources and sinks. Unsaturated soil is known as a unique sink for atmospheric CH4 in terrestrial ecosystem. Many comparison studies proved that forest soil had the biggest capacity of oxidizing atmospheric CH4 in various unsaturated soils. However, up to now, there is not an overall review in the aspect of atmospheric CH4 oxidation (consumption) in forest soil. This paper analyzed advances of studies on the mechanism of atmospheric CH4 oxidation, and related natural factors (Soil physical and chemical characters, temperature and moisture, ambient main greenhouse gases concentrations, tree species, and forest fire) and anthropogenic factors (forest clear-cutting and thinning, fertilization, exogenous aluminum salts and atmospheric deposition, adding biocides, and switch of forest land use) in forest soils. It was believed that CH4 consumption rate by forest soil was limited by diffusion and sensitive to changes in water status and temperature of soil. CH4 oxidation was also particularly sensitive to soil C/N, Ambient CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations, tree species and forest fire. In most cases, anthropogenic disturbances will decrease atmospheric CH4 oxidation, thus resulting in the elevating of atmospheric CH4. Finally, the author pointed out that our knowledge of atmospheric CH4 oxidation (consumption) in forest soil was insufficient. In order to evaluate the contribution of forest soils to atmospheric CH4 oxidation and the role of forest played in the process of global environmental change, and to forecast the trends of global warming exactly, more researchers need to studies further on CH4 oxidation in various forest soils of different areas.

  19. Nitrogen deposition's role in determining forest photosynthetic capacity; a FLUXNET synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischer, K.; Rebel, K.; van der Molen, M.; Erisman, J.; Wassen, M.; Dolman, H.

    2011-12-01

    There is growing evidence that nitrogen (N) deposition stimulates forest growth, as many forest ecosystems are N-limited. However, the significance of N deposition in determining the strength of the present and future terrestrial carbon sink is strongly debated. We investigated and quantified the effect of N deposition on ecosystem photosynthetic capacity (Amax) with the FLUXNET database, including 80 forest sites, covering the major forest types and climates of the world. The relative effect of climate and N deposition on photosynthesis was assessed with regression models. We found a significant positive correlation of Amax and N deposition for evergreen needleleaf forests in our dataset. We further found indications that foliar N and LAI scale positively with N deposition, reflecting the 2 mechanisms at which N is believed to cause an increase in carbon gain. We can support the hypothesis that foliar N is the principal scaling factor for canopy Amax across all forest types. Deciduous forests are less diverse in terms of climate and nutritional conditions for the included sites and these forests exhibited weak to no correlations with the included climate and N predictor variables. Quantifying the effect of N deposition on photosynthetic rates at the canopy level is an essential step for quantifying its contribution to the terrestrial carbon sink and for predicting vegetation response to N fertilization and global change in the future. The approach shows that eddy-covariance measurements of carbon fluxes at the canopy scale allow us to test hypotheses with respect to the expected nitrogen-photosynthesis relationships at the canopy scale.

  20. Energy Efficient Sensor Scheduling with a Mobile Sink Node for the Target Tracking Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malin Premaratne

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Measurement losses adversely affect the performance of target tracking. The sensor network’s life span depends on how efficiently the sensor nodes consume energy. In this paper, we focus on minimizing the total energy consumed by the sensor nodes whilst avoiding measurement losses. Since transmitting data over a long distance consumes a significant amount of energy, a mobile sink node collects the measurements and transmits them to the base station. We assume that the default transmission range of the activated sensor node is limited and it can be increased to maximum range only if the mobile sink node is out-side the default transmission range. Moreover, the active sensor node can be changed after a certain time period. The problem is to select an optimal sensor sequence which minimizes the total energy consumed by the sensor nodes. In this paper, we consider two different problems depend on the mobile sink node’s path. First, we assume that the mobile sink node’s position is known for the entire time horizon and use the dynamic programming technique to solve the problem. Second, the position of the sink node is varied over time according to a known Markov chain, and the problem is solved by stochastic dynamic programming. We also present sub-optimal methods to solve our problem. A numerical example is presented in order to discuss the proposed methods’ performance.

  1. Causes of sinks near Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, J.P.; Pool, D.R.; Konieczki, A.D.; Carpenter, M.C.

    1998-01-01

    Land subsidence in the form of sinks has occurred on and near farmlands near Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA. The sinks occur in alluvial deposits along the flood plain of the Santa Cruz River, and have made farmlands dangerous and unsuitable for farming. More than 1700 sinks are confined to the flood plain of the Santa Cruz River and are grouped along two north-northwestward-trending bands that are approximately parallel to the river and other flood-plain drainages. An estimated 17,000 m3 of sediment have been removed in the formation of the sinks. Thirteen trenches were dug to depths of 4-6 m to characterize near-surface sediments in sink and nonsink areas. Sediments below about 2 m included a large percentage of dispersive clays in sink areas. Sediments in nonsink areas contain a large component of medium- to coarse-grained, moderately to well sorted sand that probably fills a paleochannel. Electromagnetic surveys support the association of silts and clays in sink areas that are highly electrically conductive relative to sand in nonsink areas. Sinks probably are caused by the near-surface process of subsurface erosion of dispersive sediments along pre-existing cracks in predominantly silt and clay sediments. The pre-existing cracks probably result from desiccation or tension that developed during periods of water-table decline and channel incision during the past 100 years or in earlier periods.

  2. Flooding and sinking of nuclear merchant ships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lettnin, H.K.J.; Wehowsky, P.

    1978-01-01

    In contrast to land-based power plants for ship reactors the marine environment brings up the peril of sinking. But this peril is low for nuclear ships with its high safety standard. An evaluation of casualties from 1964 - 1974 for ships>8000 GRT allows to estimate a very low sink probability for nuclear ships in the range of 10 -7 to 10 -8 p.a. In spite of this low probability a sinking cannot be excluded absolutely. Therefore passive means must be provided for sinking in deep waters: to maintain the integrity of at least one enclosure as activity barrier; to supply seawater into the safety containment for decay heat removal. For sinking in shallow waters and flooding at least one of the redundant decay heat removal systems including power supply stays operable. A mathematical tool is available for the design of flood openings of sufficient cross sections to flood the containment and to reach a pressure balance in case of postulated sinking in deep waters of any depth

  3. CO2 balance of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luyssaert, S.; Inglima, I.; Jungs, M.; Richardson, A.; Reichsteins, M.; Papale, D.; Piao, S.L.; Schulzes, E.D.; Wingate, L.; Matteucci, G.; Aragaoss, L.; Aubinet, M.; Beers, van C.; Bernhofer, C.; Black, K.G.; Bonal, D.; Bonnefonds, J.M.; Chambers, J.; Ciais, P.; Cook, B.; Davis, K.J.; Dolman, A.J.; Gielen, B.; Goulden, M.; Grace, J.; Granier, A.; Grelle, A.; Griffis, T.; Grunwald, T.; Guidolotti, G.; Hanson, P.J.; Harding, R.; Hollinger, D.Y.; Hutyra, L.R.; Kolari, P.; Kruijt, B.; Kutsch, W.; Lagergren, F.; Laurila, T.; Law, B.E.; Maire, Le G.; Lindroth, A.; Loustau, D.; Malhi, Y.; Mateus, J.; Migliavacca, M.; Misson, L.; Montagnani, L.; Moncrief, J.; Moors, E.J.; Munger, J.W.; Nikinmaa, E.; Ollinger, S.V.; Pita, G.; Rebmann, C.; Roupsard, O.; Saigusa, N.; Sanz, M.J.; Seufert, G.; Sierra, C.; Smith, M.; Tang, J.; Valentini, R.; Vesala, T.; Janssens, I.A.

    2007-01-01

    Terrestrial ecosystems sequester 2.1 Pg of atmospheric carbon annually. A large amount of the terrestrial sink is realized by forests. However, considerable uncertainties remain regarding the fate of this carbon over both short and long timescales. Relevant data to address these uncertainties are

  4. Topology Optimization of Thermal Heat Sinks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klaas Haertel, Jan Hendrik; Engelbrecht, Kurt; Lazarov, Boyan Stefanov

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, topology optimization is applied to optimize the cooling performance of thermal heat sinks. The coupled two-dimensional thermofluid model of a heat sink cooled with forced convection and a density-based topology optimization including density filtering and projection are implemented...... in COMSOL Multiphysics. The optimization objective is to minimize the heat sink’s temperature for a prescribed pressure drop and fixed heat generation. To conduct the optimization, COMSOL’s Optimization Module with GCMMA as the optimization method is used. The implementation of this topology optimization...... approach in COMSOL Multiphysics is described in this paper and results for optimized two-dimensional heat sinks are presented. Furthermore, parameter studies regarding the effect of the prescribed pressure drop of the system on Reynolds number and realized heat sink temperature are presented and discussed....

  5. Sinking bubbles in stout beers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, W. T.; Kaar, S.; O'Brien, S. B. G.

    2018-04-01

    A surprising phenomenon witnessed by many is the sinking bubbles seen in a settling pint of stout beer. Bubbles are less dense than the surrounding fluid so how does this happen? Previous work has shown that the explanation lies in a circulation of fluid promoted by the tilted sides of the glass. However, this work has relied heavily on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Here, we show that the phenomenon of sinking bubbles can be predicted using a simple analytic model. To make the model analytically tractable, we work in the limit of small bubbles and consider a simplified geometry. The model confirms both the existence of sinking bubbles and the previously proposed mechanism.

  6. Biomass and carbon dynamics of a tropical mountain rain forest in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, DeXiang; Li, YiDe; Liu, HePing; Xu, Han; Xiao, WenFa; Luo, TuShou; Zhou, Zhang; Lin, MingXian

    2010-07-01

    Biometric inventories for 25 years, from 1983 to 2005, indicated that the Jianfengling tropical mountain rain forest in Hainan, China, was either a source or a modest sink of carbon. Overall, this forest was a small carbon sink with an accumulation rate of (0.56+/-0.22) Mg C ha(-1)yr(-1), integrated from the long-term measurement data of two plots (P9201 and P8302). These findings were similar to those for African and American rain forests ((0.62+/-0.23) Mg C ha(-1)yr(-1)). The carbon density varied between (201.43+/-29.38) Mg C ha(-1) and (229.16+/-39.2) Mg C ha(-1), and averaged (214.17+/-32.42) Mg C ha(-1) for plot P9201. Plot P8302, however, varied between (223.95+/-45.92) Mg C ha(-1) and (254.85+/-48.86) Mg C ha(-1), and averaged (243.35+/-47.64) Mg C ha(-1). Quadratic relationships were found between the strength of carbon sequestration and heavy rainstorms and dry months. Precipitation and evapotranspiration are two major factors controlling carbon sequestration in the tropical mountain rain forest.

  7. Disturbance and the Carbon Balance of US Forests: A Quantitative Review of Impacts from Harvests, Fires, Insects, and Droughts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Christopher A.; Gu, Huan; MacLean, Richard; Masek, Jeffrey G.; Collatz, G. James

    2016-01-01

    Disturbances are a major determinant of forest carbon stocks and uptake. They generally reduce land carbon stocks but also initiate a regrowth legacy that contributes substantially to the contemporary rate of carbon stock increase in US forestlands. As managers and policy makers increasingly look to forests for climate protection and mitigation, and because of increasing concern about changes in disturbance intensity and frequency, there is a need for synthesis and integration of current understanding about the role of disturbances and other processes in governing forest carbon cycle dynamics, and the likely future of this and other sinks for atmospheric carbon. This paper aims to address that need by providing a quantitative review of the distribution, extent and carbon impacts of the major disturbances active in the US. We also review recent trends in disturbances, climate, and other global environmental changes and consider their individual and collective contributions to the US carbon budget now and in the likely future. Lastly, we identify some key challenges and opportunities for future research needed to improve current understanding, advance predictive capabilities, and inform forest management in the face of these pressures. Harvest is found to be the most extensive disturbance both in terms of area and carbon impacts, followed by fire, windthrow and bark beetles, and lastly droughts. Collectively these lead to the gross loss of about 200 Tg C y(exp -1) in live biomass annually across the conterminous US. At the same time, the net change in forest carbon stocks is positive (190 Tg C y(exp -1)), indicating not only forest resilience but also an apparently large response to growth enhancements such as fertilization by CO2 and nitrogen. Uncertainty about disturbance legacies, disturbance interactions, likely trends, and global change factors make the future of the US forest carbon sink unclear. While there is scope for management to enhance carbon sinks in US

  8. 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

  9. Improving predictions of tropical forest response to climate change through integration of field studies and ecosystem modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiaohui Feng; María Uriarte; Grizelle González; Sasha Reed; Jill Thompson; Jess K. Zimmerman; Lora Murphy

    2018-01-01

    Tropical forests play a critical role in carbon and water cycles at a global scale. Rapid climate change is anticipated in tropical regions over the coming decades and, under a warmer and drier climate, tropical forests are likely to be net sources of carbon rather than sinks. However, our understanding of tropical forest response and feedback to climate change is very...

  10. Edge effects enhance carbon uptake and its vulnerability to climate change in temperate broadleaf forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinmann, Andrew B; Hutyra, Lucy R

    2017-01-03

    Forest fragmentation is a ubiquitous, ongoing global phenomenon with profound impacts on the growing conditions of the world's remaining forest. The temperate broadleaf forest makes a large contribution to the global terrestrial carbon sink but is also the most heavily fragmented forest biome in the world. We use field measurements and geospatial analyses to characterize carbon dynamics in temperate broadleaf forest fragments. We show that forest growth and biomass increase by 89 ± 17% and 64 ± 12%, respectively, from the forest interior to edge, but ecosystem edge enhancements are not currently captured by models or approaches to quantifying regional C balance. To the extent that the findings from our research represent the forest of southern New England in the United States, we provide a preliminary estimate that edge growth enhancement could increase estimates of the region's carbon uptake and storage by 13 ± 3% and 10 ± 1%, respectively. However, we also find that forest growth near the edge declines three times faster than that in the interior in response to heat stress during the growing season. Using climate projections, we show that future heat stress could reduce the forest edge growth enhancement by one-third by the end of the century. These findings contrast studies of edge effects in the world's other major forest biomes and indicate that the strength of the temperate broadleaf forest carbon sink and its capacity to mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions may be stronger, but also more sensitive to climate change than previous estimates suggest.

  11. Photosynthesis down-regulation precedes carbohydrate accumulation under sink limitation in Citrus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebauer, Sergio G; Renau-Morata, Begoña; Guardiola, José Luis; Molina, Rosa-Victoria

    2011-02-01

    Photosynthesis down-regulation due to an imbalance between sources and sinks in Citrus leaves could be mediated by excessive accumulation of carbohydrates. However, there is limited understanding of the physiological role of soluble and insoluble carbohydrates in photosynthesis regulation and the elements triggering the down-regulation process. In this work, the role of non-structural carbohydrates in the regulation of photosynthesis under a broad spectrum of source-sink relationships has been investigated in the Salustiana sweet orange. Soluble sugar and starch accumulation in leaves, induced by girdling experiments, did not induce down-regulation of the photosynthetic rate in the presence of sinks (fruits). The leaf-to-fruit ratio did not modulate photosynthesis but allocation of photoassimilates to the fruits. The lack of strong sink activity led to a decrease in the photosynthetic rate and starch accumulation in leaves. However, photosynthesis down-regulation due to an excess of total soluble sugars or starch was discarded because photosynthesis and stomatal conductance reduction occurred prior to any significant accumulation of these carbohydrates. Gas exchange and fluorescence parameters suggested biochemical limitations to photosynthesis. In addition, the expression of carbon metabolism-related genes was altered within 24 h when strong sinks were removed. Sucrose synthesis and export genes were inhibited, whereas the expression of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase was increased to cope with the excess of assimilates. In conclusion, changes in starch and soluble sugar turnover, but not sugar content per se, could provide the signal for photosynthesis regulation. In these conditions, non-stomatal limitations strongly inhibited the photosynthetic rate prior to any significant increase in carbohydrate levels.

  12. Carbon sequestration in managed temperate coniferous forests under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dymond, Caren C.; Beukema, Sarah; Nitschke, Craig R.; Coates, K. David; Scheller, Robert M.

    2016-03-01

    Management of temperate forests has the potential to increase carbon sinks and mitigate climate change. However, those opportunities may be confounded by negative climate change impacts. We therefore need a better understanding of climate change alterations to temperate forest carbon dynamics before developing mitigation strategies. The purpose of this project was to investigate the interactions of species composition, fire, management, and climate change in the Copper-Pine Creek valley, a temperate coniferous forest with a wide range of growing conditions. To do so, we used the LANDIS-II modelling framework including the new Forest Carbon Succession extension to simulate forest ecosystems under four different productivity scenarios, with and without climate change effects, until 2050. Significantly, the new extension allowed us to calculate the net sector productivity, a carbon accounting metric that integrates aboveground and belowground carbon dynamics, disturbances, and the eventual fate of forest products. The model output was validated against literature values. The results implied that the species optimum growing conditions relative to current and future conditions strongly influenced future carbon dynamics. Warmer growing conditions led to increased carbon sinks and storage in the colder and wetter ecoregions but not necessarily in the others. Climate change impacts varied among species and site conditions, and this indicates that both of these components need to be taken into account when considering climate change mitigation activities and adaptive management. The introduction of a new carbon indicator, net sector productivity, promises to be useful in assessing management effectiveness and mitigation activities.

  13. A comparison of Alpine emissions to forest soil and spruce needle loads for persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belis, C.A., E-mail: claudio.belis@jrc.ec.europa.e [Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia (Italy); Offenthaler, I.; Uhl, M.; Nurmi-Legat, J. [Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Austria); Bassan, R. [Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Italy); Jakobi, G.; Kirchner, M. [Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Centre for Environment and Health (Germany); Knoth, W. [German Federal Environmental Agency (Germany); Kraeuchi, N. [WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (Switzerland); Levy, W. [Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Centre for Environment and Health (Germany); Magnani, T. [Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia (Italy); Moche, W. [Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Austria); Schramm, K.-W. [Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Italy); Simoncic, P. [Slovenian Forestry Institute (Slovenia); Weiss, P. [Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Austria)

    2009-12-15

    The project MONARPOP analysed the concentrations of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in two important sink compartments, needles of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) and forest soil from 40 remote Alpine forest sites in Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland. In the present study the load of PCDD/F, PCB, PBDE, PAH, HCB, HCH and DDT in the Alps calculated on the basis of measured data are compared with their estimated emissions in the Alpine region. It comes out that the masses of the studied pollutants stored in the forests are higher than the corresponding emissions in the Alpine area indicating that the Alps are a sink for POPs advected from surrounding areas. It is assumed that local emissions of PCDD/F and PAH deriving from biomass burning are probably underestimated and that the pool of these pollutants in the forests represents the accumulation over some decades. - The loads of POPs in the Alps are higher than their emissions in the Alpine region.

  14. On the meaning of sink capture efficiency and sink strength for point defects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mansur, L.K.; Wolfer, W.G.

    1982-01-01

    The concepts of sink capture efficiency and sink strength for point defects are central to the theory of point defect reactions in materials undergoing irradiation. Two fundamentally different definitions of the capture efficiency are in current use. The essential difference can be stated simply. The conventional meaning denotes a measure of the loss rate of point defects to sinks per unit mean point defect concentration. A second definition of capture efficiency, introduced recently, gives a measure of the point defect loss rate without normalization to the mean point defect concentration. The relationship between the two capture efficiencies is here derived. By stating the relationship we hope to eliminate confusion caused by comparisons of the two types of capture efficiencies at face value and to provide a method of obtaining one from the other. Internally consistent usage of either of the capture efficiencies leads to the same results for the calculation of measuable quantities, as is required physically. (orig.)

  15. Low Carbon sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves

    KAUST Repository

    Almahasheer, Hanan

    2017-08-22

    Mangroves forests of Avicennia marina occupy about 135 km2 in the Red Sea and represent one of the most important vegetated communities in this otherwise arid and oligotrophic region. We assessed the soil organic carbon (C-org) stocks, soil accretion rates (SAR; mm y(-1)) and soil C-org sequestration rates (g C-org m(-2) yr(-1)) in 10 mangrove sites within four locations along the Saudi coast of the Central Red Sea. Soil C-org density and stock in Red Sea mangroves were among the lowest reported globally, with an average of 4 +/- 0.3 mg Corg cm(-3) and 43 +/- 5 Mg C-org ha(-1) (in 1 m-thick soils), respectively. Sequestration rates of C-org, estimated at 3 +/- 1 and 15 +/- 1 g C-org m(-2) yr(-1) for the long (millennia) and short (last century) temporal scales, respectively, were also relatively low compared to mangrove habitats from more humid bioregions. In contrast, the accretion rates of Central Red Sea mangroves soils were within the range reported for global mangrove forests. The relatively low C-org sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves could be due to the extreme environmental conditions such as low rainfall, nutrient limitation and high temperature, reducing the growth rates of the mangroves and increasing soil respiration rates.

  16. Low Carbon sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves

    KAUST Repository

    Almahasheer, Hanan; Serrano, Oscar; Duarte, Carlos M.; Arias-Ortiz, Ariane; Masque, Pere; Irigoien, Xabier

    2017-01-01

    Mangroves forests of Avicennia marina occupy about 135 km2 in the Red Sea and represent one of the most important vegetated communities in this otherwise arid and oligotrophic region. We assessed the soil organic carbon (C-org) stocks, soil accretion rates (SAR; mm y(-1)) and soil C-org sequestration rates (g C-org m(-2) yr(-1)) in 10 mangrove sites within four locations along the Saudi coast of the Central Red Sea. Soil C-org density and stock in Red Sea mangroves were among the lowest reported globally, with an average of 4 +/- 0.3 mg Corg cm(-3) and 43 +/- 5 Mg C-org ha(-1) (in 1 m-thick soils), respectively. Sequestration rates of C-org, estimated at 3 +/- 1 and 15 +/- 1 g C-org m(-2) yr(-1) for the long (millennia) and short (last century) temporal scales, respectively, were also relatively low compared to mangrove habitats from more humid bioregions. In contrast, the accretion rates of Central Red Sea mangroves soils were within the range reported for global mangrove forests. The relatively low C-org sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves could be due to the extreme environmental conditions such as low rainfall, nutrient limitation and high temperature, reducing the growth rates of the mangroves and increasing soil respiration rates.

  17. Sinks as integrative elements of the anthropogenic metabolism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kral, Ulrich; Brunner, Paul H.

    2015-04-01

    The anthropogenic metabolism is an open system requiring exchange of materials and energy between the anthroposphere and the environment. Material and energy flows are taken from nature and become utilized by men. After utilization, the materials either remain in the anthroposphere as recycling products, or they leave the anthroposphere as waste and emission flows. To accommodate these materials without jeopardizing human and environmental health, limited natural sinks are available; thus, man-made sinks have to be provided where natural sinks are missing or overloaded. The oral presentation (1) suggests a coherent definition of the term "sink", encompassing natural and man-made processes, (2) presents a framework to analyse and evaluate anthropogenic material flows to sinks, based on the tool substance flow analysis and impact assessment methodology, and (3) applies the framework in a case study approach for selected substances such as Copper and Lead in Vienna and Perfluorooctane sulfonate in Switzerland. Finally, the numeric results are aggregated in terms of a new indicator that specifies on a regional scale which fractions of anthropogenic material flows to sinks are acceptable. The following results are obtained: In Vienna, 99% of Cu flows to natural and man-made sinks are in accordance with accepted standards. However, the 0.7% of Cu entering urban soils and the 0.3% entering receiving waters surpass the acceptable level. In the case of Pb, 92% of all flows into sinks prove to be acceptable, but 8% are disposed of in local landfills with limited capacity. For PFOS, 96% of all flows into sinks are acceptable. 4% cannot be evaluated due to a lack of normative criteria, despite posing a risk for human health and the environment. The case studies corroborate the need and constraints of sinks to accommodate inevitable anthropogenic material flows.

  18. A framework for assessing global change risks to forest carbon stocks in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher W. Woodall; Grant M. Domke; Karin L. Riley; Christopher M. Oswalt; Susan J. Crocker; Gary W. Yohe

    2013-01-01

    Among terrestrial environments, forests are not only the largest long-term sink of atmospheric carbon (C), but are also susceptible to global change themselves, with potential consequences including alterations of C cycles and potential C emission. To inform global change risk assessment of forest C across large spatial/temporal scales, this study constructed and...

  19. Estimation of In-canopy Flux Distributions of Reactive Nitrogen and Sulfur within a Mixed Hardwood Forest in Southern Appalachia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Z.; Walker, J. T.; Chen, X.; Oishi, A. C.; Duman, T.

    2017-12-01

    Estimating the source/sink distribution and vertical fluxes of air pollutants within and above forested canopies is critical for understanding biological, physical, and chemical processes influencing the soil-vegetation-atmosphere exchange. The vertical source-sink profiles of reactive nitrogen and sulfur were examined using multiple inverse modeling methods in a mixed hardwood forest in the southern Appalachian Mountains where the ecosystem is highly sensitive to loads of pollutant from atmospheric depositions. Measurements of the vertical concentration profiles of ammonia (NH3), nitric acid (HNO3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), and sulfate (SO42-) in PM2.5 were measured during five study periods between May 2015 and August 2016. The mean concentration of NH3 decreased with height in the upper canopy and increased below the understory toward the forest floor, indicating that the canopy was a sink for NH3 but the forest floor was a source. All other species exhibited patterns of monotonically decreasing concentration from above the canopy to the forest floor. Using the measured concentration profiles, we simulated the within-canopy flow fields and estimated the vertical source-sink flux profiles using three inverse approaches: a Eulerian high-order closure model (EUL), a Lagrangian localized near-field (LNF) model, and a new full Lagrangian stochastic model (LSM). The models were evaluated using the within- and above-canopy eddy covariance flux measurements of heat, CO2 and H2O. Differences between models were analyzed and the flux profiles were used to investigate the origin and fate of reactive nitrogen and sulfur compounds within the canopy. The knowledge gained in this study will benefit the development of soil-vegetation-atmosphere models capable of partitioning canopy-scale deposition of nitrogen and sulfur to specific ecosystem compartments.

  20. Implications of albedo changes following afforestation on the benefits of forests as carbon sinks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. U. F. Kirschbaum

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Increased carbon storage with afforestation leads to a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and thus decreases radiative forcing and cools the Earth. However, afforestation also changes the reflective properties of the surface vegetation from more reflective pasture to relatively less reflective forest cover. This increase in radiation absorption by the forest constitutes an increase in radiative forcing, with a warming effect. The net effect of decreased albedo and carbon storage on radiative forcing depends on the relative magnitude of these two opposing processes.

    We used data from an intensively studied site in New Zealand's Central North Island that has long-term, ground-based measurements of albedo over the full short-wave spectrum from a developing Pinus radiata forest. Data from this site were supplemented with satellite-derived albedo estimates from New Zealand pastures. The albedo of a well-established forest was measured as 13 % and pasture albedo as 20 %. We used these data to calculate the direct radiative forcing effect of changing albedo as the forest grew.

    We calculated the radiative forcing resulting from the removal of carbon from the atmosphere as a decrease in radiative forcing of −104 GJ tC−1 yr−1. We also showed that the observed change in albedo constituted a direct radiative forcing of 2759 GJ ha−1 yr−1. Thus, following afforestation, 26.5 tC ha−1 needs to be stored in a growing forest to balance the increase in radiative forcing resulting from the observed albedo change. Measurements of tree biomass and albedo were used to estimate the net change in radiative forcing as the newly planted forest grew. Albedo and carbon-storage effects were of similar magnitude for the first four to five years after tree planting, but as the stand grew older, the carbon storage effect increasingly dominated. Averaged over the whole

  1. The declining uptake rate of atmospheric CO2 by land and ocean sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raupach, M.R.; Gloor, M.; Sarmiento, J.L.; Gasser, T.

    2014-01-01

    Through 1959-2012, an airborne fraction (AF) of 0.44 of total anthropogenic CO 2 emissions remained in the atmosphere, with the rest being taken up by land and ocean CO 2 sinks. Understanding of this uptake is critical because it greatly alleviates the emissions reductions required for climate mitigation, and also reduces the risks and damages that adaptation has to embrace. An observable quantity that reflects sink properties more directly than the AF is the CO 2 sink rate (k S ), the combined land-ocean CO 2 sink flux per unit excess atmospheric CO 2 above pre industrial levels. Here we show from observations that k S declined over 1959-2012 by a factor of about 1/3, implying that CO 2 sinks increased more slowly than excess CO 2 . Using a carbon-climate model, we attribute the decline in k S to four mechanisms: slower-than-exponential CO 2 emissions growth (35% of the trend), volcanic eruptions (25 %), sink responses to climate change (20 %), and nonlinear responses to increasing CO 2 , mainly oceanic (20 %). The first of these mechanisms is associated purely with the trajectory of extrinsic forcing, and the last two with intrinsic, feedback responses of sink processes to changes in climate and atmospheric CO 2 . Our results suggest that the effects of these intrinsic, nonlinear responses are already detectable in the global carbon cycle. Although continuing future decreases in k S will occur under all plausible CO 2 emission scenarios, the rate of decline varies between scenarios in non intuitive ways because extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms respond in opposite ways to changes in emissions: extrinsic mechanisms cause k S to decline more strongly with increasing mitigation, while intrinsic mechanisms cause k S to decline more strongly under high-emission, low-mitigation scenarios as the carbon-climate system is perturbed further from a near-linear regime. (authors)

  2. Intact tropical forests, new evidence they uptake carbon actively

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available According to a paper recently published on Nature, tropical forests play as active carbon sink, absorbing 1.3·109 tons of carbon per year on a global scale. Functional interpretation is not clear yet, but a point is quite easy to realize: tropical forests accumulate and contain more carbon than any other vegetation cover and, if their disruption goes on at current rates, these ecosystems could revert to be a “carbon bomb”, releasing huge amount of CO2 to the atmosphere.

  3. Proportion of root-derived acid phosphomonoesterase in total soil acid phosphomonoesterase in different forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislav Holík

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Enzyme acid phosphomonoesterase (APM plays an important role in phosphorus mineralization in different type of terrestrial ecosystems. This enzyme is of great agronomic significance because it hydrolyses organic phosphorus to different forms of inorganic phosphorus which are assimilable by plants. APM may also indicate changes in the quantity and quality of phosphorylated substrates in soil and is a good indicator of its biological state as well as presence of pollutants. APM may be produced by plant roots and soil microorganisms and both of these sources may play different role in phosphorus mineralization in different ecosystems. The aim of this work was determine acid phosphomonoesterase (APM activity location in soil of different forest ecosystems. The APM activity location determination was performed on the basis of root-derived and soil-derived APM and expression of proportion of those root-derived in total soil APM up to 13 cm depth. The results of this preliminary study showed that root-derived APM formed 21–34 % of total soil APM in pine and oak forest.

  4. Sink Potential of Canadian Agricultural Soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehm, M.; Junkins, B.; Desjardins, R.; Lindwall, W.; Kulshreshtha, S.

    2004-01-01

    Net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Canadian crop and livestock production were estimated for 1990, 1996 and 2001 and projected to 2008. Net emissions were also estimated for three scenarios (low (L), medium (M) and high (H)) of adoption of sink enhancing practices above the projected 2008 level. Carbon sequestration estimates were based on four sink-enhancing activities: conversion from conventional to zero tillage (ZT), reduced frequency of summerfallow (SF), the conversion of cropland to permanent cover crops (PC), and improved grazing land management (GM). GHG emissions were estimated with the Canadian Economic and Emissions Model for Agriculture (CEEMA). CEEMA estimates levels of production activities within the Canadian agriculture sector and calculates the emissions and removals associated with those levels of activities. The estimates indicate a decline in net emissions from 54 Tg CO2-Eq yr-1 in 1990 to 52 Tg CO2-Eq yr-1 in 2008. Adoption of the sink-enhancing practices above the level projected for 2008 resulted in further declines in emissions to 48 Tg CO2-Eq yr-1 (L), 42 Tg CO2-Eq yr-1 (M) or 36 Tg CO2-Eq yr-1 (H). Among the sink-enhancing practices, the conversion from conventional tillage to ZT provided the largest C sequestration potential and net reduction in GHG emissions among the scenarios. Although rates of C sequestration were generally higher for conversion of cropland to PC and adoption of improved GM, those scenarios involved smaller areas of land and therefore less C sequestration. Also, increased areas of PC were associated with an increase in livestock numbers and CH4 and N2O emissions from enteric fermentation and manure, which partially offset the carbon sink. The CEEMA estimates indicate that soil C sinks are a viable option for achieving the UNFCCC objective of protecting and enhancing GHG sinks and reservoirs as a means of reducing GHG emissions (UNFCCC, 1992)

  5. Summertime influences of tidal energy advection on the surface energy balance in a mangrove forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. G. Barr

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Mangrove forests are ecosystems susceptible to changing water levels and temperatures due to climate change as well as perturbations resulting from tropical storms. Numerical models can be used to project mangrove forest responses to regional and global environmental changes, and the reliability of these models depends on surface energy balance closure. However, for tidal ecosystems, the surface energy balance is complex because the energy transport associated with tidal activity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to quantify impacts of tidal flows on energy dynamics within a mangrove ecosystem. To address the research objective, an intensive 10-day study was conducted in a mangrove forest located along the Shark River in the Everglades National Park, FL, USA. Forest–atmosphere turbulent exchanges of energy were quantified with an eddy covariance system installed on a 30-m-tall flux tower. Energy transport associated with tidal activity was calculated based on a coupled mass and energy balance approach. The mass balance included tidal flows and accumulation of water on the forest floor. The energy balance included temporal changes in enthalpy, resulting from tidal flows and temperature changes in the water column. By serving as a net sink or a source of available energy, flood waters reduced the impact of high radiational loads on the mangrove forest. Also, the regression slope of available energy versus sink terms increased from 0.730 to 0.754 and from 0.798 to 0.857, including total enthalpy change in the water column in the surface energy balance for 30-min periods and daily daytime sums, respectively. Results indicated that tidal inundation provides an important mechanism for heat removal and that tidal exchange should be considered in surface energy budgets of coastal ecosystems. Results also demonstrated the importance of including tidal energy advection in mangrove biophysical models that are used for predicting ecosystem

  6. Can decision rules simulate carbon allocation for years with contrasting and extreme weather conditions? A case study for three temperate beech forests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campioli, Matteo; Verbeeck, Hans; Van den Bossche, Joris

    2013-01-01

    The allocation of carbohydrates to different tree processes and organs is crucial to understand the overall carbon (C) cycling rate in forest ecosystems. Decision rules (DR) (e.g. functional balances and source-sink relationships) are widely used to model C allocation in forests. However, standard...... allocation and wood growth at beech stands with contrasting climate and standing stock. However, the allocation model required high quality GPP input and errors (even modest) in GPP resulted in large errors in the growth of the tree organs lowest in the modelled sink hierarchy (woody organs). The ability...

  7. The impact of climate change on ecosystem carbon dynamics at the Scandinavian mountain birch forest-tundra heath ecotone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjögersten, Sofie; Wookey, Philip A

    2009-02-01

    Changes in temperature and moisture resulting from climate change are likely to strongly modify the ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity in high-latitude areas, both through vegetation shifts and via direct warming effects on photosynthesis and decomposition. This paper offers a synthesis of research addressing the potential impacts of climate warming on soil processes and carbon fluxes at the forest-tundra ecotone in Scandinavia. Our results demonstrated higher rates of organic matter decomposition in mountain birch forest than in tundra heath soils, with markedly shallower organic matter horizons in the forest. Field and laboratory experiments suggest that increased temperatures are likely to increase CO2 efflux from both tundra and forest soil providing moisture availability does not become limiting for the decomposition process. Furthermore, colonization of tundra heath by mountain birch forest would increase rates of decomposition, and thus CO2 emissions, from the tundra heath soils, which currently store substantial amounts of potentially labile carbon. Mesic soils underlying both forest and tundra heath are currently weak sinks of atmospheric methane, but the strength of this sink could be increased with climate warming and/or drying.

  8. Temporal-Spatial Pattern of Carbon Stocks in Forest Ecosystems in Shaanxi, Northwest China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaoyang Cui

    Full Text Available The precise and accurate quantitative evaluation of the temporal and spatial pattern of carbon (C storage in forest ecosystems is critical for understanding the role of forests in the global terrestrial C cycle and is essential for formulating forest management policies to combat climate change. In this study, we examined the C dynamics of forest ecosystems in Shaanxi, northwest China, based on four forest inventories (1989-1993, 1994-1998, 1999-2003, and 2004-2008 and field-sampling measurements (2012. The results indicate that the total C storage of forest ecosystems in Shaanxi increased by approximately 29.3%, from 611.72 Tg in 1993 to 790.75 Tg in 2008, partially as a result of ecological restoration projects. The spatial pattern of C storage in forest ecosystems mainly exhibited a latitude-zonal distribution across the province, increasing from north (high latitude to south (low latitude generally, which signifies the effect of environmental conditions, chiefly water and heat related factors, on forest growth and C sequestration. In addition, different data sources and estimation methods had a significant effect on the results obtained, with the C stocks in 2008 being considerably overestimated (864.55 Tg and slightly underestimated (778.07 Tg when measured using the mean C density method and integrated method, respectively. Overall, our results demonstrated that the forest ecosystem in Shaanxi acted as a C sink over the last few decades. However, further studies should be carried out with a focus on adaption of plants to environmental factors along with forest management for vegetation restoration to maximize the C sequestration potential and to better cope with climate change.

  9. The Role of Eucalyptus Globulus Forest and Products in Carbon Sequestration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arroja, L.; Dias, A.C.; Capela, I.

    2006-01-01

    This study is a contribution to the ongoing debate about the selection of the approach for carbon accounting in wood products to be used, in the future, in the national greenhouse gas inventories under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Two accounting approaches are used in this analysis: the stock-change approach and the atmospheric-flow approach. They are applied to the Portuguese Eucalyptus globulus forest sector. To achieve this objective, the fluxes of wood removed from the forest are tracked through its life cycle, which includes products manufacture (mainly pulp and paper), use and final disposal (landfilling, incineration and composting). This study develops a framework to the estimation of carbon sequestration in the forest of E. globulus, a fast growing species, more specifically, in the calculation of the conversion factors such as bark and foliage percentages and densities, used to convert wood volumes into total biomass. A mass balance approach based on real data from mills is also proposed, in order to assess carbon emissions from wood processing. The results show that E. globulus forest sector was a carbon sink, but the magnitude of the carbon sequestration differs substantially depending on the accounting approach used. The contribution of the forest ecosystem was smaller than the aggregated contribution of wood products in use and in landfills (including industrial waste), which reinforces the role that wood products play in national carbon budgets

  10. Effects of biofouling on the sinking behavior of microplastics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, David; Kowalski, Nicole; Waniek, Joanna J.

    2017-12-01

    Although plastic is ubiquitous in marine systems, our current knowledge of transport mechanisms is limited. Much of the plastic entering the ocean sinks; this is intuitively obvious for polymers such as polystyrene (PS), which have a greater density than seawater, but lower density polymers like polyethylene (PE) also occur in sediments. Biofouling can cause large plastic objects to sink, but this phenomenon has not been described for microplastics microplastic particles in estuarine and coastal waters to determine how biofouling changes their sinking behavior. Sinking velocities of PS increased by 16% in estuarine water (salinity 9.8) and 81% in marine water (salinity 36) after 6 weeks of incubation. Thereafter sinking velocities decreased due to lower water temperatures and reduced light availability. Biofouling did not cause PE to sink during the 14 weeks of incubation in estuarine water, but PE started to sink after six weeks in coastal water when sufficiently colonized by blue mussels Mytilus edulis, and its velocity continued to increase until the end of the incubation period. Sinking velocities of these PE pellets were similar irrespective of salinity (10 vs. 36). Biofilm composition differed between estuarine and coastal stations, presumably accounting for differences in sinking behavior. We demonstrate that biofouling enhances microplastic deposition to marine sediments, and our findings should improve microplastic transport models.

  11. Kyoto protocol: analysis of options for further development of commitments for the second commitment period. Part ''sinks in the second commitment period''; Kyoto-Protokoll: Untersuchung von Optionen fuer die Weiterentwicklung der Verpflichtungen fuer die 2. Verpflichtungsperiode. Teilvorhaben ''Senken in der 2. Verpflichtungsperiode''

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schulze, Ernst-Detlef; Freibauer, Annette [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Biogeochemie, Jena (Germany); Matthes, Felix Christian; Herold, Anke [Oeko-Institut, Berlin (Germany); Wouters, Frank; Hoehne, Niklas [ECOFYS GmbH, Koeln (Germany)

    2007-03-15

    The project aimed at developing and analysing options for commitments in a future climate regime with focus on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). Based on experiences from the past international negotiations and the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), options for core rules were described and analysed according to a catalogue of criteria for environmental and and political success. A literature review, own calculations and a model developed in the frame of the project for calculating forest management effects on carbon stock changes in biomass, soil and wood products were used to quantitatively determine the potential carbon sources and sinks by afforestation, deforestation, forestry and agricultural management in important countries and globally for the next decades, up to one century. The results show that forest management determines the future role of the LULUCF sector in Annex-I countries. The magnitude of future carbon sinks is driven by the age structure of the forests and follows region specific trends. Emissions from deforestation in Non-Annex-I countries exceed by far the potential carbon sinks in managed forests of Annex-I countries. It will be essential for future negotiations to clarify first the accounting rules for carbon sources and sinks in agriculture, forests and other land uses and the relation between the LULUCF sector and other sectors before quantitative emission limitation targets are set. This is even more important in light of a potential integration of emission reductions from deforestation and degradation in a future carbon trading scheme. Experiences with the past national greenhouse gas inventories under the UNFCCC demonstrate that the LULUCF sector could in the future be treated in the same way as the other sectors. National trends in carbon sources and sinks in forests and from deforestation and degradation need to be considered when future emission limitation targets

  12. Mechanisms of carbon, nitrogen and water changes during restoration and succession in tropical and subtropical forest ecosystems

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    @@ With the objective of finding answers to some fundamental problems in ecology and forestry,Prof.ZHOU Guoyi and his colleagues from the CAS South China Botanical Garden set out to clarify whether the oldgrowth forests are actually carbon sinks;how the forest ecosystems,either successional or rehabilitative,react to the nitrogen deposition scenarios and whether there are different reactions working as mechanisms between the mature and immature forest ecosystems.

  13. 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.

