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North American carbon dioxide sources and sinks: magnitude, attribution, and uncertainty

King, Anthony W. and Hayes, Daniel J. and Huntzinger, Deborah N. and West, Tristram O. and Post, Wilfred M. (2012) North American carbon dioxide sources and sinks: magnitude, attribution, and uncertainty. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10 (10). pp. 512-519. ISSN 1540-9309

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Publisher’s or external URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/120066

Abstract

North America is both a source and sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Continental sources - such as fossil-fuel combustion in the US and deforestation in Mexico - and sinks - including most ecosystems, and particularly secondary forests - add and remove CO2 from the atmosphere, respectively. Photosynthesis converts CO2 into carbon as biomass, which is stored in vegetation, soils, and wood products. However, ecosystem sinks compensate for only similar to 35% of the continent's fossil-fuel-based CO2 emissions; North America therefore represents a net CO2 source. Estimating the magnitude of ecosystem sinks, even though the calculation is confounded by uncertainty as a result of individual inventory- and model-based alternatives, has improved through the use of a combined approach. Front Ecol Environ 2012; 10(10): 512-519, doi:10.1890/120066

Item Type: Article
Publisher’s Statement: © 2012. Copyright by the Ecological Society of America.
ID number or DOI: 10.1890/120066
Keywords: atmospheric carbon dioxide; fossil-fuels; climate change; ecosystem sinks;
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
S Agriculture > SD Forestry
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status: Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit: College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability
Date Deposited: 07 Oct 2015 23:19
URI: http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/672

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