Abstract
Projected changes in global climate associated with accumulations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere might stimulate the release of a substantial portion of the estimated 4.3 × 1016g of carbon stored in wet and moist arctic tundras (Oechel, 1989; Shaver et al., 1992). About 98% of this carbon is in soils and has accumulated over thousands of years as a result of cold, wet conditions that serve to slow decomposition. Increased temperatures will stimulate decomposition and hence release CO2 from soils to the atmosphere. However, increased CO2, increased temperature, and higher amounts of available nitrogen (as a result of faster decomposition) could stimulate rates of production in vegetation and thereby also stimulate CO2 removal from the atmosphere. The key to which of these two opposing processes dominates appears to be closely tied to the nitrogen cycle (Billings et al., 1984; Rastetter et al., 1992; Shaver et al., 1992).
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Rastetter, E.B., McKane, R.B., Shaver, G.R., Nadelhoffer, K.J., Giblin, A. (1997). Analysis of CO2, Temperature, and Moisture Effects on Carbon Storage in Alaskan Arctic Tundra Using a General Ecosystem Model. In: Oechel, W.C., et al. Global Change and Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 124. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2240-8_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2240-8_23
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