  14. Estimates of Forest Biomass Carbon Storage in Liaoning Province of Northeast China: A Review and Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dapao; Wang, Xiaoyu; Yin, You; Zhan, Jinyu; Lewis, Bernard J.; Tian, Jie; Bao, Ye; Zhou, Wangming; Zhou, Li; Dai, Limin

    2014-01-01

    Accurate estimates of forest carbon storage and changes in storage capacity are critical for scientific assessment of the effects of forest management on the role of forests as carbon sinks. Up to now, several studies reported forest biomass carbon (FBC) in Liaoning Province based on data from China's Continuous Forest Inventory, however, their accuracy were still not known. This study compared estimates of FBC in Liaoning Province derived from different methods. We found substantial variation in estimates of FBC storage for young and middle-age forests. For provincial forests with high proportions in these age classes, the continuous biomass expansion factor method (CBM) by forest type with age class is more accurate and therefore more appropriate for estimating forest biomass. Based on the above approach designed for this study, forests in Liaoning Province were found to be a carbon sink, with carbon stocks increasing from 63.0 TgC in 1980 to 120.9 TgC in 2010, reflecting an annual increase of 1.9 TgC. The average carbon density of forest biomass in the province has increased from 26.2 Mg ha−1 in 1980 to 31.0 Mg ha−1 in 2010. While the largest FBC occurred in middle-age forests, the average carbon density decreased in this age class during these three decades. The increase in forest carbon density resulted primarily from the increased area and carbon storage of mature forests. The relatively long age interval in each age class for slow-growing forest types increased the uncertainty of FBC estimates by CBM-forest type with age class, and further studies should devote more attention to the time span of age classes in establishing biomass expansion factors for use in CBM calculations. PMID:24586881

  15. Estimates of forest biomass carbon storage inLiaoning Province of Northeast China: a review and assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dapao; Wang, Xiaoyu; Yin, You; Zhan, Jinyu; Lewis, Bernard J; Tian, Jie; Bao, Ye; Zhou, Wangming; Zhou, Li; Dai, Limin

    2014-01-01

    Accurate estimates of forest carbon storage and changes in storage capacity are critical for scientific assessment of the effects of forest management on the role of forests as carbon sinks. Up to now, several studies reported forest biomass carbon (FBC) in Liaoning Province based on data from China's Continuous Forest Inventory, however, their accuracy were still not known. This study compared estimates of FBC in Liaoning Province derived from different methods. We found substantial variation in estimates of FBC storage for young and middle-age forests. For provincial forests with high proportions in these age classes, the continuous biomass expansion factor method (CBM) by forest type with age class is more accurate and therefore more appropriate for estimating forest biomass. Based on the above approach designed for this study, forests in Liaoning Province were found to be a carbon sink, with carbon stocks increasing from 63.0 TgC in 1980 to 120.9 TgC in 2010, reflecting an annual increase of 1.9 TgC. The average carbon density of forest biomass in the province has increased from 26.2 Mg ha(-1) in 1980 to 31.0 Mg ha(-1) in 2010. While the largest FBC occurred in middle-age forests, the average carbon density decreased in this age class during these three decades. The increase in forest carbon density resulted primarily from the increased area and carbon storage of mature forests. The relatively long age interval in each age class for slow-growing forest types increased the uncertainty of FBC estimates by CBM-forest type with age class, and further studies should devote more attention to the time span of age classes in establishing biomass expansion factors for use in CBM calculations.

  16. Illinois' Forests 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susan J. Crocker; Mark D. Nelson; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Grant M. Domke; Mark H. Hansen; Mark A. Hatfield; Tonya W. Lister; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

    2013-01-01

    The second full annual inventory of Illinois' forests, completed in 2010, reports more than 4.8 million acres of forest land and 97 tree species. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory and elm/ash/cottonwood forest-type groups, which occupy 93 percent of total forest land area. The volume of growing stock on timberland totals 7.2 billion cubic feet. The average...

  17. Nebraska's Forests 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dacia M Meneguzzo; Susan J. Crocker; Mark D. Nelson; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Grant M. Domke; Mark H. Hansen; Mark A. Hatfield; Greg C. Liknes; Andrew J. Lister; Tonya W. Lister; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. (Ty) Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

    2012-01-01

    The second full annual inventory of Nebraska's forests reports more than 1.5 million acres of forest land and 39 tree species. Forest land is dominated by the elm/ash/cottonwood and oak/hickory forest types, which occupy nearly half of the total forest land area. The volume of growing stock on timberland currently totals 1.1 billion cubic feet. The average annual...

  18. Economic Value of the Carbon Sink Services of Tropical Secondary Forests and Its Management Implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramirez, O.A.; Carpio, C.E.; Ortiz, R.; Finnegan, B.

    2002-01-01

    This paper explores the economic feasibility of secondary forest regeneration and conservation as an alternative in the campaign addressing the problem of global warming. Detailed measurements of tropical secondary forests over time, in different ecological zones of Costa Rica, are used to evaluate carbon storage models. The paper addresses key issues in the international discussion about cross- and within-country compensation for carbon storage services and illustrates a method to compute/predict their economic value over time under a variety of scenarios. The procedure is applicable to other developing countries where secondary forest growth is increasingly important

  19. Allometric Scaling and Resource Limitations Model of Total Aboveground Biomass in Forest Stands: Site-scale Test of Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    CHOI, S.; Shi, Y.; Ni, X.; Simard, M.; Myneni, R. B.

    2013-12-01

    Sparseness in in-situ observations has precluded the spatially explicit and accurate mapping of forest biomass. The need for large-scale maps has raised various approaches implementing conjugations between forest biomass and geospatial predictors such as climate, forest type, soil property, and topography. Despite the improved modeling techniques (e.g., machine learning and spatial statistics), a common limitation is that biophysical mechanisms governing tree growth are neglected in these black-box type models. The absence of a priori knowledge may lead to false interpretation of modeled results or unexplainable shifts in outputs due to the inconsistent training samples or study sites. Here, we present a gray-box approach combining known biophysical processes and geospatial predictors through parametric optimizations (inversion of reference measures). Total aboveground biomass in forest stands is estimated by incorporating the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM). Two main premises of this research are: (a) The Allometric Scaling and Resource Limitations (ASRL) theory can provide a relationship between tree geometry and local resource availability constrained by environmental conditions; and (b) The zeroth order theory (size-frequency distribution) can expand individual tree allometry into total aboveground biomass at the forest stand level. In addition to the FIA estimates, two reference maps from the National Biomass and Carbon Dataset (NBCD) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) were produced to evaluate the model. This research focuses on a site-scale test of the biomass model to explore the robustness of predictors, and to potentially improve models using additional geospatial predictors such as climatic variables, vegetation indices, soil properties, and lidar-/radar-derived altimetry products (or existing forest canopy height maps). As results, the optimized ASRL estimates satisfactorily

  20. Fuel treatment effects on tree-based forest carbon storage and emissions under modeled wildfire scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. Hurteau; M. North

    2009-01-01

    Forests are viewed as a potential sink for carbon (C) that might otherwise contribute to climate change. It is unclear, however, how to manage forests with frequent fire regimes to maximize C storage while reducing C emissions from prescribed burns or wildfire. We modeled the effects of eight different fuel treatments on treebased C storage and release over a century,...

  1. Preliminary study of prairies forested with Eucalyptus sp. at the northwestern Uruguayan soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carrasco-Letelier, L.; Eguren, G.; Castineira, C.; Parra, O.; Panario, D.

    2004-01-01

    The forestation of Uruguayan natural prairie soil does not always ensure an increase of soil carbon sink. - The land cover change of Uruguayan Forestal Plan provoked biogeochemical changes on horizon Au 1 of Argiudols; in native prairies which were replaced by monoculture Eucalyptus sp. plantation with 20 year rotations as trees. Five fields forested and six natural prairies were compared. The results not only show a statistical significant soil acidification, diminution of soil organic carbon, increase of aliphaticity degree of humic substances, and increase of affinity and capacity of hydrolytic activity from soil microbial communities for forested sites with Eucalyptus sp. but also, a tendency of podzolization and/or mineralization by this kind of land cover changes, with a net soil organic lost of 16.6 tons ha -1 in the horizon Au 1 of soil under Eucalyptus sp. plantation compared with prairie. Besides, these results point out the necessity of correction of the methodology used by assigned Uruguayan commission to assess the national net emission of greenhouse gases, since the mineralization and/or podzolization process detected in forested soil imply a overestimation of soil organic carbon. The biochemical parameters show a statistical significant correlation between the soil organic carbon status and these parameters which were presented as essential for the correct evaluation of Uruguayan soil carbon sink

  2. Vulnerability of the peatland carbon sink to sea-level rise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittle, Alex; Gallego-Sala, Angela V.

    2016-01-01

    Freshwater peatlands are carbon accumulating ecosystems where primary production exceeds organic matter decomposition rates in the soil, and therefore perform an important sink function in global carbon cycling. Typical peatland plant and microbial communities are adapted to the waterlogged, often acidic and low nutrient conditions that characterise them. Peatlands in coastal locations receive inputs of oceanic base cations that shift conditions from the environmental optimum of these communities altering the carbon balance. Blanket bogs are one such type of peatlands occurring in hyperoceanic regions. Using a blanket bog to coastal marsh transect in Northwest Scotland we assess the impacts of salt intrusion on carbon accumulation rates. A threshold concentration of salt input, caused by inundation, exists corresponding to rapid acidophilic to halophilic plant community change and a carbon accumulation decline. For the first time, we map areas of blanket bog vulnerable to sea-level rise, estimating that this equates to ~7.4% of the total extent and a 0.22 Tg yr−1 carbon sink. Globally, tropical peatlands face the proportionally greatest risk with ~61,000 km2 (~16.6% of total) lying ≤5 m elevation. In total an estimated 20.2 ± 2.5 GtC is stored in peatlands ≤5 m above sea level, which are potentially vulnerable to inundation. PMID:27354088

  3. Vulnerability of the peatland carbon sink to sea-level rise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittle, Alex; Gallego-Sala, Angela V.

    2016-06-01

    Freshwater peatlands are carbon accumulating ecosystems where primary production exceeds organic matter decomposition rates in the soil, and therefore perform an important sink function in global carbon cycling. Typical peatland plant and microbial communities are adapted to the waterlogged, often acidic and low nutrient conditions that characterise them. Peatlands in coastal locations receive inputs of oceanic base cations that shift conditions from the environmental optimum of these communities altering the carbon balance. Blanket bogs are one such type of peatlands occurring in hyperoceanic regions. Using a blanket bog to coastal marsh transect in Northwest Scotland we assess the impacts of salt intrusion on carbon accumulation rates. A threshold concentration of salt input, caused by inundation, exists corresponding to rapid acidophilic to halophilic plant community change and a carbon accumulation decline. For the first time, we map areas of blanket bog vulnerable to sea-level rise, estimating that this equates to ~7.4% of the total extent and a 0.22 Tg yr-1 carbon sink. Globally, tropical peatlands face the proportionally greatest risk with ~61,000 km2 (~16.6% of total) lying ≤5 m elevation. In total an estimated 20.2 ± 2.5 GtC is stored in peatlands ≤5 m above sea level, which are potentially vulnerable to inundation.

  4. South Dakota's forests 2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronald J. Piva; W. Keith Moser; Douglas D. Haugan; Gregory J. Josten; Gary J. Brand; Brett J. Butler; Susan J. Crocker; Mark H. Hansen; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Christopher W. Woodall

    2009-01-01

    The first completed annual inventory of South Dakota's forests reports almost 1.7 million acres of forest land. Softwood forests make up 74 percent of the total forest land area; the ponderosa pine forest type by itself accounts for 69 percent of the total.

  5. [Accumulation of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in Pinus yunnanensis forests at different age stages].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Juan; Zhou, Chuan-Yan; Li, Shi-Jie; Yan, Jun-Hua

    2014-03-01

    Taking three Pinus yunnanensis forests at different ages (19, 28 and 45 a) in Panxian County of Guizhou Province as test objects, we investigated vertical distributions and accumulation rates of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN), as well as their relationships with soil bulk density. For the three forests at different age stages, SOC and TN changed consistently along the soil profile, declining with the soil depth. Both SOC and TN storage increased with the forest age. The SOC and TN storage amounts were 96.24, 121.65 and 148.13 t x hm(-2), and 10.76, 12.96 and 13.08 t x hm(-2) for the forest stands with 19 a, 28 a and 45 a, respectively. SOC had a significant positive correlation with soil TN, while both of them had a significant negative relationship with the soil bulk density. The accumulation rates of both SOC and TN storage at different growth periods were different, and the rate in the period from age 19 to 28 was higher than in the period from age 28 to 45.

  6. Low Carbon sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almahasheer, Hanan; Serrano, Oscar; Duarte, Carlos M; Arias-Ortiz, Ariane; Masque, Pere; Irigoien, Xabier

    2017-08-29

    Mangroves forests of Avicennia marina occupy about 135 km 2 in the Red Sea and represent one of the most important vegetated communities in this otherwise arid and oligotrophic region. We assessed the soil organic carbon (C org ) stocks, soil accretion rates (SAR; mm y -1 ) and soil C org sequestration rates (g C org m -2 yr -1 ) in 10 mangrove sites within four locations along the Saudi coast of the Central Red Sea. Soil C org density and stock in Red Sea mangroves were among the lowest reported globally, with an average of 4 ± 0.3 mg C org cm -3 and 43 ± 5 Mg C org ha -1 (in 1 m-thick soils), respectively. Sequestration rates of C org , estimated at 3 ± 1 and 15 ± 1 g C org m -2 yr -1 for the long (millennia) and short (last century) temporal scales, respectively, were also relatively low compared to mangrove habitats from more humid bioregions. In contrast, the accretion rates of Central Red Sea mangroves soils were within the range reported for global mangrove forests. The relatively low C org sink capacity of Red Sea mangroves could be due to the extreme environmental conditions such as low rainfall, nutrient limitation and high temperature, reducing the growth rates of the mangroves and increasing soil respiration rates.

  7. Total OH Reactivity Measurements in the Boreal Forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praplan, A. P.; Hellén, H.; Hakola, H.; Hatakka, J.

    2015-12-01

    INTRODUCTION Atmospheric total OH reactivity (Rtotal) can be measured (Kovacs and Brune, 2001; Sinha et al., 2008) or it can be calculated according to Rtotal = ∑i kOH+X_i [Xi] where kOH+X_i corresponds to the reaction rate coefficient for the reaction of OH with a given compound Xi and [Xi] its concentration. Studies suggest that in some environments a large fraction of missing reactivity, comparing calculated Rtotal with ambient total OH reactivity measurements (Di Carlo et al., 2004; Hofzumahaus et al., 2009). In this study Rtotal has been measured using the Comparative Reactivity Method (Sinha et al., 2008). Levels of the reference compound (pyrrole, C4H5N) are monitored by gas chromatography every 2 minutes and Rtotal is derived from the difference of reactivity between zero and ambient air. RESULTS Around 36 hours of preliminary total OH reactivity data (30 May until 2 June 2015) are presented in Fig. 1. Its range matches previous studies for this site (Nölscher et al., 2012; Sinha et al., 2010) and is similar to values in another pine forest (Nakashima et al., 2014). The setup used during the period presented here has been updated and more recent data will be presented, as well as a comparison with calculated OH reactivity from measured individual species. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by Academy of Finland (Academy Research Fellowship No. 275608). The authors acknowledge Juuso Raine for technical support. REFERENCES Di Carlo et al. (2004). Science 304, 722-725.Hofzumahaus et al. (2009). Science 324, 1702-1704.Kovacs and Brune (2001). J. Atmos. Chem. 39, 105-122.Nakashima et al. (2014). Atmos. Env. 85, 1-8.Nölscher et al. (2012). Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12, 8257-8270.Sinha et al. (2008). Atmos. Chem. Phys. 8, 2213-2227.Sinha et al. (2010). Environ. Sci. Technol. 44, 6614-6620.

  8. Radiocarbon and stable carbon isotope compositions of chemically fractionated soil organic matter in a temperate-zone forest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koarashi, Jun; Iida, Takao; Asano, Tomohiro

    2005-01-01

    To better understand the role of soil organic matter in terrestrial carbon cycle, carbon isotope compositions in soil samples from a temperate-zone forest were measured for bulk, acid-insoluble and base-insoluble organic matter fractions separated by a chemical fractionation method. The measurements also made it possible to estimate indirectly radiocarbon ( 14 C) abundances of acid- and base-soluble organic matter fractions, through a mass balance of carbon among the fractions. The depth profiles of 14 C abundances showed that (1) bomb-derived 14 C has penetrated the first 16 cm mineral soil at least; (2) Δ 14 C values of acid-soluble organic matter fraction are considerably higher than those of other fractions; and (3) a significant amount of the bomb-derived 14 C has been preserved as the base-soluble organic matter around litter-mineral soil boundary. In contrast, no or little bomb-derived 14 C was observed for the base-insoluble fraction in all sampling depths, indicating that this recalcitrant fraction, accounting for approximately 15% of total carbon in this temperate-zone forest soil, plays a role as a long-term sink in the carbon cycle. These results suggest that bulk soil organic matter cannot provide a representative indicator as a source or a sink of carbon in soil, particularly on annual to decadal timescales

  9. The declining uptake rate of atmospheric CO2 by land and ocean sinks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Raupach

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Through 1959–2012, an airborne fraction (AF of 0.44 of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions remained in the atmosphere, with the rest being taken up by land and ocean CO2 sinks. Understanding of this uptake is critical because it greatly alleviates the emissions reductions required for climate mitigation, and also reduces the risks and damages that adaptation has to embrace. An observable quantity that reflects sink properties more directly than the AF is the CO2 sink rate (kS, the combined land–ocean CO2 sink flux per unit excess atmospheric CO2 above preindustrial levels. Here we show from observations that kS declined over 1959–2012 by a factor of about 1 / 3, implying that CO2 sinks increased more slowly than excess CO2. Using a carbon–climate model, we attribute the decline in kS to four mechanisms: slower-than-exponential CO2 emissions growth (~ 35% of the trend, volcanic eruptions (~ 25%, sink responses to climate change (~ 20%, and nonlinear responses to increasing CO2, mainly oceanic (~ 20%. The first of these mechanisms is associated purely with the trajectory of extrinsic forcing, and the last two with intrinsic, feedback responses of sink processes to changes in climate and atmospheric CO2. Our results suggest that the effects of these intrinsic, nonlinear responses are already detectable in the global carbon cycle. Although continuing future decreases in kS will occur under all plausible CO2 emission scenarios, the rate of decline varies between scenarios in non-intuitive ways because extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms respond in opposite ways to changes in emissions: extrinsic mechanisms cause kS to decline more strongly with increasing mitigation, while intrinsic mechanisms cause kS to decline more strongly under high-emission, low-mitigation scenarios as the carbon–climate system is perturbed further from a near-linear regime.

  10. Reconstructing and modelling 71 years of forest growth in a Canadian boreal landscape : a test of the CBM-CFS3 carbon accounting model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bernier, P.Y.; Guindon, L. [Canadian Forest Service, Quebec, PQ (Canada). Laurentian Forestry Centre; Kurz, W.A.; Stinson, G. [Canadian Forest Service, Victoria, BC (Canada). Pacific Forestry Centre

    2010-01-15

    Modelled estimates have suggested that Canada's managed forests are now shifting from being carbon sinks to becoming carbon sources. This study evaluated the Canadian Forest Sector carbon budget model (CBM-CFS3). A reconstructed dataset of forest growth and disturbances encompassing a 62 km{sup 2} landscape spanning a 71 year period were used to demonstrate that the CBM-CFS3 simulations underestimated realized net biomass accrual by 10 per cent in undisturbed stands, and may also underestimate biomass accrual in disturbed stands. Results from the model were compared with mechanistic model predictions, flux-tower measurements of ecosystem carbon exchanges, and long-term observations of changes in biomass. The errors were attributed to the initial 1928 operational forest photointerpretation and inventory procedures used to determine merchantable volume and biomass. Regionally parameterized yield curves may also be contributing to errors. Results of the study suggested that long-term trends in climate or atmospheric composition may not have contributed to the bias. A similar exercise conducted in a Pacific coastal forest demonstrated a small relative impact on total carbon from forest management activities in the absence of natural disturbances. 30 refs., 1 tab., 8 figs.

  11. Remote Characterization of Biomass Measurements: Case Study of Mangrove Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatoyinbo, Temilola E.

    2010-01-01

    Accurately quantifying forest biomass is of crucial importance for climate change studies. By quantifying the amount of above and below ground biomass and consequently carbon stored in forest ecosystems, we are able to derive estimates of carbon sequestration, emission and storage and help close the carbon budget. Mangrove forests, in addition to providing habitat and nursery grounds for over 1300 animal species, are also an important sink of biomass. Although they only constitute about 3% of the total forested area globally, their carbon storage capacity -- in forested biomass and soil carbon -- is greater than that of tropical forests (Lucas et al, 2007). In addition, the amount of mangrove carbon -- in the form of litter and leaves exported into offshore areas is immense, resulting in over 10% of the ocean's dissolved organic carbon originating from mangroves (Dittmar et al, 2006) The measurement of forest above ground biomass is carried out on two major scales: on the plot scale, biomass can be measured using field measurements through allometric equation derivation and measurements of forest plots. On the larger scale, the field data are used to calibrate remotely sensed data to obtain stand-wide or even regional estimates of biomass. Currently, biomass can be calculated using average stand biomass values and optical data, such as aerial photography or satellite images (Landsat, Modis, Ikonos, SPOT, etc.). More recent studies have concentrated on deriving forest biomass values using radar (JERS, SIR-C, SRTM, Airsar) and/or lidar (ICEsat/GLAS, LVIS) active remote sensing to retrieve more accurate and detailed measurements of forest biomass. The implementation of a generation of new active sensors (UAVSar, DesdynI, Alos/Palsar, TerraX) has prompted the development of new tecm'liques of biomass estimation that use the combination of multiple sensors and datasets, to quantify past, current and future biomass stocks. Focusing on mangrove forest biomass estimation

  12. A novel high performance, ultra thin heat sink for electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Escher, W.; Michel, B.; Poulikakos, D.

    2010-01-01

    We present an ultra thin heat sink for electronics, combining optimized impinging slot-jets, micro-channels and manifolds for efficient cooling. We first introduce a three-dimensional numerical model of the heat transfer structure, to investigate its hydrodynamic and thermal performance and its sensitivity to geometric parameters. In a second step we propose a three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model representing the complete system. Based on this model we design a novel manifold providing uniform fluid distribution. In order to save computational time a simpler semi-empirical model is proposed and validated. The semi-empirical model allows a robust optimization of the heat sink geometric parameters. The design is optimized for a 2 x 2 cm 2 chip and provides a total thermal resistance of 0.087 cm 2 K/W for flow rates 2 for a temperature difference between fluid inlet and chip of 65 K.

  13. Carbon stocks and dynamics at different successional stages in an Afromontane tropical forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyirambangutse, Brigitte; Zibera, Etienne; Uwizeye, Félicien K.; Nsabimana, Donat; Bizuru, Elias; Pleijel, Håkan; Uddling, Johan; Wallin, Göran

    2017-03-01

    As a result of different types of disturbance, forests are a mixture of stands at different stages of ecological succession. Successional stage is likely to influence forest productivity and carbon storage, linking the degree of forest disturbance to the global carbon cycle and climate. Although tropical montane forests are an important part of tropical forest ecosystems (ca. 8 %, elevation > 1000 m a.s.l.), there are still significant knowledge gaps regarding the carbon dynamics and stocks of these forests, and how these differ between early (ES) and late successional (LS) stages. This study examines the carbon (C) stock, relative growth rate (RGR) and net primary production (NPP) of ES and LS forest stands in an Afromontane tropical rainforest using data from inventories of quantitatively important ecosystem compartments in fifteen 0.5 ha plots in Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda. The total C stock was 35 % larger in LS compared to ES plots due to significantly larger above-ground biomass (AGB; 185 and 76 Mg C ha-1 in LS and ES plots), while the soil and root C stock (down to 45 cm depth in the mineral soil) did not significantly differ between the two successional stages (178 and 204 Mg C ha-1 in LS and ES plots). The main reasons for the difference in AGB were that ES trees had significantly lower stature and wood density compared to LS trees. However, ES and LS stands had similar total NPP (canopy, wood and roots of all plots ˜ 9.4 Mg C ha-1) due to counterbalancing effects of differences in AGB (higher in LS stands) and RGR (higher in ES stands). The AGB in the LS plots was considerably higher than the average value reported for old-growth tropical montane forest of south-east Asia and Central and South America at similar elevations and temperatures, and of the same magnitude as in tropical lowland forest of these regions. The results of this study highlight the importance of accounting for disturbance regimes and differences in wood density and allometry of

  14. Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlesinger, W.H.; Lichter, J.

    2001-01-01

    The current rise in atmospheric CO 2 concentration is thought to be mitigated in part by carbon sequestration within forest ecosystems, where carbon can be stored in vegetation or soils. The storage of carbon in soils is determined by the fraction that is sequestered in persistent organic materials, such as humus. In experimental forest plots of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) exposed to high CO 2 concentrations, nearly half of the carbon uptake is allocated to short-lived tissues, largely foliage. These tissues fall to the ground and decompose, normally contributing only a small portion of their carbon content to refractory soil humic materials. Such findings call into question the role of soils as long-term carbon sinks, and show the need for a better understanding of carbon cycling in forest soils. Here we report a significant accumulation of carbon in the litter layer of experimental forest plots after three years of growth at increased CO 2 concentrations (565 μ l 1 ). But fast turnover times of organic carbon in the litter layer (of about three years) appear to constrain the potential size of this carbon sink. Given the observation that carbon accumulation in the deeper mineral soil layers was absent, we suggest that significant, long-term net carbon sequestration in forest soils is unlikely. (author)

  15. Differential sensitivity of total and active soil microbial communities to drought and forest management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastida, Felipe; Torres, Irene F; Andrés-Abellán, Manuela; Baldrian, Petr; López-Mondéjar, Rubén; Větrovský, Tomáš; Richnow, Hans H; Starke, Robert; Ondoño, Sara; García, Carlos; López-Serrano, Francisco R; Jehmlich, Nico

    2017-10-01

    Climate change will affect semiarid ecosystems through severe droughts that increase the competition for resources in plant and microbial communities. In these habitats, adaptations to climate change may consist of thinning-that reduces competition for resources through a decrease in tree density and the promotion of plant survival. We deciphered the functional and phylogenetic responses of the microbial community to 6 years of drought induced by rainfall exclusion and how forest management affects its resistance to drought, in a semiarid forest ecosystem dominated by Pinus halepensis Mill. A multiOMIC approach was applied to reveal novel, community-based strategies in the face of climate change. The diversity and the composition of the total and active soil microbiome were evaluated by 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and ITS (fungal) sequencing, and by metaproteomics. The microbial biomass was analyzed by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and the microbially mediated ecosystem multifunctionality was studied by the integration of soil enzyme activities related to the cycles of C, N, and P. The microbial biomass and ecosystem multifunctionality decreased in drought-plots, as a consequence of the lower soil moisture and poorer plant development, but this decrease was more notable in unthinned plots. The structure and diversity of the total bacterial community was unaffected by drought at phylum and order level, but did so at genus level, and was influenced by seasonality. However, the total fungal community and the active microbial community were more sensitive to drought and were related to ecosystem multifunctionality. Thinning in plots without drought increased the active diversity while the total diversity was not affected. Thinning promoted the resistance of ecosystem multifunctionality to drought through changes in the active microbial community. The integration of total and active microbiome analyses avoids misinterpretations of the links between the soil microbial

  16. Spatial and topographic trends in forest expansion and biomass change, from regional to local scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buma, Brian; Barrett, Tara M

    2015-09-01

    Natural forest growth and expansion are important carbon sequestration processes globally. Climate change is likely to increase forest growth in some regions via CO2 fertilization, increased temperatures, and altered precipitation; however, altered disturbance regimes and climate stress (e.g. drought) will act to reduce carbon stocks in forests as well. Observations of asynchrony in forest change is useful in determining current trends in forest carbon stocks, both in terms of forest density (e.g. Mg ha(-1) ) and spatially (extent and location). Monitoring change in natural (unmanaged) areas is particularly useful, as while afforestation and recovery from historic land use are currently large carbon sinks, the long-term viability of those sinks depends on climate change and disturbance dynamics at their particular location. We utilize a large, unmanaged biome (>135 000 km(2) ) which spans a broad latitudinal gradient to explore how variation in location affects forest density and spatial patterning: the forests of the North American temperate rainforests in Alaska, which store >2.8 Pg C in biomass and soil, equivalent to >8% of the C in contiguous US forests. We demonstrate that the regional biome is shifting; gains exceed losses and are located in different spatio-topographic contexts. Forest gains are concentrated on northerly aspects, lower elevations, and higher latitudes, especially in sheltered areas, whereas loss is skewed toward southerly aspects and lower latitudes. Repeat plot-scale biomass data (n = 759) indicate that within-forest biomass gains outpace losses (live trees >12.7 cm diameter, 986 Gg yr(-1) ) on gentler slopes and in higher latitudes. This work demonstrates that while temperate rainforest dynamics occur at fine spatial scales (biomass accumulation suggest the potential for relatively rapid biome shifts and biomass changes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Total and methyl mercury concentrations and fluxes from small boreal forest catchments in Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porvari, Petri; Verta, Matti

    2003-01-01

    Peatlands have higher methyl mercury output than uplands. - Total mercury (TotHg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations were studied in runoff from eight small (0.02-1.3 km 2 ) boreal forest catchments (mineral soil and peatland) during 1990-1995. Runoff waters were extremely humic (TOC 7-70 mg l -1 ). TotHg concentrations varied between 0.84 and 24 ng l -1 and MeHg between 0.03 and 3.8 ng l -1 . TotHg fluxes from catchments ranged from 0.92 to 1.8 g km -2 a -1 , and MeHg fluxes from 0.03 to 0.33 g km -2 a -1 . TotHg concentrations and output fluxes measured in runoff water from small forest catchments in Finland were comparable with those measured in other boreal regions. By contrast, MeHg concentrations were generally higher. Estimates for MeHg output fluxes in this study were comparable at sites with forests and wetlands in Sweden and North America, but clearly higher than those measured at upland or agricultural sites in other studies. Peatland catchments released more MeHg than pure mineral soil or mineral soil catchments with minor area of peatland

  18. Landfills as sinks for (hazardous) substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharff, Heijo

    2012-12-01

    The primary goal of waste regulations is to protect human health and the environment. This requires the removal from the material cycle of those materials that cannot be processed without harm. Policies to promote recycling hold a risk that pollutants are dispersed. Materials have an environmental impact during their entire life cycle from extraction through production, consumption and recycling to disposal. Essentially there are only two routes for pollutants that cannot be rendered harmless: storage in sinks or dispersion into the environment. Many sinks do not contain substances absolutely, but result in slow dispersion. Dispersion leads to exposure and impact to human health and the environment. It is therefore important to assess the impact of the release to the environment. Based on various sources this paper discusses important material flows and their potential impact. This is compared with the intentions and achievements of European environmental and resource policy. The polluter pays principle is being implemented in Europe, but lags behind implementation of waste management regulations. As long as producers are allowed to add hazardous substances to their products and don't take their products back, it is in society's best interest to carefully consider whether recycling or storage in a sink is the better solution. This requires further development of life-cycle assessment tools and harmonization of regulations. In many cases the sink is unavoidable. Landfills as sinks will be needed in the future. Fail-safe design and construction as well as sustainable management of landfills must be further developed.

  19. Long-term influence of alternative forest management treatments on total ecosystem and wood product carbon storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshua J. Puhlick; Aaron R. Weiskittel; Ivan J. Fernandez; Shawn Fraver; Laura S. Kenefic; Robert S. Seymour; Randall K. Kolka; Lindsey E. Rustad; John C. Brissette

    2016-01-01

    Developing strategies for reducing atmospheric CO2 is one of the foremost challenges facing natural resource professionals today. The goal of this study was to evaluate total ecosystem and harvested wood product carbon (C) stocks among alternative forest management treatments (selection cutting, shelterwood cutting, commercial clearcutting, and...

  20. Radionuclides in forest ecosystems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strebl, F.; Bossew, P.; Kienzl, K.; Hiesel, E.

    2000-01-01

    Some regions within Austria were highly contaminated (> 50 kBq m -2 ) with radiocaesium by the deposition event following the Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986. Monitoring carried out by several Austrian institutions showed that in contrast to agricultural products radiocaesium levels in wild berries, mushrooms and game meat from forest ecosystems remained considerably higher over the years. To find reasons for this contrasting radioecological behavior and for the derivation of model input parameters, an extended study about the distribution of 137 Cs within three Austrian forest stands was carried out between 1987 and 1997. Results of this and subsequent studies are summarized and include the following ecosystem compartments: forest soils, litter, trees, bilberry, mushrooms, mosses, ferns, lichen, other vegetation, insects, small mammals, game animals and surface water. Besides the investigation of radioecological behavior an estimation of pool sizes and transfer rates as well as radioecological residence half times for 137 Cs in different forest species was used to compile a radiocaesium balance for the years 1988 and 1996. Soil proved to be an effective sink for radiocaesium contamination, but in long-term perspective it can act as a source for the contamination of vegetation and higher levels of the food-chain as well. Due to the high standing biomass trees represent the largest 'living' radiocaesium pool within the investigated forest stand. Dose estimations based on average consume habits gave no significant increase (less than 0.4 %) of the annual average population radiation dose due to the ingestion of forest products from the investigated forest stands. (author)

  1. [Effects of climate change on forest soil organic carbon storage: a review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiao-yu; Zhang, Cheng-yi; Guo, Guang-fen

    2010-07-01

    Forest soil organic carbon is an important component of global carbon cycle, and the changes of its accumulation and decomposition directly affect terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage and global carbon balance. Climate change would affect the photosynthesis of forest vegetation and the decomposition and transformation of forest soil organic carbon, and further, affect the storage and dynamics of organic carbon in forest soils. Temperature, precipitation, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and other climatic factors all have important influences on the forest soil organic carbon storage. Understanding the effects of climate change on this storage is helpful to the scientific management of forest carbon sink, and to the feasible options for climate change mitigation. This paper summarized the research progress about the distribution of organic carbon storage in forest soils, and the effects of elevated temperature, precipitation change, and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on this storage, with the further research subjects discussed.

  2. Forest soil carbon is threatened by intensive biomass harvesting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achat, David L; Fortin, Mathieu; Landmann, Guy; Ringeval, Bruno; Augusto, Laurent

    2015-11-04

    Forests play a key role in the carbon cycle as they store huge quantities of organic carbon, most of which is stored in soils, with a smaller part being held in vegetation. While the carbon storage capacity of forests is influenced by forestry, the long-term impacts of forest managers' decisions on soil organic carbon (SOC) remain unclear. Using a meta-analysis approach, we showed that conventional biomass harvests preserved the SOC of forests, unlike intensive harvests where logging residues were harvested to produce fuelwood. Conventional harvests caused a decrease in carbon storage in the forest floor, but when the whole soil profile was taken into account, we found that this loss in the forest floor was compensated by an accumulation of SOC in deeper soil layers. Conversely, we found that intensive harvests led to SOC losses in all layers of forest soils. We assessed the potential impact of intensive harvests on the carbon budget, focusing on managed European forests. Estimated carbon losses from forest soils suggested that intensive biomass harvests could constitute an important source of carbon transfer from forests to the atmosphere (142-497 Tg-C), partly neutralizing the role of a carbon sink played by forest soils.

  3. Mineral cycling in a young Douglas fir forest stand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riekerk, H.

    1978-01-01

    Radiotracers for phosphorus ( 32 P), potassium (substitute 86 Rb), and calcium ( 45 Ca) were used to follow the turnover of nutrients entering the forest floor with rainwash. Phosphorus moved readily through the forest floor to be strongly retained by the acid mineral soil. Considerable phosphorus absorbed by trees was correlated with forest-floor leachate contents and became concentrated in physiologically active tissues. Losses with litterfall and rainwash were nondetectable; this indicated high retention and internal redistribution. Rapid movement toward sinks appeared to be characteristic. In contrast, the larger amounts of calcium added were absorbed by the exchange capacity of the forest floor, with subsequent small but relatively unrestricted movement through the soil and trees. Both calcium and potassium absorption by trees was correlated with mineral-soil leachate contents. Annual potassium mobility fell between that of phosphorus and calcium and appeared to be more dependent on temperature and moisture conditions of the forest ecosystem, with potassium moving rapidly in subcycles during wet periods of the growing season

  4. Disturbance, complexity, and succession of net ecosystem production in North America’s temperate deciduous forests

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gough, Christopher; Curtis, Peter; Hardiman, Brady; Scheuermann, Cynthia; Bond-Lamberty, Benjamin

    2016-06-29

    Century-old forests in the U.S. upper Midwest and Northeast power much of North Amer- ica’s terrestrial carbon (C) sink, but these forests’ production and C sequestration capacity are expected to soon decline as fast-growing early successional species die and are replaced by slower growing late successional species. But will this really happen? Here we marshal empirical data and ecological theory to argue that substantial declines in net ecosystem production (NEP) owing to reduced forest growth, or net primary production (NPP), are not imminent in regrown temperate deciduous forests over the next several decades. Forest age and production data for temperate deciduous forests, synthesized from published literature, suggest slight declines in NEP and increasing or stable NPP during middle successional stages. We revisit long-held hypotheses by EP Odum and others that suggest low-severity, high-frequency disturbances occurring in the region’s aging forests will, against intuition, maintain NEP at higher-than- expected rates by increasing ecosystem complexity, sustaining or enhancing NPP to a level that largely o sets rising C losses as heterotrophic respiration increases. This theoretical model is also supported by biological evidence and observations from the Forest Accelerated Succession Experiment in Michigan, USA. Ecosystems that experience high-severity disturbances that simplify ecosystem complexity can exhibit substantial declines in production during middle stages of succession. However, observations from these ecosystems have exerted a disproportionate in uence on assumptions regarding the trajectory and magnitude of age-related declines in forest production. We conclude that there is a wide ecological space for forests to maintain NPP and, in doing so, lessens the declines in NEP, with signi cant implications for the future of the North American carbon sink. Our intellectual frameworks for understanding forest C cycle dynamics and resilience need to

  5. Nitrogen and carbon source-sink relationships in trees at the Himalayan treelines compared with lower elevations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mai-He; Xiao, Wen-Fa; Shi, Peili; Wang, San-Gen; Zhong, Yong-De; Liu, Xing-Liang; Wang, Xiao-Dan; Cai, Xiao-Hu; Shi, Zuo-Min

    2008-10-01

    No single hypothesis or theory has been widely accepted for explaining the functional mechanism of global alpine/arctic treeline formation. The present study tested whether the alpine treeline is determined by (1) the needle nitrogen content associated with photosynthesis (carbon gain); (2) a sufficient source-sink ratio of carbon; or (3) a sufficient C-N ratio. Nitrogen does not limit the growth and development of trees studied at the Himalayan treelines. Levels of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in trees were species-specific and site-dependent; therefore, the treeline cases studied did not show consistent evidence of source/carbon limitation or sink/growth limitation in treeline trees. However, results of the combined three treelines showed that the treeline trees may suffer from a winter carbon shortage. The source capacity and the sink capacity of a tree influence its tissue NSC concentrations and the carbon balance; therefore, we suggest that the persistence and development of treeline trees in a harsh alpine environment may require a minimum level of the total NSC concentration, a sufficiently high sugar:starch ratio, and a balanced carbon source-sink relationship.

  6. A Greedy Scanning Data Collection Strategy for Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks with a Mobile Sink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chuan; Zhang, Sai; Han, Guangjie; Jiang, Jinfang; Rodrigues, Joel J P C

    2016-09-06

    Mobile sink is widely used for data collection in wireless sensor networks. It can avoid 'hot spot' problems but energy consumption caused by multihop transmission is still inefficient in real-time application scenarios. In this paper, a greedy scanning data collection strategy (GSDCS) is proposed, and we focus on how to reduce routing energy consumption by shortening total length of routing paths. We propose that the mobile sink adjusts its trajectory dynamically according to the changes of network, instead of predetermined trajectory or random walk. Next, the mobile sink determines which area has more source nodes, then it moves toward this area. The benefit of GSDCS is that most source nodes are no longer needed to upload sensory data for long distances. Especially in event-driven application scenarios, when event area changes, the mobile sink could arrive at the new event area where most source nodes are located currently. Hence energy can be saved. Analytical and simulation results show that compared with existing work, our GSDCS has a better performance in specific application scenarios.

  7. The importance of forest structure for carbon fluxes of the Amazon rainforest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rödig, Edna; Cuntz, Matthias; Rammig, Anja; Fischer, Rico; Taubert, Franziska; Huth, Andreas

    2018-05-01

    Precise descriptions of forest productivity, biomass, and structure are essential for understanding ecosystem responses to climatic and anthropogenic changes. However, relations between these components are complex, in particular for tropical forests. We developed an approach to simulate carbon dynamics in the Amazon rainforest including around 410 billion individual trees within 7.8 million km2. We integrated canopy height observations from space-borne LIDAR in order to quantify spatial variations in forest state and structure reflecting small-scale to large-scale natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Under current conditions, we identified the Amazon rainforest as a carbon sink, gaining 0.56 GtC per year. This carbon sink is driven by an estimated mean gross primary productivity (GPP) of 25.1 tC ha‑1 a‑1, and a mean woody aboveground net primary productivity (wANPP) of 4.2 tC ha‑1 a‑1. We found that successional states play an important role for the relations between productivity and biomass. Forests in early to intermediate successional states are the most productive, and woody above-ground carbon use efficiencies are non-linear. Simulated values can be compared to observed carbon fluxes at various spatial resolutions (>40 m). Notably, we found that our GPP corresponds to the values derived from MODIS. For NPP, spatial differences can be observed due to the consideration of forest successional states in our approach. We conclude that forest structure has a substantial impact on productivity and biomass. It is an essential factor that should be taken into account when estimating current carbon budgets or analyzing climate change scenarios for the Amazon rainforest.

  8. Coarse woody debris and soil respiration 6 years post-tornado in a Piedmont forest blowdown

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oldfield, C.; Peterson, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Severe wind disturbances can rapidly change carbon pools and fluxes in forests, causing a site to switch from a carbon sink to a source in a matter of minutes. Moreover, salvage logging after a disturbance can result in disturbed and compacted soil, altered woody debris carbon pools, and seedling mortality, all of which may further alter carbon dynamics beyond that caused by the disturbance itself. We measured down dead wood and soil respiration in the summer of 2017 at Boggs Creek Recreation Area in the Piedmont of northeast Georgia, the site of a severe tornado in 2011. Down dead wood and soil respiration were compared in control (intact forest), salvaged, and unsalvaged areas. Megagrams per hectare of down dead wood was significantly higher in the unsalvaged condition than the control or salvage logging condition (ANOVAs, pdead wood was not significantly different in the control when compared to the salvage logging condition (p=0.99). Soil respiration was significantly higher in the salvage logged condition than the control (pdead wood in a forest, and salvage logging may lead to greater soil respiration years after the initial disturbance, both of which will influence the time elapsed before a disturbed forest switches from carbon source to carbon sink. Further research is needed to determine the duration of these effects, along with the carbon consequences for other forest carbon pools.

  9. Total OH reactivity measurements using a new fast Gas Chromatographic Photo-Ionization Detector (GC-PID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Sinha

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The primary and most important oxidant in the atmosphere is the hydroxyl radical (OH. Currently OH sinks, particularly gas phase reactions, are poorly constrained. One way to characterize the overall sink of OH is to measure directly the ambient loss rate of OH, the total OH reactivity. To date, direct measurements of total OH reactivity have been either performed using a Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF system ("pump-and-probe" or "flow reactor" or the Comparative Reactivity Method (CRM with a Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS. Both techniques require large, complex and expensive detection systems. This study presents a feasibility assessment for CRM total OH reactivity measurements using a new detector, a Gas Chromatographic Photoionization Detector (GC-PID. Such a system is smaller, more portable, less power consuming and less expensive than other total OH reactivity measurement techniques.

    Total OH reactivity is measured by the CRM using a competitive reaction between a reagent (here pyrrole with OH alone and in the presence of atmospheric reactive molecules. The new CRM method for total OH reactivity has been tested with parallel measurements of the GC-PID and the previously validated PTR-MS as detector for the reagent pyrrole during laboratory experiments, plant chamber and boreal field studies. Excellent agreement of both detectors was found when the GC-PID was operated under optimum conditions. Time resolution (60–70 s, sensitivity (LOD 3–6 s−1 and overall uncertainty (25% in optimum conditions for total OH reactivity were similar to PTR-MS based total OH reactivity measurements. One drawback of the GC-PID system was the steady loss of sensitivity and accuracy during intensive measurements lasting several weeks, and a possible toluene interference. Generally, the GC-PID system has been shown to produce closely comparable results to the PTR-MS and thus in suitable environments (e.g. forests it

  10. 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)

  11. Coupled nutrient cycling determines tropical forest trajectory under elevated CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouskill, N.; Zhu, Q.; Riley, W. J.

