New evidence of the link between carbon dioxide emissions and climate change in boreal ecosystems
Dr Kevin Robert Gurney, assistant professor in the Earth & Atmospheric Science/Agronomy at Purdue University and Associate Director of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, presented these results at the “Is a Warmer Arctic Adding Carbon Dioxide to the Atmosphere” session of American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Francisco, CA on December 17th.
The research examined the variations in carbon flux from boreal ecosystems, uncovered by the “inverse” method, in relation to measurements of temperature, precipitation and climate indices. The study shows that Boreal N America removes carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere during years in which the region experiences warm Spring temperatures and rainfall. Boreal Asia, however, exhibits an opposing response – years with above normal Fall temperatures and rainfall result in net carbon emissions. “A warming Canada may mean Canadian forests will act as a sink to atmospheric CO2,” said Gurney, “while boreal Asia could lose ecosystem carbon to the atmosphere as the regions warms.”
The results are directly applicable to climate change studies which attempt to link the land and ocean carbon cycles to future warming. Some studies have shown an additional temperature increase (above that derived from industrial greenhouse gases) due primarily to carbon emissions from warmed global soils. The research presented by Gurney suggests that this may occur in Asia but not in North America. “This should help us perform better projections
The results for Boreal North America are further linked to El Nino events. “The greater uptake in Springtime Boreal North American in warm, wet years appears to be related to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation,” said Gurney. “The teleconnection is remarkable, you can see the tropical pacific temperature patterns associated with El Nino travel north and impact boreal North America, inducing greater uptake”.
Temperature and Precipitation are not the only drivers of ecosystem carbon exchange, noted Gurney, but approximately one-half of the variations in Spring and Fall carbon exchange were explained by variations in Temperature and Precipitation. “Human activity such as harvest or fire can also have a large impact on these systems and we are turning to exploring those next”.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.purdue.eduAll latest news from the category: Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
This complex theme deals primarily with interactions between organisms and the environmental factors that impact them, but to a greater extent between individual inanimate environmental factors.
innovations-report offers informative reports and articles on topics such as climate protection, landscape conservation, ecological systems, wildlife and nature parks and ecosystem efficiency and balance.
Newest articles
New anti-cancer agent works without oxygen
Why tumors shrink but don’t disappear. “As tumors grow very quickly, consume a lot of oxygen and their vascular growth can’t necessarily keep pace, they often contain areas that are…
First blueprint of the human spliceosome revealed
Researchers detail the inner workings of the most complex and intricate molecular machine in human biology. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have created the first…
A paper-aluminum combo for strong, sustainable packaging
Takeout containers get your favorite noodles from the restaurant to your dining table (or couch) without incident, but they are nearly impossible to recycle if they are made from foil-lined…