    2017-12-01

    Tropical forests have a disproportionate capacity to affect Earth's climate relative to their areal extent. Despite covering just 12 % of land surface, tropical forests account for 35 % of global net primary productivity and are among the most significant of terrestrial carbon stores. As atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase over the next century, the capacity of tropical forests to assimilate and sequester anthropogenic CO2 depends on limitation by multiple factors, including the availability of soil nutrients. Phosphorus availability has been considered to be the primary factor limiting metabolic processes within tropical forests. However, recent evidence points towards strong spatial and temporal co-limitation of tropical forests by both nitrogen and phosphorus. Here, we use the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) Land Model (ALMv1-ECA-CNP) to examine how nutrient cycles interact and affect the trajectory of the tropical forest carbon sink under, (i) external nutrient input, (ii) climate (iii) elevated CO2, and (iv) a combination of 1-3. ALMv1 includes recent theoretical advances in representing belowground competition between roots, microbes and minerals for N and P uptake, explicit interactions between the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles (e.g., phosphatase production and nitrogen fixation), the dynamic internal allocation of plant N and P resources, and the integration of global datasets of plant physiological traits. We report nutrient fertilization (N, P, N+P) predictions for four sites in the tropics (El Verde, Puerto Rico, Barro Colorado Island, Panama, Manaus, Brazil and the Osa Peninsula, Coast Rica) to short-term nutrient fertilization (N, P, N+P), and benchmarking of the model against a meta-analysis of forest fertilization experiments. Subsequent simulations focus on the interaction of the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles across the tropics with a focus on the implications of coupled nutrient cycling and the fate of the tropical

  12. Trailblazing the Carbon Cycle of Tropical Forests from Puerto Rico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Brown

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available We review the literature that led to clarifying the role of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle from a time when they were considered sources of atmospheric carbon to the time when they were found to be atmospheric carbon sinks. This literature originates from work conducted by US Forest Service scientists in Puerto Rico and their collaborators. It involves the classification of forests by life zones, estimation of carbon density by forest type, assessing carbon storage changes with ecological succession and land use/land cover type, describing the details of the carbon cycle of forests at stand and landscape levels, assessing global land cover by forest type and the complexity of land use change in tropical regions, and assessing the ecological fluxes and storages that contribute to net carbon accumulation in tropical forests. We also review recent work that couples field inventory data, remote sensing technology such as LIDAR, and GIS analysis in order to more accurately determine the role of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle and point out new avenues of carbon research that address the responses of tropical forests to environmental change.

  13. Climate change, allergy and asthma, and the role of tropical forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amato, Gennaro; Vitale, Carolina; Rosario, Nelson; Neto, Herberto Josè Chong; Chong-Silva, Deborah Carla; Mendonça, Francisco; Perini, Josè; Landgraf, Loraine; Solé, Dirceu; Sánchez-Borges, Mario; Ansotegui, Ignacio; D'Amato, Maria

    2017-01-01

    Tropical forests cover less than 10 per cent of all land area (1.8 × 107 km 2 ) and over half of the tropical-forest area (1.1 × 107 Km 2 ) is represented by humid tropical forests (also called tropical rainforests). The Amazon basin contains the largest rainforest on Earth, almost 5.8 million km 2 , and occupies about 40% of South America; more than 60% of the basin is located in Brazil and the rest in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Over the past decade the positive role of tropical rainforests in capturing large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has been demonstrated. In response to the increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentration, tropical forests act as a global carbon sink. Accumulation of carbon in the tropical terrestrial biosphere strongly contributes to slowing the rate of increase of CO 2 into the atmosphere, thus resulting in the reduction of greenhouse gas effect. Tropical rainforests have been estimated to account for 32-36% of terrestrial Net Primary Productivity (NPP) that is the difference between total forest photosynthesis and plant respiration. Tropical rainforests have been acting as a strong carbon sink in this way for decades. However, over the past years, increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and especially CO 2 , in the atmosphere have significantly affected the net carbon balance of tropical rainforests, and have warmed the planet substantially driving climate changes through more severe and prolonged heat waves, variability in temperature, increased air pollution, forest fires, droughts, and floods. The role of tropical forests in mitigating climate change is therefore critical. Over the past 30 years almost 600,000 km 2 have been deforested in Brazil alone due to the rapid development of Amazonia, this is the reason why currently the region is one of the 'hotspots' of global environmental change on the planet. Deforestation represents the second largest

  14. Consequences of long-term severe industrial pollution for aboveground carbon and nitrogen pools in northern taiga forests at local and regional scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manninen, Sirkku; Zverev, Vitali; Bergman, Igor; Kozlov, Mikhail V

    2015-12-01

    Boreal coniferous forests act as an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. The overall tree carbon (C) sink in the forests of Europe has increased during the past decades, especially due to management and elevated nitrogen (N) deposition; however, industrial atmospheric pollution, primarily sulphur dioxide and heavy metals, still negatively affect forest biomass production at different spatial scales. We report local and regional changes in forest aboveground biomass, C and N concentrations in plant tissues, and C and N pools caused by long-term atmospheric emissions from a large point source, the nickel-copper smelter in Monchegorsk, in north-western Russia. An increase in pollution load (assessed as Cu concentration in forest litter) caused C to increase in foliage but C remained unchanged in wood, while N decreased in foliage and increased in wood, demonstrating strong effects of pollution on resource translocation between green and woody tissues. The aboveground C and N pools were primarily governed by plant biomass, which strongly decreased with an increase in pollution load. In our study sites (located 1.6-39.7 km from the smelter) living aboveground plant biomass was 76 to 4888 gm(-2), and C and N pools ranged 35-2333 g C m(-2) and 0.5-35.1 g N m(-2), respectively. We estimate that the aboveground plant biomass is reduced due to chronic exposure to industrial air pollution over an area of about 107,200 km2, and the total (aboveground and belowground) loss of phytomass C stock amounts to 4.24×10(13) g C. Our results emphasize the need to account for the overall impact of industrial polluters on ecosystem C and N pools when assessing the C and N dynamics in northern boreal forests because of the marked long-term negative effects of their emissions on structure and productivity of plant communities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Nitrogen retention across a gradient of 15N additions to an unpolluted temperate forest soil in Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perakis, Steven S.; Compton, J.E.; Hedin, L.O.

    2005-01-01

    Accelerated nitrogen (N) inputs can drive nonlinear changes in N cycling, retention, and loss in forest ecosystems. Nitrogen processing in soils is critical to understanding these changes, since soils typically are the largest N sink in forests. To elucidate soil mechanisms that underlie shifts in N cycling across a wide gradient of N supply, we added 15NH415NO3 at nine treatment levels ranging in geometric sequence from 0.2 kg to 640 kg NA? ha-1A? yr-1 to an unpolluted old-growth temperate forest in southern Chile. We recovered roughly half of tracers in 0-25 cm of soil, primarily in the surface 10 cm. Low to moderate rates of N supply failed to stimulate N leaching, which suggests that most unrecovered 15N was transferred from soils to unmeasured sinks above ground. However, soil solution losses of nitrate increased sharply at inputs > 160 kg NA? ha-1A? yr-1, corresponding to a threshold of elevated soil N availability and declining 15N retention in soil. Soil organic matter (15N in soils at the highest N inputs and may explain a substantial fraction of the 'missing N' often reported in studies of fates of N inputs to forests. Contrary to expectations, N additions did not stimulate gross N cycling, potential nitrification, or ammonium oxidizer populations. Our results indicate that the nonlinearity in N retention and loss resulted directly from excessive N supply relative to sinks, independent of plant-soil-microbial feedbacks. However, N additions did induce a sharp decrease in microbial biomass C:N that is predicted by N saturation theory, and which could increase long-term N storage in soil organic matter by lowering the critical C:N ratio for net N mineralization. All measured sinks accumulated 15N tracers across the full gradient of N supply, suggesting that short-term nonlinearity in N retention resulted from saturation of uptake kinetics, not uptake capacity, in plant, soil, and microbial pools.

  16. Maximizing Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Sink Nodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yourong Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to maximize network lifetime and balance energy consumption when sink nodes can move, maximizing lifetime of wireless sensor networks with mobile sink nodes (MLMS is researched. The movement path selection method of sink nodes is proposed. Modified subtractive clustering method, k-means method, and nearest neighbor interpolation method are used to obtain the movement paths. The lifetime optimization model is established under flow constraint, energy consumption constraint, link transmission constraint, and other constraints. The model is solved from the perspective of static and mobile data gathering of sink nodes. Subgradient method is used to solve the lifetime optimization model when one sink node stays at one anchor location. Geometric method is used to evaluate the amount of gathering data when sink nodes are moving. Finally, all sensor nodes transmit data according to the optimal data transmission scheme. Sink nodes gather the data along the shortest movement paths. Simulation results show that MLMS can prolong network lifetime, balance node energy consumption, and reduce data gathering latency under appropriate parameters. Under certain conditions, it outperforms Ratio_w, TPGF, RCC, and GRND.

  17. Potential to sequester carbon in Canadian forests: Some economic considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kooten, G.C. van; Arthur, L.M.; Wilson, W.R.

    1992-01-01

    The potential role of reforestation policies in reducing Canada's contribution to atmospheric CO 2 is examined. The results indicate sequestering carbon by reforestation of forest lands may be a cost-effective means for Canada to offset domestic emissions of CO 2 from other sources, and that planting forests on marginal agricultural lands also warrants consideration. But these policies need to be compared with alternatives for reducing CO 2 emissions to determine their relative cost-effectiveness. It is found that reforestation is more costly than policies to increase the fuel efficiency of automobiles, but economically more efficient than converting vehicles to natural gas. Forestation can make an important contribution to reduced atmospheric accumulation of carbon after the more cost-effective strategy, replacing less fuel-efficient automobiles, is exhausted (i.e. when the marginal costs of automobile emissions increase beyond those of forestation alternatives). Finally, it is demonstrated that, because of its vast forests, Canada is a net carbon sink. 26 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs

  18. Carbon stocks and greenhouse gas balance of an old-growth forest and an anthropogenic peatland in southern Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Quezada, J. F.; Brito, C. E.; Valdés, A.; Urrutia, P.

    2016-12-01

    Few studies have reported the effects of deforestation on carbon stocks and greenhouse gas balance in the temperate forests of the southern hemisphere. In some areas of southern Chile, after clear-cut or forest fires occurs a proliferation of Sphagnum moss, generating an anthropogenic type of peatland. We measured the effects of this change on the carbon stocks and the greenhouse gas balance, starting in 2013. Carbon stocks were measured in >30 plots on each site; ecosystem CO2 fluxes were measured continuously using eddy covariance stations; CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured monthly using closed chambers and cavity ring-down spectroscopy technology. Total ecosystem carbon stock was 1,523 Mg ha-1 in the forest and 130 Mg ha-1 in the peatland, representing a 91% difference. Both land use types were found to act as sinks of CO2 (NEE=-1094.2 and -31.9 g CO2 m-2 year-¹ for the forest and peatland, respectively); CH4 was mainly captured in the forest and peatland soils, generating balances of -0.70 and -0.12 g CH₄ m-2 year-¹. N2O fluxes were extremely low, so were considered as null. These results indicate that the greenhouse gas balance moved from -1134.6 to -38.8 g CO2-eq m-2 year-1 when land use changed from forest to anthropogenic peatland. These results provide evidence of the importance of preserving old-growth forests in southern Chile.

  19. Forest productivity in southwestern Europe is controlled by coupled North Atlantic and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations

    OpenAIRE

    Madrigal Gonzalez, Jaime; Ballesteros Canovas, Juan Antonio; Herrero, Asier; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Stoffel, Markus; Lucas-Borja, Manuel E.; Andivia, Enrique; Sancho-García, Cesar; Zavala, Miguel A.

    2017-01-01

    The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) depicts annual and decadal oscillatory modes of variability responsible for dry spells over the European continent. The NAO therefore holds a great potential to evaluate the role, as carbon sinks, of water-limited forests under climate change. However, uncertainties related to inconsistent responses of long-term forest productivity to NAO have so far hampered firm conclusions on its impacts. We hypothesize that, in part, such inconsistencies might have the...

  20. White Spruce Plantations on Abandoned Agricultural Land: Are They More Effective as C Sinks than Natural Succession?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvie Tremblay

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to compare organic carbon (C accumulation in plantations (PL and natural succession (NS established on fallow lands along a 50-year chronosequence in the eastern mixed forest subzone of Quebec (Canada. Above- and below-ground woody biomass were estimated from vegetation measurement surveys, and litter and soil (0–50 cm depth C from samplings. At the year of abandonment, total C content of both PL and NS sites averaged 100 ± 13 Mg C ha−1. Over 50 years, total C content doubled on NS sites and tripled on PL sites (217.9 ± 28.7 vs. 285.7 ± 31.0 Mg ha−1 with respect to fallow land. On NS sites, the new C stocks accumulated entirely in the vegetation. On PL sites, C accumulated mostly in the vegetation and to a lesser extent in the litter, whereas it decreased by a third in the soil. As a result, the net C accumulation rate was 1.7 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1 yr−1 greater on PL sites than on NS sites over 50 years. By the 23rd year, PL sites became greater net C sinks than NS sites in the fallow lands of the study area, even with the loss of soil C.

  1. Static vs. mobile sink: The influence of basic parameters on energy efficiency in wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Majid I; Gansterer, Wilfried N; Haring, Guenter

    2013-05-15

    Over the last decade a large number of routing protocols has been designed for achieving energy efficiency in data collecting wireless sensor networks. The drawbacks of using a static sink are well known. It has been argued in the literature that a mobile sink may improve the energy dissipation compared to a static one. Some authors focus on minimizing Emax , the maximum energy dissipation of any single node in the network, while others aim at minimizing Ebar , the average energy dissipation over all nodes. In our paper we take a more holistic view, considering both Emax and Ebar . The main contribution of this paper is to provide a simulation-based analysis of the energy efficiency of WSNs with static and mobile sinks. The focus is on two important configuration parameters: mobility path of the sink and duty cycling value of the nodes. On the one hand, it is well known that in the case of a mobile sink with fixed trajectory the choice of the mobility path influences energy efficiency. On the other hand, in some types of applications sensor nodes spend a rather large fraction of their total lifetime in idle mode, and therefore higher energy efficiency can be achieved by using the concept of reduced duty cycles. In particular, we quantitatively analyze the influence of duty cycling and the mobility radius of the sink as well as their interrelationship in terms of energy consumption for a well-defined model scenario. The analysis starts from general load considerations and is refined into a geometrical model. This model is validated by simulations which are more realistic in terms of duty cycling than previous work. It is illustrated that over all possible configuration scenarios in terms of duty cycle and mobility radius of the sink the energy dissipation in the WSN can vary up to a factor of nine in terms of Emax and up to a factor of 17 in terms of Ebar. It turns out that in general the choice of the duty cycle value is more important for achieving energy

  2. Investigation of Heat Sink Efficiency for Electronic Component Cooling Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staliulionis, Ž.; Zhang, Zhe; Pittini, Riccardo

    2014-01-01

    Research and optimisation of cooling of electronic components using heat sinks becomes increasingly important in modern industry. Numerical methods with experimental real-world verification are the main tools to evaluate efficiency of heat sinks or heat sink systems. Here the investigation...... of relatively simple heat sink application is performed using modeling based on finite element method, and also the potential of such analysis was demonstrated by real-world measurements and comparing obtained results. Thermal modeling was accomplished using finite element analysis software COMSOL and thermo...

  3. The new forest carbon accounting framework for the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domke, G. M.; Woodall, C. W.; Coulston, J.; Wear, D. N.; Healey, S. P.; Walters, B. F.

    2015-12-01

    The forest carbon accounting system used in recent National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGI) was developed more than a decade ago when the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis annual inventory system was in its infancy and contemporary questions regarding the terrestrial sink (e.g., attribution) did not exist. The time has come to develop a new framework that can quickly address new questions, enables forest carbon analytics, and uses all the inventory information (e.g., disturbances and land use change) while having the flexibility to engage a wider breadth of stakeholders and partner agencies. The Forest Carbon Accounting Framework (FCAF) is comprised of a forest dynamics module and a land use dynamics module. Together these modules produce data-driven estimates of carbon stocks and stock changes in forest ecosystems that are sensitive to carbon sequestration, forest aging, and disturbance effects as well as carbon stock transfers associated with afforestation and deforestation. The new accounting system was used in the 2016 NGHGI report and research is currently underway to incorporate emerging non-live tree carbon pool data, remotely sensed information, and auxiliary data (e.g., climate information) into the FCAF.

  4. Temperature effects on sinking velocity of different Emiliania huxleyi strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosas-Navarro, Anaid; Langer, Gerald; Ziveri, Patrizia

    2018-01-01

    The sinking properties of three strains of Emiliania huxleyi in response to temperature changes were examined. We used a recently proposed approach to calculate sinking velocities from coccosphere architecture, which has the advantage to be applicable not only to culture samples, but also to field samples including fossil material. Our data show that temperature in the sub-optimal range impacts sinking velocity of E. huxleyi. This response is widespread among strains isolated in different locations and moreover comparatively predictable, as indicated by the similar slopes of the linear regressions. Sinking velocity was positively correlated to temperature as well as individual cell PIC/POC over the sub-optimum to optimum temperature range in all strains. In the context of climate change our data point to an important influence of global warming on sinking velocities. It has recently been shown that seawater acidification has no effect on sinking velocity of a Mediterranean E. huxleyi strain, while nutrient limitation seems to have a small negative effect on sinking velocity. Given that warming, acidification, and lowered nutrient availability will occur simultaneously under climate change scenarios, the question is what the net effect of different influential factors will be. For example, will the effects of warming and nutrient limitation cancel? This question cannot be answered conclusively but analyses of field samples in addition to laboratory culture studies will improve predictions because in field samples multi-factor influences and even evolutionary changes are not excluded. As mentioned above, the approach of determining sinking rate followed here is applicable to field samples. Future studies could use it to analyse not only seasonal and geographic patterns but also changes in sinking velocity over geological time scales.

  5. Characterizing source-sink dynamics with genetic parentage assignments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peery, M. Zachariah; Beissinger, Steven R.; House, Roger F.; Berube, Martine; Hall, Laurie A.; Sellas, Anna; Palsboll, Per J.

    2008-01-01

    Source-sink dynamics have been suggested to characterize the population structure of many species, but the prevalence of source-sink systems in nature is uncertain because of inherent challenges in estimating migration rates among populations. Migration rates are often difficult to estimate directly

  6. 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.

  7. Determinants of total and available phosphorus in forested Alfisols and Ultisols of the Ozark Highlands, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurbir Singh; Keith W. Goyne; John M. Kabrick

    2015-01-01

    Phosphorus is an important nutrient limiting forest growth in many parts of world, and soil P forms and concentrations may be associated with a host of soil and environmental attributes in a complex soil landscape. The objective of this study was to identify key environmental and soil properties influencing total and available soil P concentrations in a mixed oak (

  8. Missing Peroxy Radical Sources Within a Rural Forest Canopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, G. M.; Cantrell, C.; Kim, S.; Mauldin, R. L., III; Karl, T.; Harley, P.; Turnipseed, A.; Zheng, W.; Flocke, F.; Apel, E. C.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Organic peroxy (RO2) and hydroperoxy (HO2) radicals are key intermediates in the photochemical processes that generate ozone, secondary organic aerosol and reactive nitrogen reservoirs throughout the troposphere. In regions with ample biogenic hydrocarbons, the richness and complexity of peroxy radical chemistry presents a significant challenge to current-generation models, especially given the scarcity of measurements in such environments. We present peroxy radical observations acquired within a Ponderosa pine forest during the summer 2010 Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics and Nitrogen - Rocky Mountain Organic Carbon Study (BEACHON-ROCS). Total peroxy radical mixing ratios reach as high as 180 pptv and are among the highest yet recorded. Using the comprehensive measurement suite to constrain a near-explicit 0-D box model, we investigate the sources, sinks and distribution of peroxy radicals below the forest canopy. The base chemical mechanism underestimates total peroxy radicals by as much as a factor of 3. Since primary reaction partners for peroxy radicals are either measured (NO) or under-predicted (HO2 and RO2, i.e. self-reaction), missing sources are the most likely explanation for this result. A close comparison of model output with observations reveals at least two distinct source signatures. The first missing source, characterized by a sharp midday maximum and a strong dependence on solar radiation, is consistent with photolytic production of HO2. The diel profile of the second missing source peaks in the afternoon and suggests a process that generates RO2 independently of sun-driven photochemistry, such as ozonolysis of reactive hydrocarbons. The maximum magnitudes of these missing sources (approximately 120 and 50 pptv min-1, respectively) are consistent with previous observations alluding to unexpectedly intense oxidation within forests. We conclude that a similar mechanism may underlie many such observations.

  9. Charcoal and Total Carbon in Soils from Foothills Shrublands to Subalpine Forests in the Colorado Front Range

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Sanford

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Temperate conifer forests in the Colorado Front Range are fire-adapted ecosystems where wildland fires leave a legacy in the form of char and charcoal. Long-term soil charcoal C (CC pools result from the combined effects of wildland fires, aboveground biomass characteristics and soil transfer mechanisms. We measured CC pools in surface soils (0–10 cm at mid-slope positions on east facing aspects in five continuous foothills shrubland and conifer forest types. We found a significant statistical effect of vegetation type on CC pools along this ecological gradient, but not a linear pattern increasing with elevation gain. There is a weak bimodal pattern of CC gain with elevation between foothills shrublands (1.2 mg CC ha−1 and the lower montane, ponderosa pine (1.5 mg CC ha−1 and Douglas-fir (1.5 mg CC ha−1 forest types prior to a mid-elevation decline in upper montane lodgepole pine forests (1.2 mg CC ha−1 before increasing again in the spruce/subalpine fir forests (1.5 mg CC ha−1. We propose that CC forms and accumulates via unique ecological conditions such as fire regime. The range of soil CC amounts and ratios of CC to total SOC are comparable to but lower than other regional estimates.

  10. Carbon in boreal coniferous forest soil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Westman, C J; Ilvesniemi, H; Liski, J; Mecke, M [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Forest Ecology; Fritze, H; Helmisaari, H S; Pietikaeinen, J; Smolander, A [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Vantaa (Finland)

    1997-12-31

    The working hypothesis of the research was that the soil of boreal forests is a large carbon store and the amount of C is still increasing in young soils, like in the forest soils of Finland, which makes these soils important sinks for atmospheric CO{sub 2}. Since the processes defining the soil C balance, primary production of plants and decomposition, are dependent on environmental factors and site properties, it was assumed that the organic carbon pool in the soil is also dependent on the same factors. The soil C store is therefore likely to change in response to climatic warming. The aim of this research was to estimate the C balance of forest soil in Finland and predict changes in the balance in response to changes in climatic conditions. To achieve the aim (1) intensive empirical experimentation on the density of C in different pools in the soil and on fluxes between the pools was done was done, (2) the effect of site fertility and climate on the amount and properties of organic C in forest soil was investigated and (3) dynamic modelling for investigating dynamics of the soil C storage was used

  11. Carbon in boreal coniferous forest soil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Westman, C.J.; Ilvesniemi, H.; Liski, J.; Mecke, M. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Forest Ecology; Fritze, H.; Helmisaari, H.S.; Pietikaeinen, J.; Smolander, A. [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Vantaa (Finland)

    1996-12-31

    The working hypothesis of the research was that the soil of boreal forests is a large carbon store and the amount of C is still increasing in young soils, like in the forest soils of Finland, which makes these soils important sinks for atmospheric CO{sub 2}. Since the processes defining the soil C balance, primary production of plants and decomposition, are dependent on environmental factors and site properties, it was assumed that the organic carbon pool in the soil is also dependent on the same factors. The soil C store is therefore likely to change in response to climatic warming. The aim of this research was to estimate the C balance of forest soil in Finland and predict changes in the balance in response to changes in climatic conditions. To achieve the aim (1) intensive empirical experimentation on the density of C in different pools in the soil and on fluxes between the pools was done was done, (2) the effect of site fertility and climate on the amount and properties of organic C in forest soil was investigated and (3) dynamic modelling for investigating dynamics of the soil C storage was used

  12. How did climate drying reduce ecosystem carbon storage in the forest-steppe ecotone? A case study in Inner Mongolia, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuke; Liu, Hongyan

    2010-07-01

    The projected recession of forests in the forest-steppe ecotone under projected climate drying would restrict the carbon sink function of terrestrial ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that the forest-steppe ecotone in the southeastern Inner Mongolia Plateau originally resulted from climate drying and vegetation shifts during the mid- to late-Holocene, but the interrelated processes of changing soil carbon storage and vegetation and soil shifts remain unclear. A total of 44 forest soil profiles and 40 steppe soil profiles were excavated to determine soil carbon storage in deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF), coniferous forests (CF) and steppe (ST) in this area. Carbon density was estimated to be 106.51 t/hm(2) (DBF), 73.20 t/hm(2) (CF), and 28.14 t/hm(2) (ST) for these ecosystems. Soil organic carbon (SOC) content was negatively correlated with sand content (R = -0.879, P ecotone. Changes in carbon storage caused by climate drying can be divided into two stages: (1) carbon storage of the ecosystem was reduced to 68.7%, mostly by soil coarsening when DBF were replaced by CF at approximately 5,900 (14)C years before present (BP); and (2) carbon storage was reduced to 26.4%, mostly by vegetation shifts when CF were replaced by ST at approximately 2,900 (14)C years BP.

  13. Improving predictions of tropical forest response to climate change through integration of field studies and ecosystem modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xiaohui; Uriarte, María; González, Grizelle; Reed, Sasha C.; Thompson, Jill; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Murphy, Lora

    2018-01-01

    Tropical forests play a critical role in carbon and water cycles at a global scale. Rapid climate change is anticipated in tropical regions over the coming decades and, under a warmer and drier climate, tropical forests are likely to be net sources of carbon rather than sinks. However, our understanding of tropical forest response and feedback to climate change is very limited. Efforts to model climate change impacts on carbon fluxes in tropical forests have not reached a consensus. Here we use the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2) to predict carbon fluxes of a Puerto Rican tropical forest under realistic climate change scenarios. We parameterized ED2 with species-specific tree physiological data using the Predictive Ecosystem Analyzer workflow and projected the fate of this ecosystem under five future climate scenarios. The model successfully captured inter-annual variability in the dynamics of this tropical forest. Model predictions closely followed observed values across a wide range of metrics including above-ground biomass, tree diameter growth, tree size class distributions, and leaf area index. Under a future warming and drying climate scenario, the model predicted reductions in carbon storage and tree growth, together with large shifts in forest community composition and structure. Such rapid changes in climate led the forest to transition from a sink to a source of carbon. Growth respiration and root allocation parameters were responsible for the highest fraction of predictive uncertainty in modeled biomass, highlighting the need to target these processes in future data collection. Our study is the first effort to rely on Bayesian model calibration and synthesis to elucidate the key physiological parameters that drive uncertainty in tropical forests responses to climatic change. We propose a new path forward for model-data synthesis that can substantially reduce uncertainty in our ability to model tropical forest responses to future climate.

  14. Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Jun; Wang, Zhangwei; Zhang, Xiaoshan; Chen, Jian

    2015-01-01

    Tieshanping catchment in southwest China was supposed to a large pool of atmospheric mercury. This work was aimed to examine THg (total mercury) concentrations, pools and influence factors in the acidic forest. THg concentrations were highly elevated in the study area, which was significantly depended on TOM (total organic matter) concentrations and altitudinal elevation, whereas negatively correlated with soil pH. The pools of mercury accumulated in soils were correlated strongly with the stocks of TOM and altitude, ranged from 5.9 to 32 mg m −2 and averaged 14.5 mg m −2 , indicating that the acidic forest was a great sink of atmospheric mercury in southwest China. THg concentrations in stream waters decreased with altitude increasing and regression analyses showed that soil/air exchange flux would be increased with the decrease of altitude. Present results suggest that elevation increasing decreases THg losses as low THg concentrations in runoffs and volatilization from soils. - Highlights: • Soil THg pools and influence factors were studied at an acidic catchment in southwestern China. • THg concentrations was increased significantly with TOM concentrations and altitude increasing, decreased with pH. • THg pools in soils were highly elevated and deepened on TOM pools and altitude. • Difference in THg output by volatilization and runoff was a major reason for THg distribution at different altitudes. - Mercury pools increased with altitude increasing as mercury lost more at low elevation area in acidic subtropical forest

  15. Long-term effects of clear-cutting and selective cutting on soil methane fluxes in a temperate spruce forest in southern Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Xing; Brueggemann, Nicolas; Gasche, Rainer; Papen, Hans; Willibald, Georg; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus

    2011-01-01

    Based on multi-year measurements of CH 4 exchange in sub-daily resolution we show that clear-cutting of a forest in Southern Germany increased soil temperature and moisture and decreased CH 4 uptake. CH 4 uptake in the first year after clear-cutting (-4.5 ± 0.2 μg C m -2 h -1 ) was three times lower than during the pre-harvest period (-14.2 ± 1.3 μg C m -2 h -1 ). In contrast, selective cutting did not significantly reduce CH 4 uptake. Annual mean uptake rates were -1.18 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (spruce control), -1.16 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (selective cut site) and -0.44 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (clear-cut site), respectively. Substantial seasonal and inter-annual variations in CH 4 fluxes were observed as a result of significant variability of weather conditions, demonstrating the need for long-term measurements. Our findings imply that a stepwise selective cutting instead of clear-cutting may contribute to mitigating global warming by maintaining a high CH 4 uptake capacity of the soil. - Highlights: → Long-term, sub-daily measurements of CH 4 exchange at differently managed forest sites. → Inter-annual variability in CH 4 uptake is affected by annual precipitation. → Clear-cutting reduces the CH 4 sink strength of forest soils, whereas thinning has no significant effect. → Sink strength changes due to clear cutting are long-term and were still present approx. nine years following forest harvest. - Forest management affects the soil CH 4 sink strength, with clear-cutting reducing uptake rates for at least eight years.

  16. Pathway of phloem unloading in tobacco sink leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turgeon, R.

    1987-01-01

    Phloem unloading in transition sink leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was analyzed by quantitative autoradiography. Source leaves were labeled with 14 CO 2 and experimental treatments were begun approximately 1 h later when label had entered the sink leaves. Autoradiographs were prepared from rapidly frozen, lyophilized sink tissue at the beginning and end of the treatments and the amount of label in veins and in surrounding cells was determined by microdensitometry. Photoassimilate unloaded from third order and larger, but not smaller, veins. Long-distance import and unloading did not respond the same way to all experimental treatments. Import was completely inhibited by cold, anaerobiosis or steam girdling the sink leaf petiole. Unloading was inhibited by cold but continued in an anaerobic atmosphere and after steam girdling. Uptake of exogenous [ 14 C]sucrose was inhibited by anaerobiosis. Since an apoplastic pathway of phloem unloading would involve solute uptake from the apoplast the results are most consistent with passive symplastic unloading of photoassimilates from phloem to surrounding cells

  17. Organic carbon efflux from a deciduous forest catchment in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. J. Kim

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Soil infiltration and surface discharge of precipitation are critical processes that affect the efflux of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC in forested catchments. Concentrations of DOC and POC can be very high in the soil surface in most forest ecosystems and their efflux may not be negligible particularly under the monsoon climate. In East Asia, however, there are little data available to evaluate the role of such processes in forest carbon budget. In this paper, we address two basic questions: (1 how does stream discharge respond to storm events in a forest catchment? and (2 how much DOC and POC are exported from the catchment particularly during the summer monsoon period? To answer these questions, we collected hydrological data (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture, runoff discharge, groundwater level and conducted hydrochemical analyses (including DOC, POC, and six tracers in a deciduous forest catchment in Gwangneung National Arboretum in west-central Korea. Based on the end-member mixing analysis of the six storm events during the summer monsoon in 2005, the surface discharge was estimated as 30 to 80% of the total runoff discharge. The stream discharge responded to precipitation within 12 h during these storm events. The annual efflux of DOC and POC from the catchment was estimated as 0.04 and 0.05 t C ha−1 yr−1, respectively. Approximately 70% of the annual organic carbon efflux occurred during the summer monsoon period. Overall, the annual efflux of organic carbon was estimated to be about 10% of the Net Ecosystem carbon Exchange (NEE obtained by eddy covariance measurement at the same site. Considering the current trends of increasing intensity and amount of summer rainfall and the large interannual variability in NEE, ignoring the organic carbon efflux from forest catchments would result in an inaccurate estimation of the carbon sink strength of forest ecosystems in the monsoon

  18. The potential contribution of sinks to meeting Kyoto Protocol commitments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Missfeldt, F.; Haites, E.

    2001-01-01

    scenario, at least some of the sinks have costs lower than the market price, so the larger the eligible sinks, the lower the compliance costs for industrialised countries. Greater use of sinks also reduces the net income received by the economies in transition and developing countries. Increased use......, a range of average costs is used with the lowest cost allowing maximum use of sinks. The effects considered are the impacts on compliance costs for OECD countries, economies in transition, and developing countries and the mix of actions used by industrialised countries to achieve compliance. In every...

  19. MODIS Based Estimation of Forest Aboveground Biomass in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guodong Yin

    Full Text Available Accurate estimation of forest biomass C stock is essential to understand carbon cycles. However, current estimates of Chinese forest biomass are mostly based on inventory-based timber volumes and empirical conversion factors at the provincial scale, which could introduce large uncertainties in forest biomass estimation. Here we provide a data-driven estimate of Chinese forest aboveground biomass from 2001 to 2013 at a spatial resolution of 1 km by integrating a recently reviewed plot-level ground-measured forest aboveground biomass database with geospatial information from 1-km Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS dataset in a machine learning algorithm (the model tree ensemble, MTE. We show that Chinese forest aboveground biomass is 8.56 Pg C, which is mainly contributed by evergreen needle-leaf forests and deciduous broadleaf forests. The mean forest aboveground biomass density is 56.1 Mg C ha-1, with high values observed in temperate humid regions. The responses of forest aboveground biomass density to mean annual temperature are closely tied to water conditions; that is, negative responses dominate regions with mean annual precipitation less than 1300 mm y-1 and positive responses prevail in regions with mean annual precipitation higher than 2800 mm y-1. During the 2000s, the forests in China sequestered C by 61.9 Tg C y-1, and this C sink is mainly distributed in north China and may be attributed to warming climate, rising CO2 concentration, N deposition, and growth of young forests.

  20. MODIS Based Estimation of Forest Aboveground Biomass in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yan; Wang, Tao; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Piao, Shilong

    2015-01-01

    Accurate estimation of forest biomass C stock is essential to understand carbon cycles. However, current estimates of Chinese forest biomass are mostly based on inventory-based timber volumes and empirical conversion factors at the provincial scale, which could introduce large uncertainties in forest biomass estimation. Here we provide a data-driven estimate of Chinese forest aboveground biomass from 2001 to 2013 at a spatial resolution of 1 km by integrating a recently reviewed plot-level ground-measured forest aboveground biomass database with geospatial information from 1-km Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) dataset in a machine learning algorithm (the model tree ensemble, MTE). We show that Chinese forest aboveground biomass is 8.56 Pg C, which is mainly contributed by evergreen needle-leaf forests and deciduous broadleaf forests. The mean forest aboveground biomass density is 56.1 Mg C ha−1, with high values observed in temperate humid regions. The responses of forest aboveground biomass density to mean annual temperature are closely tied to water conditions; that is, negative responses dominate regions with mean annual precipitation less than 1300 mm y−1 and positive responses prevail in regions with mean annual precipitation higher than 2800 mm y−1. During the 2000s, the forests in China sequestered C by 61.9 Tg C y−1, and this C sink is mainly distributed in north China and may be attributed to warming climate, rising CO2 concentration, N deposition, and growth of young forests. PMID:26115195

  1. MODIS Based Estimation of Forest Aboveground Biomass in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Guodong; Zhang, Yuan; Sun, Yan; Wang, Tao; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Piao, Shilong

    2015-01-01

    Accurate estimation of forest biomass C stock is essential to understand carbon cycles. However, current estimates of Chinese forest biomass are mostly based on inventory-based timber volumes and empirical conversion factors at the provincial scale, which could introduce large uncertainties in forest biomass estimation. Here we provide a data-driven estimate of Chinese forest aboveground biomass from 2001 to 2013 at a spatial resolution of 1 km by integrating a recently reviewed plot-level ground-measured forest aboveground biomass database with geospatial information from 1-km Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) dataset in a machine learning algorithm (the model tree ensemble, MTE). We show that Chinese forest aboveground biomass is 8.56 Pg C, which is mainly contributed by evergreen needle-leaf forests and deciduous broadleaf forests. The mean forest aboveground biomass density is 56.1 Mg C ha-1, with high values observed in temperate humid regions. The responses of forest aboveground biomass density to mean annual temperature are closely tied to water conditions; that is, negative responses dominate regions with mean annual precipitation less than 1300 mm y-1 and positive responses prevail in regions with mean annual precipitation higher than 2800 mm y-1. During the 2000s, the forests in China sequestered C by 61.9 Tg C y-1, and this C sink is mainly distributed in north China and may be attributed to warming climate, rising CO2 concentration, N deposition, and growth of young forests.

  2. Controls and forecasts of nitrate yields in forested watersheds: A view over mainland Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacheco, F A L; Santos, R M B; Sanches Fernandes, L F; Pereira, M G; Cortes, R M V

    2015-12-15

    A study on nitrate yields was conducted in forested watersheds of mainland Portugal. The prime goal was to rank parameters in descending order of their contribution to the export of nitrate towards streams and lakes. To attain the goal, variables like soil loss, rainfall intensity, topography, soil type, forest composition and environmental disturbances such as hardwood harvesting or wildfires were organized in a conceptual yield model. Because some parameters were potentially collinear, a robust multivariate statistical technique was selected to execute the conceptual model and perform the aforementioned ranking, namely Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression. This technique was tested with a sample of 60 forested watersheds (>70% of forest occupation), being subject to a double-validation process to ensure prediction capability. According to final regression coefficients, soil erosion seems to regulate nitrate distribution across the basins, because soil loss and type, rainfall intensity and topography explained around 60% of nitrate yield variance. The major importance of erosion is followed by a moderate role of biochemical processes such as nitrification or nutrient uptake, which accounted for approximately 15% of nitrate yield variance. In this case, deciduous forests and scrubland seem to behave as net sinks of nitrate while coniferous and mixed forests seem to act dually, as net sources or sinks. The least important parameters are the environmental disturbances, explaining no more than 5% of nitrate yield variance. The results of PLS regression were coupled in a scenario analysis with measures designed to protect soil from erosion and surface water from eutrophication. These interventions are to be implemented until 2045, according to regional plans of forest management. Considering the key role of erosion in explaining nitrate dynamics across the catchments, it was not surprising to verify that soil protection measures may reduce nitrate yields by some 35

  3. Demographic source-sink dynamics restrict local adaptation in Elliott's blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Jill T; Geber, Monica A

    2010-02-01

    In heterogeneous landscapes, divergent selection can favor the evolution of locally adapted ecotypes, especially when interhabitat gene flow is minimal. However, if habitats differ in size or quality, source-sink dynamics can shape evolutionary trajectories. Upland and bottomland forests of the southeastern USA differ in water table depth, light availability, edaphic conditions, and plant community. We conducted a multiyear reciprocal transplant experiment to test whether Elliott's blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii) is locally adapted to these contrasting environments. Additionally, we exposed seedlings and cuttings to prolonged drought and flooding in the greenhouse to assess fitness responses to abiotic stress. Contrary to predictions of local adaptation, V. elliottii families exhibited significantly higher survivorship and growth in upland than in bottomland forests and under drought than flooded conditions, regardless of habitat of origin. Neutral population differentiation was minimal, suggesting widespread interhabitat migration. Population density, reproductive output, and genetic diversity were all significantly greater in uplands than in bottomlands. These disparities likely result in asymmetric gene flow from uplands to bottomlands. Thus, adaptation to a marginal habitat can be constrained by small populations, limited fitness, and immigration from a benign habitat. Our study highlights the importance of demography and genetic diversity in the evolution of local (mal)adaptation.

  4. Illinois' Forests 2005

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susan J. Crocker; Gary J. Brand; Brett J. Butler; David E. Haugen; Dick C. Little; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

    2009-01-01

    The first full, annualized inventory of Illinois' forests reports more than 4.5 million acres of forest land with an average of 459 trees per acre. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory forest types, which occupy 65 percent of total forest land area. Seventy-two percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 20 percent contains poletimber, and 8 percent contains...

  5. Minnesota's Forests 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick D. Miles; David Heinzen; Manfred E. Mielke; Christopher W. Woodall; Brett J. Butler; Ron J. Piva; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Dale D. Gormanson; Charles J. Barnett

    2011-01-01

    The second full annual inventory of Minnesota's forests reports 17 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 1,000 cubic feet per acre. Forest land is dominated by the aspen forest type, which occupies nearly 30 percent of the total forest land area. Twenty-eight percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 35 percent poletimber, 35 percent...

  6. A framework for assessing global change risks to forest carbon stocks in the United States.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher W Woodall

    Full Text Available Among terrestrial environments, forests are not only the largest long-term sink of atmospheric carbon (C, but are also susceptible to global change themselves, with potential consequences including alterations of C cycles and potential C emission. To inform global change risk assessment of forest C across large spatial/temporal scales, this study constructed and evaluated a basic risk framework which combined the magnitude of C stocks and their associated probability of stock change in the context of global change across the US. For the purposes of this analysis, forest C was divided into five pools, two live (aboveground and belowground biomass and three dead (dead wood, soil organic matter, and forest floor with a risk framework parameterized using the US's national greenhouse gas inventory and associated forest inventory data across current and projected future Köppen-Geiger climate zones (A1F1 scenario. Results suggest that an initial forest C risk matrix may be constructed to focus attention on short- and long-term risks to forest C stocks (as opposed to implementation in decision making using inventory-based estimates of total stocks and associated estimates of variability (i.e., coefficient of variation among climate zones. The empirical parameterization of such a risk matrix highlighted numerous knowledge gaps: 1 robust measures of the likelihood of forest C stock change under climate change scenarios, 2 projections of forest C stocks given unforeseen socioeconomic conditions (i.e., land-use change, and 3 appropriate social responses to global change events for which there is no contemporary climate/disturbance analog (e.g., severe droughts in the Lake States. Coupling these current technical/social limits of developing a risk matrix to the biological processes of forest ecosystems (i.e., disturbance events and interaction among diverse forest C pools, potential positive feedbacks, and forest resiliency/recovery suggests an operational

  7. Fifty years dynamics of Russian forests: Impacts on the earth system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shvidenko, Anatoly; Schepaschenko, Dmitry; Kraxner, Florian

    2015-04-01

    carbon fluxes (Net Primary Production, Heterotrophic Respiration), disturbances (fire, outbreaks of insects and diseases), and industrial pressure (land change, air pollution, water and soil contamination). During the entire period Russian forests provided the net carbon sink in range from 350-700 Tg C yr-1 with inter-annual variability in limits of 10-15% for the entire country. The overall sink is a result of superposition of trends of major carbon fluxes (caused by removal of harvested wood and use of forest products; land cover change; impact of climatic trends; change of disturbance regimes) and inter-annual variation of seasonal weather. Major indicators of the nitrogen cycle are assessed and discussed in connection with the carbon cycle. We provide comparative analysis of other results published for the considered period taken into account successive improvements of information and methodology used for studying the major biogeochemical cycles.

  8. Assessment of forest management influences on total live aboveground tree biomass in William B Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callie Schweitzer; Dawn Lemke; Wubishet Tadesse; Yong Wang

    2015-01-01

    Forests contain a large amount of carbon (C) stored as tree biomass (above and below ground), detritus, and soil organic material. The aboveground tree biomass is the most rapid change component in this forest C pool. Thus, management of forest resources can influence the net C exchange with the atmosphere by changing the amount of C stored, particularly in landscapes...

  9. Novel Natural Convection Heat Sink Design Concepts From First Principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES by Derek E. Fletcher June 2016 Thesis Advisor: Garth Hobson Second Reader...COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE NOVEL NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...CONVECTION HEAT SINK DESIGN CONCEPTS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES Derek E. Fletcher Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.S., Southwestern

  10. Indiana's Forests 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher W. Woodall; Mark N. Webb; Barry T. Wilson; Jeff Settle; Ron J. Piva; Charles H. Perry; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Susan J. Crocker; Brett J. Butler; Mark Hansen; Mark Hatfield; Gary Brand; Charles. Barnett

    2011-01-01

    The second full annual inventory of Indiana's forests reports more than 4.75 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet per acre. Forest land is dominated by the white oak/red oak/hickory forest type, which occupies nearly a third of the total forest land area. Seventy-six percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 16...

  11. Declining plant nitrogen supply and carbon accumulation in ageing primary boreal forest ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Högberg, Mona N.; Yarwood, Stephanie A.; Trumbore, Susan; Högberg, Peter

    2016-04-01

    Boreal forest soils are commonly characterized by a low plant nitrogen (N) supply. A high tree below-ground allocation of carbon (C) to roots and soil microorganisms in response to the shortage of N may lead to high microbial immobilisation of N, thus aggravating the N limitation. We studied the N supply at a Swedish boreal forest ecosystem chronosequence created by new land rising out of the sea due to iso-static rebound. The youngest soils develop with meadows by the coast, followed by a zone of dinitrogen fixing alder trees, and primary boreal conifer forest on ground up to 560 years old. With increasing ecosystem age, the proportion of microbial C out of the total soil C pool from the youngest to the oldest coniferous ecosystem was constant (c. 1-1.5%), whereas immobilised N (microbial N out of total soil N) increased and approached the levels commonly observed in similar boreal coniferous forests (c. 6-7 %), whereas gross N mineralization declined. Simultaneously, plant foliar N % decreased and the natural abundance of N-15 in the soil increased. More specifically, the difference in N-15 between plant foliage and soil increased, which is related to greater retention of N-15 relative to N-14 by ectomycorrhizal fungi as N is taken up from the soil and some N is transferred to the plant host. In the conifer forest, where these changes were greatest, we found increased fungal biomass in the F- and H-horizons of the mor-layer, in which ectomycorrhizal fungi are known to dominate (the uppermost horizon with litter and moss is dominated by saprotrophic fungi). Hence, we propose that the decreasing N supply to the plants and the subsequent decline in plant production in ageing boreal forests is linked to high tree belowground C allocation to C limited ectomycorrhizal fungi (and other soil microorganisms), a strong sink for available soil N. Data on organic matter C-14 suggested that the largest input of recently fixed plant C occurred in the younger coniferous forest

  12. Remote Sensing of Aboveground Biomass in Tropical Secondary Forests: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Barbosa

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tropical landscapes are, in general, a mosaic of pasture, agriculture, and forest undergoing various stages of succession. Forest succession is comprised of continuous structural changes over time and results in increases in aboveground biomass (AGB. New remote sensing methods, including sensors, image processing, statistical methods, and uncertainty evaluations, are constantly being developed to estimate biophysical forest changes. We review 318 peer-reviewed studies related to the use of remotely sensed AGB estimations in tropical forest succession studies and summarize their geographic distribution, sensors and methods used, and their most frequent ecological inferences. Remotely sensed AGB is broadly used in forest management studies, conservation status evaluations, carbon source and sink investigations, and for studies of the relationships between environmental conditions and forest structure. Uncertainties in AGB estimations were found to be heterogeneous with biases related to sensor type, processing methodology, ground truthing availability, and forest characteristics. Remotely sensed AGB of successional forests is more reliable for the study of spatial patterns of forest succession and over large time scales than that of individual stands. Remote sensing of temporal patterns in biomass requires further study, in particular, as it is critical for understanding forest regrowth at scales useful for regional or global analyses.

  13. Climatic regions as an indicator of forest coarse and fine woody debris carbon stocks in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liknes Greg C

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Coarse and fine woody debris are substantial forest ecosystem carbon stocks; however, there is a lack of understanding how these detrital carbon stocks vary across forested landscapes. Because forest woody detritus production and decay rates may partially depend on climatic conditions, the accumulation of coarse and fine woody debris carbon stocks in forests may be correlated with climate. This study used a nationwide inventory of coarse and fine woody debris in the United States to examine how these carbon stocks vary by climatic regions and variables. Results Mean coarse and fine woody debris forest carbon stocks vary by Köppen's climatic regions across the United States. The highest carbon stocks were found in regions with cool summers while the lowest carbon stocks were found in arid desert/steppes or temperate humid regions. Coarse and fine woody debris carbon stocks were found to be positively correlated with available moisture and negatively correlated with maximum temperature. Conclusion It was concluded with only medium confidence that coarse and fine woody debris carbon stocks may be at risk of becoming net emitter of carbon under a global climate warming scenario as increases in coarse or fine woody debris production (sinks may be more than offset by increases in forest woody detritus decay rates (emission. Given the preliminary results of this study and the rather tenuous status of coarse and fine woody debris carbon stocks as either a source or sink of CO2, further research is suggested in the areas of forest detritus decay and production.

  14. Sinking rates and ballast composition of particles in the Atlantic Ocean: implications for the organic carbon fluxes to the deep ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, G.; Karakaş, G.

    2009-01-01

    The flux of materials to the deep sea is dominated by larger, organic-rich particles with sinking rates varying between a few meters and several hundred meters per day. Mineral ballast may regulate the transfer of organic matter and other components by determining the sinking rates, e.g. via particle density. We calculated particle sinking rates from mass flux patterns and alkenone measurements applying the results of sediment trap experiments from the Atlantic Ocean. We have indication for higher particle sinking rates in carbonate-dominated production systems when considering both regional and seasonal data. During a summer coccolithophorid bloom in the Cape Blanc coastal upwelling off Mauritania, particle sinking rates reached almost 570 m per day, most probably due the fast sedimentation of densely packed zooplankton fecal pellets, which transport high amounts of organic carbon associated with coccoliths to the deep ocean despite rather low production. During the recurring winter-spring blooms off NW Africa and in opal-rich production systems of the Southern Ocean, sinking rates of larger particles, most probably diatom aggregates, showed a tendency to lower values. However, there is no straightforward relationship between carbonate content and particle sinking rates. This could be due to the unknown composition of carbonate and/or the influence of particle size and shape on sinking rates. It also remains noticeable that the highest sinking rates occurred in dust-rich ocean regions off NW Africa, but this issue deserves further detailed field and laboratory investigations. We obtained increasing sinking rates with depth. By using a seven-compartment biogeochemical model, it was shown that the deep ocean organic carbon flux at a mesotrophic sediment trap site off Cape Blanc can be captured fairly well using seasonal variable particle sinking rates. Our model provides a total organic carbon flux of 0.29 Tg per year down to 3000 m off the NW African upwelling

  15. Minimization of sink mark defects in injection molding process ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    3Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai-600025, INDIA .... Most of the Taguchi based studies used sink mark index or sink index as the parameter. It is an .... Maintaining higher pack pressure requires additional power and cost.

  16. The Lifestyle Carbon Dividend: Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Grasslands and Pasturelands Reverted to Native Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, S.; Jain, A. K.; Shu, S.

    2015-12-01

    What is the potential of a global transition to a vegan lifestyle to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change? To answer this question, we use an Earth System Model (ESM), the Integrated Science Assessment Model (ISAM). ISAM is a fully coupled biogeochemistry (carbon and nitrogen cycles) and biogeophysics (hydrology and thermal energy) ESM, which calculates carbon sources and sinks due to land cover and land use change activities, such as reforestation and afforestation. We calculate the carbon sequestration potential of grasslands and pasturelands that can be reverted to native forests as 265 GtC on 1.96E+7 km2 of land area, just 41% of the total area of such lands on Earth. The grasslands and pasturelands are assumed to revert back to native forests which existed prior to any human intervention and these include tropical, temperate and boreal forests. The results are validated with above ground regrowth measurements. Since this carbon sequestration potential is greater than the 240 GtC of that has been added to the atmosphere since the industrial era began, it shows that such global lifestyle transitions have tremendous potential to mitigate and even reverse climate change.

  17. Eddy-covariance methane flux measurements over a European beech forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gentsch, Lydia; Siebicke, Lukas; Knohl, Alexander

    2015-04-01

    The role of forests in global methane (CH4) turnover is currently not well constrained, partially because of the lack of spatially integrative forest-scale measurements of CH4 fluxes. Soil chamber measurements imply that temperate forests generally act as CH4 sinks. Upscaling of chamber observations to the forest scale is however problematic, if the upscaling is not constrained by concurrent 'top-down' measurements, such as of the eddy-covariance type, which provide sufficient integration of spatial variations and of further potential CH4 flux components within forest ecosystems. Ongoing development of laser absorption-based optical instruments, resulting in enhanced measurement stability, precision and sampling speed, has recently improved the prospects for meaningful eddy-covariance measurements at sites with presumably low CH4 fluxes, hence prone to reach the flux detection limit. At present, we are launching eddy-covariance CH4 measurements at a long-running ICOS flux tower site (Hainich National Park, Germany), located in a semi natural, unmanaged, beech dominated forest. Eddy-covariance measurements will be conducted with a laser spectrometer for parallel CH4, H2Ov and CO2 measurements (FGGA, Los Gatos Research, USA). Independent observations of the CO2 flux by the FGGA and a standard Infrared Gas Analyser (LI-7200, LI-COR, USA) will allow to evaluate data quality of measured CH4 fluxes. Here, we want to present first results with a focus on uncertainties of the calculated CH4 fluxes with regard to instrument precision, data processing and site conditions. In future, we plan to compare eddy-covariance flux estimates to side-by-side turbulent flux observations from a novel eddy accumulation system. Furthermore, soil CH4 fluxes will be measured with four automated chambers situated within the tower footprint. Based on a previous soil chamber study at the same site, we expect the Hainich forest site to act as a CH4 sink. However, we hypothesize that our

  18. Mapping Forest Edge Using Aerial Lidar

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLean, M. G.

    2014-12-01

    Slightly more than 60% of Massachusetts is covered with forest and this land cover type is invaluable for the protection and maintenance of our natural resources and is a carbon sink for the state. However, Massachusetts is currently experiencing a decline in forested lands, primarily due to the expansion of human development (Thompson et al., 2011). Of particular concern is the loss of "core areas" or the areas within forests that are not influenced by other land cover types. These areas are of significant importance to native flora and fauna, since they generally are not subject to invasion by exotic species and are more resilient to the effects of climate change (Campbell et al., 2009). However, the expansion of development has reduced the amount of this core area, but the exact amount is still unknown. Current methods of estimating core area are not particularly precise, since edge, or the area of the forest that is most influenced by other land cover types, is quite variable and situation dependent. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to devise a new method for identifying areas that could qualify as "edge" within the Harvard Forest, in Petersham MA, using new remote sensing techniques. We sampled along eight transects perpendicular to the edge of an abandoned golf course within the Harvard Forest property. Vegetation inventories as well as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) at different heights within the canopy were used to determine edge depth. These measurements were then compared with small-footprint waveform aerial LiDAR datasets and imagery to model edge depths within Harvard Forest.

  19. The European forest sector: past and future carbon budget and fluxes under different management scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilli, Roberto; Grassi, Giacomo; Kurz, Werner A.; Fiorese, Giulia; Cescatti, Alessandro

    2017-05-01

    The comprehensive analysis of carbon stocks and fluxes of managed European forests is a prerequisite to quantify their role in biomass production and climate change mitigation. We applied the Carbon Budget Model (CBM) to 26 European countries, parameterized with country information on the historical forest age structure, management practices, harvest regimes and the main natural disturbances. We modeled the C stocks for the five forest pools plus harvested wood products (HWPs) and the fluxes among these pools from 2000 to 2030. The aim is to quantify, using a consistent modeling framework for all 26 countries, the main C fluxes as affected by land-use changes, natural disturbances and forest management and to assess the impact of specific harvest and afforestation scenarios after 2012 on the mitigation potential of the EU forest sector. Substitution effects and the possible impacts of climate are not included in this analysis. Results show that for the historical period from 2000 to 2012 the net primary productivity (NPP) of the forest pools at the EU level is on average equal to 639 Tg C yr-1. The losses are dominated by heterotrophic respiration (409 Tg C yr-1) and removals (110 Tg C yr-1), with direct fire emissions being only 1 Tg C yr-1, leading to a net carbon stock change (i.e., sink) of 110 Tg C yr-1. Fellings also transferred 28 Tg C yr-1 of harvest residues from biomass to dead organic matter pools. The average annual net sector exchange (NSE) of the forest system, i.e., the carbon stock changes in the forest pools including HWP, equals a sink of 122 Tg C yr-1 (i.e., about 19 % of the NPP) for the historical period, and in 2030 it reaches 126, 101 and 151 Tg C yr-1, assuming constant, increasing (+20 %) and decreasing (-20 %) scenarios, respectively, of both harvest and afforestation rates compared to the historical period. Under the constant harvest rate scenario, our findings show an incipient aging process of the forests existing in 1990: although NPP

  20. Ballast minerals and the sinking carbon flux in the ocean: carbon-specific respiration rates and sinking velocity of marine snow aggregates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. H. Iversen

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Recent observations have shown that fluxes of ballast minerals (calcium carbonate, opal, and lithogenic material and organic carbon fluxes are closely correlated in the bathypelagic zones of the ocean. Hence it has been hypothesized that incorporation of biogenic minerals within marine aggregates could either protect the organic matter from decomposition and/or increase the sinking velocity via ballasting of the aggregates. Here we present the first combined data on size, sinking velocity, carbon-specific respiration rate, and composition measured directly in three aggregate types; Emiliania huxleyi aggregates (carbonate ballasted, Skeletonema costatum aggregates (opal ballasted, and aggregates made from a mix of both E. huxleyi and S. costatum (carbonate and opal ballasted. Overall average carbon-specific respiration rate was ~0.13 d−1 and did not vary with aggregate type and size. Ballasting from carbonate resulted in 2- to 2.5-fold higher sinking velocities than those of aggregates ballasted by opal. We compiled literature data on carbon-specific respiration rate and sinking velocity measured in aggregates of different composition and sources. Compiled carbon-specific respiration rates (including this study vary between 0.08 d−1 and 0.20 d−1. Sinking velocity increases with increasing aggregate size within homogeneous sources of aggregates. When compared across different particle and aggregate sources, however, sinking velocity appeared to be independent of particle or aggregate size. The carbon-specific respiration rate per meter settled varied between 0.0002 m−1 and 0.0030 m−1, and decreased with increasing aggregate size. It was lower for calcite ballasted aggregates as compared to that of similar sized opal ballasted aggregates.

  1. Nested atmospheric inversion for the terrestrial carbon sources and sinks in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Jiang

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we establish a nested atmospheric inversion system with a focus on China using the Bayesian method. The global surface is separated into 43 regions based on the 22 TransCom large regions, with 13 small regions in China. Monthly CO2 concentrations from 130 GlobalView sites and 3 additional China sites are used in this system. The core component of this system is an atmospheric transport matrix, which is created using the TM5 model with a horizontal resolution of 3° × 2°. The net carbon fluxes over the 43 global land and ocean regions are inverted for the period from 2002 to 2008. The inverted global terrestrial carbon sinks mainly occur in boreal Asia, South and Southeast Asia, eastern America and southern South America. Most China areas appear to be carbon sinks, with strongest carbon sinks located in Northeast China. From 2002 to 2008, the global terrestrial carbon sink has an increasing trend, with the lowest carbon sink in 2002. The inter-annual variation (IAV of the land sinks shows remarkable correlation with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO. The terrestrial carbon sinks in China also show an increasing trend. However, the IAV in China is not the same as that of the globe. There is relatively stronger land sink in 2002, lowest sink in 2006, and strongest sink in 2007 in China. This IAV could be reasonably explained with the IAVs of temperature and precipitation in China. The mean global and China terrestrial carbon sinks over the period 2002–2008 are −3.20 ± 0.63 and −0.28 ± 0.18 PgC yr−1, respectively. Considering the carbon emissions in the form of reactive biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs and from the import of wood and food, we further estimate that China's land sink is about −0.31 PgC yr−1.

  2. Interannual variation of carbon fluxes from three contrasting evergreen forests: the role of forest dynamics and climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra, Carlos A; Loescher, Henry W; Harmon, Mark E; Richardson, Andrew D; Hollinger, David Y; Perakis, Steven S

    2009-10-01

    Interannual variation of carbon fluxes can be attributed to a number of biotic and abiotic controls that operate at different spatial and temporal scales. Type and frequency of disturbance, forest dynamics, and climate regimes are important sources of variability. Assessing the variability of carbon fluxes from these specific sources can enhance the interpretation of past and current observations. Being able to separate the variability caused by forest dynamics from that induced by climate will also give us the ability to determine if the current observed carbon fluxes are within an expected range or whether the ecosystem is undergoing unexpected change. Sources of interannual variation in ecosystem carbon fluxes from three evergreen ecosystems, a tropical, a temperate coniferous, and a boreal forest, were explored using the simulation model STANDCARB. We identified key processes that introduced variation in annual fluxes, but their relative importance differed among the ecosystems studied. In the tropical site, intrinsic forest dynamics contributed approximately 30% of the total variation in annual carbon fluxes. In the temperate and boreal sites, where many forest processes occur over longer temporal scales than those at the tropical site, climate controlled more of the variation among annual fluxes. These results suggest that climate-related variability affects the rates of carbon exchange differently among sites. Simulations in which temperature, precipitation, and radiation varied from year to year (based on historical records of climate variation) had less net carbon stores than simulations in which these variables were held constant (based on historical records of monthly average climate), a result caused by the functional relationship between temperature and respiration. This suggests that, under a more variable temperature regime, large respiratory pulses may become more frequent and high enough to cause a reduction in ecosystem carbon stores. Our results

  3. Interannual variation of carbon fluxes from three contrasting evergreen forests: The role of forest dynamics and climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra, C.A.; Loescher, H.W.; Harmon, M.E.; Richardson, A.D.; Hollinger, D.Y.; Perakis, S.S.

    2009-01-01

    Interannual variation of carbon fluxes can be attributed to a number of biotic and abiotic controls that operate at different spatial and temporal scales. Type and frequency of disturbance, forest dynamics, and climate regimes are important sources of variability. Assessing the variability of carbon fluxes from these specific sources can enhance the interpretation of past and current observations. Being able to separate the variability caused by forest dynamics from that induced by climate will also give us the ability to determine if the current observed carbon fluxes are within an expected range or whether the ecosystem is undergoing unexpected change. Sources of interannual variation in ecosystem carbon fluxes from three evergreen ecosystems, a tropical, a temperate coniferous, and a boreal forest, were explored using the simulation model STANDCARB. We identified key processes that introduced variation in annual fluxes, but their relative importance differed among the ecosystems studied. In the tropical site, intrinsic forest dynamics contributed ?? 30% of the total variation in annual carbon fluxes. In the temperate and boreal sites, where many forest processes occur over longer temporal scales than those at the tropical site, climate controlled more of the variation among annual fluxes. These results suggest that climate-related variability affects the rates of carbon exchange differently among sites. Simulations in which temperature, precipitation, and radiation varied from year to year (based on historical records of climate variation) had less net carbon stores than simulations in which these variables were held constant (based on historical records of monthly average climate), a result caused by the functional relationship between temperature and respiration. This suggests that, under a more variable temperature regime, large respiratory pulses may become more frequent and high enough to cause a reduction in ecosystem carbon stores. Our results also show

  4. Studies on source sink relationship of composite tea plants using 14C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marimuthu, S.; Raj Kumar, R.; Jayakumar, D.; Cox, Spurgeon

    2000-01-01

    An experiment on sink capacity of grafted tea plants was carried out adopting radiotracer technique under nursery conditions with two different graft combinations besides the un-grafted control plants. Among the control plants, UPASI-3 translocated higher quantum of photosynthates towards the growing shoot followed by UPASI-9 and ATK-I. In order to confirm the sink capacity of axillary shoot of rootstock, shoot arising from rootstock has been removed prior to exposure of root stock mother leaf. This led to a dramatic enhancement in assimilates translocation towards UPASI-3 scions. ATK- I rootstock mother leaves retained higher amount of photoassimilates when UPASI-9 was used as scion. Variation existed in partitioning of dry matter in response to cultivar type used for composite plant product. Axillary shoot of rootstock, ATK-I drained about seven per cent of total dry matter production irrespective of the scions. UPASI-3 scions drew about 40 per cent of total dry matter and it enhanced to 60 per cent on removal of axillary shoot of ATK-I. Results highlight that the removal of axillary shoot of the rootstock should be practiced at nursery level, immediately after initiation of its growth to obtain the balanced shoot : root ratio. (author)

  5. Energies and carbon sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riedacker, A.

    2002-01-01

    The Kyoto Protocol puts a lot of emphasis on carbon sinks. This emphasis almost obliterates the other potential contributions of biomass in the fight against climatic changes and toward sustainable development. Biomass represents an infinite supply of renewable energy sources which do not increase the levels of carbon in the atmosphere, contribute to energy savings resulting from the use of wood rather than other materials, the sustainable management of soils, the fight against drought, agroforestry from which the production of foods depends, the mitigating of certain extreme climatic occurrences and the protection of dams from increased silting. The industrial revolution contributed to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. When discussing some of the finer points of the Kyoto Protocol, the focus was placed on carbon sinks. The author indicates that the biomass cycle had to be considered, both in situ and ex situ. Details to this effect are provided, and a section dealing with greenhouse gases other than carbon must be taken into account. The rural environment must be considered globally. The author indicates that in the future, the emissions resulting from the transportation of agricultural products will have to be considered. Within the realm of the policies on sustainable development, the fight against climatic change represents only one aspect. In arid and semi-arid regions, one must take into account meeting the energy needs of the populations, the fight against drought and the preservation of biodiversity. The planting of trees offers multiple advantages apart from being a carbon sink: roughage, wood for burning, protection of soils, etc. A few examples are provided. 8 refs., 3 figs

  6. Non-uniform dispersion of the source-sink relationship alters wavefront curvature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Romero

    Full Text Available The distribution of cellular source-sink relationships plays an important role in cardiac propagation. It can lead to conduction slowing and block as well as wave fractionation. It is of great interest to unravel the mechanisms underlying evolution in wavefront geometry. Our goal is to investigate the role of the source-sink relationship on wavefront geometry using computer simulations. We analyzed the role of variability in the microscopic source-sink relationship in driving changes in wavefront geometry. The electrophysiological activity of a homogeneous isotropic tissue was simulated using the ten Tusscher and Panfilov 2006 action potential model and the source-sink relationship was characterized using an improved version of the Romero et al. safety factor formulation (SFm2. Our simulations reveal that non-uniform dispersion of the cellular source-sink relationship (dispersion along the wavefront leads to alterations in curvature. To better understand the role of the source-sink relationship in the process of wave formation, the electrophysiological activity at the initiation of excitation waves in a 1D strand was examined and the source-sink relationship was characterized using the two recently updated safety factor formulations: the SFm2 and the Boyle-Vigmond (SFVB definitions. The electrophysiological activity at the initiation of excitation waves was intimately related to the SFm2 profiles, while the SFVB led to several counterintuitive observations. Importantly, with the SFm2 characterization, a critical source-sink relationship for initiation of excitation waves was identified, which was independent of the size of the electrode of excitation, membrane excitability, or tissue conductivity. In conclusion, our work suggests that non-uniform dispersion of the source-sink relationship alters wavefront curvature and a critical source-sink relationship profile separates wave expansion from collapse. Our study reinforces the idea that the

  7. Behaviour of arsenic in forested catchments following a high-pollution period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, Martin; Erbanova, Lucie; Fottova, Daniela; Cudlin, Pavel; Kubena, Ales

    2011-01-01

    Due to high availability of adsorption sites, forested catchments could be net sinks for pollutant arsenic both during the period of increasing and decreasing pollution. We tested this hypothesis along a north-south pollution gradient in spruce die-back affected areas of Central Europe. For two water years (2007-2008), we monitored As fluxes via spruce-canopy throughfall, open-area precipitation, and runoff in four headwater catchments (Czech Republic). Since 1980, atmospheric As inputs decreased 26 times in the north, and 13 times in the south. Arsenic export by runoff was similar to atmospheric inputs at three sites, resulting in a near-zero As mass balance. One site exhibited a net export of As (2.2 g ha -1 yr -1 ). In contrast, the preceding period (1995-2006) showed much higher As fluxes, and higher As export. Czech catchments do not serve as net sinks of atmospheric As. A considerable proportion of old industrial arsenic is flushed out of the soil. - Following a period of high atmospheric As deposition, a considerable proportion of old industrial arsenic is flushed out of soil and exported from forested catchments.

  8. A decade of carbon, water and energy flux measurements of an old spruce forest at the Anchor Station Tharandt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruenwald, Thomas.; Bernhofer, Christian

    2007-01-01

    At Tharandt/Germany eddy covariance (EC) measurements of carbon dioxide and heat fluxes are performed above an old spruce forest since 1996. The last ten years cover almost all meteorological extremes observed during the last 45 years: the coldest and warmest year with mean air temperature of 6.1 deg C (1996) and 9.6 deg C (2000) as well as the fourth wettest and the driest year with a precipitation of 1098 mm (2002) and 501 mm (2003), respectively. In general, the observed annual carbon net ecosystem exchange (NEE) indicates a high net sink from -395 g C/m 2 /a (2003) to -698 g C/m 2 /a (1999) with a coefficient of variation c v = 16.6%. The yearly evapotranspiration (ET) has a lower interannual variability (cv = 9.5%) between 389 mm (2003) and 537 mm (2000). The influence of flux correction and gap filling on the amount of annual NEE and ET is considerable. Using different methods of gap filling (non-linear regressions, mean diurnal courses) yields annual NEE totals that differ by up to 18%. Consistency analysis regarding energy balance closure, comparisons with independent soil respiration and biomass increment measurements indicate reliability of the fluxes. The average gap of the energy balance is 15% of the available energy based on regression slope with an intercept of 3 to 16 W/m 2 , but around zero for annual flux ratios. Between 47% and 63% of the net ecosystem productivity was fixed above ground according to up-scaled tree ring data and forest inventories, respectively. Chamber measurements of soil respiration yield up to 90% of nighttime EC based total ecosystem respiration. Thus, we conclude that the EC based flux represents an upper limit of the C sink at the site

  9. The potential of willow and poplar plantations as carbon sinks in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rytter, Rose-Marie

    2012-01-01

    A large share, estimated at 12–25%, of the annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to global deforestation. Increasing the forested areas therefore has a positive impact on carbon (C) sequestration and mitigation of high atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Fast-growing species, such as willow and poplar, are of high interest as producers of biomass for fuel, but also as C sinks. The present study estimated the rate of C sequestration in biomass and soil in willow and poplar plantations. Calculations were based on above- and below-ground biomass production data from field experiments, including fine root turnover, litter decomposition rates, and production levels from commercial plantations. Accumulation of C in woody biomass, above and below ground, was estimated at 76.6–80.1 Mg C ha −1 and accumulation of C in the soil at 9.0–10.3 Mg C ha −1 over the first 20–22 years. The average rates of C sequestration were 3.5–4.0 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 in woody biomass, and 0.4–0.5 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 in the soil. If 400,000 ha of abandoned arable land in Sweden were planted with willow and poplar, about 1.5 Tg C would be sequestered annually in woody biomass and 0.2 Tg C in soils. This would be nearly one tenth of the annual anthropogenic emissions of C in Sweden today. These calculations show the potential of fast-growing plantations on arable land to mitigate the effect of high CO 2 concentrations over a short time span. Knowledge gaps were found during the calculation process and future research areas were suggested. -- Highlights: ► Poplars and willows as producers of biomass for fuel and as C sinks. ► Calculation of C sequestration rates in biomass and soil in willow and poplar plantations. ► Increasing forested areas has positive impact on high CO 2 levels. ► Willow and poplar plantations on arable land mitigate anthropogenic CO 2 emissions.

  10. A model for bacterial colonization of sinking aggregates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bearon, R N

    2007-01-01

    Sinking aggregates provide important nutrient-rich environments for marine bacteria. Quantifying the rate at which motile bacteria colonize such aggregations is important in understanding the microbial loop in the pelagic food web. In this paper, a simple analytical model is presented to predict the rate at which bacteria undergoing a random walk encounter a sinking aggregate. The model incorporates the flow field generated by the sinking aggregate, the swimming behavior of the bacteria, and the interaction of the flow with the swimming behavior. An expression for the encounter rate is computed in the limit of large Péclet number when the random walk can be approximated by a diffusion process. Comparison with an individual-based numerical simulation is also given.

  11. Review of tribological sinks in six major industries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imhoff, C.H.; Brown, D.R.; Hane, G.J.; Hutchinson, R.A.; Erickson, R.; Merriman, T.; Gruber, T.; Barber, S.

    1985-09-01

    Friction and material wear occur throughout all industries and are involved in many processes within each industry. These conditions make assessing tribological activity overall in industry very complex and expensive. Therefore, a research strategy to obtain preliminary information on only the most significant industrial tribological sinks was defined. The industries examined were selected according to both the magnitude of overall energy consumption (particularly machine drive) and the known presence of significant tribological sinks. The six industries chosen are as follows: mining, agriculture, primary metals, chemicals/refining, food, and pulp and paper. They were reviewed to identify and characterize the major tribology sinks. It was concluded that wear losses are greater than friction losses, and that reducing wear rates would improve industrial productivity.

  12. The carbon balance of reducing wildfire risk and restoring process: an analysis of 10-year post-treatment carbon dynamics in a mixed-conifer forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan L. Wiechmann; Matthew D. Hurteau; Malcolm P. North; George W. Koch; Lucie Jerabkova

    2015-01-01

    Forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere, helping mitigate climate change. In fire-prone forests, burn events result in direct and indirect emissions of carbon. High fire-induced tree mortality can cause a transition from a carbon sink to source, but thinning and prescribed burning can reduce fire severity and carbon loss when wildfire occurs. However, treatment...

  13. 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.

  14. Soil water nitrate concentrations in giant cane and forest riparian buffer zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jon E. Schoonover; Karl W. J. Williard; James J. Zaczek; Jean C. Mangun; Andrew D. Carver

    2003-01-01

    Soil water nitrate concentrations in giant cane and forest riparian buffer zones along Cypress Creek in southern Illinois were compared to determine if the riparian zones were sources or sinks for nitrogen in the rooting zone. Suction lysimeters were used to collect soil water samples from the lower rooting zone in each of the two vegetation types. The cane riparian...

  15. Analysis of Expectations of Forest Products Industry from Forest Industry Engineering Education

    OpenAIRE

    GEDİK, Tarık; ÇİL, Muhammet; SEVİM KORKUT, Derya; CEMİL AKYÜZ, Kadri; KOŞAR, Gökşen; BEKAR, İlter

    2016-01-01

    Forest industry engineers, representing the qualified labor within the forest products industry, choose their field of study either deliberately or by chance. This study explores the main skill sets of forest industry engineers required by forest products industry. As representatives of forest industry owner of forest products companies were surveyed about their views on the qualifications a forest industry engineer must have.This study covered total 7111 companies registered to TOBB as a for...

  16. Total belowground carbon flux in subalpine forests is related to leaf area index, soil nitrogen, and tree height

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berryman, Erin Michele; Ryan, Michael G.; Bradford, John B.; Hawbaker, Todd J.; Birdsey, R.

    2016-01-01

    In forests, total belowground carbon (C) flux (TBCF) is a large component of the C budget and represents a critical pathway for delivery of plant C to soil. Reducing uncertainty around regional estimates of forest C cycling may be aided by incorporating knowledge of controls over soil respiration and TBCF. Photosynthesis, and presumably TBCF, declines with advancing tree size and age, and photosynthesis increases yet C partitioning to TBCF decreases in response to high soil fertility. We hypothesized that these causal relationships would result in predictable patterns of TBCF, and partitioning of C to TBCF, with natural variability in leaf area index (LAI), soil nitrogen (N), and tree height in subalpine forests in the Rocky Mountains, USA. Using three consecutive years of soil respiration data collected from 22 0.38-ha locations across three 1-km2 subalpine forested landscapes, we tested three hypotheses: (1) annual soil respiration and TBCF will show a hump-shaped relationship with LAI; (2) variability in TBCF unexplained by LAI will be related to soil nitrogen (N); and (3) partitioning of C to TBCF (relative to woody growth) will decline with increasing soil N and tree height. We found partial support for Hypothesis 1 and full support for Hypotheses 2 and 3. TBCF, but not soil respiration, was explained by LAI and soil N patterns (r2 = 0.49), and the ratio of annual TBCF to TBCF plus aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) was related to soil N and tree height (r2 = 0.72). Thus, forest C partitioning to TBCF can vary even within the same forest type and region, and approaches that assume a constant fraction of TBCF relative to ANPP may be missing some of this variability. These relationships can aid with estimates of forest soil respiration and TBCF across landscapes, using spatially explicit forest data such as national inventories or remotely sensed data products.

  17. Programming Saposin-Mediated Compensatory Metabolic Sinks for Enhanced Ubiquinone Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wen; Yuan, Jifeng; Yang, Shuiyun; Ching, Chi-Bun; Liu, Jiankang

    2016-12-16

    Microbial synthesis of ubiquinone by fermentation processes has been emerging in recent years. However, as ubiquinone is a primary metabolite that is tightly regulated by the host central metabolism, tweaking the individual pathway components could only result in a marginal improvement on the ubiquinone production. Given that ubiquinone is stored in the lipid bilayer, we hypothesized that introducing additional metabolic sink for storing ubiquinone might improve the CoQ 10 production. As human lipid binding/transfer protein saposin B (hSapB) was reported to extract ubiquinone from the lipid bilayer and form the water-soluble complex, hSapB was chosen to build a compensatory metabolic sink for the ubiquinone storage. As a proof-of-concept, hSapB-mediated metabolic sink systems were devised and systematically investigated in the model organism of Escherichia coli. The hSapB-mediated periplasmic sink resulted in more than 200% improvement of CoQ 8 over the wild type strain. Further investigation revealed that hSapB-mediated sink systems could also improve the CoQ 10 production in a CoQ 10 -hyperproducing E. coli strain obtained by a modular pathway rewiring approach. As the design principles and the engineering strategies reported here are generalizable to other microbes, compensatory sink systems will be a method of significant interest to the synthetic biology community.

  18. An assessment of radiance in Landsat TM middle and thermal infrared wavebands for the detection of tropical forest regeneration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyd, D.S.; Foody, G.M.; Curran, P.J.; Lucas, R.M.; Honzak, M.

    1996-01-01

    It has been postulated that tropical forests regenerating after deforestation constitute an unmeasured terrestrial sink of atmospheric carbon, and that the strength of this sink is a function of regeneration stage. Such regeneration stages can be characterized by biophysical properties, such as leaf and wood biomass, which influence the radiance emitted and/or reflected from the forest canopy. Remotely sensed data can therefore be used to estimate these biophysical properties and thereby determine the forest regenerative stage. Studies conducted on temperate forests have related biophysical properties successfully with red and near-infrared radiance, particularly within the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). However, only weak correlations have generally been observed for tropical forests and it is suggested here that the relationship between forest biophysical properties and middle and thermal infrared radiance may be stronger than that between those properties and visible and near-infrared radiance.An assessment of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data revealed that radiance acquired in middle and thermal infrared wavebands contained significant information for the detection of regeneration stages in Amazonian tropical forests. It was demonstrated that tropical forest regeneration stages were most separable using middle infrared and thermal infrared wavebands and that the correlation with regeneration stage was stronger with middle infrared, thermal infrared or combinations of these wavebands than they were with visible, near infrared or combinations of these wavebands. For example, correlation coefficients increased from — 0·26 (insignificant at 95 per cent confidence level) when using the NDVI, to up to 0·93 (significant at 99 per cent confidence level) for a vegetation index containing data acquired in the middle and thermal infrared wavebands. These results point to the value of using data acquired in middle and thermal infrared wavebands for the

  19. Study on the effect of sink moving trajectory on wireless sensor networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Peijun; Ruan, Feng

    2018-03-01

    Wireless sensor networks are developing very fast in recent years, due to their wide potential applications. However there exists the so-called hot spot problem, namely the nodes close to static sink node tend to die earlier than other nodes since they have heavier burden to forward. The introduction of mobile sink node can effectively alleviate this problem since sink node can move along certain trajectories, causing hot spot nodes more evenly distributed. In this paper, we make extensive experimental simulations for circular sensor network, with one mobile sink moving along different radius circumference. The whole network is divided into several clusters and there is one cluster head (CH) inside each cluster. The ordinary sensors communicate with CH and CHs construct a chain until the sink node. Simulation results show that the best network performance appears when sink moves along 0.25 R in terms of network lifetime.

  20. Two decades of ocean CO2 sink and variability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quere, C. Le; Bopp, L.; Heimann, M.; Prentice, I.C.; Aumont, O.; Bousquet, P.; Ciais, P.; Francey, R.; Rayner, P.J.; Keeling, C.D.; Keeling, R.F.; Piper, S.C.; Kheshgi, H.; Peyliln, P.

    2003-01-01

    Atmospheric CO 2 has increased at a nearly identical average rate of 3.3 and 3.2 Pg C/yr for the decades of the 1980s and the 1990s, in spite of a large increase in fossil fuel emissions from 5.4 to 6.3 Pg C/yr. Thus, the sum of the ocean and land CO 2 sinks was 1 Pg C/yr larger in the 1990s than in to the 1980s. Here we quantify the ocean and land sinks for these two decades using recent atmospheric inversions and ocean models. The ocean and land sinks are estimated to be, respectively, 0.3 (0.1 to 0.6) and 0.7 (0.4 to 0.9) Pg C/yr larger in the 1990s than in the 1980s. When variability less than 5 yr is removed, all estimates show a global oceanic sink more or less steadily increasing with time, and a large anomaly in the land sink during 1990-1994. For year-to-year variability, all estimates show 1/3 to 1/2 less variability in the ocean than on land, but the amplitude and phase of the oceanic variability remain poorly determined. A mean oceanic sink of 1.9 Pg C/yr for the 1990s based on O 2 observations corrected for ocean outgassing is supported by these estimates, but an uncertainty on the mean value of the order of ±0.7 Pg C/yr remains. The difference between the two decades appears to be more robust than the absolute value of either of the two decades

  1. Carbon source-sink limitations differ between two species with contrasting growth strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, Angela C; Rogers, Alistair; Rees, Mark; Osborne, Colin P

    2016-11-01

    Understanding how carbon source and sink strengths limit plant growth is a critical knowledge gap that hinders efforts to maximize crop yield. We investigated how differences in growth rate arise from source-sink limitations, using a model system comparing a fast-growing domesticated annual barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. NFC Tipple) with a slow-growing wild perennial relative (Hordeum bulbosum). Source strength was manipulated by growing plants at sub-ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations ([CO 2 ]). Limitations on vegetative growth imposed by source and sink were diagnosed by measuring relative growth rate, developmental plasticity, photosynthesis and major carbon and nitrogen metabolite pools. Growth was sink limited in the annual but source limited in the perennial. RGR and carbon acquisition were higher in the annual, but photosynthesis responded weakly to elevated [CO 2 ] indicating that source strength was near maximal at current [CO 2 ]. In contrast, photosynthetic rate and sink development responded strongly to elevated [CO 2 ] in the perennial, indicating significant source limitation. Sink limitation was avoided in the perennial by high sink plasticity: a marked increase in tillering and root:shoot ratio at elevated [CO 2 ], and lower non-structural carbohydrate accumulation. Alleviating sink limitation during vegetative development could be important for maximizing growth of elite cereals under future elevated [CO 2 ]. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Photosynthesis and sink activity of wasp-induced galls in Acacia pycnantha.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorchin, Netta; Cramer, Michael D; Hoffmann, John H

    2006-07-01

    Although insect galls are widely known to influence source-sink relationships in plants, the relationship between photosynthesis and gall activity has not been extensively studied. In this study we used 14CO2, photosynthesis, and respiration measurements to examine the capacity of bud galls induced by the wasp Trichilogaster signiventris (Pteromalidae) as carbon sinks in Acacia pycnantha. Galls of this species develop either in vegetative or reproductive buds, depending on the availability of tissues at different times of the year, and effectively eliminate seed production by the plant. Photosynthetic rates in phyllodes subtending clusters of galls were greater than rates in control phyllodes, a result we attributed to photosynthesis compensating for increased carbon demand by the galls. Contrary to previous studies, we found that photosynthesis within galls contributed substantially to the carbon budgets of the galls, particularly in large, mature galls, which exhibited lower specific respiration rates allowing for a net carbon gain in the light. To determine the sink capacity and competitive potential of galls, we measured the proportion of specific radioactivity in galls originating from either vegetative or reproductive buds and found no difference between them. The proportion of the total amount of phyllode-derived 14C accumulated in both clustered and solitary galls was less than that in fruits. Galls and fruits were predominantly reliant on subtending rather than on distant phyllodes for photosynthate. Solitary galls that developed in vegetative buds constituted considerably stronger sinks than galls in clusters on inflorescences where there was competition between galls or fruits for resources from the subtending phyllode. Wasps developing in solitary vegetative galls were correspondingly significantly larger than those from clustered galls. We conclude that, in the absence of inflorescence buds during summer and fall, the ability of the wasps to cause gall

  3. Heat sink management during CANDU low level operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Liansheng

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces the practice of low-level operation with opening on the main heat transport system during an outage for a Candu-6 nuclear power plant, analyses the risks of losing heat sink during this condition, and points out the safety measures and management requirement for controlling such risks. This paper can be used as a reference for improving and optimizing the heat sink management for the coming outages. (author)

  4. Wisconsin's forests, 2004

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles H. (Hobie) Perry; Vern A. Everson; Ian K. Brown; Jane Cummings-Carlson; Sally E. Dahir; Edward A. Jepsen; Joe Kovach; Michael D. Labissoniere; Terry R. Mace; Eunice A. Padley; Richard B. Rideout; Brett J. Butler; Susan J. Crocker; Greg C. Liknes; Randall S. Morin; Mark D. Nelson; Barry T. (Ty) Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

    2008-01-01

    The first full, annualized inventory of Wisconsin's forests was completed in 2004 after 6,478 forested plots were visited. There are more than 16.0 million acres of forest land in the Wisconsin, nearly half of the State's land area; 15.8 million acres meet the definition of timberland. The total area of both forest land and timberland continues an upward...

  5. Maine's forests 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    George L. McCaskill; William H. McWilliams; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Mark A. Hatfield; Cassandra M. Kurtz; Randall S. Morin; W. Keith Moser; Charles H. Perry; Christopher W. Woodall

    2011-01-01

    The second annual inventory of Maine's forests was completed in 2008 after more than 3,160 forested plots were measured. Forest land occupies almost 17.7 million acres, which represents 82 percent of the total land area of Maine. The dominant forest-type groups are maple/beech/yellow birch, spruce/fir, white/red/jack pine, and aspen/white birch. Statewide volume...

  6. The effect of glyphosate on import into a sink leaf of sugar beet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shieh, Wenjang; Geiger, D.R.

    1990-01-01

    The basis for glyphosate inducted limitation of carbon import into developing leaves was studied in sugar beet. To separate the effects of the herbicide on export from those on import, glyphosate was supplied to a developing leaf from two exporting source leaves which fed the sink leaf. Carbon import into the sink leaf was determined by supplying 14 CO 2 to a third source leaf which also supplies carbon to the monitored sink leaf. Import into the sink leaf decreased within 2 to 3 h after glyphosate application, even though photosynthesis and export in the source leaf supplying 14 C were unaffected. Reduced import into the sink leaf was accompanied by increased import by the tap root. Elongation of the sink leaf was only slightly decreased following arrival of glyphosate. Photosynthesis by the sink leaf was not inhibited. The results to data support the view that import is slowed by the inhibition of synthesis of structural or storage compounds in the developing leaves

  7. Heat sink design considerations in medium power electronic applications with long power cycles

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)744611; Papastergiou, Konstantinos; Thiringer, Torbjörn; Bongiorno, Massimo

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of the heat sink thickness and material, as well as, of the convection coefficient of the water cooling system on the power-electronics module thermal stressing. The heat extraction capability of different thicknesses is tested. It is concluded that the thickest heat sink results in marginally lower temperature variation at the junction level compared to the second thickest one. In the thickest heat sink case, the linear dependence of the thermal resistance on the thickness counteracts the benefit of the increased thermal capacitance. The increase in the cooling medium flow rate, which corresponds to an increase in the convection coefficient between the heat sink bottom surface and the water, can be avoided by increasing the thickness of the heat sink. In this way, the energy consumption of the cooling system is reduced. The increase in the flow rate drastically reduces the thermal stressing in the thinnest heat sink case. The increase of the heat sink thickne...

  8. Organotin compounds in precipitation, fog and soils of a forested ecosystem in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.-H.; Schwesig, David; Matzner, Egbert

    2004-01-01

    Organotin compounds (OTC) are highly toxic pollutants and have been mostly investigated so far in aquatic systems and sediments. The concentrations and fluxes of different organotin compounds, including methyl-, butyl-, and octyltin species in precipitation and fog were investigated in a forested catchment in NE Bavaria, Germany. Contents, along with the vertical distribution and storages in two upland and two wetland soils were determined. During the 1-year monitoring, the OTC concentrations in bulk deposition, throughfall and fog ranged from 1 ng Sn l -1 to several ten ng Sn l -1 , but never over 200 ng Sn l -1 . The OTC concentrations in fog were generally higher than in throughfall and bulk deposition. Mono-substituted species were the dominant Sn species in precipitation (up to 190 ng Sn l -1 ) equaling a flux of up to 70 mg Sn ha -1 a -1 . In upland soils, OTC contents peaked in the forest floor (up to 30 ng Sn g -1 ) and decreased sharply with the depth. In wetland soils, OTC had slightly higher contents in the upper horizons. The dominance of mono-substituted species in precipitation is well reflected in the contents and storages of OTC in both upland and wetland soils. The ratios of OTC soil storages to the annual throughfall flux ranged from 20 to 600 years. These high ratios are probably due to high stability and low mobility of OTC in soils. No evidence was found for methylation of tin in the wetland soils. In comparison with sediments, concentrations and contents of organotin in forest soils are considerably lower, and the dominant species are less toxic. It is concluded that forested soils may act as sinks for OTC deposited from the atmosphere. - Forested soils may act as sinks for atmospherically deposited organotin compounds

  9. Paludified forests of Komi Republic (Northeastern Europe) do not act as hotspots of the CH4 emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Julia; Lukasheva, Maria; Gudyrev, Vasiliy; Miglovets, Mikhail

    2017-04-01

    In the Komi Republic, which is situated in Northeastern Europe and is subject of Russian Federation, 306,000km2 or about 73 % of the total area are covered by forest. The predominant part of these forests lies within the boreal zone. Within the boreal forests the vegetation patterns are a result of the moisture characteristics and air temperature. Based on the moisture conditions forest communities can be grouped into wet, mesic and dry sites. In conditions of high soil moisture content forest peatlands can develop. In boreal forest landscapes it is not a rare phenomenon and can reach coverage of up to one third of the total area. In addition to the high water content of the soils forested peatlands are characterised by low soil temperatures, high organic matter accumulation and low organic matter decomposition. The thick moss-organic layer on the forest floor and waterlogged soils favours methanogenesis. Such process of accumulation of poorly decomposed organic matter mostly originating from Sphagnum which involves the formation of waterlogged conditions is defined as paludification. Highly favourable to forest paludification are sites characterised by fine-textured soils which highly hamper percolation. Paludified forests also occur at peatland margins as a result of peatland expansion. During the last years peatland margins were considered as potential biogeochemical hotspots within the peatlands and due to their high nutrient and dissolved organic matter content they may also be a major methane emitter. Paludification can also occur at forests sites after clear cutting, which is a very intensive logging type and usually leads to water table elevations. In this study measurements were conducted at peatland margins and at a clear cut sites during three climatically different years. The summer of the year 2013 was considerably warmer and drier, and the summer of the year 2014 was considerably colder and wetter than the long term mean. The investigation period in

  10. Sinking and fit of abutment of locking taper implant system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Seung-Jin; Kim, Hee-Jung; Son, Mee-Kyoung

    2009-01-01

    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Unlike screw-retention type, fixture-abutment retention in Locking taper connection depends on frictional force so it has possibility of abutment to sink. PURPOSE In this study, Bicon® Implant System, one of the conical internal connection implant system, was used with applying loading force to the abutments connected to the fixture. Then the amount of sinking was measured. MATERIAL AND METHODS 10 Bicon® implant fixtures were used. First, the abutment was connected to the fixture with finger force. Then it was tapped with a mallet for 3 times and loads of 20 kg corresponding to masticatory force using loading application instrument were applied successively. The abutment state, slightly connected to the fixture without pressure was considered as a reference length, and every new abutment length was measured after each load's step was added. The amount of abutment sinking (mm) was gained by subtracting the length of abutment-fixture under each loading condition from reference length. RESULTS It was evident, that the amount of abutment sinking in Bicon® Implant System increased as loads were added. When loads of 20 kg were applied more than 5 - 7 times, sinking stopped at 0.45 ± 0.09 mm. CONCLUSION Even though locking taper connection type implant shows good adaption to occlusal force, it has potential for abutment sinking as loads are given. When locking taper connection type implant is used, satisfactory loads are recommended for precise abutment location. PMID:21165262

  11. Enhanced heat sink with geometry induced wall-jet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hossain, Md. Mahamudul, E-mail: sohel0991@gmail.com; Tikadar, Amitav; Bari, Fazlul; Morshed, A. K. M. M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1000. Bangladesh (Bangladesh)

    2016-07-12

    Mini-channels embedded in solid matrix have already proven to be a very efficient way of electronic cooling. Traditional mini-channel heat sinks consist of single layer of parallel channels. Although mini-channel heat sink can achieve very high heat flux, its pumping requirement for circulating liquid through the channel increase very sharply as the flow velocity increases. The pumping requirements of the heat sink can be reduced by increasing its performance. In this paper a novel approach to increase the thermal performance of the mini-channel heat sink is proposed through geometry induced wall jet which is a passive technique. Geometric irregularities along the channel length causes abrupt pressure change between the channels which causes cross flow through the interconnections thus one channel faces suction and other channel jet action. This suction and jet action disrupts boundary layer causing enhanced heat transfer performance. A CFD model has been developed using commercially available software package FLUENT to evaluate the technique. A parametric study of the velocities and the effect of the position of the wall-jets have been performed. Significant reduction in thermal resistance has been observed for wall-jets, it is also observed that this reduction in thermal resistance is dependent on the position and shape of the wall jet.

  12. Phase Change Material Heat Sink for an ISS Flight Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Gregory; Stieber, Jesse; Sheth, Rubik; Ahlstrom, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    A flight experiment is being constructed to utilize the persistent microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS) to prove out operation of a microgravity compatible phase change material (PCM) heat sink. A PCM heat sink can help to reduce the overall mass and volume of future exploration spacecraft thermal control systems (TCS). The program is characterizing a new PCM heat sink that incorporates a novel phase management approach to prevent high pressures and structural deformation that often occur with PCM heat sinks undergoing cyclic operation in microgravity. The PCM unit was made using brazed aluminum construction with paraffin wax as the fusible material. It is designed to be installed into a propylene glycol and water cooling loop, with scaling consistent with the conceptual designs for the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. This paper reports on the construction of the PCM heat sink and on initial ground test results conducted at UTC Aerospace Systems prior to delivery to NASA. The prototype will be tested later on the ground and in orbit via a self-contained experiment package developed by NASA Johnson Space Center to operate in an ISS EXPRESS rack.

  13. A Comprehensive Study of Data Collection Schemes Using Mobile Sinks in Wireless Sensor Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Abdul Waheed; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan; Anisi, Mohammad Hossein; Bangash, Javed Iqbal

    2014-01-01

    Recently sink mobility has been exploited in numerous schemes to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Contrary to traditional WSNs where sensory data from sensor field is ultimately sent to a static sink, mobile sink-based approaches alleviate energy-holes issues thereby facilitating balanced energy consumption among nodes. In mobility scenarios, nodes need to keep track of the latest location of mobile sinks for data delivery. However, frequent propagation of sink topological updates undermines the energy conservation goal and therefore should be controlled. Furthermore, controlled propagation of sinks' topological updates affects the performance of routing strategies thereby increasing data delivery latency and reducing packet delivery ratios. This paper presents a taxonomy of various data collection/dissemination schemes that exploit sink mobility. Based on how sink mobility is exploited in the sensor field, we classify existing schemes into three classes, namely path constrained, path unconstrained, and controlled sink mobility-based schemes. We also organize existing schemes based on their primary goals and provide a comparative study to aid readers in selecting the appropriate scheme in accordance with their particular intended applications and network dynamics. Finally, we conclude our discussion with the identification of some unresolved issues in pursuit of data delivery to a mobile sink. PMID:24504107

  14. 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.

  15. Host country attractiveness for CDM non-sink projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Martina

    2006-01-01

    In the present study, CDM host countries are classified according to their attractiveness for CDM non-sink projects by using cluster analysis. The attractiveness of host countries for CDM non-sink projects is described by three indicators: mitigation potential, institutional CDM capacity and general investment climate. The results suggest that only a small proportion of potential host countries will attract most of the CDM investment. The CDM (non-sink) stars are China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand. They are followed by attractive countries like Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mongolia, Panama, and Chile. While most of the promising CDM host countries are located in Latin America and Asia, the general attractiveness of African host countries is relatively low (with the exception of South Africa). Policy implications of this rather inequitable geographical distribution of CDM project activities are discussed briefly

  16. Dynamic sink assignment for efficient energy consumption in wireless sensor networks

    KAUST Repository

    Oikonomou, Konstantinos N.

    2012-04-01

    Efficient energy consumption is a challenging problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and closely related to extending network lifetime. The usual way of tackling this issue for topologies with fixed link weight and fixed sink location, has been shown to be severely affected by the energy hole problem. In this paper, the energy consumption problem is initially studied for WSNs with fixed sink assignment and it is analytically shown that energy consumption is minimized when the sink is assigned to the node that is the solution of a suitably formulated 1-median problem. This motivates the introduction of a dynamic environment where link weights change based on the energy level and the aggregate traffic load of the adjacent nodes. Then, the sink is adaptively allowed to move among neighbor nodes, according to a scalable sink migration strategy. Simulation results support the analytical claims demonstrating energy consumption reduction and an additional network lifetime increment when migration is employed in the dynamic environment. © 2012 IEEE.

  17. An energy efficient multiple mobile sinks based routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Peijun; Ruan, Feng

    2018-03-01

    With the fast development of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), more and more energy efficient routing algorithms have been proposed. However, one of the research challenges is how to alleviate the hot spot problem since nodes close to static sink (or base station) tend to die earlier than other sensors. The introduction of mobile sink node can effectively alleviate this problem since sink node can move along certain trajectories, causing hot spot nodes more evenly distributed. In this paper, we mainly study the energy efficient routing method with multiple mobile sinks support. We divide the whole network into several clusters and study the influence of mobile sink number on network lifetime. Simulation results show that the best network performance appears when mobile sink number is about 3 under our simulation environment.

  18. Effect of land use change on methane oxidation in temperate forest and grassland soils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ojima, D.S.; Valentine, D.W.; Mosier, A.R.; Parton, W.J.; Schimel, D.S. (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO (USA). Natural Resources Ecology Lab.)

    Evidence is accumulating that land use changes and other human activity during the past 100 to 200 years have contributed to decreased CH[sub 4] oxidation in the soil. Increased N additions to temperate forest soils in the northeastern United States decreased CH[sub 4] uptake by 30 to 60%, and increased N fertilization and conversion to cropland in temperate grasslands decreased CH[sub 4] uptake by 30 to 75%. Using these data, a series of calculations were made to estimate the impact of land use and management changes which have altered soil, the CH[sub 4] sink in temperate forest and grassland ecosystems. As the atmospheric mixing ratio of CH[sub 4] has increased during the past 150 y, the temperate CH[sub 4] sink has risen from approximately 8 Tg y[sup -1] to 27 Tg y[sup -1], assuming no loss of land cover to cropland conversion. The net effect of intensive land cover changes and extensive chronic disturbance (i.e., increased atmospheric N deposition) to these ecosystems have resulted in about 30% reduction in the CH[sub 4] budget even more as atmospheric CH[sub 4] concentrations increase and as a result of further disturbance to other biomes. Without accounting for this approximately 20 Tg y[sup -1] temperate soil sink, the atmospheric CH[sub 4] concentration would be increasing about 1.5 times the current rate. 39 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

  19. Biomass Carbon Sequestration Potential by Riparian Forest in the Tarim River Watershed, Northwest China: Implication for the Mitigation of Climate Change Impact

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tayierjiang Aishan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Carbon management in forests has become the most important agenda of the first half of the 21st century in China in the context of the mitigation of climate change impact. As the main producer of the inland river basin ecosystem in arid region of Northwest China, the desert riparian forest maintains the regional environment and also holds a great significance in regulating the regional/global carbon cycle. In this study, we estimated the total biomass, carbon storage, as well as monetary ecosystem service values of desert riparian Populus euphratica Oliv. in the lower reaches of the Tarim River based on terrestrial forest inventory data within an area of 100 ha (100 plots with sizes of 100 m × 100 m and digitized tree data within 1000 ha (with 10 m × 10 m grid using a statistical model of biomass estimation against tree height (TH and diameter at breast height (DBH data. Our results show that total estimated biomass and carbon storage of P. euphratica within the investigated area ranged from 3.00 to 4317.00 kg/ha and from 1.82 to 2158.73 kg/ha, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship (p < 0.001 between biomass productivity of these forests and distance to the river and groundwater level. Large proportions of biomass (64% of total biomass are estimated within 200 m distance to the river where groundwater is relatively favorable for vegetation growth and biomass production. However, our data demonstrated that total biomass showed a sharp decreasing trend with increasing distance to the river; above 800 m distance, less biomass and carbon storage were estimated. The total monetary value of the ecosystem service “carbon storage” provided by P. euphratica was estimated to be $6.8 × 104 USD within the investigated area, while the average monetary value was approximately $70 USD per ha, suggesting that the riparian forest ecosystem in the Tarim River Basin should be considered a relevant regional carbon sink. The findings of

  20. Characterization of Radial Curved Fin Heat Sink under Natural and Forced Convection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadke, Rishikesh; Bhole, Kiran

    2018-02-01

    Heat exchangers are important structures widely used in power plants, food industries, refrigeration, and air conditioners and now widely used in computing systems. Finned type of heat sink is widely used in computing systems. The main aim of the design of the heat sink is to maintain the optimum temperature level. To achieve this goal so many geometrical configurations are implemented. This paper presents a characterization of radially curved fin heat sink under natural and forced convection. Forced convection is studied for the optimization of temperature for better efficiency. The different alternatives in geometry are considered in characterization are heat intensity, the height of the fin and speed of the fan. By recognizing these alternatives the heat sink is characterized by the heat flux usually generated in high-end PCs. The temperature drop characteristics across height and radial direction are presented for the constant heat input and air flow in the heat sink. The effect of dimensionless elevation height (0 ≤ Z* ≤ 1) and Elenbaas Number (0.4 ≤ El ≤ 2.8) of the heat sink were investigated for study of the Nusselt number. Based on experimental characterization, process plan has been developed for the selection of the similar heat sinks for desired output (heat dissipation and temperature distribution).

  1. Plastic debris retention and exportation by a mangrove forest patch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivar do Sul, Juliana A.; Costa, Monica F.; Silva-Cavalcanti, Jacqueline S.; Araújo, Maria Christina B.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Estuaries and mangrove forests are rarely studied for marine plastic debris loads. • Types of plastic items and mangrove forest habitats determine the potential of debris retention. • Mangrove habitats are temporary sinks of plastic debris from river and marine origins. • Plastics rapidly accumulate in mangrove forest, but are exported slowly. • Fauna and fishers using mangrove forest habitats are at risk of interaction with plastic debris. -- Abstract: An experiment observed the behavior of selected tagged plastic items deliberately released in different habitats of a tropical mangrove forest in NE Brazil in late rainy (September) and late dry (March) seasons. Significant differences were not reported among seasons. However, marine debris retention varied among habitats, according to characteristics such as hydrodynamic (i.e., flow rates and volume transported) and relative vegetation (Rhizophora mangle) height and density. The highest grounds retained significantly more items when compared to the borders of the river and the tidal creek. Among the used tagged items, PET bottles were more observed and margarine tubs were less observed, being easily transported to adjacent habitats. Plastic bags were the items most retained near the releasing site. The balance between items retained and items lost was positive, demonstrating that mangrove forests tend to retain plastic marine debris for long periods (months-years)

  2. Sources and sinks of carbon dioxide in the Arctic regions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gosink, T. A.; Kelley, J. J.

    1982-01-01

    The data base required to adequately ascertain seasonal source and sink strengths in the arctic regions is difficult to obtain. However, there are now a reasonable quantity of data for this polar region to estimate sources and sinks within the Arctic which may contribute significantly to the annual tropospheric CO/sub 2/ concentration fluctuation. The sea-ice-air and the sea-air interfaces account for most of the contribution to the sources and sinks for carbon dioxide. Although the arctic and subarctic region is small in extent, it certainly is not impervious and ice sealed. Our estimate, based on historical data and current research, indicates that the Arctic, which is about 4% of the earth's surface, is an annual net sink for approx. 10/sup 15/ g CO/sub 2/ accounting for an equivalent of approx. 3% of the annual anthropogenic contribution of CO/sub 2/ to the troposphere.

  3. Design consideration for a diversity of heat sink

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rueckbrodt, Karin; Meischak, Stefan [AREVA NP GmbH, Erlangen (Germany)

    2013-07-01

    The defense in depth approach requires in all cases to prevent and mitigate accidents that could release radioactive materials. To assure the physical design barriers (preserve fuel integrity, reactor coolant pressure boundary integrity, and containment integrity) the decay heat has to be removed. External and internal events have to be taken in consideration for the robustness of all the involved cooling systems. To ensure the cooling function in all conceivable and all unlikely events an analysis for the necessity of a diversified heat sink is essential. The diversified concepts analyses the type of the primary heat sink and use contrary sources for the heat sink, air instead of water, well instead of a river. A complete diversity is realized if also for the heat transfer diversified systems are implemented. The described solutions are mainly applied for BWR plants, but can be partly transferred analogously to PWR plants. (orig.)

  4. Reconstructing source-sink dynamics in a population with a pelagic dispersal phase.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kun Chen

    Full Text Available For many organisms, the reconstruction of source-sink dynamics is hampered by limited knowledge of the spatial assemblage of either the source or sink components or lack of information on the strength of the linkage for any source-sink pair. In the case of marine species with a pelagic dispersal phase, these problems may be mitigated through the use of particle drift simulations based on an ocean circulation model. However, when simulated particle trajectories do not intersect sampling sites, the corroboration of model drift simulations with field data is hampered. Here, we apply a new statistical approach for reconstructing source-sink dynamics that overcomes the aforementioned problems. Our research is motivated by the need for understanding observed changes in jellyfish distributions in the eastern Bering Sea since 1990. By contrasting the source-sink dynamics reconstructed with data from the pre-1990 period with that from the post-1990 period, it appears that changes in jellyfish distribution resulted from the combined effects of higher jellyfish productivity and longer dispersal of jellyfish resulting from a shift in the ocean circulation starting in 1991. A sensitivity analysis suggests that the source-sink reconstruction is robust to typical systematic and random errors in the ocean circulation model driving the particle drift simulations. The jellyfish analysis illustrates that new insights can be gained by studying structural changes in source-sink dynamics. The proposed approach is applicable for the spatial source-sink reconstruction of other species and even abiotic processes, such as sediment transport.

  5. Large eddy simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer above a forest canopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Jahrul

    2017-11-01

    A goal of this talk is to discuss large eddy simulation (LES) of atmospheric turbulence within and above a canopy/roughness sublayer, where coherent turbulence resembles a turbulent mixing layer. The proposed LES does not resolve the near wall region. Instead, a near surface canopy stress model has been combined with a wall adapting local eddy viscosity model. The canopy stress is represented as a three-dimensional time dependent momentum sink, where the total kinematic drag of the canopy is adjusted based on the measurements in a forest canopy. This LES has been employed to analyze turbulence structures in the canopy/roughness sublayer. Results indicate that turbulence is more efficient at transporting momentum and scalars in the roughness sublayer. The LES result has been compared with the turbulence profile measured over a forest canopy to predict the turbulence statistics in the inertial sublayer above the canopy. Turbulence statistics between the inertial sublayer, the canopy sublayer, and the rough-wall boundary layer have been compared to characterize whether turbulence in the canopy sublayer resembles a turbulent mixing layer or a boundary layer. The canopy turbulence is found dominated by energetic eddies much larger in scale than the individual roughness elements. Financial support from the National Science and Research Council (NSERC), Canada is acknowledged.

  6. Copepods use chemical trails to find sinking marine snow aggregates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lombard, Fabien; Koski, Marja; Kiørboe, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Copepods are major consumers of sinking marine particles and hence reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. Their high abundance on marine snow suggests that they can detect sinking particles remotely. By means of laboratory observations, we show that the copepod Temora longicornis ca...

  7. West Virginia Forests 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall S. Morin; Gregory W. Cook; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Susan J. Crocker; Mark A. Hatfield; Cassandra M. Kurtz; Tonya W. Lister; William G. Luppold; William H. McWilliams; Patrick D. Miles; Mark D. Nelson; Charles H. (Hobie) Perry; Ronald J. Piva; James E. Smith; Jim Westfall; Richard H. Widmann; Christopher W. Woodall

    2016-01-01

    The annual inventory of West Virginia's forests, completed in 2013, covers nearly 12.2 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 2,300 cubic feet per acre. This report is based data collected from 2,808 plots located across the State. Forest land is dominated by the oak/hickory forest-type group, which occupies 74 percent of total forest...

  8. New Jersey's forests, 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susan J. Crocker; Mark D. Nelson; Charles J. Barnett; Gary J. Brand; Brett J. Butler; Grant M. Domke; Mark H. Hansen; Mark A. Hatfield; Tonya W. Lister; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall; Bill. Zipse

    2011-01-01

    The first full annual inventory of New Jersey's forests reports more than 2.0 million acres of forest land and 83 tree species. Forest land is dominated by oak-hickory forest types in the north and pitch pine forest types in the south. The volume of growing stock on timberland has been rising since 1956 and currently totals 3.4 billion cubic feet. The average...

  9. Variation in carbon storage and its distribution by stand age and forest type in boreal and temperate forests in northeastern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Yawei; Li, Maihe; Chen, Hua; Lewis, Bernard J; Yu, Dapao; Zhou, Li; Zhou, Wangming; Fang, Xiangmin; Zhao, Wei; Dai, Limin

    2013-01-01

    The northeastern forest region of China is an important component of total temperate and boreal forests in the northern hemisphere. But how carbon (C) pool size and distribution varies among tree, understory, forest floor and soil components, and across stand ages remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we selected three major temperate and two major boreal forest types in northeastern (NE) China. Within both forest zones, we focused on four stand age classes (young, mid-aged, mature and over-mature). Results showed that total C storage was greater in temperate than in boreal forests, and greater in older than in younger stands. Tree biomass C was the main C component, and its contribution to the total forest C storage increased with increasing stand age. It ranged from 27.7% in young to 62.8% in over-mature stands in boreal forests and from 26.5% in young to 72.8% in over-mature stands in temperate forests. Results from both forest zones thus confirm the large biomass C storage capacity of old-growth forests. Tree biomass C was influenced by forest zone, stand age, and forest type. Soil C contribution to total forest C storage ranged from 62.5% in young to 30.1% in over-mature stands in boreal and from 70.1% in young to 26.0% in over-mature in temperate forests. Thus soil C storage is a major C pool in forests of NE China. On the other hand, understory and forest floor C jointly contained less than 13% and forests respectively, and thus play a minor role in total forest C storage in NE China.

  10. Variations in soil carbon sequestration and their determinants along a precipitation gradient in seasonally dry tropical forest ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo, Julio; Merino, Agustín

    2016-05-01

    The effect of precipitation regime on the C cycle of tropical forests is poorly understood, despite the existence of models that suggest a drier climate may substantially alter the source-sink function of these ecosystems. Along a precipitation regime gradient containing 12 mature seasonally dry tropical forests growing under otherwise similar conditions (similar annual temperature, rainfall seasonality, and geological substrate), we analyzed the influence of variation in annual precipitation (1240 to 642 mm) and duration of seasonal drought on soil C. We investigated litterfall, decomposition in the forest floor, and C storage in the mineral soil, and analyzed the dependence of these processes and pools on precipitation. Litterfall decreased slightly - about 10% - from stands with 1240 mm yr(-1) to those with 642 mm yr(-1), while the decomposition decreased by 56%. Reduced precipitation strongly affected C storage and basal respiration in the mineral soil. Higher soil C storage at the drier sites was also related to the higher chemical recalcitrance of litter (fine roots and forest floor) and the presence of charcoal across sites, suggesting an important indirect influence of climate on C sequestration. Basal respiration was controlled by the amount of recalcitrant organic matter in the mineral soil. We conclude that in these forest ecosystems, the long-term consequences of decreased precipitation would be an increase in organic layer and mineral soil C storage, mainly due to lower decomposition and higher chemical recalcitrance of organic matter, resulting from changes in litter composition and, likely also, wildfire patterns. This could turn these seasonally dry tropical forests into significant soil C sinks under the predicted longer drought periods if primary productivity is maintained. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Development and numerical investigation of novel gradient-porous heat sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Baicun; Hong, Yifeng; Wang, Liang; Fang, Xudong; Wang, Pengfei; Xu, Zhongbin

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel design of gradient-porous heat sink (GPHS) was proposed in this work. • A 3D model was constructed to study the hydraulic and thermal performances of GPHS. • GPHS is capable of improving the hydraulic and thermal performances simultaneously. • GPHS with decreasing dp by Y can effectively suppress the bottom wall temperature. - Abstract: A novel design of gradient-porous heat sink (GPHS) was proposed and numerically studied in this work. Computational simulation was carried out to analyze the effects of gradient porous material (GPM) configuration on the hydraulic and thermal performances of heat sinks in comparison of homogeneous-porous heat sink (HPHS) serving as the control. Both gradient pore-size (dp) in the flow direction and the direction normal to flow direction were studied. It was found that, compared with conventional HPHS, GPHS can effectively improve the hydraulic and thermal performances simultaneously. Both the friction factor and overall thermal resistance of heat sinks with GPM configurations are considerably lowered. The Nusselt numbers of GPHS with gradient in flow direction are larger than those of homogeneous porous material (HPM) configurations. GPHS is also featured with the capabilities of effectively suppressing the bottom wall temperature and enhancing the convection performance.

  12. Understanding of radiation effect on sinks in aluminum materials for research reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Sang Il; Kim, Ji Hyun [UNIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    Aluminum and its alloy are widely used in structural materials for research reactor such as guide tube and cladding because of its physical properties such as high thermal conductivity, neutron economy and corrosion resistant properties. Although aluminum and its alloy have excellent characteristic, radiation induced hardening and swelling are still important safety concern. From microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that dislocation loop, void and precipitate are major sinks which induced swelling and hardening. Among these defects, precipitation such as Mg{sub 2}Si and Si were generated by reaction between alloy elements and transmutations. Therefore, radiation induced swelling and hardening can be predicted by analyzing these defect. However, quantitative analysis of these defects has not been done by computational tools. Therefore, it is unclear that specific mechanism of alloy element effects on the irradiation swelling and hardening in aluminum alloys. Historically, radiation induced phenomena such as swelling, growth and hardening is simulated by Mean Field Radiation Damage Theory (MFRDT). From the MFRDT, reactions of irradiation defect and sink are calculated and then sink density is evolved at each type of sinks. The aim of this study is understanding of radiation effect on sink behavior. From the simplified reaction mechanism, defect concentration, sink density and irradiation hardening are calculated at each sink type. Transmutation effect was mostly dominant and dislocation loop and void effect were negligible.

  13. The role of boreal forests and forestry in the global carbon budget : a synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fyles, I.H.; Shaw, C.H.; Apps, M.J.; Karjalainen, T.; Stocks, B.J.; Running, S.W.; Kurz, W.A.; Weyerhaeuser, G.Jr.; Jarvis, P.G.

    2002-10-01

    This paper provides a synthesis of all papers presented at the conference on the role of boreal forests in the global carbon budget. The scientific community is recognizing the critical links between boreal forest ecosystems, carbon dynamics and global climate change. This paper addresses the five main topics discussed at the conference including: (1) carbon stocks and fluxes, (2) the effects of natural disturbances on carbon dynamics, (3) effects of management practices on carbon dynamics, (4) afforestation and carbon sequestration, and (5) effects of climate change and elevated carbon dioxide concentration on carbon dynamics. Large-scale model simulations suggest that increased global temperatures will result in increased net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Several model simulations also indicate that net primary productivity (NPP) will increase. While most forest stands are currently carbon sinks, disturbances such as fire, insects and tree harvesting make forests susceptible to becoming a source of carbon. In contrast, some studies suggest that climate change will cause shifting vegetation patterns, increased soil carbon and higher forest productivity that may result in higher sequestration of carbon in the boreal forest. 84 refs.

  14. Regulation Effects of Water and Nitrogen on the Source-Sink Relationship in Potato during the Tuber Bulking Stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenting; Xiong, Binglin; Wang, Shiwen; Deng, Xiping; Yin, Lina; Li, Hongbing

    2016-01-01

    The source-sink relationship determines crop yield, and it is largely regulated by water and nutrients in agricultural production. This has been widely investigated in cereals, but fewer studies have been conducted in root and tuber crops such as potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). The objective of this study was to investigate the source-sink relationship in potato and the regulation of water and nitrogen on the source-sink relationship during the tuber bulking stage. A pot experiment using virus-free plantlets of the Atlantic potato cultivar was conducted, using three water levels (50%, 70% and 90% of field capacity) and three nitrogen levels (0, 0.2, 0.4 g N∙kg−1 soil). The results showed that, under all water and nitrogen levels, plant source capacity were small at the end of the experiment, since photosynthetic activity in leaves were low and non-structural reserves in underground stems were completely remobilized. While at this time, there were very big differences in maximum and minimum tuber number and tuber weight, indicating that the sink tuber still had a large potential capacity to take in assimilates. These results suggest that the source-supplied assimilates were not sufficient enough to meet the demands of sink growth. Thus, we concluded that, unlike cereals, potato yield is more likely to be source-limited than sink-limited during the tuber bulking stage. Water and nitrogen are two key factors in potato production management. Our results showed that water level, nitrogen level and the interaction between water and nitrogen influence potato yield mainly through affecting source capacity via the net photosynthetic rate, total leaf area and leaf life span. Well-watered, sufficient nitrogen and well-watered combined with sufficient nitrogen increased yield mainly by enhancing the source capacity. Therefore, this suggests that increasing source capacity is more crucial to improve potato yield. PMID:26752657

  15. The use of segregated heat sink structures to achieve enhanced passive cooling for outdoor wireless devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Flaherty, K; Punch, J

    2014-01-01

    Environmental standards which govern outdoor wireless equipment can stipulate stringent conditions: high solar loads (up to 1 kW/m 2 ), ambient temperatures as high as 55°C and negligible wind speeds (0 m/s). These challenges result in restrictions on power dissipation within a given envelope, due to the limited heat transfer rates achievable with passive cooling. This paper addresses an outdoor wireless device which features two segregated heat sink structures arranged vertically within a shielded chimney structure: a primary sink to cool temperature-sensitive components; and a secondary sink for high power devices. Enhanced convective cooling of the primary sink is achieved due to the increased mass flow within the chimney generated by the secondary sink. An unshielded heat sink was examined numerically, theoretically and experimentally, to verify the applicability of the methods employed. Nusselt numbers were compared for three cases: an unshielded heat sink; a sink located at the inlet of a shield; and a primary heat sink in a segregated structure. The heat sink, when placed at the inlet of a shield three times the length of the sink, augmented the Nusselt number by an average of 64% compared to the unshielded case. The Nusselt number of the primary was found to increase proportionally with the temperature of the secondary sink, and the optimum vertical spacing between the primary and secondary sinks was found to be close to zero, provided that conductive transfer between the sinks was suppressed.

  16. Crown dynamics and wood production of Douglas-fir trees in an old-growth forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    H. Roaki Ishii; Stephen C. Sillett; Allyson L. Carroll

    2017-01-01

    Large trees are the most prominent structural features of old-growth forests, which are considered to be globally important carbon sinks. Because of their large size, estimates of biomass and growth of large trees are often based on ground-level measurements (e.g., diameter at breast height, DBH) and little is known about growth dynamics within the crown. As trees...

  17. The Soil Sink for Nitrous Oxide: Trivial Amount but Challenging Question

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, E. A.; Savage, K. E.; Sihi, D.

    2015-12-01

    Net uptake of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) has been observed sporadically for many years. Such observations have often been discounted as measurement error or noise, but they were reported frequently enough to gain some acceptance as valid. The advent of fast response field instruments with good sensitivity and precision has permitted confirmation that some soils can be small sinks of N2O. With regards to "closing the global N2O budget" the soil sink is trivial, because it is smaller than the error terms of most other budget components. Although not important from a global budget perspective, the existence of a soil sink for atmospheric N2O presents a fascinating challenge for understanding the physical, chemical, and biological processes that explain the sink. Reduction of N2O by classical biological denitrification requires reducing conditions generally found in wet soil, and yet we have measured the N2O sink in well drained soils, where we also simultaneously measure a sink for atmospheric methane (CH4). Co-occurrence of N2O reduction and CH4 oxidation would require a broad range of microsite conditions within the soil, spanning high and low oxygen concentrations. Abiotic sinks for N2O or other biological processes that consume N2O could exist, but have not yet been identified. We are attempting to simulate processes of diffusion of N2O, CH4, and O2 from the atmosphere and within a soil profile to determine if classical biological N2O reduction and CH4 oxidation at rates consistent with measured fluxes are plausible.

  18. Contribution to fauna of invertebrates of sink holes within the agricultural landscape of the Moravian Karst Protected Area. Part one: Carabidae (Coleoptera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Horáková

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The epigeic fauna in the sink holes was studied using formaldehyde ground traps at 14-day intervals from April to October in 2002 and 2003. A total of 5 transects of traps have been installed within 5 selected areas of the northern part of the Moravian Karst. Areas within the district of Vilémovice, Lažánky and Ostrov near Macocha villages have been studied in particular. Sink holes have been selected on the basis of how they are probably influenced by human activities (types such as regularly mown sink holes within a thoroughly exploited field – 1, sink holes partially or totally overgrown by shrubs – 3 and 2, sink holes with fully developed trees – 4, sink holes within an intensely exploited meadow – 5.It was the aim of this study to determine the species composition of individual areas, numbers of individual species, differences among areas characterised by synoecological characteristics such as the dominance, Shannon-Wieneręs index of species diversity, equitability, Jaccardęs index of similarity and to try to express the degree of anthropogenic influence. Similarity of individual areas has also been evaluated by means of the cluster analysis (on the basis of the Jaccardęs index.Eudominant species were Abax parallelepipedus, Anchomenus dorsalis, Carabus ullrichi, Microlestes maurus, Poecilus cupreus and Pterostichus melanarius. Species such as Aptinus bombarda, Licinus depressus, Molops elatus and Syntomus obscuroguttatus were the most important ones. The highest and lowest values of the index of species diversity were found in the area No. 4, and 1 and 2, respectively. Equitability was the highest and the lowest in the area No. 4 and 1, respectively. According to the Jaccardęs index, areas No. 2 and 3, and No. 1 and 4 were the most and least similar ones, respectively. A total of 53.3%, 45.6% and 1.1% of species could, be classified as belonging to the group E, A and R, respectively. The group E represents eurytopic species

  19. Upland Trees Contribute to Exchange of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) in Forest Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, H.; Thompson, R.; Canadell, J.; Winiwarter, W.; Machacova, K.; Maier, M.; Halmeenmäki, E.; Svobodova, K.; Lang, F.; Pihlatie, M.; Urban, O.

    2017-12-01

    The increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) concentration contributes to the acceleration of the greenhouse effect. However, the role of trees in the N2O exchange of forest ecosystems is still an open question. While the soils of temperate and boreal forests were shown to be a natural source of N2O, trees have been so far overlooked in the forest N2O inventories. We determined N2O fluxes in common tree species of boreal and temperate forests: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Norway spruce (Picea abies), downy and silver birch (Betula pubescens, B. pendula), and European beech (Fagus sylvatica). We investigated (1) whether these tree species exchange N2O with the atmosphere under natural field conditions, (2) how the tree N2O fluxes contribute to the forest N2O balance, and (3) whether these fluxes show seasonal dynamics. The studies were performed in a boreal forest (SMEAR II station, Finland; June 2014 - May 2015) and two temperate mountain forests (White Carpathians, Czech Republic; Black Forest, Germany; June and July 2015). Fluxes of N2O in mature tree stems and forest floor were measured using static chamber systems followed by chromatographic and photo-acoustic analyses of N2O concentration changes. Pine, spruce and birch trees were identified as net annual N2O sources. Spruce was found the strongest emitter (0.27 mg ha-1 h-1) amounting thus up to 2.5% of forest floor N2O emissions. All tree species showed a substantial seasonality in stem N2O flux that was related to their physiological activity and climatic variables. In contrast, stems of beech trees growing at soils consuming N2O may act as a substantial sink of N2O from the atmosphere. Consistent N2O consumption by tree stems ranging between -12.1 and -35.2 mg ha-1 h-1 and contributing by up to 3.4% to the forest floor N2O uptake is a novel finding in contrast to current studies presenting trees as N2O emitters. To understand these fluxes, N2O exchange of photoautotrophic organisms associated with

  20. New Jersey Forests 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susan J. Crocker; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Mark A. Hatfield; Cassandra M. Kurtz; Tonya W. Lister; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Patrick D. Miles; Randall S. Morin; Mark D. Nelson; Ronald J. Piva; Rachel Riemann; James E. Smith; Christopher W. Woodall; William. Zipse

    2017-01-01

    The second full annual inventory of New Jersey’s forests reports more than 2.0 million acres of forest land and 77 tree species. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory forest types in the north and pitch pine forest types in the south. The volume of growing stock on timberland has been rising since 1956 and currently totals 3.3 billion cubic feet. Average annual net...

  1. Forest crimes as a threat to sustainable forest management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Özden

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available From ancient times to the present day, forest public relations has been an issue on the agenda. This relationship’s purpose was initially needed for shelter and nutrition; however today this process has changed with urbanization, overpopulation and understanding the new functions of forests. When land ownership became a tool of production, offenses occurred in order to convert forestlands to agricultural lands. So the vast majority of the world’s forests have been lost for this reason. Today, deforestation is occurring in tropical countries that are expecting to gain agricultural area. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between urbanization and the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of forest crimes, which are a major obstacle for sustainable forestry. Although forests cover about 27 % of Turkey’s territory, the forests are losing viability; the status of wood raw material per unit area and the total area of the country in the ratio of productive forests are becoming critical in Turkey. Turkey’s rugged terrain and factors such as human interventions, fires, deforestation for agriculture, illegal cuttings, or improper grazing reduce existing forests or cause deterioration of their structure. In the past, deforestation, as a result of human interventions in Turkey, was done by forest villagers who live in rural areas. The forest crimes depend on various socio-economic reasons and have many adverse effects on the sustainability of forest and forest existence. In developed countries, illegal interventions such as opening, grazing, cutting, occupation, use, settlement, or hunting crimes have been largely eliminated because of the absence of cadastral problems, the existence of more responsive people to protect the environment and forests and a rural population, which has a higher standard of living. In the last 20 years, there has been both a dramatic decrease in the population living in rural areas and a

  2. Trends and regional distributions of land and ocean carbon sinks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. L. Sarmiento

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available We show here an updated estimate of the net land carbon sink (NLS as a function of time from 1960 to 2007 calculated from the difference between fossil fuel emissions, the observed atmospheric growth rate, and the ocean uptake obtained by recent ocean model simulations forced with reanalysis wind stress and heat and water fluxes. Except for interannual variability, the net land carbon sink appears to have been relatively constant at a mean value of −0.27 Pg C yr−1 between 1960 and 1988, at which time it increased abruptly by −0.88 (−0.77 to −1.04 Pg C yr−1 to a new relatively constant mean of −1.15 Pg C yr−1 between 1989 and 2003/7 (the sign convention is negative out of the atmosphere. This result is detectable at the 99% level using a t-test. The land use source (LU is relatively constant over this entire time interval. While the LU estimate is highly uncertain, this does imply that most of the change in the net land carbon sink must be due to an abrupt increase in the land sink, LS = NLS – LU, in response to some as yet unknown combination of biogeochemical and climate forcing. A regional synthesis and assessment of the land carbon sources and sinks over the post 1988/1989 period reveals broad agreement that the Northern Hemisphere land is a major sink of atmospheric CO2, but there remain major discrepancies with regard to the sign and magnitude of the net flux to and from tropical land.

  3. New Configurations of Micro Plate-Fin Heat Sink to Reduce Coolant Pumping Power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezania, A.; Rosendahl, L. A.

    2012-06-01

    The thermal resistance of heat exchangers has a strong influence on the electric power produced by a thermoelectric generator (TEG). In this work, a real TEG device is applied to three configurations of micro plate-fin heat sink. The distance between certain microchannels is varied to find the optimum heat sink configuration. The particular focus of this study is to reduce the coolant mass flow rate by considering the thermal resistances of the heat sinks and, thereby, to reduce the coolant pumping power in the system. The three-dimensional governing equations for the fluid flow and the heat transfer are solved using the finite-volume method for a wide range of pressure drop laminar flows along the heat sink. The temperature and the mass flow rate distribution in the heat sink are discussed. The results, which are in good agreement with previous computational studies, show that using suggested heat sink configurations reduces the coolant pumping power in the system.

  4. Development of a discharge model for the Bopp and Reuther Degasser/Condenser relief valves for heat sink assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasnaoui, C. . chiheb@hasnaoui.net; Huynh, M.

    2004-01-01

    A total loss of all sustained engineering heat sinks is considered as a severe accident with low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all sustained engineering heat sinks, the Degasser/Condenser relief valves (3332-RV11 and RV21) would then become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. Accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is required to assess the impact of this kind of accident on fuel cooling and the primary circuit integrity. This paper describes a model used to estimate the Degasser/Condenser relief valve discharge capacity. This model is used to predict the flow discharge under a range of conditions upstream of the relief valves; from sub-cooled to saturated liquid and up to vapor conditions. The defined model is then used to estimate the relief valve discharge rates under various hypothetical conditions of the PHTS using the Cathena code. (author)

  5. Verification of Carbon Sink Assessment. Can We Exclude Natural Sinks?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexandrov, G.; Yamagata, Y

    2004-01-01

    Any human-induced terrestrial sink is susceptible to the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, climate variability and other natural or indirect human-induced factors. It has been suggested in climate negotiations that the effects of these factors should be excluded from estimates of carbon sequestration used to meet the emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. This paper focuses on the methodologies for factoring out the effects of atmospheric and climate variability/change. We estimate the relative magnitude of the non-human induced effects by using two biosphere models and discuss possibilities for narrowing estimate uncertainty

  6. Boreal Forest Fire Cools Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randerson, J. T.; Liu, H.; Flanner, M.; Chambers, S. D.; Harden, J. W.; Hess, P. G.; Jin, Y.; Mack, M. C.; Pfister, G.; Schuur, E. A.; Treseder, K. K.; Welp, L. R.; Zender, C. S.

    2005-12-01

    We report measurements, modeling, and analysis of carbon and energy fluxes from a boreal forest fire that occurred in interior Alaska during 1999. In the first year after the fire, ozone production, atmospheric aerosol loading, greenhouse gas emissions, soot deposition, and decreases in summer albedo contributed to a positive annual radiative forcing (RF). These effects were partly offset by an increase in fall, winter, and spring albedo from reduced canopy cover and increased exposure of snow-covered surfaces. The atmospheric lifetime of aerosols and ozone and are relatively short (days to months). The radiative effects of soot on snow are also attenuated rapidly from the deposition of fresh snow. As a result, a year after the fire, only two classes of RF mechanisms remained: greenhouse gas emissions and post-fire changes in surface albedo. Summer albedo increased rapidly in subsequent years and was substantially higher than unburned control areas (by more than 0.03) after 4 years as a result of grass and shrub establishment. Satellite measurements from MODIS of other interior Alaska burn scars provided evidence that elevated levels of spring and summer albedo (relative to unburned control areas) persisted for at least 4 decades after fire. In parallel, our chamber, eddy covariance, and biomass measurements indicated that the post-fire ecosystems switch from a source to a sink within the first decade. Taken together, the extended period of increased spring and summer albedo and carbon uptake of intermediate-aged stands appears to more than offset the initial warming pulse caused by fire emissions, when compared using the RF concept. This result suggests that management of forests in northern countries to suppress fire and preserve carbon sinks may have the opposite effect on climate as that intended.

  7. Sinking of armour layer around a vertical cylinder exposed to waves and current

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Anders Wedel; Probst, Thomas; Petersen, Thor Ugelvig

    2015-01-01

    The mechanisms of the sinking of a scour protection adjacent to a monopile are described in this paper, together with the determination of the equilibrium sinking depth in various wave and combined wave and current conditions based on physical model tests.Sinking of the rocks may ultimately lead ...

  8. Projecting Soil Feedbacks to Atmospheric CO2 Following Erosion and Deposition on Centennial Timescales in Two Contrasting Forests: A Study of Critical Zone-Atmosphere Exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billings, S. A.; Richter, D., Jr.; Ziegler, S. E.; Prestegaard, K. L.

    2016-12-01

    For almost 20 y there has been a growing recognition that erosion and associated lateral movement of SOC does not necessarily result in a net CO2 source from terrestrial sources to the atmosphere. Eroded SOC may undergo mineralization to CO2 at a more rapid pace than it would have in situ, but the eroding ecosystem continues to generate SOC at a potentially modified rate, and the eroding profile may also experience changing SOC mineralization rates. No one knows how these process rates may change upon erosion. Years ago, we introduced a model that computes the influence of erosion on biosphere-atmosphere CO2 exchange for any profile of interest. The model permits the user to test how assumptions of changing SOC production and mineralization can influence the degree to which erosion induces a net CO2 sink or source. Here we present an analogous model depicting how deposition of eroded SOC also can result in altered biosphere-atmosphere CO2 exchange. We employ both models to investigate how erosion and deposition in two contrasting forested regions may influence regional C budgets. Runoff-induced erosion in a boreal forest occurs at low rates, but removes C-rich, organic material; anthropogenically-enhanced erosion in a warm temperate forest removed both O- and mineral-rich A-horizons. Model runs (100 y) suggest that even though the great volume of mineral soil eroded from the temperate forest was relatively low-SOC, high erosion rates prompted greater potential for erosion to serve as a net CO2 sink compared to the boreal forest where C-rich material was lost but erosion rates remained low. The models further suggest that changes in SOC production and mineralization at eroding sites in both forest types are a greater influence on CO2 source or sink strength than analogous changes at depositional sites. The fate of eroded material and the influence of erosion and deposition on SOC dynamics remain knowledge gaps critical for projecting atmospheric CO2.

  9. Key role of symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in tropical forest secondary succession

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batterman, Sarah A.; Hedin, Lars O.; van Breugel, Michiel; Ransijn, Johannes; Craven, Dylan J.; Hall, Jefferson S.

    2013-10-01

    Forests contribute a significant portion of the land carbon sink, but their ability to sequester CO2 may be constrained by nitrogen, a major plant-limiting nutrient. Many tropical forests possess tree species capable of fixing atmospheric dinitrogen (N2), but it is unclear whether this functional group can supply the nitrogen needed as forests recover from disturbance or previous land use, or expand in response to rising CO2 (refs 6, 8). Here we identify a powerful feedback mechanism in which N2 fixation can overcome ecosystem-scale deficiencies in nitrogen that emerge during periods of rapid biomass accumulation in tropical forests. Over a 300-year chronosequence in Panama, N2-fixing tree species accumulated carbon up to nine times faster per individual than their non-fixing neighbours (greatest difference in youngest forests), and showed species-specific differences in the amount and timing of fixation. As a result of fast growth and high fixation, fixers provided a large fraction of the nitrogen needed to support net forest growth (50,000kg carbon per hectare) in the first 12years. A key element of ecosystem functional diversity was ensured by the presence of different N2-fixing tree species across the entire forest age sequence. These findings show that symbiotic N2 fixation can have a central role in nitrogen cycling during tropical forest stand development, with potentially important implications for the ability of tropical forests to sequester CO2.

  10. Key role of symbiotic dinitrogen fixation in tropical forest secondary succession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batterman, Sarah A; Hedin, Lars O; van Breugel, Michiel; Ransijn, Johannes; Craven, Dylan J; Hall, Jefferson S

    2013-10-10

    Forests contribute a significant portion of the land carbon sink, but their ability to sequester CO2 may be constrained by nitrogen, a major plant-limiting nutrient. Many tropical forests possess tree species capable of fixing atmospheric dinitrogen (N2), but it is unclear whether this functional group can supply the nitrogen needed as forests recover from disturbance or previous land use, or expand in response to rising CO2 (refs 6, 8). Here we identify a powerful feedback mechanism in which N2 fixation can overcome ecosystem-scale deficiencies in nitrogen that emerge during periods of rapid biomass accumulation in tropical forests. Over a 300-year chronosequence in Panama, N2-fixing tree species accumulated carbon up to nine times faster per individual than their non-fixing neighbours (greatest difference in youngest forests), and showed species-specific differences in the amount and timing of fixation. As a result of fast growth and high fixation, fixers provided a large fraction of the nitrogen needed to support net forest growth (50,000 kg carbon per hectare) in the first 12 years. A key element of ecosystem functional diversity was ensured by the presence of different N2-fixing tree species across the entire forest age sequence. These findings show that symbiotic N2 fixation can have a central role in nitrogen cycling during tropical forest stand development, with potentially important implications for the ability of tropical forests to sequester CO2.

  11. How Low Can You Sink?

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 2; Issue 2. How Low Can You Sink? In Search of Global Minima. Vivek S Borkar. General Article Volume 2 ... Author Affiliations. Vivek S Borkar1. Department of Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India ...

  12. 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.

  13. Australia's CO2 geological storage potential and matching of emission sources to potential sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bradshaw, J.; Bradshaw, B.E.; Wilson, P.; Spencer, L.; Allinson, G.; Nguyen, V.

    2004-01-01

    Within the GEODISC program of the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre (APCRC), Geoscience Australia (GA) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have completed an analysis of the potential for the geological storage of CO 2 . The geological analysis assessed over 100 potential environmentally sustainable sites for CO 2 injection (ESSCIs) by applying a deterministic risk assessment based on the five factors of: storage capacity, injectivity potential, site details, containment and natural resources. Utilising a risked storage capacity suggests that at a regional scale Australia has a CO 2 storage potential in excess of 1600 years of current annual total net emissions. Whilst this estimate does give an idea of the enormous magnitude of the geological storage potential of CO 2 in Australia, it does not account for various factors that are evident in source to sink matching. If preferences due to source to sink matching are incorporated, and an assumption is made that some economic imperative will apply to encourage geological storage of CO 2 , then a more realistic analysis can be derived. In such a case, Australia may have the potential to store a maximum of 25% of our total annual net emissions, or approximately 100-115 Mt CO 2 per year. (author)

  14. Estimating aboveground forest biomass carbon and fire consumption in the U.S. Utah High Plateaus using data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, Landsat, and LANDFIRE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuexia; Liu, Shuguang; Zhu, Zhiliang; Vogelmann, James E.; Li, Zhengpeng; Ohlen, Donald O.

    2011-01-01

    The concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing and greatly affecting global climate and socio-economic systems. Actively growing forests are generally considered to be a major carbon sink, but forest wildfires lead to large releases of biomass carbon into the atmosphere. Aboveground forest biomass carbon (AFBC), an important ecological indicator, and fire-induced carbon emissions at regional scales are highly relevant to forest sustainable management and climate change. It is challenging to accurately estimate the spatial distribution of AFBC across large areas because of the spatial heterogeneity of forest cover types and canopy structure. In this study, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, Landsat, and Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Project (LANDFIRE) data were integrated in a regression tree model for estimating AFBC at a 30-m resolution in the Utah High Plateaus. AFBC were calculated from 225 FIA field plots and used as the dependent variable in the model. Of these plots, 10% were held out for model evaluation with stratified random sampling, and the other 90% were used as training data to develop the regression tree model. Independent variable layers included Landsat imagery and the derived spectral indicators, digital elevation model (DEM) data and derivatives, biophysical gradient data, existing vegetation cover type and vegetation structure. The cross-validation correlation coefficient (r value) was 0.81 for the training model. Independent validation using withheld plot data was similar with r value of 0.82. This validated regression tree model was applied to map AFBC in the Utah High Plateaus and then combined with burn severity information to estimate loss of AFBC in the Longston fire of Zion National Park in 2001. The final dataset represented 24 forest cover types for a 4 million ha forested area. We estimated a total of 353 Tg AFBC with an average of 87 MgC/ha in the Utah High

  15. Governing atmospheric sinks: the architecture of entitlements in the global commons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jouni Paavola

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available This article revisits key works on the management of common-pool resources under common property arrangements, in order to elicit a broader notion of collective ownership for analysing institutional arrangements that govern the use of large-scale environmental resources such as biodiversity and atmospheric sinks. The article proposes a model for analysing the institutional design of governance solutions which draws attention to 1 tiers and levels, 2 organisation of generic governance functions, and 3 formulation of specific institutional rules. The article exemplifies these analytical solutions by examining the emerging governance framework for global atmospheric sinks. The article indicates how crucial parts of the institutional framework for governing atmospheric sinks are still missing, a shortcoming which maintains the ‘‘tragedy of the commons’’ in their use. The article suggests that a workable governance solution for global atmospheric sinks has to 1 cap the use of atmospheric sinks; 2 provide for a more equitable benefit sharing; 3 provide for compensation of climate change impacts and assistance for adaptation to climate change impacts; and 4 create institutional solutions for enhancing participation in environmental decisions in order to guarantee progress in and legitimacy of the governance framework.

  16. Influence of harvesting on biogeochemical exchange in sheetflow and soil processes in a eutrophic floodplain forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    B.G. Lockaby; R.G. Clawson; K. Flynn; Robert Rummer; S. Meadows; B Stokes; John A. Stanturf

    1997-01-01

    Floodplain forests contribute to the maintenance of water quality as a result of various biogeochemical transformations which occur within them. In particular, they can serve as sinks for nutrient run-off from adjacent uplands or as nutrient transformers as water moves downstream. However, little is known about the potential that land management activities may have for...

  17. Bringing Together Users and Developers of Forest Biomass Maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Molly Elizabeth; Macauley, Molly K.

    2012-01-01

    Forests store carbon and thus represent important sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Reducing uncertainty in current estimates of the amount of carbon in standing forests will improve precision of estimates of anthropogenic contributions to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to deforestation. Although satellite remote sensing has long been an important tool for mapping land cover, until recently aboveground forest biomass estimates have relied mostly on systematic ground sampling of forests. In alignment with fiscal year 2010 congressional direction, NASA has initiated work toward a carbon monitoring system (CMS) that includes both maps of forest biomass and total carbon flux estimates. A goal of the project is to ensure that the products are useful to a wide community of scientists, managers, and policy makers, as well as to carbon cycle scientists. Understanding the needs and requirements of these data users is helpful not just to the NASA CMS program but also to the entire community working on carbon-related activities. To that end, this meeting brought together a small group of natural resource managers and policy makers who use information on forests in their work with NASA scientists who are working to create aboveground forest biomass maps. These maps, derived from combining remote sensing and ground plots, aim to be more accurate than current inventory approaches when applied at local and regional scales. Meeting participants agreed that users of biomass information will look to the CMS effort not only to provide basic data for carbon or biomass measurements but also to provide data to help serve a broad range of goals, such as forest watershed management for water quality, habitat management for biodiversity and ecosystem services, and potential use for developing payments for ecosystem service projects. Participants also reminded the CMS group that potential users include not only public sector agencies and nongovernmental organizations but also the

  18. Topology optimization of a pseudo 3D thermofluid heat sink model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haertel, Jan H. K.; Engelbrecht, Kurt; Lazarov, Boyan S.

    2018-01-01

    sink and a fixed heat production rate in the base plate. Optimized designs are presented and the resulting fin geometry is discussed from a thermal engineering point of view and compared to fin shapes resulting from a pressure drop minimization objective. Parametric studies are conducted to analyze......This paper investigates the application of density-based topology optimization to the design of air-cooled forced convection heat sinks. To reduce the computational burden that is associated with a full 3D optimization, a pseudo 3D optimization model comprising a 2D modeled conducting metal base...... layer and a thermally coupled 2D modeled thermofluid design layer is used. Symmetry conditions perpendicular to the flow direction are applied to generate periodic heat sink designs. The optimization objective is to minimize the heat sink heat transfer resistance for a fixed pressure drop over the heat...

  19. Above Ground Carbon Stock Estimates of Mangrove Forest Using Worldview-2 Imagery in Teluk Benoa, Bali

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candra, E. D.; Hartono; Wicaksono, P.

    2016-11-01

    Mangrove forests have a role as an absorbent and a carbon sink to a reduction CO2 in the atmosphere. Based on the previous studies found that mangrove forests have the ability to sequestering carbon through photosynthesis and carbon burial of sediment effectively. The value and distribution of carbon stock are important to understand through remote sensing technology. In this study, will estimate the carbon stock using WorldView-2 imagery with and without distinction mangrove species. Worldview-2 is a high resolution image with 2 meters spatial resolution and eight spectral bands. Worldview-2 potential to estimate carbon stock in detail. Vegetation indices such as DVI (Difference Vegetation Index), EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index), and MRE-SR (Modified Red Edge-Simple Ratio) and field data were modeled to determine the best vegetation indices to estimate carbon stocks. Carbon stock estimated by allometric equation approach specific to each species of mangrove. Worldview-2 imagery to map mangrove species with an accuracy of 80.95%. Total carbon stock estimation results in the study area of 35.349,87 tons of dominant species Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata and Sonneratia alba.

  20. Seasonal variation of CO{sub 2} flux between air and temperate forest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamamoto, Susumo; Murayama, Shohei; Kondo, Hiroaki [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, Ibaraki (Japan)

    1995-12-31

    Carbon dioxide, which is a very important greenhouse gas, contributes approximately 55 % to the problem of global warming. The knowledge to the sources and sinks of carbon on a global basis is very poor. IPCC (1994) suggested that unknown 1.5-2.0 GtC/year may be sunk in terrestrial ecosystem, in particular, in the Northern Hemisphere. As can be seen from a recent estimation of the carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the magnitude. The clear evidence for it has not been shown yet by IPCC (1994). However, based on the gradient of CO{sub 2}, as a function of latitude, main CO{sub 2} sink can be thought to be in the terrestrial biosphere, in the middle to high latitude of the Northern Hemisphere. As can be seen from a recent estimation of the carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the magnitude. From this view, more investigation of the role of the temperate forest on the CO{sub 2} balance is inevitable. In this presentation, the seasonal variation of CO{sub 2} flux between air and biosphere in temperate deciduous forest in Japan is intended to be elucidated. (author)

  1. Seasonal variation of CO{sub 2} flux between air and temperate forest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamamoto, Susumo; Murayama, Shohei; Kondo, Hiroaki [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, Ibaraki (Japan)

    1996-12-31

    Carbon dioxide, which is a very important greenhouse gas, contributes approximately 55 % to the problem of global warming. The knowledge to the sources and sinks of carbon on a global basis is very poor. IPCC (1994) suggested that unknown 1.5-2.0 GtC/year may be sunk in terrestrial ecosystem, in particular, in the Northern Hemisphere. As can be seen from a recent estimation of the carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the magnitude. The clear evidence for it has not been shown yet by IPCC (1994). However, based on the gradient of CO{sub 2}, as a function of latitude, main CO{sub 2} sink can be thought to be in the terrestrial biosphere, in the middle to high latitude of the Northern Hemisphere. As can be seen from a recent estimation of the carbon fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the magnitude. From this view, more investigation of the role of the temperate forest on the CO{sub 2} balance is inevitable. In this presentation, the seasonal variation of CO{sub 2} flux between air and biosphere in temperate deciduous forest in Japan is intended to be elucidated. (author)

  2. Forest cover change and fragmentation using Landsat data in Maçka State Forest Enterprise in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cakir, Günay; Sivrikaya, Fatih; Keleş, Sedat

    2008-02-01

    Monitoring forest cover change and understanding the dynamic of forest cover is increasingly important in sustainable development and management of forest ecosystems. This paper uses remote sensing (RS) techniques to monitor forest cover change in Maçka State Forest Enterprise (MSFE) located in NE of Turkey through 1975 to 2000 and then analyses spatial and temporal changes in forest cover by Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and FRAGSTATStrade mark. Forest cover changes were detected from a time series of satellite images of Landsat MSS in 1975, Landsat TM in 1987, and Landsat ETM+ in 2000 using RS and GIS. The results showed that total forest area, productive forest area and degraded forest area increased while broadleaf forest area and non forest area decreased. Mixed forest and degraded forest increased during the first (1975-1987) period, but decreased during the second (1987-2000) period. During the whole study period, the annual forestation rate was 152 ha year(-1), equivalent to 0.27% year(-1) using the compound-interest-rate formula. The total number of patches increased from 36,204 to 48,092 (33%), and mean size of forest patch (MPS) decreased from 2.8 ha to 2.1 ha during a 25 year period. Number of smaller patches (patches in 0-100 ha size class) increased, indicating more fragmented landscape over time that might create a risk for the maintenance of biodiversity of the area. While total population increased from 1975 to 2000 (3.7%), rural population constantly decreased. The increase of forest areas may well be explained by the fact that demographic movement of rural areas concentrated into Maçka City Center. These figures also indicated that decrease in the rural population might likely lead to the release of human pressure to forest areas, probably resulting in a positive development of forest areas.

  3. Optimization of triangular microchannel heat sinks using constructible theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mardani, Moloud; Salimpour, Mohammad Reza

    2016-01-01

    The present paper examines the optimization of triangular microchannel heat sinks. The impact of volume fraction of solid material and pressure drop on the maximum temperature of the microchannel heat sinks are investigated and their optimum operating conditions are compared. From the results, it is seen that increasing the side angle of the triangular microchannel, improves its performance. Furthermore, there is an appropriate agreement between the analytical and numerical results. Finally, the effect of degrees of freedom on the performance of microchannels is investigated. To accomplish this end, the triangular microchannels with the side angle of 60 degree have been chosen as it has the best performance compared to other microchannels. It is observed that the minimized maximum temperatures of optimized microchannel heat sinks with three degrees of freedom are 10% lower than the ones with two degrees of freedom

  4. EU mitigation potential of harvested wood products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilli, Roberto; Fiorese, Giulia; Grassi, Giacomo

    2015-12-01

    The new rules for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector under the Kyoto Protocol recognized the importance of Harvested Wood Products (HWP) in climate change mitigation. We used the Tier 2 method proposed in the 2013 IPCC KP Supplement to estimate emissions and removals from HWP from 1990 to 2030 in EU-28 countries with three future harvest scenarios (constant historical average, and +/-20% in 2030). For the historical period (2000-2012) our results are consistent with other studies, indicating a HWP sink equal on average to -44.0 Mt CO 2 yr -1 (about 10% of the sink by forest pools). Assuming a constant historical harvest scenario and future distribution of the total harvest among each commodity, the HWP sink decreases to -22.9 Mt CO 2 yr -1 in 2030. The increasing and decreasing harvest scenarios produced a HWP sink of -43.2 and -9.0 Mt CO 2 yr -1 in 2030, respectively. Other factors may play an important role on HWP sink, including: (i) the relative share of different wood products, and (ii) the combined effect of production, import and export on the domestic production of each commodity. Maintaining a constant historical harvest, the HWP sink will slowly tend to saturate, i.e. to approach zero in the long term. The current HWP sink will be maintained only by further increasing the current harvest; however, this will tend to reduce the current sink in forest biomass, at least in the short term. Overall, our results suggest that: (i) there is limited potential for additional HWP sink in the EU; (ii) the HWP mitigation potential should be analyzed in conjunction with other mitigation components (e.g. sink in forest biomass, energy and material substitution by wood).

  5. Sources and sinks of carbon in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Thomas A.; Jones, Miriam C.; Hiemstra, Christopher A.

    2014-01-01

    Boreal regions store large quantities of carbon but are increasingly vulnerable to carbon loss due to disturbance and climate warming. The boreal region, underlain by discontinuous permafrost, presents a challenging landscape for itemizing current and potential carbon sources and sinks in the boreal soil and vegetation. The roles of fire, forest succession, and the presence (or absence) of permafrost on carbon cycle, vegetation, and hydrologic processes have been the focus of multidisciplinary research in this area for the past 20 years. However, projections of a warming future climate, an increase in fire severity and extent, and the potential degradation of permafrost could lead to major landscape process changes over the next 20 to 50 years. This provides a major challenge for predicting how the interplay between land management activities and impacts of climate warming will affect carbon sources and sinks in Interior Alaska. To assist land managers in adapting and managing for potential changes in the Interior Alaska carbon cycle we developed this review paper incorporating an overview of the climate, ecosystem processes, vegetation types, and soil regimes in Interior Alaska with a focus on ramifications for the carbon cycle. Our objective is to provide a synthesis of the most current carbon storage estimates and measurements to support policy and land management decisions on how to best manage carbon sources and sinks in Interior Alaska. To support this we have surveyed relevant peer reviewed estimates of carbon stocks in aboveground and belowground biomass for Interior Alaska boreal ecosystems. We have also summarized methane and carbon dioxide fluxes from the same ecosystems. These data have been converted into the same units to facilitate comparison across ecosystem compartments. We identify potential changes in the carbon cycle with climate change and human disturbance including how compounding disturbances can affect the boreal system. Finally, we provide

  6. Influence of plankton community structure on the sinking velocity of marine aggregates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach, L. T.; Boxhammer, T.; Larsen, A.; Hildebrandt, N.; Schulz, K. G.; Riebesell, U.

    2016-08-01

    About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the surface ocean is partly dependent on aggregate sinking velocity which accelerates with increasing aggregate size and density, where the latter is controlled by ballast load and aggregate porosity. In May 2011, we moored nine 25 m deep mesocosms in a Norwegian fjord to assess on a daily basis how plankton community structure affects material properties and sinking velocities of aggregates (Ø 80-400 µm) collected in the mesocosms' sediment traps. We noted that sinking velocity was not necessarily accelerated by opal ballast during diatom blooms, which could be due to relatively high porosity of these rather fresh aggregates. Furthermore, estimated aggregate porosity (Pestimated) decreased as the picoautotroph (0.2-2 µm) fraction of the phytoplankton biomass increased. Thus, picoautotroph-dominated communities may be indicative for food webs promoting a high degree of aggregate repackaging with potential for accelerated sinking. Blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi revealed that cell concentrations of 1500 cells/mL accelerate sinking by about 35-40%, which we estimate (by one-dimensional modeling) to elevate organic matter transfer efficiency through the mesopelagic from 14 to 24%. Our results indicate that sinking velocities are influenced by the complex interplay between the availability of ballast minerals and aggregate packaging; both of which are controlled by plankton community structure.

  7. Quantifying the Sources and Sinks of Greenhouse Gases: What Does It Take to Satisfy Scientific and Decision-Making Needs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, K. J.; Keller, K.; Ogle, S. M.; Smith, S.

    2014-12-01

    Changes in the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are key drivers of anthropogenic climate change. It is hence not surprising that current and emerging U.S. governmental science priorities and programs focused on climate change (e.g. a U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan; the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Executive Order 13653 'Preparing the U.S. for the Impacts of Climate Change') all call for an improved understanding of these sources and sinks.. Measurements of the total atmospheric burden of these gases are well established, but measurements of their sources and sinks are difficult to make over spatial and temporal scales that are relevant for scientific and decisionmaking needs. Quantifying the uncertainty in these measurements is particularly challenging. This talk reviews the intersection of the state of knowledge of GHG sources and sinks, focusing in particular on CO2 and CH4, and science and decision-making needs for this information. Different science and decision-making needs require differing levels of uncertainty. A number of high-priority needs (early detection of changes in the Earth system, projections of future climate, support of markets or regulations) often require a high degree of accuracy and/or precision. We will critically evaluate current U.S. planning to documents to infer current perceived needs for GHG source/sink quantification, attempting to translate these needs into quantitative uncertainty metrics. We will compare these perceived needs with the current state of the art of GHG source/sink quantification, including the apparent pattern of systematic differences between so-called "top down" and "bottom-up" flux estimates. This comparison will enable us to identify where needs can be readily satisfied, and where gaps in technology exist. Finally, we will examine what steps could be taken to close existing gaps.

  8. Thermal effect of a thermoelectric generator on parallel microchannel heat sink

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolaei, Alireza Rezania; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2012-01-01

    Thermoelectric generators (TEG) convert heat energy to electrical power by means of semiconductor charge carriers serving as working fluid. In this work, a TEG is applied to a parallel microchannel heat sink. The effect of the inlet plenum arrangement on the laminar flow distribution...... in the channels is considered at a wide range of the pressure drop along the heat sink. The particular focus of this study is geometrical effect of the TEG on the heat transfer characteristics in the micro-heat sink. The hydraulic diameter of the microchannels is 270 μm, and three heat fluxes are applied...... on the hot surface of the TEG. By considering the maximum temperature limitation for Bi_2 Te_3 material and using the microchannel heat sink for cooling down the TEG system, an optimum pumping power is achieved. The results are in a good agreement with the previous experimental and theoretical studies....

  9. Maine Forests 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    George L. McCaskill; Thomas Albright; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Susan J. Crocker; Cassandra M. Kurtz; William H. McWilliams; Patrick D. Miles; Randall S. Morin; Mark D. Nelson; Richard H. Widmann; Christopher W. Woodall

    2016-01-01

    The third 5-year annualized inventory of Maine's forests was completed in 2013 after more than 3170 forested plots were measured. Maine contains more than 17.6 million acres of forest land, an area that has been quite stable since 1960, covering more than 82 percent of the total land area. The number of live trees greater than 1 inch in diameter are approaching 24...

  10. Future carbon storage in harvested wood products from Ontario's Crown forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, J.; Colombo, S.J.; Ter-Mikaelian, M.T.

    2008-01-01

    Carbon (C) storage in harvested wood products (HWP) from Ontario's Crown forests were analyzed using a large-scale forest C budget model. The model was used to estimate HWP C stock changes as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The harvested C mass was then allocated to 4 HWP end-use categories, notably (1) in use; (2) landfill; (3) energy; and (4) emissions. C mass redistribution among HWP end-use categories was calculated using an age-based C distribution matrix. Emissions for harvest, transport, and manufacturing were accounted for as well as emission reductions gained by using the HWP in place of other construction materials and fossil fuels. Results of the study showed that C storage in HWP is projected to increase by 3.6 Mt per year. The projections indicated that the harvest of wood products in Ontario will result in a steadily increasing C sink in HWP and forests. 51 refs., 8 tabs., 4 figs

  11. Can green roof act as a sink for contaminants? A methodological study to evaluate runoff quality from green roofs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vijayaraghavan, K; Joshi, Umid Man

    2014-11-01

    The present study examines whether green roofs act as a sink or source of contaminants based on various physico-chemical parameters (pH, conductivity and total dissolved solids) and metals (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb). The performance of green roof substrate prepared using perlite, vermiculite, sand, crushed brick, and coco-peat, was compared with local garden soil based on improvement of runoff quality. Portulaca grandiflora was used as green roof vegetation. Four different green roof configurations, with vegetated and non-vegetated systems, were examined for several artificial rain events (un-spiked and metal-spiked). In general, the vegetated green roof assemblies generated better-quality runoff with less conductivity and total metal ion concentration compared to un-vegetated assemblies. Of the different green roof configurations examined, P. grandiflora planted on green roof substrate acted as sink for various metals and showed the potential to generate better runoff. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Direct carbon emissions from Canadian forest fires, 1959-1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amiro, B. D.; Todd, J. B.; Flannigan, M. D.; Hirsch, K. G.; Wotton, B. M.; Logan, K. A.; Stocks, B. J.; Mason, J. A.; Martell, D. L.

    2001-01-01

    Fire is recognised as driving most of the boreal forest carbon balance in North America, therefore fires not only impact on carbon sequestration by forests, but emit greenhouse gases that have the potential to affect the environment. In this paper direct emissions of carbon from Canadian forest fires were estimated for all of Canada and for each ecozone for the period 1959 to 1999. Estimates were based on large fires ; fuel consumption for each fire was calculated using the Canadian Forest Fire Behaviour Prediction System. There were about 11,400 forest fires, averaging 2 x 10 6 hectare per year during this period. Boreal and taiga areas experienced the greatest area burned, releasing most of the carbon. The mean area-weighted fuel consumption for all fires was 2.6 kg of dry fuel per m 2 (1.3 kg carbon per m 2 ) varying from 1.8 kg to 3.9 kg per m 2 among ecozones. The mean annual direct carbon emission was estimated at 27 + or - 6 Tg carbon per year, or about 18 per cent of current carbon dioxide emissions from the Canadian energy sector, on average. This excludes post-fire effects, which cause an additional loss of carbon; changes to the forest also affect the strength of the forest carbon sink. Fire emissions have shown an increase over the past two decades and are likely to remain high due to anticipated changes in fire weather resulting from climate warming. 48 refs., 3 tabs., 6 figs

  13. Development and testing of aluminum micro channel heat sink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumaraguruparan, G.; Sornakumar, T.

    2010-06-01

    Microchannel heat sinks constitute an innovative cooling technology for the removal of a large amount of heat from a small area and are suitable for electronics cooling. In the present work, Tool Steel D2 grade milling slitting saw type plain milling cutter is fabricated The microchannels are machined in aluminum work pieces to form the microchannel heat sink using the fabricated milling cutter in an horizontal milling machine. A new experimental set-up is fabricated to conduct the tests on the microchannel heat sink. The heat carried by the water increases with mass flow rate and heat input. The heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number increases with mass flow rate and increased heat input. The pressure drop increases with Reynolds number and decreases with input heat. The friction factor decreases with Reynolds number and decreases with input heat. The thermal resistance decreases with pumping power and decreases with input heat.

  14. Options for accounting carbon sequestration in German forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krug, Joachim; Koehl, Michael; Riedel, Thomas; Bormann, Kristin; Rueter, Sebastian; Elsasser, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Background The Accra climate change talks held from 21–27 August 2008 in Accra, Ghana, were part of an ongoing series of meetings leading up to the Copenhagen meeting in December 2009. During the meeting a set of options for accounting carbon sequestration in forestry on a post-2012 framework was presented. The options include gross-net and net-net accounting and approaches for establishing baselines. Results This article demonstrates the embedded consequences of Accra Accounting Options for the case study of German national GHG accounting. It presents the most current assessment of sequestration rates by forest management for the period 1990 – 2007, provides an outlook of future emissions and removals (up to the year 2042) as related to three different management scenarios, and shows that implementation of some Accra options may reverse sources to sinks, or sinks to sources. Conclusion The results of the study highlight the importance of elaborating an accounting system that would prioritize the climate convention goals, not national preferences. PMID:19650896

  15. Fire in the Brazilian Amazon : 3. Dynamics of biomass, C, and nutrient pools in regenerating forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, R F; Kauffman, J B; Cummings, D L

    2000-09-01

    ; and P losses ranged from 2 to 20 kg ha -1 . Elemental losses were controlled to a large extent by the relative distribution of elemental mass within biomass components of varying susceptibilities to combustion and the temperatures of volatilization of each element. Due to a relatively low temperature of volatilization and its concentration in highly combustible biomass pools, site losses of N averaged 70% of total pre-fire pools. In contrast, site losses of P and Ca resulting from burning were 33 and 20% of total pre-fire pools, respectively, as much of the mass of those elements was deposited on site as ash. Pre- and post-fire biomass and elemental pools of second- and third-growth forests, as well as the emissions from those systems, were intermediate between those of primary forests and pastures in the Brazilian Amazon. Overall, regenerating forests have the capacity to act as either large terrestrial sinks or sources of C and nutrients, depending on the course of land-use patterns within the Brazilian Amazon. Combining remote sensing techniques with field measures of aboveground C accumulation in regenerating forests and C fluxes from those forests when they are cut and burned, we estimate that during 1990-1991 roughly 104 Tg of C was accumulated by regenerating forests across the Brazilian Amazon. Further, we estimate that approximately 103 Tg of C was lost via the cutting and burning of regenerating forests across the Brazilian Amazon during this same period. Since average C accumulations (5.5 Mg ha -1 year -1 ) in regenerating forests were 19% of the C lost when such forests are cut and burned (29.3 Mg ha -1 ), our results suggest that when less than 19% of the total area accounted for by secondary forests is cut and burned in a given year, those forests will be net accumulators of C during that year. Conversely, when more than 19% of regenerating forests are burned, those forests will be a net source of C to the atmosphere.

  16. Bounds on the dynamics of sink populations with noisy immigration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eager, Eric Alan; Guiver, Chris; Hodgson, Dave; Rebarber, Richard; Stott, Iain; Townley, Stuart

    2014-03-01

    Sink populations are doomed to decline to extinction in the absence of immigration. The dynamics of sink populations are not easily modelled using the standard framework of per capita rates of immigration, because numbers of immigrants are determined by extrinsic sources (for example, source populations, or population managers). Here we appeal to a systems and control framework to place upper and lower bounds on both the transient and future dynamics of sink populations that are subject to noisy immigration. Immigration has a number of interpretations and can fit a wide variety of models found in the literature. We apply the results to case studies derived from published models for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and blowout penstemon (Penstemon haydenii). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. An Application of Path Sharing To Routing For Mobile Sinks In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    CODEXT protocol for optimizing routing to multiple sinks through reinforcement learning. Such a routing situation arises in WSNs with multiple, possibly mobile sinks, such as WSNs with actuators deployed in parallel to sensors. This protocol is based on GAF protocol and grid structure to reduce energy consumed.

  18. Measurement and modeling of CO2 exchange over forested landscapes in India: an overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushwaha, S.; Dadhwal, V.

    2009-04-01

    The increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and its potential impact on global climate change is the subject of worldwide studies, political debates and international discussions. The concern led to the establishment of the Kyoto Protocol to curtail emissions and mitigate the possible global warming. The studies so far suggest that terrestrial biological sinks might be the low cost options for carbon sequestration, which can be used to partially offset the industrial CO2 emissions globally. In past, the effectiveness of terrestrial sink and the quantitative estimates of their sink strengths have relied mainly on the measurements of changes in carbon stocks across the world. Recent developments in flux tower based measurement techniques such as Eddy Covariance for assessing the CO2, H2O and energy fluxes provide tools for quantifying the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 on a continuous basis. These near real time measurements, when integrated with remote sensing, enable the up-scaling of the carbon fluxes to regional scale. More than 470 towers exist worldwide as of now. Indian subcontinent was not having any tower-based CO2 flux measurement system so far. The Indian Space Research Organization under its Geosphere Biosphere Programme is funding five eddy covariance towers for terrestrial CO2 flux measurements in different ecological regions of the country. The tower sites already planned are: (i) a mixed forest plantation (Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia catechu, Holoptelia integrifolia) at Haldwani in collaboration with DISAFRI, University of Tuscia, Italy and the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun, (ii) a sal (Shorea robusta) forest in Doon valley Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in northern India, (ii) a teak (Tectona grandis) mixed forest at Betul in Madhya Pradesh in central India, (iv) an old teak plantation at Dandeli, and (v) a semi-evergreen forest at Nagarhole in Karnataka state in southern India. The three towers have been

  19. Non-random walk diffusion enhances the sink strength of semicoherent interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vattré, A.; Jourdan, T.; Ding, H.; Marinica, M.-C.; Demkowicz, M. J.

    2016-01-01

    Clean, safe and economical nuclear energy requires new materials capable of withstanding severe radiation damage. One strategy of imparting radiation resistance to solids is to incorporate into them a high density of solid-phase interfaces capable of absorbing and annihilating radiation-induced defects. Here we show that elastic interactions between point defects and semicoherent interfaces lead to a marked enhancement in interface sink strength. Our conclusions stem from simulations that integrate first principles, object kinetic Monte Carlo and anisotropic elasticity calculations. Surprisingly, the enhancement in sink strength is not due primarily to increased thermodynamic driving forces, but rather to reduced defect migration barriers, which induce a preferential drift of defects towards interfaces. The sink strength enhancement is highly sensitive to the detailed character of interfacial stresses, suggesting that `super-sink' interfaces may be designed by optimizing interface stress fields. Such interfaces may be used to create materials with unprecedented resistance to radiation-induced damage.

  20. Assessing ecosystem carbon stocks of Indonesia's threatened wetland forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, M.; Kauffman, B.; Murdiyarso, D.; Kurnianto, S.

    2011-12-01

    Over millennia, atmospheric carbon dioxide has been sequestered and stored in Indonesia's tropical wetland forests. Waterlogged conditions impede decomposition, allowing the formation of deep organic soils. These globally significant C pools are highly vulnerable to deforestation, degradation and climate change which can potentially switch their function as C sinks to long term sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Also at risk are critical ecosystem services which sustain millions of people and the conservation of unique biological communities. The multiple benefits derived from wetland forest conservation makes them attractive for international C offset programs such as the proposed Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. Yet, ecosystem C pools and fluxes in wetland forests remain poorly quantified. Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding how land use changes impact C dynamics in tropical wetlands, and very few studies have simultaneously assessed above- and belowground ecosystem C pools in Indonesia's freshwater peat swamps and mangroves. In addition, most of what is known about Indonesia's tropical wetland forests is derived from few geographic locations where long-standing research has focused, despite their broad spatial distribution. Here we present results from an extensive survey of ecosystem C stocks across several Indonesian wetland forests. Ecosystem C stocks were measured in freshwater peat swamp forests in West Papua, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and Sumatra. Carbon storage was also measured for mangrove forests in W. Papua, W. Kalimantan, and Sumatra. One overarching goal of this research is to support the development of REDD+ for tropical wetlands by informing technical issues related to carbon measuring, monitoring, and verification (MRV) and providing baseline data about the variation of ecosystem C storage across and within several Indonesian wetland forests.

  1. Resilience in Source to Sink Systems: A Millennial Record of Watershed Responses to Disturbance in Loon Lake, Umpqua River Basin, Oregon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrero, F. J.; Richardson, K.; Hatten, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    Small mountainous watersheds are disproportionate sources of particulate organic matter (POM) to long-term sinks like lake bottoms and the ocean. Thus, alterations in sediment routing resulting from disturbances (e.g. earthquakes, fires, and timber harvesting) have profound consequences on watershed's (biogeochemical) resilience. The assessment of these biogeochemical impacts is complicated by the episodic signal propagation along these source-to-sink systems and therefore is seldom attempted. We report on a 1500-year record of historical changes in Loon Lake, a local sedimentary sink (1.2 km2) for a 230 km2 watershed in the Oregon Coast Range. Particle size distributions and POM elemental composition (C, N) were sampled at high temporal resolution ( 3 years). Stable isotopic composition and lignin biomarkers were sampled with varying temporal resolution depending on the period analyzed: 1939-2013 (3-year resolution); 515-1939 (15-year resolution). Disturbance history in Loon Lake catchment is recorded as a sequence of event beds deposited in sharp contrast within a matrix of background sedimentation. At least 8 out of 23 event beds were associated with >8.2 magnitude earthquakes (including the 9.0 megathrust earthquake in 1700). Forest fires in 1770 and 1890 were also recorded as event beds. After 1939, event beds record the impacts of landscape destabilization due to the interaction between intense storms and timber harvesting. At the onset of each event, %C, %N, and C:N ratios increased reflecting the input of coarse POM from surficial soil horizons. Top layers bracketing event beds are rich in clays and have low %C, suggesting a deep-soil sediment source. Isotopic signatures (i.e. δ13C, δ15N) confirm the allochthony of sediment inputs during events and lignin biomarkers suggest a replacement of riparian inputs by a strong gymnosperm signal, particularly after 1945. Thus, event beds record changes in the relative importance of different sediment sources within

  2. Anthropogenic Land-use Change and the Dynamics of Amazon Forest Biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurance, William F.

    2004-01-01

    This project was focused on assessing the effects of prevailing land uses, such as habitat fragmentation, selective logging, and fire, on biomass and carbon storage in Amazonian forests, and on the dynamics of carbon sequestration in regenerating forests. Ancillary goals included developing GIs models to help predict the future condition of Amazonian forests, and assessing the effects of anthropogenic climate change and ENS0 droughts on intact and fragmented forests. Ground-based studies using networks of permanent plots were linked with remote-sensing data (including Landsat TM and AVHRR) at regional scales, and higher-resolution techniques (IKONOS imagery, videography, LIDAR, aerial photographs) at landscape and local scales. The project s specific goals were quite eclectic and included: Determining the effects of habitat fragmentation on forest dynamics, floristic composition, and the various components of above- and below-ground biomass. Assessing historical and physical factors that affect trajectories of forest regeneration and carbon sequestration on abandoned lands. Extrapolating results from local studies of biomass dynamics in fragmented and regenerating forests to landscape and regional scales in Amazonia, using remote sensing and GIS. Testing the hypothesis that intact Amazonian forests are functioning as a significant carbon sink. Examining destructive synergisms between forest fragmentation and fire. Assessing the short-term impacts of selective logging on aboveground biomass. Developing GIS models that integrate current spatial data on forest cover, deforestation, logging, mining, highway and roads, navigable rivers, vulnerability to wild fires, protected areas, and existing and planned infrastructure projects, in an effort to predict the future condition of Brazilian Amazonian forests over the next 20-25 years. Devising predictive spatial models to assess the influence of varied biophysical and anthropogenic predictors on Amazonian deforestation.

  3. New Configurations of Micro Plate-Fin Heat Sink to Reduce Coolant Pumping Power

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolaei, Alireza Rezania; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2012-01-01

    the optimum heat sink configuration. The particular focus of this study is to reduce the coolant mass flow rate by considering the thermal resistances of the heat sinks and, thereby, to reduce the coolant pumping power in the system. The threedimensional governing equations for the fluid flow and the heat......The thermal resistance of heat exchangers has a strong influence on the electric power produced by a thermoelectric generator (TEG). In this work, a real TEG device is applied to three configurations of micro plate-fin heat sink. The distance between certain microchannels is varied to find...... heat sink configurations reduces the coolant pumping power in the system....

  4. Community stand structure of rehabilitated forest at Kenaboi Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatma, N. A. H.; Wan Juliana, W. A.; Shaharuddin, M. I.; Wickneswari, R.

    2016-11-01

    A descriptive study of species composition, community structure and biomass was conducted in compartment 107, which is a rehabilitated area at Kenaboi Forest Reserve, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. The objective is to determine the forest structure and species composition in a rehabilitated area of Kenaboi FR since enrichment planting had done. A sample plot of 1 hectare was censused and a total of 395 trees with diameter ≥ 5 cm DBH were recorded. A total of 285 individual trees were identified belonging to 20 families and the commonest family was Dipterocarpaceae with 193 individuals. The highest tree density per ha was Shorea acuminata at 33% followed by S. parvifolia, 10% and S. leprosula, 6%. The biggest tree was Artocarpus elasticus Reinw. ex Blume with a diameter of 101 cm. The total basal area was 34.48 m2/ha, whereby the highest basal area was between 45 - 54.9 cm DBH class that contributed 10.21 m2/ha (30%). The total biomass estimation (above ground and below ground) was 792.57 t/ha. Dipterocarpaceae contributed the highest total biomass at 545.14 t/ha with S. acuminata contributed the highest total biomass of 330.45 t/ha. This study will contribute to the knowledge of regeneration forest especially on how the ecological process restoring the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in rehabilitated forest by practicing the enrichment planting of native species.

  5. Source and sink nodes in absence seizures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Abner C; Machado, Birajara S; Caboclo, Luis Otavio S F; Fujita, Andre; Baccala, Luiz A; Sameshima, Koichi

    2016-08-01

    As opposed to focal epilepsy, absence seizures do not exhibit a clear seizure onset zone or focus since its ictal activity rapidly engages both brain hemispheres. Yet recent graph theoretical analysis applied to absence seizures EEG suggests the cortical focal presence, an unexpected feature for this type of epilepsy. In this study, we explore the characteristics of absence seizure by classifying the nodes as to their source/sink natures via weighted directed graph analysis based on connectivity direction and strength estimation using information partial directed coherence (iPDC). By segmenting the EEG signals into relatively short 5-sec-long time windows we studied the evolution of coupling strengths from both sink and source nodes, and the network dynamics of absence seizures in eight patients.

  6. Sphagnum mosses limit total carbon consumption during fire in Alaskan black spruce forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    G. Shetler; .R. Turetsky; E. Kane; E. Kasischke

    2008-01-01

    The high water retention of hummock-forming Sphagnum species minimizes soil moisture fluctuations and might protect forest floor organic matter from burning during wildfire. We hypothesized that Sphagnum cover reduces overall forest floor organic matter consumption during wildfire compared with other ground-layer vegetation. We...

  7. Role of Sink Density in Nonequilibrium Chemical Redistribution in Alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, Enrique; Senninger, Oriane; Caro, Alfredo; Soisson, Frédéric; Nastar, Maylise; Uberuaga, Blas P.

    2018-03-01

    Nonequilibrium chemical redistribution in open systems submitted to external forces, such as particle irradiation, leads to changes in the structural properties of the material, potentially driving the system to failure. Such redistribution is controlled by the complex interplay between the production of point defects, atomic transport rates, and the sink character of the microstructure. In this work, we analyze this interplay by means of a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) framework with an underlying atomistic model for the Fe-Cr model alloy to study the effect of ideal defect sinks on Cr concentration profiles, with a particular focus on the role of interface density. We observe that the amount of segregation decreases linearly with decreasing interface spacing. Within the framework of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, a general analytical model is derived and assessed against the KMC simulations to elucidate the structure-property relationship of this system. Interestingly, in the kinetic regime where elimination of point defects at sinks is dominant over bulk recombination, the solute segregation does not directly depend on the dose rate but only on the density of sinks. This model provides new insight into the design of microstructures that mitigate chemical redistribution and improve radiation tolerance.

  8. Quantifying Fire's Impacts on Total and Pyrogenic Carbon Stocks in Mixed-Conifer Forests: Results from Pre- and Post-Fire Measurements in Active Wildfire Incidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miesel, J. R.; Reiner, A. L.; Ewell, C. M.; Sanderman, J.; Maestrini, B.; Adkins, J.

    2016-12-01

    Widespread US fire suppression policy has contributed to an accumulation of vegetation in many western forests relative to historic conditions, and these changes can exacerbate wildfire severity and carbon (C) emissions. Serious concern exists about positive feedbacks between wildfire emissions and global climate; however, fires not only release C from terrestrial to atmospheric pools, they also create "black" or pyrogenic C (PyC) which contributes to longer-term C stability. Our objective was to quantify wildfire impacts on aboveground and belowground total C and PyC stocks in California mixed-conifer forests. We worked with incident management teams to access five active wildfires to establish and measure plots within days before and after fire. We measured pre- and post-fire aboveground forest structure and woody fuels to calculate aboveground biomass, biomass C, and PyC, and we collected pre- and post-fire forest floor and 0-5 cm mineral soil samples to measure belowground C and PyC stocks. Our preliminary results show that fire had minimal impact on the number of trees per hectare, whereas C losses from the tree layer occurred via consumption of foliage, and PyC gain occurred in tree bark. Fire released 54% to 100% of surface fuel C. In the forest floor layer, we observed 33 to 100% C loss, whereas changes in PyC stocks ranged from 100% loss to 186% gain relative to pre-fire samples. In general, fire had minimal to no impact on 0-5 cm mineral soil C. We will present relationships between total C, PyC and post-fire C and N dynamics in one of the five wildfire sites. Our data are unique because they represent nearly immediate pre- and post-fire measurements in major wildfires in a widespread western U.S. forest type. This research advances understanding of the role of fire on forest C fluxes and C sequestration potential as PyC.

  9. A numerical method for PCM-based pin fin heat sinks optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pakrouh, R.; Hosseini, M.J.; Ranjbar, A.A.; Bahrampoury, R.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Optimization of PCM-based heat sink by using the Taguchi method. • Derivation of optimal PCM percentage to reach the maximum critical time. • Optimization is performed for four different critical temperatures. • Effective design factors are fins’ height and fins’ number. • The optimum configuration depends on geometric properties and the critical temperature. - Abstract: This paper presents a numerical investigation on geometric optimization of PCM-based pin fin heat sinks. Paraffin RT44HC is used as PCM while the fins and heat sink base is made of aluminum. The fins act as thermal conductivity enhancers (TCEs). The main goal of the study is to obtain the configurations that maximize the heat sink operational time. An approach witch couples Taguchi method with numerical simulations is utilized for this purpose. Number of fins, fins height, fins thickness and the base thickness are parameters which are studied for optimization. In this study natural convection and PCM volume variation during melting process are considered in the simulations. Optimization is performed for different critical temperatures of 50 °C, 60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C. Results show that a complex relation exists between PCM and TCE volume percentages. The optimal case strongly depends on the fins’ number, fins’ height and thickness and also the critical temperature. The optimum PCM percentages are found to be 60.61% (corresponds to 100 pin fin heat sink with 4 mm thick fins) for critical temperature of 50 °C and 82.65% (corresponds to 100 pin fin heat sink with 2 mm thick fins) for other critical temperatures

  10. 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.

  11. New models for estimating the carbon sink capacity of Spanish softwood species

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruiz-Peinado, R.; Rio, M. del; Montero, G.

    2011-07-01

    Quantifying the carbon balance in forests is one of the main challenges in forest management. Forest carbon stocks are usually estimated indirectly through biomass equations applied to forest inventories, frequently considering different tree biomass components. The aim of this study is to develop systems of equations for predicting tree biomass components for the main forest softwood species in Spain: Abies alba Mill., A. pinsapo Boiss., Juniperus thurifera L., Pinus canariensis Sweet ex Spreng., P. halepensis Mill., P. nigra Arn., P. pinaster Ait., P. pinea L., P. sylvestris L., P. uncinata Mill. For each species, a system of additive biomass models was fitted using seemingly unrelated regression. Diameter at the breast height and total height were used as independent variables. Diameter appears in all component models, while tree height was included in the stem component model of all species and in some branch component equations. Total height was included in order to improve biomass estimations at different sites. These biomass models were compared to previously available equations in order to test their accuracy and it was found that they yielded better fitting statistics in all cases. Moreover, the models fulfil the additivity property. We also developed root:shoot ratios in order to determine the partitioning into aboveground and belowground biomass. A number of differences were found between species, with a minimum of 0.183 for A. alba and a maximum of 0.385 for P. uncinata. The mean value for the softwood species studied was 0.265. Since the Spanish National Forest Inventory (NFI) records species, tree diameter and height of sample trees, these biomass models and ratios can be used to accurately estimate carbon stocks from NFI data. (Author) 55 refs.

  12. New models for estimating the carbon sink capacity of Spanish softwood species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruiz-Peinado, R.; Rio, M. del; Montero, G.

    2011-01-01

    Quantifying the carbon balance in forests is one of the main challenges in forest management. Forest carbon stocks are usually estimated indirectly through biomass equations applied to forest inventories, frequently considering different tree biomass components. The aim of this study is to develop systems of equations for predicting tree biomass components for the main forest softwood species in Spain: Abies alba Mill., A. pinsapo Boiss., Juniperus thurifera L., Pinus canariensis Sweet ex Spreng., P. halepensis Mill., P. nigra Arn., P. pinaster Ait., P. pinea L., P. sylvestris L., P. uncinata Mill. For each species, a system of additive biomass models was fitted using seemingly unrelated regression. Diameter at the breast height and total height were used as independent variables. Diameter appears in all component models, while tree height was included in the stem component model of all species and in some branch component equations. Total height was included in order to improve biomass estimations at different sites. These biomass models were compared to previously available equations in order to test their accuracy and it was found that they yielded better fitting statistics in all cases. Moreover, the models fulfil the additivity property. We also developed root:shoot ratios in order to determine the partitioning into aboveground and belowground biomass. A number of differences were found between species, with a minimum of 0.183 for A. alba and a maximum of 0.385 for P. uncinata. The mean value for the softwood species studied was 0.265. Since the Spanish National Forest Inventory (NFI) records species, tree diameter and height of sample trees, these biomass models and ratios can be used to accurately estimate carbon stocks from NFI data. (Author) 55 refs.

  13. Forest fuel characterization using direct sampling in forest plantations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eva Reyna Esmeralda Díaz García; Marco Aurelio González Tagle; Javier Jiménez Pérez; Eduardo JavierTreviño Garza; Diana Yemilet Ávila Flores

    2013-01-01

    One of the essential elements for a fire to occur is the flammable material. This is defined as the total biomass that has the ability to ignite and burn when exposed to a heat source. Fuel characterization in Mexican forest ecosystems is very scarce. However, this information is very important for estimating flammability and forest fire risk, fire behavior,...

  14. Anaerobic nitrogen turnover by sinking diatom aggregates at varying ambient oxygen levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stief, Peter; Kamp, Anja; Thamdrup, Bo

    2016-01-01

    nitrate supply. Sinking diatom aggregates can contribute directly to fixed-nitrogen loss in low-oxygen environments in the ocean and vastly expand the ocean volume in which anaerobic nitrogen turnover is possible, despite relatively high ambient oxygen levels. Depending on the extent of intracellular......In the world’s oceans, even relatively low oxygen levels inhibit anaerobic nitrogen cycling by free-living microbes. Sinking organic aggregates, however, might provide oxygen-depleted microbial hotspots in otherwise oxygenated surface waters. Here, we show that sinking diatom aggregates can host...

  15. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition in boreal forests has a minor impact on the global carbon cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundale, Michael J; From, Fredrik; Bach, Lisbet H; Nordin, Annika

    2014-01-01

    It is proposed that increases in anthropogenic reactive nitrogen (Nr ) deposition may cause temperate and boreal forests to sequester a globally significant quantity of carbon (C); however, long-term data from boreal forests describing how C sequestration responds to realistic levels of chronic Nr deposition are scarce. Using a long-term (14-year) stand-scale (0.1 ha) N addition experiment (three levels: 0, 12.5, and 50 kg N ha(-1)  yr(-1) ) in the boreal zone of northern Sweden, we evaluated how chronic N additions altered N uptake and biomass of understory communities, and whether changes in understory communities explained N uptake and C sequestration by trees. We hypothesized that understory communities (i.e. mosses and shrubs) serve as important sinks for low-level N additions, with the strength of these sinks weakening as chronic N addition rates increase, due to shifts in species composition. We further hypothesized that trees would exhibit nonlinear increases in N acquisition, and subsequent C sequestration as N addition rates increased, due to a weakening understory N sink. Our data showed that understory biomass was reduced by 50% in response to the high N addition treatment, mainly due to reduced moss biomass. A (15) N labeling experiment showed that feather mosses acquired the largest fraction of applied label, with this fraction decreasing as the chronic N addition level increased. Contrary to our hypothesis, the proportion of label taken up by trees was equal (ca. 8%) across all three N addition treatments. The relationship between N addition and C sequestration in all vegetation pools combined was linear, and had a slope of 16 kg C kg(-1)  N. While canopy retention of Nr deposition may cause C sequestration rates to be slightly different than this estimate, our data suggest that a minor quantity of annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions are sequestered into boreal forests as a result of Nr deposition. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Taboos and forest governance: informal protection of hot spot dry forest in southern Madagascar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tengö, Maria; Johansson, Kristin; Rakotondrasoa, Fanambinantsoa; Lundberg, Jakob; Andriamaherilala, Jean-Aimé; Rakotoarisoa, Jean-Aimé; Elmqvist, Thomas

    2007-12-01

    In the dry forest of southern Madagascar, a region of global conservation priority, formally protected areas are nearly totally absent. We illustrate how the continued existence of unique forest habitats in the Androy region is directly dependent on informal institutions, taboos, regulating human behavior. Qualitative interviews to map and analyze the social mechanisms underlying forest protection have been combined with vegetation analyses of species diversity and composition. Of 188 forest patches, 93% were classified as protected, and in Southern Androy all remaining forest patches larger than 5 ha were protected. Eight different types of forests, with a gradient of social fencing from open access to almost complete entry prohibitions, were identified. Transgressions were well enforced with strong sanctions of significant economic as well as religious importance. Analyses of species diversity between protected and unprotected forests were complicated because of size differences and access restrictions. However, since, for example, in southern Androy >90% of the total remaining forest cover is protected through taboos, these informal institutions represent an important, and presently the only, mechanism for conservation of the highly endemic forest species. We conclude that social aspects, such as local beliefs and legitimate sanctioning systems, need to be analyzed and incorporated along with biodiversity studies for successful conservation.

  17. Effect of heat sink layer on ultrafast magnetization recovery of FeCo films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Y; Zhao, J Q; Zhang, Z Z; Jin, Q Y; Hu, H N; Zhou, S M

    2008-01-01

    For FeCo alloy thin films with Ag, Cu, Pt, Ta and Cr as heat sink layers, ultrafast demagnetization and recovery processes of transient magnetization have been studied by the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. For all samples, the ultrafast demagnetization process is accomplished within almost the same time interval of 500 fs, which is independent of the heat sink layer material and the pump fluence. The recovery rate of the FeCo film grown on the Si(1 0 0) substrate is enhanced with a heat sink layer. In addition, the recovery rate is found to be independent of the heat sink layer thickness; it decreases with increasing pump fluence. Among all heat sink layers, the sample with the Cr layer achieves the highest recovery rate because it has the same bcc structure as that of the FeCo layer and the small lattice mismatch. The sample with the Ta layer, has the largest damage threshold of pump fluence because of the highest melting point

  18. Development of Thermal Design Program for an Electronic Telecommunication System Using Heat Sink

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Hwan; Kim, Jong Man; Chun, Ji Hwan; Bae, Chul Ho; Suh, Myung Won

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the cooling performance of heat sinks for an electronic telecommunication system by adequate natural convection. Heat generation rates of electronic components and the temperature distributions of heat sinks and surrounding air are analyzed experimentally and numerically. In order to perform the heat transfer analysis for the thermal design of telecommunication system, a program is developed. The program used the graphic user interface environment to determine the arrangement of heat sources, interior fan capacity, and heat sink configuration. The simulation results showed that the heat sinks were able to achieve a cooling capacity of up to 230W at the maximum temperature difference of 19 .deg. C. To verify the results from the numerical simulation, an experiment was conducted under the same condition as the numerical simulation, and their results were compared. The design program gave good prediction of the effects of various parameters involved in the design of a heat sinks for an electronic telecommunication system

  19. Four-year measurement of methane flux over a temperate forest with a relaxed eddy accumulation method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakabe, A.; Kosugi, Y.; Ueyama, M.; Hamotani, K.; Takahashi, K.; Iwata, H.; Itoh, M.

    2013-12-01

    Forests are generally assumed to be an atmospheric methane (CH4) sink (Le Mer and Roger, 2001). However, under Asian monsoon climate, forests are subject to wide spatiotemporal range in soil water status, where forest soils often became water-saturated condition heterogeneously. In such warm and humid conditions, forests may act as a CH4 source and/or sink with considerable spatiotemporal variations. Micrometeorological methods such as eddy covariance (EC) method continuously measure spatially-representative flux at a canopy scale without artificial disturbance. In this study, we measured CH4 fluxes over a temperate forest during four-year period using a CH4 analyzer based on tunable diode laser spectroscopy detection with a relaxed eddy accumulation (REA) method (Hamotani et al., 1996, 2001). We revealed the amplitude and seasonal variations of canopy-scale CH4 fluxes. The REA method is the attractive alternative to the EC method to measure trace-gas flux because it allows the use of analyzers with an optimal integration time. We also conducted continuous chamber measurements on forest floor to reveal spatial variations in soil CH4 fluxes and its controlling processes. The observations were made in an evergreen coniferous forest in central Japan. The site has a warm temperate monsoon climate with wet summer. Some wetlands were located in riparian zones along streams within the flux footprint area. For the REA method, the sonic anemometer (SAT-550, Kaijo) was mounted on top of the 29-m-tall tower and air was sampled from just below the sonic anemometer to reservoirs according to the direction of vertical wind velocity (w). After accumulating air for 30 minutes, the air in the reservoirs was pulled into a CO2/H2O gas analyzer (LI-840, Li-Cor) and a CH4 analyzer (FMA-200, Los Gatos Research). Before entering the analyzers, the sampled air was dried using a gas dryer (PD-50 T-48; Perma Pure Inc.). The REA flux is obtained from the difference in the mean concentrations

  20. Adapting fire management to future fire regimes: impacts on boreal forest composition and carbon balance in Canadian National Parks

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Groot, W. J.; Flannigan, M. D.; Cantin, A.

    2009-04-01

    The effects of future fire regimes altered by climate change, and fire management in adaptation to climate change were studied in the boreal forest region of western Canada. Present (1975-90) and future (2080-2100) fire regimes were simulated for several National Parks using data from the Canadian (CGCM1) and Hadley (HadCM3) Global Climate Models (GCM) in separate simulation scenarios. The long-term effects of the different fire regimes on forests were simulated using a stand-level, boreal fire effects model (BORFIRE). Changes in forest composition and biomass storage due to future altered fire regimes were determined by comparing current and future simulation results. This was used to assess the ecological impact of altered fire regimes on boreal forests, and the future role of these forests as carbon sinks or sources. Additional future simulations were run using adapted fire management strategies, including increased fire suppression and the use of prescribed fire to meet fire cycle objectives. Future forest composition, carbon storage and emissions under current and adapted fire management strategies were also compared to determine the impact of various future fire management options. Both of the GCM's showed more severe burning conditions under future fire regimes. This includes fires with higher intensity, greater depth of burn, greater total fuel consumption and shorter fire cycles (or higher rates of annual area burned). The Canadian GCM indicated burning conditions more severe than the Hadley GCM. Shorter fire cycles of future fire regimes generally favoured aspen, birch, and jack pine because it provided more frequent regeneration opportunity for these pioneer species. Black spruce was only minimally influenced by future fire regimes, although white spruce declined sharply. Maintaining representation of pure and mixed white spruce ecosystems in natural areas will be a concern under future fire regimes. Active fire suppression is required in these areas. In

  1. Carbon source-sink relationship in Arabidopsis thaliana: the role of sucrose transporters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durand, Mickaël; Mainson, Dany; Porcheron, Benoît; Maurousset, Laurence; Lemoine, Rémi; Pourtau, Nathalie

    2018-03-01

    The regulation of source-to-sink sucrose transport is associated with AtSUC and AtSWEET sucrose transporters' gene expression changes in plants grown hydroponically under different physiological conditions. Source-to-sink transport of sucrose is one of the major determinants of plant growth. Whole-plant carbohydrates' partitioning requires the specific activity of membrane sugar transporters. In Arabidopsis thaliana plants, two families of transporters are involved in sucrose transport: AtSUCs and AtSWEETs. This study is focused on the comparison of sucrose transporter gene expression, soluble sugar and starch levels and long distance sucrose transport, in leaves and sink organs (mainly roots) in different physiological conditions (along the plant life cycle, during a diel cycle, and during an osmotic stress) in plants grown hydroponically. In leaves, the AtSUC2, AtSWEET11, and 12 genes known to be involved in phloem loading were highly expressed when sucrose export was high and reduced during osmotic stress. In roots, AtSUC1 was highly expressed and its expression profile in the different conditions tested suggests that it may play a role in sucrose unloading in roots and in root growth. The SWEET transporter genes AtSWEET12, 13, and 15 were found expressed in all organs at all stages studied, while differential expression was noticed for AtSWEET14 in roots, stems, and siliques and AtSWEET9, 10 expressions were only detected in stems and siliques. A role for these transporters in carbohydrate partitioning in different source-sink status is proposed, with a specific attention on carbon demand in roots. During development, despite trophic competition with others sinks, roots remained a significant sink, but during osmotic stress, the amount of translocated [U- 14 C]-sucrose decreased for rosettes and roots. Altogether, these results suggest that source-sink relationship may be linked with the regulation of sucrose transporter gene expression.

  2. Forest productivity in southwestern Europe is controlled by coupled North Atlantic and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrigal-González, Jaime; Ballesteros-Cánovas, Juan A; Herrero, Asier; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Stoffel, Markus; Lucas-Borja, Manuel E; Andivia, Enrique; Sancho-García, Cesar; Zavala, Miguel A

    2017-12-20

    The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) depicts annual and decadal oscillatory modes of variability responsible for dry spells over the European continent. The NAO therefore holds a great potential to evaluate the role, as carbon sinks, of water-limited forests under climate change. However, uncertainties related to inconsistent responses of long-term forest productivity to NAO have so far hampered firm conclusions on its impacts. We hypothesize that, in part, such inconsistencies might have their origin in periodical sea surface temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean (i.e., Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO). Here we show strong empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis using 120 years of periodical inventory data from Iberian pine forests. Our results point to AMO + NAO + and AMO - NAO - phases as being critical for forest productivity, likely due to decreased winter water balance and abnormally low winter temperatures, respectively. Our findings could be essential for the evaluation of ecosystem functioning vulnerabilities associated with increased climatic anomalies under unprecedented warming conditions in the Mediterranean.

  3. Impacts of extreme weather events and climate variability on carbon exchanges in an age-sequence of managed temperate pine forests from 2003 to 201

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arain, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    North American temperate forests are a critical component of the global carbon cycle and regional water resources. A large portion of these forests has traditionally been managed for timber production and other uses. The response of these forests, which are in different stages of development, to extreme weather events such as drought and heat stresses, climate variability and management regimes is not fully understood. In this study, eddy covariance flux measurements in an age sequence (77-, 42-, and 14-years old as of 2016) of white pine (Pinus strobus L.) plantation forests in southern Ontario, Canada are examined to determine the impact of heat and drought stresses and climate variability over a 14 year period (2003 to 2016). The mean annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) values were 195 ± 87, 512 ±161 and 103 ± 103 g C m-2 year-1 in 77-, 42- and 14-year-old forests respectively, over the study period. The youngest forest became a net carbon sink in the fifth year of its growth. Air temperature was a dominant control on carbon fluxes and heat stress reduced photosynthesis much more as compared to ecosystem respiration in the growing season. A large decrease in annual NEP was observed during years experiencing heat waves. Drought stress had the strongest impact on the middle age forest which had the largest carbon sink and water demand. In contrast, young forest was more sensitive to heat stress, than drought. Severity of heat and drought stress impacts was highly dependent on the timing of these events. Simultaneous occurrence of heat and drought stress in the early growing season such as in 2012 and 2016 had a drastic negative impact on carbon balance in these forests due to plant-soil-atmosphere feedbacks. Future research should consider the timing of the extreme events, the stage of forest development and effects of extreme events on component fluxes. This research helps to assess the vulnerability of managed forests and their ecological and hydrological

  4. Effects of drought stress on seed sink strength and leaf protein ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Assimilate availability and the capacity to utilise them in the reproductive structures to a large extent determine reproductive sink establishment and yield of crops under drought stress. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of drought stress imposed at early pod-fill stage on seed sink strength of common bean ...

  5. Laminar nanofluid flow in microheat-sinks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koo, J.; Kleinstreuer, C. [North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

    2005-06-01

    In response to the ever increasing demand for smaller and lighter high-performance cooling devices, steady laminar liquid nanofluid flow in microchannels is simulated and analyzed. Considering two types of nanofluids, i.e., copper-oxide nanospheres at low volume concentrations in water or ethylene glycol, the conjugated heat transfer problem for microheat-sinks has been numerically solved. Employing new models for the effective thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity of nanofluids, the impact of nanoparticle concentrations in these two mixture flows on the microchannel pressure gradients, temperature profiles and Nusselt numbers are computed, in light of aspect ratio, viscous dissipation, and enhanced temperature effects. Based on these results, the following can be recommended for microheat-sink performance improvements: Use of large high-Prandtl number carrier fluids, nanoparticles at high volume concentrations of about 4% with elevated thermal conductivities and dielectric constants very close to that of the carrier fluid, microchannels with high aspect ratios, and treated channel walls to avoid nanoparticle accumulation. (Author)

  6. Influence of the forest canopy on total and methyl mercury deposition in the boreal forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    E.L. Witt; R.K. Kolka; E.A. Nater; T.R. Wickman

    2009-01-01

    Atmospheric mercury deposition by wet and dry processes contributes mercury to terrestrial and aquatic systems. Factors influencing the amount of mercury deposited to boreal forests were identified in this study. Throughfall and open canopy precipitation samples were collected in 2005 and 2006 using passive precipitation collectors from pristine sites located across...

  7. New Method of Sinking Caisson Tunnel in Soft Soil

    OpenAIRE

    Bame, Abda Berisso

    2013-01-01

    Sinking a caisson tunnel in soft soil is new idea and this new concept could be an alternative method of tunneling in soft soil. The aim of this study is to evaluate geotechnical feasibility of sinking the caisson tunnel to the desired depth at the selected soil profile along tunnel alignment. This caisson tunneling method is proposed to reduce the use of temporary works such as propping of sheet pile walls and increase the ease and speed of construction. Besides, it reduces the disturbance o...

  8. Transient cooling of electronics using phase change material (PCM)-based heat sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kandasamy, Ravi; Wang Xiangqi; Mujumdar, Arun S.

    2008-01-01

    Use of a phase change material (PCM)-based heat sink in transient thermal management of plastic quad flat package (QFP) electronic devices was investigated experimentally and numerically. Results show that increased power inputs enhance the melting rate as well as the thermal performance of the PCM-based heat sinks until the PCM is fully melted. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was proposed to simulate the problem and demonstrated good agreement with experimental data. Results indicate the potential for PCM-based heat sinks for use in intermittent-use devices

  9. Multi-aged Forest: an Optimal Management Strategy for Carbon Sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, L.; Tang, X.; Ma, M.

    2017-12-01

    Disturbances and climatic changes significantly affect forest ecosystem productivity, water use efficiency (WUE) and carbon (C) flux dynamics. A deep understanding of terrestrial feedbacks to such effects and recovery mechanisms in forests across contrasting climatic regimes is essential to predict future regional/global C and water budgets, which are also closely related to the potential forest management decisions. However, the resilience of multi-aged and even-aged forests to disturbances has been debated for more than 60 years because of technical measurement constraints. Here we evaluated 62 site-years of eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem production (NEP), evapotranspiration (ET), the estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re) and ecosystem-level WUE, as well as the relationships with environmental controls in three chronosequences of multi- and even-aged coniferous forests covering the Mediterranean, temperate and boreal regions. Age-specific dynamics in multi-year mean annual NEP and WUE revealed that forest age is a key variable that determines the sign and magnitude of recovering forest C source-sink strength from disturbances. However, the trends of annual NEP and WUE across succession stages between two stand structures differed substantially. The successional patterns of NEP exhibited an inverted-U trend with age at the two even-aged chronosequences, whereas NEP of the multi-aged chronosequence increased steadily through time. Meanwhile, site-level WUE of even-aged forests decreased gradually from young to mature, whereas an apparent increase occurred for the same forest age in multi-aged stands. Compared with even-aged forests, multi-aged forests sequestered more CO2 with forest age and maintained a relatively higher WUE in the later succession periods. With regard to the available flux measurements in this study, these behaviors are independent of tree species, stand ages and climate conditions . We also

  10. 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.

  11. Shifts in tree functional composition amplify the response of forest biomass to climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tao; Niinemets, Ülo; Sheffield, Justin; Lichstein, Jeremy W

    2018-04-05

    Forests have a key role in global ecosystems, hosting much of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and acting as a net sink for atmospheric carbon. These and other ecosystem services that are provided by forests may be sensitive to climate change as well as climate variability on shorter time scales (for example, annual to decadal). Previous studies have documented responses of forest ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, including drought-induced increases in tree mortality rates. However, relationships between forest biomass, tree species composition and climate variability have not been quantified across a large region using systematically sampled data. Here we use systematic forest inventories from the 1980s and 2000s across the eastern USA to show that forest biomass responds to decadal-scale changes in water deficit, and that this biomass response is amplified by concurrent changes in community-mean drought tolerance, a functionally important aspect of tree species composition. The amplification of the direct effects of water stress on biomass occurs because water stress tends to induce a shift in tree species composition towards species that are more tolerant to drought but are slower growing. These results demonstrate concurrent changes in forest species composition and biomass carbon storage across a large, systematically sampled region, and highlight the potential for climate-induced changes in forest ecosystems across the world, resulting from both direct effects of climate on forest biomass and indirect effects mediated by shifts in species composition.

  12. Shifts in tree functional composition amplify the response of forest biomass to climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tao; Niinemets, Ülo; Sheffield, Justin; Lichstein, Jeremy W.

    2018-04-01

    Forests have a key role in global ecosystems, hosting much of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and acting as a net sink for atmospheric carbon. These and other ecosystem services that are provided by forests may be sensitive to climate change as well as climate variability on shorter time scales (for example, annual to decadal). Previous studies have documented responses of forest ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, including drought-induced increases in tree mortality rates. However, relationships between forest biomass, tree species composition and climate variability have not been quantified across a large region using systematically sampled data. Here we use systematic forest inventories from the 1980s and 2000s across the eastern USA to show that forest biomass responds to decadal-scale changes in water deficit, and that this biomass response is amplified by concurrent changes in community-mean drought tolerance, a functionally important aspect of tree species composition. The amplification of the direct effects of water stress on biomass occurs because water stress tends to induce a shift in tree species composition towards species that are more tolerant to drought but are slower growing. These results demonstrate concurrent changes in forest species composition and biomass carbon storage across a large, systematically sampled region, and highlight the potential for climate-induced changes in forest ecosystems across the world, resulting from both direct effects of climate on forest biomass and indirect effects mediated by shifts in species composition.

  13. Effects of a windthrow disturbance on the carbon balance of a broadleaf deciduous forest in Hokkaido, Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Yamanoi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Forests play an important role in the terrestrial carbon balance, with most being in a carbon sequestration stage. The net carbon releases that occur result from forest disturbance, and windthrow is a typical disturbance event affecting the forest carbon balance in eastern Asia. The CO2 flux has been measured using the eddy covariance method in a deciduous broadleaf forest (Japanese white birch, Japanese oak, and castor aralia in Hokkaido, where incidental damage by the strong Typhoon Songda in 2004 occurred. We also used the biometrical method to demonstrate the CO2 flux within the forest in detail. Damaged trees amounted to 40 % of all trees, and they remained on site where they were not extracted by forest management. Gross primary production (GPP, ecosystem respiration (Re, and net ecosystem production were 1350, 975, and 375 g C m−2 yr−1 before the disturbance and 1262, 1359, and −97 g C m−2 yr−1 2 years after the disturbance, respectively. Before the disturbance, the forest was an evident carbon sink, and it subsequently transformed into a net carbon source. Because of increased light intensity at the forest floor, the leaf area index and biomass of the undergrowth (Sasa kurilensis and S. senanensis increased by factors of 2.4 and 1.7, respectively, in 3 years subsequent to the disturbance. The photosynthesis of Sasa increased rapidly and contributed to the total GPP after the disturbance. The annual GPP only decreased by 6 % just after the disturbance. On the other hand, the annual Re increased by 39 % mainly because of the decomposition of residual coarse-wood debris. The carbon balance after the disturbance was controlled by the new growth and the decomposition of residues. The forest management, which resulted in the dead trees remaining at the study site, strongly affected the carbon balance over the years. When comparing the carbon uptake efficiency at the study site with that at others, including those with various kinds

  14. Simulating boreal forest carbon dynamics after stand-replacing fire disturbance: insights from a global process-based vegetation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, C.; Ciais, P.; Luyssaert, S.; Cadule, P.; Harden, J.; Randerson, J.; Bellassen, V.; Wang, T.; Piao, S.L.; Poulter, B.; Viovy, N.

    2013-01-01

    Stand-replacing fires are the dominant fire type in North American boreal forests. They leave a historical legacy of a mosaic landscape of different aged forest cohorts. This forest age dynamics must be included in vegetation models to accurately quantify the role of fire in the historical and current regional forest carbon balance. The present study adapted the global process-based vegetation model ORCHIDEE to simulate the CO2 emissions from boreal forest fire and the subsequent recovery after a stand-replacing fire; the model represents postfire new cohort establishment, forest stand structure and the self-thinning process. Simulation results are evaluated against observations of three clusters of postfire forest chronosequences in Canada and Alaska. The variables evaluated include: fire carbon emissions, CO2 fluxes (gross primary production, total ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem exchange), leaf area index, and biometric measurements (aboveground biomass carbon, forest floor carbon, woody debris carbon, stand individual density, stand basal area, and mean diameter at breast height). When forced by local climate and the atmospheric CO2 history at each chronosequence site, the model simulations generally match the observed CO2 fluxes and carbon stock data well, with model-measurement mean square root of deviation comparable with the measurement accuracy (for CO2 flux ~100 g C m−2 yr−1, for biomass carbon ~1000 g C m−2 and for soil carbon ~2000 g C m−2). We find that the current postfire forest carbon sink at the evaluation sites, as observed by chronosequence methods, is mainly due to a combination of historical CO2 increase and forest succession. Climate change and variability during this period offsets some of these expected carbon gains. The negative impacts of climate were a likely consequence of increasing water stress caused by significant temperature increases that were not matched by concurrent increases in precipitation. Our simulation

  15. Source to sink transport and regulation by environmental factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remi eLemoine

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Source-to-sink transport of sugar is one of the major determinants of plant growth and relies on the efficient and controlled distribution of sucrose (and some other sugars such as raffinose and polyols across plant organs through the phloem. However, sugar transport through the phloem can be affected by many environmental factors that alter source/sink relationships. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge about the phloem transport mechanisms and review the effects of several abiotic (water and salt stress, mineral deficiency, CO2, light, temperature, air and soil pollutants and biotic (mutualistic and pathogenic microbes, viruses, aphids and parasitic plants factors. Concerning abiotic constraints, alteration of the distribution of sugar among sinks is often reported, with some sinks as roots favoured in case of mineral deficiency. Many of these constraints impair the transport function of the phloem but the exact mechanisms are far from being completely known. Phloem integrity can be disrupted (e.g. by callose deposition and under certain conditions, phloem transport is affected, earlier than photosynthesis. Photosynthesis inhibition could result from the increase in sugar concentration due to phloem transport decrease. Biotic interactions (aphids, fungi, viruses… also affect crop plant productivity. Recent breakthroughs have identified some of the sugar transporters involved in these interactions on the host and pathogen sides. The different data are discussed in relation to the phloem transport pathways. When possible, the link with current knowledge on the pathways at the molecular level will be highlighted.

  16. Characterization of Hop-and-Sink Locomotion of Water Fleas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skipper, A. N.; Murphy, D. W.; Webster, D. R.

    2017-11-01

    The freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna is a widely studied zooplankton in relation to food webs, predator-prey interactions, and other biological/ecological considerations; however, their locomotion is poorly quantified and understood. These water fleas utilize a hop-and-sink mechanism that consists of making quick, impulsive jumps by beating their antennae to propel themselves forward (roughly 1 body length). The animals then sink for a period, during which they stretch out their antennae to increase drag and thereby reduce their sinking velocity. Time-resolved three-dimensional flow fields surrounding the animals were quantified with a unique infrared tomographic particle image velocimetry (tomo-PIV) system. Three-dimensional kinematics data were also extracted from the image sequences. In the current work, we compared body kinematics and flow disturbance among organisms of size in the range of 1.3 to 2.8 mm. The stroke cycle averaged 150 +/- 20 ms, with each stroke cycle split nearly evenly between power and recovery strokes. The kinematics data collapsed onto a self-similar curve when properly nondimensionalized, and a general trend was shown to exist between the nondimensionalized peak body speed and body length. The fluid flow induced by each antennae consisted of a viscous vortex ring that demonstrated a slow decay in the wake. The viscous dissipation showed no clear dependence on body size, whereas the volume of fluid exceeding 5 mm/s (the speed near the sinking speed of the animal) decayed more slowly with increasing body size.

  17. TransparC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callesen, Ingeborg; Vesterdal, Lars; Magnussen, Andreas

    The aim of the development of a forest soil carbon simulation model was to demonstrate the slow, but yet dynamic character of the forest soil C balance. We explored the sensitivity of total forest soil carbon stocks (forest floor + 0-100 cm) to litter inputs, tree root litter distributions......, and iterated turnover rates in horizontal fixed depth soil sections to 1 meter depth. The intended use is mainly for outlier detection in resampling studies and teaching soil C dynamics. The simulation utilized repeated measurements of soil C (SINKS 2007-12) and will be validated with new data collected during...... manually in the spreadsheet to fit observed change (18 years between 1990 and 2008-10) in C concentration in each of the six layers. The cases represent classes of subsoil texture and topsoil carbon content from the SINKS resampling study (1990 and 2008-10). The sensitivity of SOC stocks to the uncertainty...

  18. High Thermal Dissipation of Al Heat Sink When Inserting Ceramic Powders by Ultrasonic Mechanical Coating and Armoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Wei-Yu; Huang, Guan-Rong; Wang, Kuang-Kuo; Chen, Chin-Fu; Huang, J C

    2017-04-26

    Aluminum alloys, which serve as heat sink in light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, are often inherent with a high thermal conductivity, but poor thermal total emissivity. Thus, high emissive coatings on the Al substrate can enhance the thermal dissipation efficiency of radiation. In this study, the ultrasonic mechanical coating and armoring (UMCA) technique was used to insert various ceramic combinations, such as Al₂O₃, SiO₂, or graphite, to enhance thermal dissipation. Analytic models have been established to couple the thermal radiation and convection on the sample surface through heat flow equations. A promising match has been reached between the theoretical predictions and experimental measurements. With the adequate insertion of ceramic powders, the temperature of the Al heat sinks can be lowered by 5-11 °C, which is highly favorable for applications requiring cooling components.

  19. Mineral Soil Carbon in Managed Hardwood Forests of the Northeastern US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vario, C.; Friedland, A.; Hornig, C.

    2013-12-01

    New England is characterized by extensive forest cover and large reservoirs of soil carbon (C). In northern hardwood forests, mineral soil C can account for up to 50% of total ecosystem C. There has been an increasing demand for forests to serve both as a C sink and a renewable energy source, and effective management of the ecosystem C balance relies on accurate modeling of each compartment of the ecosystem. However, the dynamics of soil C storage with respect to forest use are variable and poorly understood, particularly in mineral soils. For example, current regional models assume C pools after forest harvesting do not change, while some studies suggest that belowground mineral soil C pools can be affected by disturbances at the soil surface. We quantified mineral soil C pools in previously clear-cut stands in seven research or protected forests across New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The ages of the sites sampled ranged from recently cleared to those with no disturbance history, with 21 forest stands represented in the study. Within each research forest studied, physical parameters such as soil type, forest type, slope and land-use history (aside from forest harvest) did not vary between the stands of different ages. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 60 cm below the mineral-organic boundary using a gas-powered augur and 9.5-cm diameter drill bit. Samples were collected in 10-cm increments in shallow mineral soil and 15-cm increments from 30-60 cm depth. Carbon, nitrogen (N), pH, texture and soil mineralogy were measured across the regional sites. At Bartlett Experimental Forest (BEF) in New Hampshire, mineral soil biogeochemistry in cut and uncut sites was studied at a finer scale. Measurements included soil temperature to 55 cm depth, carbon compound analyses using Py-GCMS and soil microbial messenger RNA extractions from mineral soil. Finally, we simulated C dynamics after harvesting by building a model in Stella, with a particular

  20. Shifts in biomass and productivity for a subtropical dry forest in response to simulated elevated hurricane disturbances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holm, Jennifer A.; Van Bloem, Skip J.; Larocque, Guy R.; Shugart, Herman H.

    2017-01-01

    Caribbean tropical forests are subject to hurricane disturbances of great variability. In addition to natural storm incongruity, climate change can alter storm formation, duration, frequency, and intensity. This model -based investigation assessed the impacts of multiple storms of different intensities and occurrence frequencies on the long-term dynamics of subtropical dry forests in Puerto Rico. Using the previously validated individual-based gap model ZELIG-TROP, we developed a new hurricane damage routine and parameterized it with site- and species-specific hurricane effects. A baseline case with the reconstructed historical hurricane regime represented the control condition. Ten treatment cases, reflecting plausible shifts in hurricane regimes, manipulated both hurricane return time (i.e. frequency) and hurricane intensity. The treatment-related change in carbon storage and fluxes were reported as changes in aboveground forest biomass (AGB), net primary productivity (NPP), and in the aboveground carbon partitioning components, or annual carbon accumulation (ACA). Increasing the frequency of hurricanes decreased aboveground biomass by between 5% and 39%, and increased NPP between 32% and 50%. Decadal-scale biomass fluctuations were damped relative to the control. In contrast, increasing hurricane intensity did not create a large shift in the long-term average forest structure, NPP, or ACA from that of historical hurricane regimes, but produced large fluctuations in biomass. Decreasing both the hurricane intensity and frequency by 50% produced the highest values of biomass and NPP. For the control scenario and with increased hurricane intensity, ACA was negative, which indicated that the aboveground forest components acted as a carbon source. However, with an increase in the frequency of storms or decreased storms, the total ACA was positive due to shifts in leaf production, annual litterfall, and coarse woody debris inputs, indicating a carbon sink into the

  1. A Study on PolInSAR Coherence Based Regression Analysis of Forest Biomass (BARKOT Reserve Forest India), Using RADARSAT-2 Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, J.; Kumar, S.; Kushwaha, S. P. S.

    2015-04-01

    Forests cover 30% of the world's land surface, and are home to around 90% of the world's flora and fauna. They serve as one of the world's largest carbon sinks, absorbing 2.4 million tons of CO2 each year and storing billions more in form of biomass. Around 6 million hectares of forest is lost or changed each year and as much as a fifth of global emissions are estimated to come from deforestation. Hence accurate estimation of forest biophysical variables is necessary as it is a key parameter in determination of forest inventories, vegetation modeling and global carbon cycle. SAR Remote sensing technique is capable of providing accurate and reliable information about forest parameters. The present work aims to explore the potential of C-band Radarsat-2 Polarimetric Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolinSAR) technique for developing a relationship between complex coherence and forest aboveground biomass (t/ha). In order to attain our objective Radarsat-2 satellite interferometric pair of 4th March 2013(master image) and 28th March 2013(slave image) were acquired for Barkot Reserve Forest, Dehradun, India. Field inventory was done for 30 plots (31.62m x 31.62m) and tree height and stem diameter were procured for each plot which were later utilized in calculation of aboveground biomass(AGB).Work emphasizes on the application of PolinSAR coherence instead of using SAR backscatter which saturates after a certain value of biomass content. Complex coherence values for different polarization channels were computed with the help of polarimetric interferometric coherence matrix. Retrieved complex coherences were investigated individually and then regression analysis was carried with the field estimated aboveground biomass. R2 value of HV+VH complex coherence component was found to be relatively higher than other polarization channel components

  2. A Possible Sink for Methane on Mars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nørnberg, P.; Jensen, S. J. K.; Skibsted, J.; Jakobsen, H. J.; ten Kate, I. L.; Gunnlaugsson, H. P.; Merrison, J. P.; Finster, K.; Bak, E.; Iversen, J. J.; Kondrup, J. C.

    2014-01-01

    Mechanical simulated wind activation of mineral surfaces act as a trap for Methane through formation of covalent Si-C bonds stable up to temperatures above 250 C. This mechanism is proposed as a Methane sink on Mars.

  3. Mapping Distinct Forest Types Improves Overall Forest Identification Based on Multi-Spectral Landsat Imagery for Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grant Connette

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the use of multi-spectral Landsat OLI imagery for delineating mangrove, lowland evergreen, upland evergreen and mixed deciduous forest types in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region and estimated the extent of degraded forest for each unique forest type. We mapped a total of 16 natural and human land use classes using both a Random Forest algorithm and a multivariate Gaussian model while considering scenarios with all natural forest classes grouped into a single intact or degraded category. Overall, classification accuracy increased for the multivariate Gaussian model with the partitioning of intact and degraded forest into separate forest cover classes but slightly decreased based on the Random Forest classifier. Natural forest cover was estimated to be 80.7% of total area in Tanintharyi. The most prevalent forest types are upland evergreen forest (42.3% of area and lowland evergreen forest (21.6%. However, while just 27.1% of upland evergreen forest was classified as degraded (on the basis of canopy cover <80%, 66.0% of mangrove forest and 47.5% of the region’s biologically-rich lowland evergreen forest were classified as degraded. This information on the current status of Tanintharyi’s unique forest ecosystems and patterns of human land use is critical to effective conservation strategies and land-use planning.

  4. [Eco-economic thinking for developing carbon sink industry in the de-farming regions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ji Jun; Wang, Zheng Shu; Cheng, Si Min; Gu, Wen; Li, Yue; Li, Mao Sen

    2017-12-01

    Based on the potential and the law that plants absorb carbon dioxide, carbon sink industry means certain appropriate artificial intervention to obtain clean air, and to meet people's production and life demand for ecological environment industry. Carbon sink industry is considered as a breakthrough point and a new growth point for optimizing and upgrading of the original relatively balanced or stable agricultural industry-resources system. Among the ecosystem services in the de-farming regions, the rapid increase of the economic manifestation of carbon fixation and oxygen release function and the carbon sink potential, as well as the rise of carbon trading and carbon market both in domestic and international, have established a theoretical and practical basis for the deve-lopment of carbon industry. With the development of the carbon sink industry, improving the carbon sequestration output will become the core of the carbon sink industry. The producers or marketers will form the controlling of the carbon source, the development of the path for carbon storage increasing and re-layout of agricultural industry-resources structure, and thus bring new vitality to regional sustainable development in the de-farming regions. This indicates the emphasis for the future research and development, that is, allocating the agricultural industry-resources structure and their benign coupling mechanism after integrating the carbon sink industry.

  5. Modeling N Cycling during Succession after Forest Disturbance: an Analysis of N Mining and Retention Hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Z.; Ollinger, S. V.; Ouimette, A.; Lovett, G. M.; Fuss, C. B.; Goodale, C. L.

    2017-12-01

    Dissolved inorganic nitrogen losses at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, USA, have declined in recent decades, a pattern that counters expectations based on prevailing theory. An unbalanced ecosystem nitrogen (N) budget implies there is a missing component for N sink. Hypotheses to explain this discrepancy include increasing rates of denitrification and accumulation of N in mineral soil pools following N mining by plants. Here, we conducted a modeling analysis fused with field measurements of N cycling, specifically examining the hypothesis relevant to N mining and retention in mineral soils. We included simplified representations of both mechanisms, N mining and retention, in a revised ecosystem process model, PnET-SOM, to evaluate the dynamics of N cycling during succession after forest disturbance at the HBEF. The predicted N mining during the early succession was regulated by a metric representing a potential demand of extra soil N for large wood growth. The accumulation of nitrate in mineral soil pools was a function of the net aboveground biomass accumulation and soil N availability and parameterized based on field 15N tracer incubation data. The predicted patterns of forest N dynamics were consistent with observations. The addition of the new algorithms also improved the predicted DIN export in stream water with an R squared of 0.35 (Ppay back the mined N in mineral soils. Predicted ecosystem N balance showed that N gas loss could account for 14-46% of the total N deposition, the soil mining about 103% during the early succession, and soil retention about 35% at the current forest stage at the HBEF.

  6. The effect to the water stress to soil CO2 efflux in the Siberian boreal forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makhnykina, A. V.; Prokishkin, A. S.; Verkhovets, S. V.; Koshurnikova, N. N.

    2017-12-01

    The boreal forests in Siberia covered more than 70% area of this region. Due to the climate change this ecosystems represent a very sensitive and significant source of carbon. In forests, total ecosystem respiration tends to be dominated by soil respiration, which accounts for approximately 69% of this large flux (Janssens et al., 2001). Dynamic global vegetation models predict that soil respiration will increase more than total net primary productivity in response to warmer temperatures and increase in precipitation, the terrestrial carbon sink is expected to decline significantly (Bonan et al., 2003). The aim of the present study was to identify the response of the soil CO2 efflux to the different amount of water input for two highly differentiated years by the precipitation conditions in the middle taiga forests in Central Siberia. The study was conducted in the pine forests in Central Siberia (60°N, 90°E), Russia. We used the automated soil CO2 flux system LI-8100 for measuring the soil efflux. Soil temperature was measured with Soil Temperature Probe Type E in three depths 5, 10, 15 cm. Volumetric soil moisture was measured with Theta Probe Model ML2. We constructed the field experiment based on the addition of different amount of water (0%, 25%, 50% and 100% sites) after each rain event during the growing season. We found that the amount of precipitation have a huge impact to the value of soil CO2 efflux. For the more precipitated year (2015) the fluxes were almost twice higher compared to less precipitated year (2016). The max fluxes during the season in 2015 observed at the site without any water input there and the min one - for the 100% precipitation site (natural rain conditions). In 2016 we identified the opposite response: the max soil efflux demonstrated the site with 100% precipitation conditions (Fig. 1). We also detected the high dependence between the soil temperature and soil CO2 efflux for the site with 0% additional water input in more

  7. Forest Soil Bacteria: Diversity, Involvement in Ecosystem Processes, and Response to Global Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lladó, Salvador; López-Mondéjar, Rubén; Baldrian, Petr

    2017-06-01

    The ecology of forest soils is an important field of research due to the role of forests as carbon sinks. Consequently, a significant amount of information has been accumulated concerning their ecology, especially for temperate and boreal forests. Although most studies have focused on fungi, forest soil bacteria also play important roles in this environment. In forest soils, bacteria inhabit multiple habitats with specific properties, including bulk soil, rhizosphere, litter, and deadwood habitats, where their communities are shaped by nutrient availability and biotic interactions. Bacteria contribute to a range of essential soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. They take part in the decomposition of dead plant biomass and are highly important for the decomposition of dead fungal mycelia. In rhizospheres of forest trees, bacteria interact with plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi as commensalists or mycorrhiza helpers. Bacteria also mediate multiple critical steps in the nitrogen cycle, including N fixation. Bacterial communities in forest soils respond to the effects of global change, such as climate warming, increased levels of carbon dioxide, or anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. This response, however, often reflects the specificities of each studied forest ecosystem, and it is still impossible to fully incorporate bacteria into predictive models. The understanding of bacterial ecology in forest soils has advanced dramatically in recent years, but it is still incomplete. The exact extent of the contribution of bacteria to forest ecosystem processes will be recognized only in the future, when the activities of all soil community members are studied simultaneously. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  8. Estimation of forest resources from a country wide laser scanning survey and national forest inventory data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nord-Larsen, Thomas; Schumacher, Johannes

    2012-01-01

    Airborne laser scanning may provide a means for assessing local forest biomass resources. In this study, national forest inventory (NFI) data was used as reference data for modeling forest basal area, volume, aboveground biomass, and total biomass from laser scanning data obtained in a countrywid...

  9. Amazon forest response to repeated droughts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldpausch, T. R.; Phillips, O. L.; Brienen, R. J. W.; Gloor, E.; Lloyd, J.; Lopez-Gonzalez, G.; Monteagudo-Mendoza, A.; Malhi, Y.; Alarcón, A.; Álvarez Dávila, E.; Alvarez-Loayza, P.; Andrade, A.; Aragao, L. E. O. C.; Arroyo, L.; Aymard C., G. A.; Baker, T. R.; Baraloto, C.; Barroso, J.; Bonal, D.; Castro, W.; Chama, V.; Chave, J.; Domingues, T. F.; Fauset, S.; Groot, N.; Honorio Coronado, E.; Laurance, S.; Laurance, W. F.; Lewis, S. L.; Licona, J. C.; Marimon, B. S.; Marimon-Junior, B. H.; Mendoza Bautista, C.; Neill, D. A.; Oliveira, E. A.; Oliveira dos Santos, C.; Pallqui Camacho, N. C.; Pardo-Molina, G.; Prieto, A.; Quesada, C. A.; Ramírez, F.; Ramírez-Angulo, H.; Réjou-Méchain, M.; Rudas, A.; Saiz, G.; Salomão, R. P.; Silva-Espejo, J. E.; Silveira, M.; ter Steege, H.; Stropp, J.; Terborgh, J.; Thomas-Caesar, R.; van der Heijden, G. M. F.; Vásquez Martinez, R.; Vilanova, E.; Vos, V. A.

    2016-07-01

    The Amazon Basin has experienced more variable climate over the last decade, with a severe and widespread drought in 2005 causing large basin-wide losses of biomass. A drought of similar climatological magnitude occurred again in 2010; however, there has been no basin-wide ground-based evaluation of effects on vegetation. We examine to what extent the 2010 drought affected forest dynamics using ground-based observations of mortality and growth from an extensive forest plot network. We find that during the 2010 drought interval, forests did not gain biomass (net change: -0.43 Mg ha-1, confidence interval (CI): -1.11, 0.19, n = 97), regardless of whether forests experienced precipitation deficit anomalies. This contrasted with a long-term biomass sink during the baseline pre-2010 drought period (1998 to pre-2010) of 1.33 Mg ha-1 yr-1 (CI: 0.90, 1.74, p history. Thus, there was no evidence that pre-2010 droughts compounded the effects of the 2010 drought. We detected a systematic basin-wide impact of the 2010 drought on tree growth rates across Amazonia, which was related to the strength of the moisture deficit. This impact differed from the drought event in 2005 which did not affect productivity. Based on these ground data, live biomass in trees and corresponding estimates of live biomass in lianas and roots, we estimate that intact forests in Amazonia were carbon neutral in 2010 (-0.07 Pg C yr-1 CI:-0.42, 0.23), consistent with results from an independent analysis of airborne estimates of land-atmospheric fluxes during 2010. Relative to the long-term mean, the 2010 drought resulted in a reduction in biomass carbon uptake of 1.1 Pg C, compared to 1.6 Pg C for the 2005 event.

  10. Oryong 501 sinking incident in the Bering Sea-International DVI cooperation in the Asia Pacific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Nak-Eun; Castilani, Anton; Tierra, Wilfredo E; Beh, Philip; Mahmood, Mohd Shah

    2017-09-01

    On December 1st, 2014, the sinking of Oryong 501 occurred in the Bering Sea off the east coast of Russia. A total of 60 crew members, including 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and 1 Russian inspector were on board out of which only seven survived. Through an international rescue operation, the dead bodies of 27 were found and the remaining 26 crew are still missing. After transferring the dead bodies to the Busan Harbor in South Korea, the operation to identify the deceased began involving DVI teams from three countries: Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. When a deep sea fishing boat sinks, it is very difficult to obtain antemortem data of the crew who had been on board for a long time. This is especially so if the crews are multinational. Further, the accuracy of the antemortem data provided by the families may be questionable, and the provided data is often not standardized. Despite the fact that the antemortem data were received in different formats, the identification process for the bodies of the 27 crew from the Oryong sinking was quickly completed through the cooperation among the three DVI teams. This case is an excellent example of how efficiently a DVI operation can be conducted in the Asia Pacific region. Issues raised during this operation should enable even better preparation for similar events in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Manipulation of the hypocotyl sink activity by reciprocal grafting of two Raphanus sativus varieties: its effects on morphological and physiological traits of source leaves and whole-plant growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiura, Daisuke; Betsuyaku, Eriko; Terashima, Ichiro

    2015-12-01

    To reveal whether hypocotyl sink activities are regulated by the aboveground parts, and whether physiology and morphology of source leaves are affected by the hypocotyl sink activities, we conducted grafting experiments using two Raphanus sativus varieties with different hypocotyl sink activities. Comet (C) and Leafy (L) varieties with high and low hypocotyl sink activities were reciprocally grafted and resultant plants were called by their scion and stock such as CC, LC, CL and LL. Growth, leaf mass per area (LMA), total non-structural carbohydrates (TNCs) and photosynthetic characteristics were compared among them. Comet hypocotyls in CC and LC grew well regardless of the scions, whereas Leafy hypocotyls in CL and LL did not. Relative growth rate was highest in LL and lowest in CC. Photosynthetic capacity was correlated with Rubisco (ribulose 1·5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) content but unaffected by TNC. High C/N ratio and accumulation of TNC led to high LMA and structural LMA. These results showed that the hypocotyl sink activity was autonomously regulated by hypocotyl and that the down-regulation of photosynthesis was not induced by TNC. We conclude that the change in the sink activity alters whole-plant growth through the changes in both biomass allocation and leaf morphological characteristics in R. sativus. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Sinking fluxes of minor and trace elements in the North Pacific Ocean measured during the VERTIGO program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamborg, C. H.; Buesseler, K. O.; Lam, P. J.

    2008-07-01

    As part of the Vertical Transport in the Global Ocean (VERTIGO) program, we collected and analyzed sinking particles using sediment traps at three depths in the oceanic mesopelagic zone and at two biogeochemically contrasting sites (N. Central Pacific at ALOHA; N. Pacific Western Subarctic Gyre at K2). In this paper, we present the results of minor and trace element determinations made on these samples. Minor and trace elements in the sinking material showed 2 trends in flux with depth: increasing and constant. The sinking particulate phase of some elements (Al, Fe, Mn) was dominated by material of lithogenic origin and exhibited flux that was constant with depth and consistent with eolian dust inputs (ALOHA), or increasing in flux with depth as a result of lateral inputs from a shelf (K2). This shelf-derived material also appears to have been confined to very small particles, whose inherent sinking rates are slow, and residence time within the mesopelagic "twilight zone" would be consequently long. Furthermore, the flux of this material did not change with substantial changes in the rain of biogenic material from the surface (K2), suggesting mechanistic decoupling from the flux of organic carbon and macronutrients. Micronutrient (Fe, Co, Zn and Cu) fluxes examined in a 1-D mass balance suggest widely differing sources and sinks in the water column as well as impacts from biological uptake and regeneration. For example, total Fe fluxes into and out of the euphotic zone appeared to be dominated by lithogenic material and far exceed biological requirements. The export flux of Fe, however, appeared to be balanced by the eolian input of soluble Fe. For Zn and Cu, the situation is reversed, with atmospheric inputs insufficient to support fluxes, and the cycling therefore dominated by the draw down of an internal pool. For Co, the situation lies in between, with important, but ultimately insufficient atmospheric inputs.

  13. Variation and balance of positive air ion concentrations in a boreal forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U. Hõrrak

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Air ions are characterized on the basis of measurements carried out in a boreal forest at the Hyytiälä SMEAR station, Finland, during the BIOFOR III campaign in spring 1999. The air ions were discriminated as small ions (charged molecular aggregates of the diameter of less than 2.5 nm, intermediate ions (charged aerosol particles of the diameter of 2.5–8 nm, and large ions (charged aerosol particles of the diameter of 8–20 nm. Statistical characteristics of the ion concentrations and the parameters of ion balance in the atmosphere are presented separately for the nucleation event days and non-event days. In the steady state, the ionization rate is balanced with the loss of small ions, which is expressed as the product of the small ion concentration and the ion sink rate. The widely known sinks of small ions are the recombination with small ions of opposite polarity and attachment to aerosol particles. The dependence of small ion concentration on the concentration of aerosol particles was investigated applying a model of the bipolar diffusion charging of particles by small ions. When the periods of relative humidity above 95% and wind speed less than 0.6 m s−1 were excluded, then the small ion concentration and the theoretically calculated small ion sink rate were closely negatively correlated (correlation coefficient −87%. However, an extra ion loss term of the same magnitude as the ion loss onto aerosol particles is needed for a quantitative explanation of the observations. This term is presumably due to the small ion deposition on coniferous forest. The hygroscopic growth correction of the measured aerosol particle size distributions was also found to be necessary for the proper estimation of the ion sink rate. In the case of nucleation burst events, the concentration of small positive ions followed the general balance equation, no extra ion loss in addition to the deposition on coniferous forest was detected, and the

  14. An energy efficient distance-aware routing algorithm with multiple mobile sinks for wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jin; Li, Bin; Xia, Feng; Kim, Chang-Seob; Kim, Jeong-Uk

    2014-08-18

    Traffic patterns in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) usually follow a many-to-one model. Sensor nodes close to static sinks will deplete their limited energy more rapidly than other sensors, since they will have more data to forward during multihop transmission. This will cause network partition, isolated nodes and much shortened network lifetime. Thus, how to balance energy consumption for sensor nodes is an important research issue. In recent years, exploiting sink mobility technology in WSNs has attracted much research attention because it can not only improve energy efficiency, but prolong network lifetime. In this paper, we propose an energy efficient distance-aware routing algorithm with multiple mobile sink for WSNs, where sink nodes will move with a certain speed along the network boundary to collect monitored data. We study the influence of multiple mobile sink nodes on energy consumption and network lifetime, and we mainly focus on the selection of mobile sink node number and the selection of parking positions, as well as their impact on performance metrics above. We can see that both mobile sink node number and the selection of parking position have important influence on network performance. Simulation results show that our proposed routing algorithm has better performance than traditional routing ones in terms of energy consumption.

  15. Source-sink interaction: a century old concept under the light of modern molecular systems biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Tian-Gen; Zhu, Xin-Guang; Raines, Christine

    2017-07-20

    Many approaches to engineer source strength have been proposed to enhance crop yield potential. However, a well-co-ordinated source-sink relationship is required finally to realize the promised increase in crop yield potential in the farmer's field. Source-sink interaction has been intensively studied for decades, and a vast amount of knowledge about the interaction in different crops and under different environments has been accumulated. In this review, we first introduce the basic concepts of source, sink and their interactions, then summarize current understanding of how source and sink can be manipulated through both environmental control and genetic manipulations. We show that the source-sink interaction underlies the diverse responses of crops to the same perturbations and argue that development of a molecular systems model of source-sink interaction is required towards a rational manipulation of the source-sink relationship for increased yield. We finally discuss both bottom-up and top-down routes to develop such a model and emphasize that a community effort is needed for development of this model. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. An Energy Efficient Distance-Aware Routing Algorithm with Multiple Mobile Sinks for Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Wang

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Traffic patterns in wireless sensor networks (WSNs usually follow a many-to-one model. Sensor nodes close to static sinks will deplete their limited energy more rapidly than other sensors, since they will have more data to forward during multihop transmission. This will cause network partition, isolated nodes and much shortened network lifetime. Thus, how to balance energy consumption for sensor nodes is an important research issue. In recent years, exploiting sink mobility technology in WSNs has attracted much research attention because it can not only improve energy efficiency, but prolong network lifetime. In this paper, we propose an energy efficient distance-aware routing algorithm with multiple mobile sink for WSNs, where sink nodes will move with a certain speed along the network boundary to collect monitored data. We study the influence of multiple mobile sink nodes on energy consumption and network lifetime, and we mainly focus on the selection of mobile sink node number and the selection of parking positions, as well as their impact on performance metrics above. We can see that both mobile sink node number and the selection of parking position have important influence on network performance. Simulation results show that our proposed routing algorithm has better performance than traditional routing ones in terms of energy consumption.

  17. Modelling fungal sink competitiveness with grains for assimilates in wheat infected by a biotrophic pathogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bancal, Marie-Odile; Hansart, Amandine; Sache, Ivan; Bancal, Pierre

    2012-01-01

    Background and Aims Experiments have shown that biotrophic fungi divert assimilates for their growth. However, no attempt has been made either to account for this additional sink or to predict to what extent it competes with both grain filling and plant reserve metabolism for carbon. Fungal sink competitiveness with grains was quantified by a mixed experimental–modelling approach based on winter wheat infected by Puccinia triticina. Methods One week after anthesis, plants grown under controlled conditions were inoculated with varying loads. Sporulation was recorded while plants underwent varying degrees of shading, ensuring a range of both fungal sink and host source levels. Inoculation load significantly increased both sporulating area and rate. Shading significantly affected net assimilation, reserve mobilization and sporulating area, but not grain filling or sporulation rates. An existing carbon partitioning (source–sink) model for wheat during the grain filling period was then enhanced, in which two parameters characterize every sink: carriage capacity and substrate affinity. Fungal sink competitiveness with host sources and sinks was modelled by representing spore production as another sink in diseased wheat during grain filling. Key Results Data from the experiment were fitted to the model to provide the fungal sink parameters. Fungal carriage capacity was 0·56 ± 0·01 µg dry matter °Cd−1 per lesion, much less than grain filling capacity, even in highly infected plants; however, fungal sporulation had a competitive priority for assimilates over grain filling. Simulation with virtual crops accounted for the importance of the relative contribution of photosynthesis loss, anticipated reserve depletion and spore production when light level and disease severity vary. The grain filling rate was less reduced than photosynthesis; however, over the long term, yield loss could double because the earlier reserve depletion observed here would shorten the

  18. Landscape and vegetation effects on avian reproduction on bottomland forest restorations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twedt, Daniel J.; Somershoe, Scott G.; Hazler, Kirsten R.; Cooper, Robert J.

    2010-01-01

    these sites are likely population sinks for grassland and open-woodland species. We recommend restoration strategies that promote rapid development of dense forest stands within largely forested landscapes to recruit breeding populations of thamnic and silvicolous birds that have reproductive success sufficient to sustain their populations.

  19. Emission and Sink of Greenhouse Gases in Soils of Moscow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozharova, N. V.; Kulachkova, S. A.; Lebed'-Sharlevich, Ya. I.

    2018-03-01

    The first inventory and zoning of the emission and sink of methane and carbon dioxide in the urban structure of greenhouse gases from soils and surface technogenic formations (STFs) (Technosols) on technogenic, recrementogenic, and natural sediments have been performed with consideration for the global warming potential under conditions of different formation rate of these gases, underflooding, and sealing. From gas geochemical criteria and anthropogenic pedogenesis features, the main sources of greenhouse gases, their intensity, and mass emission were revealed. The mass fractions of emissions from the sectors of waste and land use in the inventories of greenhouse gas emissions have been determined. New sources of gas emission have been revealed in the first sector, the emissions from which add tens of percent to the literature and state reports. In the second sector, emissions exceed the available data in 70 times. Estimation criteria based on the degree of manifestation and chemical composition of soil-geochemical anomalies and barrier capacities have been proposed. The sink of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and the internal (latent) sink of methane in soils and STFs have been determined. Ecological functions of soils and STFs have been shown, and the share of latent methane sink has been calculated. The bacterial oxidation of methane in soils and STFs exceeds its emission to the atmosphere in almost hundred times.

  20. Simulation of the Effect of Intensive Forest Management on Forest Production in Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ola Rosvall

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The effects of intensifying the management of 15% of the Swedish forest land on potential future forest production over a 100-year period were investigated in a simulation study. The intensive management treatments, which were introduced over a period of 50 years, were: intensive fertilization of Norway spruce (IntFert; bulking-up Norway spruce elite populations using somatic embryogenesis (SE-seedlings; planting of lodgepole pine, hybrid larch, and Sitka spruce (Contorta, Larch, and Sitka; fertilization with wood ash on peatlands (Wood ash; and conventional fertilization in mature forests (ConFert. Potential sites for applying intensive forest management (IFM to sites with low nature conservation values were determined with a nature conservation score (NCS. Four different scenarios were simulated: “Base scenario”, which aimed at reducing the negative impact on nature conservation values, “Fast implementation”, “No IntFert” (IntFert was not used, and “Large Forest Companies”, where the majority of plots were selected on company land. Total yields during the 100-year simulation period were about 85–92% higher for the intensive forest management scenarios than for the reference scenario (business as usual. In the “No IntFert” scenario total production was 1.8% lower and in the “Large Forest Companies” scenario total production was 4.8% lower than in the “Base scenario”. “Fast implementation” of IFM increased yield by 15% compared to the “Base scenario”. Norway spruce SE-seedlings and IntFert gave the highest yields, measured as total production during the 100-year simulation period, but relative to the yields in the reference scenario, the highest increases in yield were for Contorta. The “Base scenario” and “No IntFert” gave the highest yields for plots with the lowest NCS, but plots with higher NCS had to be used in the “Fast implementation” and “Large Forest Companies” scenarios. More than

  1. 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.

  2. Implication of Forest-Savanna Dynamics on Biomass and Carbon Stock: Effectiveness of an Amazonian Ecological Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couto-Santos, F. R.; Luizao, F. J.

    2014-12-01

    The forests-savanna advancement/retraction process seems to play an important role in the global carbon cycle and in the climate-vegetation balance maintenance in the Amazon. To contribute with long term carbon dynamics and assess effectiveness of a protected area in reduce carbon emissions in Brazilian Amazon transitional areas, variations in forest-savanna mosaics biomass and carbon stock within Maraca Ecological Station (MES), Roraima/Brazil, and its outskirts non-protected areas were compared. Composite surface soil samples and indirect methods based on regression models were used to estimate aboveground tree biomass accumulation and assess vegetation and soil carbon stock along eleven 0.6 ha transects perpendicular to the forest-savanna limits. Aboveground biomass and carbon accumulation were influenced by vegetation structure, showing higher values within protected area, with great contribution of trees above 40 cm in diameter. In the savanna environments of protected areas, a higher tree density and carbon stock up to 30 m from the border confirmed a forest encroachment. This pointed that MES acts as carbon sink, even under variations in soil fertility gradient, with a potential increase of the total carbon stock from 9 to 150 Mg C ha-1. Under 20 years of fire and disturbance management, the results indicated the effectiveness of this protected area to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate greenhouse and climate change effects in a forest-savanna transitional area in Brazilian Northern Amazon. The contribution of this study in understanding rates and reasons for biomass and carbon variation, under different management strategies, should be considered the first approximation to assist policies of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) from underresearched Amazonian ecotone; despite further efforts in this direction are still needed. FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Boticário Group Foundation (Fundação Grupo Boticário); National Council for

  3. Longevity of terrestrial Carbon sinks: effects of soil degradation on greenhouse gas emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhn, Nikolaus J.; Berger, Samuel; Kuonen, Samuel

    2013-04-01

    Soil erosion by water is a key process of soil and land degradation. In addition, significant amounts of nutrients and organic Carbon are moved from eroding source areas to landscape sinks. As a consequence, areas affected by erosion suffer a loss of fertility, while sinks experience the development of a stockpile of the deposited sediment, including soil organic matter and nutrients. The deposited nutrients are largely unavailable for the plants growing in these landscape sediment sinks once the thickness of the deposited layer is greater than the rooting depth of the plants. In addition, the deposited organic matter is decomposed slowly through the pack of sediment. At sites of erosion, nutrients have to be replaced and organic matter content of the soil declines due to a destruction of the A horizon. Over time, the risk of a significant reduction in productivity, for example caused by a loss of top soil with a sufficient water storage capacity for maximum plant growth, leads to a decline in CO2 uptake by photosynthesis. Soil organic matter at eroding sites therefore declines and consequently the sediment that is moved to landscape sinks also has a smaller organic matter content than sediment generated from the non-degraded soil. The sediment sinks, on the other hand, emit an increasing amount of greenhouse gases as a consequence of the increasing amount of organic matter deposited while the upslope area is eroded. Over time, the perceived sink effect of soil erosion for greenhouse gases is therefore replaced with a neutral or positive emission balance of erosion in agricultural landscapes. Such a switch from none or a negative emission balance of agricultural landscapes to a positive balance carries the risk of accelerating climate change. In this study, we tried to estimate the risk associated with ongoing soil degradation and closing landscape soil organic matter sinks. Currently observed global erosion rates were linked to known limitations of soil

  4. Data dissemination of emergency messages in mobile multi-sink wireless sensor networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erman-Tüysüz, A.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), data dissemination is generally performed from sensor nodes to a static sink. If the data under consideration is an emergency message such as a fire alarm, it must be transmitted as fast and reliably as possible towards the sink of WSN. In such mission critical

  5. Global land carbon sink response to temperature and precipitation varies with ENSO phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Yuanyuan; Michalak, Anna M.; Schwalm, Christopher R.; Huntzinger, Deborah N.; Berry, Joseph A.; Ciais, Philippe; Piao, Shilong; Poulter, Benjamin; Fisher, Joshua B.; Cook, Robert B.; Hayes, Daniel; Huang, Maoyi; Ito, Akihiko; Jain, Atul; Lei, Huimin; Lu, Chaoqun; Mao, Jiafu; Parazoo, Nicholas C.; Peng, Shushi; Ricciuto, Daniel M.; Shi, Xiaoying; Tao, Bo; Tian, Hanqin; Wang, Weile; Wei, Yaxing; Yang, Jia

    2017-05-01

    Climate variability associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its consequent impacts on land carbon sink interannual variability have been used as a basis for investigating carbon cycle responses to climate variability more broadly, and to inform the sensitivity of the tropical carbon budget to climate change. Past studies have presented opposing views about whether temperature or precipitation is the primary factor driving the response of the land carbon sink to ENSO. Here, we show that the dominant driver varies with ENSO phase. Whereas tropical temperature explains sink dynamics following El Niño conditions (rTG,P=0.59, p<0.01), the post La Niña sink is driven largely by tropical precipitation (rPG,T=-0.46, p=0.04). This finding points to an ENSO-phase-dependent interplay between water availability and temperature in controlling the carbon uptake response to climate variations in tropical ecosystems. We further find that none of a suite of ten contemporary terrestrial biosphere models captures these ENSO-phase-dependent responses, highlighting a key uncertainty in modeling climate impacts on the future of the global land carbon sink.

  6. GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ATMOSPHERIC HAZE EFFECT BY SOURCE AND SINK LANDSCAPE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Yu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Based on geospatial analysis model, this paper analyzes the relationship between the landscape patterns of source and sink in urban areas and atmospheric haze pollution. Firstly, the classification result and aerosol optical thickness (AOD of Wuhan are divided into a number of square grids with the side length of 6 km, and the category level landscape indices (PLAND, PD, COHESION, LPI, FRAC_MN and AOD of each grid are calculated. Then the source and sink landscapes of atmospheric haze pollution are selected based on the analysis of the correlation between landscape indices and AOD. Next, to make the following analysis more efficient, the indices selected before should be determined through the correlation coefficient between them. Finally, due to the spatial dependency and spatial heterogeneity of the data used in this paper, spatial autoregressive model and geo-weighted regression model are used to analyze atmospheric haze effect by source and sink landscape from the global and local level. The results show that the source landscape of atmospheric haze pollution is the building, and the sink landscapes are shrub and woodland. PLAND, PD and COHESION are suitable for describing the atmospheric haze effect by source and sink landscape. Comparing these models, the fitting effect of SLM, SEM and GWR is significantly better than that of OLS model. The SLM model is superior to the SEM model in this paper. Although the fitting effect of GWR model is more unsuited than that of SLM, the influence degree of influencing factors on atmospheric haze of different geography can be expressed clearer. Through the analysis results of these models, following conclusions can be summarized: Reducing the proportion of source landscape area and increasing the degree of fragmentation could cut down aerosol optical thickness; And distributing the source and sink landscape evenly and interspersedly could effectively reduce aerosol optical thickness which represents

  7. Geospatial Analysis of Atmospheric Haze Effect by Source and Sink Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, T.; Xu, K.; Yuan, Z.

    2017-09-01

    Based on geospatial analysis model, this paper analyzes the relationship between the landscape patterns of source and sink in urban areas and atmospheric haze pollution. Firstly, the classification result and aerosol optical thickness (AOD) of Wuhan are divided into a number of square grids with the side length of 6 km, and the category level landscape indices (PLAND, PD, COHESION, LPI, FRAC_MN) and AOD of each grid are calculated. Then the source and sink landscapes of atmospheric haze pollution are selected based on the analysis of the correlation between landscape indices and AOD. Next, to make the following analysis more efficient, the indices selected before should be determined through the correlation coefficient between them. Finally, due to the spatial dependency and spatial heterogeneity of the data used in this paper, spatial autoregressive model and geo-weighted regression model are used to analyze atmospheric haze effect by source and sink landscape from the global and local level. The results show that the source landscape of atmospheric haze pollution is the building, and the sink landscapes are shrub and woodland. PLAND, PD and COHESION are suitable for describing the atmospheric haze effect by source and sink landscape. Comparing these models, the fitting effect of SLM, SEM and GWR is significantly better than that of OLS model. The SLM model is superior to the SEM model in this paper. Although the fitting effect of GWR model is more unsuited than that of SLM, the influence degree of influencing factors on atmospheric haze of different geography can be expressed clearer. Through the analysis results of these models, following conclusions can be summarized: Reducing the proportion of source landscape area and increasing the degree of fragmentation could cut down aerosol optical thickness; And distributing the source and sink landscape evenly and interspersedly could effectively reduce aerosol optical thickness which represents atmospheric haze

  8. Sinking offshore platform. Nedsenkbar fralandsplatform

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Einstabland, T.B.; Olsen, O.

    1988-12-19

    The invention deals with a sinking offshore platform of the gravitational type designed for being installed on the sea bed on great depths. The platform consists of at least three inclining pillars placed on a foundation unit. The pillars are at the upper end connected to a tower structure by means of a rigid construction. The tower supports the platform deck. The rigid construction comprises a centre-positioned cylinder connected to the foundation. 11 figs.

  9. Trace Gas Emissions in Temperate Forests and Impact of Forest Conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butterbach-Bahl, K.; Papen, H.

    2003-12-01

    Temperate forest ecosystems play a significant role as sources and sinks for primarily and secondarily active trace gases such as N2O, NO and CH4. In recent decades the magnitude of the biosphere-atmosphere exchange of these trace gases has been substantially altered due to direct and indirect anthropogenic activities. E.g. measurements at different forest sites across Europe exposed to different loads of atmospheric N-deposition clearly show, that N-oxides emissions are positively correlated to N-deposition, whereas CH4 uptake rates are negatively affected. Furthermore, stand properties such as tree species composition as well as stand age have also been demonstrated to strongly affect the exchange of these trace gases. Results of continuous measurements of N-oxide emissions at the Hoglwald Forest site, Germany, show that e.g. NO-emissions from a spruce site are approx. 6 fold higher (5-7 kg NO-N ha-1 yr-1) than N2O emissions (0.5-1 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr-1), whereas at an adjacent beech site -stocking on a comparable soil- N2O-emissions are 3-5 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr-1 and NO emissions are 2-2.5 kg NO-N ha-1 yr-1. These results are further supported by microbiological process studies, which show that the forest type can alter the magnitude of the key microbial processes mineralization and nitrification by its effect on soil moisture conditions and substrate quality. However, estimates of trace gas exchange between temperate forest soils and the atmosphere remain fragmentary if the effect of direct anthropogenic management activities such as clear cutting and reforestation are neglected. Therefore, in 1999 we started a multi-year experiment at the H”glwald Forest, Bavaria, in which we investigated the effect of the conversion of a spruce forest into a beech forest either by clear cutting or selected cutting on N2O, NO and CH4 emission/ deposition. The results of this study show, that clear cutting strongly enhanced N2O emissions from approx. 0.5 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr-1 to >5 kg

  10. LPTA: location predictive and time adaptive data gathering scheme with mobile sink for wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chuan; Wang, Yao; Han, Guangjie; Rodrigues, Joel J P C; Lloret, Jaime

    2014-01-01

    This paper exploits sink mobility to prolong the lifetime of sensor networks while maintaining the data transmission delay relatively low. A location predictive and time adaptive data gathering scheme is proposed. In this paper, we introduce a sink location prediction principle based on loose time synchronization and deduce the time-location formulas of the mobile sink. According to local clocks and the time-location formulas of the mobile sink, nodes in the network are able to calculate the current location of the mobile sink accurately and route data packets timely toward the mobile sink by multihop relay. Considering that data packets generating from different areas may be different greatly, an adaptive dwelling time adjustment method is also proposed to balance energy consumption among nodes in the network. Simulation results show that our data gathering scheme enables data routing with less data transmission time delay and balance energy consumption among nodes.

  11. Performance evaluation of a wavy-fin heat sink for power electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorenzini, Marco; Fabbri, Giampietro; Salvigni, Sandro

    2007-01-01

    The almost daily increase in dissipated power per unit area of electronic components sets higher and higher demands on the performance of the heat sinks. These must not only be able to dissipate high heat fluxes, but must also keep costs to a minimum and exhibit a reliable behaviour. In this paper a novel, modular heat sink consisting of elements with wavy fin profile which can be pressed together to construct the component is presented. Its performance under steady-state conditions are assessed for the case of forced convection in terms of velocity distribution in the channels and global thermal resistance. Configurations with uniform and non-uniform heat flux are studied and some considerations are made as to the influence of the spacers between fan and heat sink proper

  12. Sink strengths of dislocations taking into account bulk recombination effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinbach, E.

    1988-01-01

    The applicability of the rate theory to describe radiation damage processes is closely associated with the calculation of the various sink strengths. In this connection the effect of bulk recombination is usually neglected, because of the complexity of the problem. For this reason we present in this paper, for the first time, by means of the rigorous elastic-field model of a dislocation embedded in a lossy continuum, analytic expressions for the diffusion flux of irradiation-induced point defects into a dislocation, taking into account the elastic interaction, additional sinks and higher order bulk recombination effects. The resulting self-consistent formulae for the dislocation sink strengths clearly demonstrate the importance of the bulk recombination for the micro-structures of irradiated materials. In conjunction with the Harwell computer code VS5 it became clear that this new dislocation bias also leads to a change in the macrostructural observables. The order of magnitude of this effect emphasizes that neglecting bulk recombination as a general principle is not justified

  13. The sinking of the Soviet Mike class nuclear powered submarine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    The purpose of this preliminary study is to assess the quantities of the longer-lived or persistent radioactive materials, or source terms, that have been lost at sea with the sinking of the Soviet MIKE class submarine off Bear Island on 7 April 1989. The report arrives at an assessment of the amount of radioactivity and compares this to the quantities of radioactive materials dumped by the UK from 1953 to 1982 at which time sea dumping of radioactive wastes was suspended by international resolve. This comparison can be used to assess the relative significance of the sinking of this submarine. The study does not extrapolate the estimated radioactive source terms to an environmental or radiological significance of the sinking, although it is concluded that unless the submarine is recovered intact from the ocean floor, the by far greater part of the radioactive materials on board will disperse to the marine environment at some future time, if they are not doing so already. (author)

  14. Systems biology derived source-sink mechanism of BMP gradient formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinski, Joseph; Bu, Ye; Wang, Xu; Dou, Wei; Umulis, David; Mullins, Mary C

    2017-08-09

    A morphogen gradient of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling patterns the dorsoventral embryonic axis of vertebrates and invertebrates. The prevailing view in vertebrates for BMP gradient formation is through a counter-gradient of BMP antagonists, often along with ligand shuttling to generate peak signaling levels. To delineate the mechanism in zebrafish, we precisely quantified the BMP activity gradient in wild-type and mutant embryos and combined these data with a mathematical model-based computational screen to test hypotheses for gradient formation. Our analysis ruled out a BMP shuttling mechanism and a bmp transcriptionally-informed gradient mechanism. Surprisingly, rather than supporting a counter-gradient mechanism, our analyses support a fourth model, a source-sink mechanism, which relies on a restricted BMP antagonist distribution acting as a sink that drives BMP flux dorsally and gradient formation. We measured Bmp2 diffusion and found that it supports the source-sink model, suggesting a new mechanism to shape BMP gradients during development.

  15. Effects of model choice and forest structure on inventory-based estimations of Puerto Rican forest biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas J. Brandeis; Maria Del Rocio; Suarez Rozo

    2005-01-01

    Total aboveground live tree biomass in Puerto Rican lower montane wet, subtropical wet, subtropical moist and subtropical dry forests was estimated using data from two forest inventories and published regression equations. Multiple potentially-applicable published biomass models existed for some forested life zones, and their estimates tended to diverge with increasing...

  16. Tropical forests are a net carbon source based on aboveground measurements of gain and loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baccini, A.; Walker, W.; Carvalho, L.; Farina, M.; Sulla-Menashe, D.; Houghton, R. A.

    2017-10-01

    The carbon balance of tropical ecosystems remains uncertain, with top-down atmospheric studies suggesting an overall sink and bottom-up ecological approaches indicating a modest net source. Here we use 12 years (2003 to 2014) of MODIS pantropical satellite data to quantify net annual changes in the aboveground carbon density of tropical woody live vegetation, providing direct, measurement-based evidence that the world’s tropical forests are a net carbon source of 425.2 ± 92.0 teragrams of carbon per year (Tg C year-1). This net release of carbon consists of losses of 861.7 ± 80.2 Tg C year-1 and gains of 436.5 ± 31.0 Tg C year-1. Gains result from forest growth; losses result from deforestation and from reductions in carbon density within standing forests (degradation or disturbance), with the latter accounting for 68.9% of overall losses.

  17. Forest insect pest management and forest management in China: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

    2011-12-01

    According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations-Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations-with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

  18. Forest Insect Pest Management and Forest Management in China: An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

    2011-12-01

    According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations— Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations—with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

  19. Micro-structured rough surfaces by laser etching for heat transfer enhancement on flush mounted heat sinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventola, L; Scaltrito, L; Ferrero, S; Chiavazzo, E; Asinari, P; Maccioni, G

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this work is to improve heat transfer performances of flush mounted heat sinks used in electronic cooling. To do this we patterned 1.23 cm 2 heat sinks surfaces by microstructured roughnesses built by laser etching manufacturing technique, and experimentally measured the convective heat transfer enhancements due to different patterns. Each roughness differs from the others with regards to the number and the size of the micro-fins (e.g. the micro- fin length ranges from 200 to 1100 μm). Experimental tests were carried out in forced air cooling regime. In particular fully turbulent flows (heating edge based Reynolds number ranging from 3000 to 17000) were explored. Convective heat transfer coefficient of the best micro-structured heat sink is found to be roughly two times compared to the smooth heat sinks one. In addition, surface area roughly doubles with regard to smooth heat sinks, due to the presence of micro-fins. Consequently, patterned heat sinks thermal transmittance [W/K] is found to be roughly four times the smooth heat sinks one. We hope this work may open the way for huge boost in the technology of electronic cooling by innovative manufacturing techniques.

  20. Integrating invasive grasses into carbon cycle projections: Cogongrass spread in southern pine forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe, T. D.; Flory, S. L.; Wiesner, S.; Dietze, M.

    2017-12-01

    Forested ecosystems are currently being disrupted by invasive species. One example is the invasive grass Imperata cylindrica (cogongrass), which is widespread in southeastern US pine forests. Pines forests dominate the forest cover of the southeast, and contribute to making the Southeast the United States' largest carbon sink. Cogongrass decreases the colonization of loblolly pine fine roots. If cogongrass continues to invade,this sink could be jeopardized. However, the effects of cogongrass invasion on carbon sequestration are largely unknown. We have projected the effects of elevated CO2 and changing climate on future cogongrass invasion. To test how pine stands are affected by cogongrass, cogongrass invasions were modeled using the Ecosystem Demography 2 (ED2) model, and parameterized using the Predictive Ecosystem Analyzer (PEcAn). ED2 takes into account local meteorological data, stand populations and succession, disturbance, and geochemical pools. PEcAn is a workflow that uses Bayesian sensitivity analyses and variance decomposition to quantify the uncertainty that each parameter contributes to overall model uncertainty. ED2 was run for four NEON and Ameriflux sites in the Southeast from the earliest available census of the site into 2010. These model results were compared to site measures to test for model accuracy and bias. To project the effect of elevated CO2 on cogongrass invasions, ED was run from 2006-2100 at four sites under four separate scenarios: 1) RPC4.5 CO2 and climate, 2) RPC4.5 climate only, with constant CO2 concentrations, 3) RPC4.5 Elevated CO2 only, with climate randomly selected from 2006-2026, 4) Present Day, made from randomly selected measures of CO2 and radiation from 2006-2026. Each scenario was run three times; once with cogongrass absent, once with a low cogongrass abundance, and once with a high cogongrass abundance. Model results suggest that many relevant parameters have high uncertainty due to lack of measurement. Further field