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Ecosystem Carbon Sequestration

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Abstract

Terrestrial ecosystems take up carbon (C) from the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) pool during photosynthesis, and return the majority of it back by combustion or the respiration of plants, animals and microorganisms. Some of the recently fixed C remains in terrestrial ecosystems in stabilized forms in biomass and soil after conversion to inert, long-lived, C-containing materials by biologically mediated processes (biosequestration). To slow or reverse the increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration an additional transfer of C into terrestrial C pools is needed, i.e., by C sequestration. The terrestrial C sink was about 2.6 Pg C (1 Pg = 1015 g) in 2010 but has a high interannual variability. However, world forests play a critical role, and are responsible for about half of the total terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) of 123 Pg C year−1. Only between 0.3 and 5.0 Pg C year−1 remains as net biome production (NBP) in terrestrial ecosystems with the major long-lasting C gain by, rather poorly understood but important, soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization. However, the terrestrial C sinks can be enhanced by soil and land-use management practices. The CO2 mitigation potentials of croplands and grasslands may be about 0.8 Mg C ha−1 year−1 and 0.2 Mg C ha−1 year−1, respectively. The effects of forest management activities on C sequestration are also important but less well known. Enhancing the photosynthetic efficiency and increasing root C inputs particularly at deeper soil depths are potential approaches for terrestrial C sequestration. However, C sequestration is also a critical component of agricultural and forest ecosystem services (ESs) but unintentional consequences of management for C sequestration on ESs are not known. Thus, long-term agricultural and forest management experiments are needed to identify soil and land-use management practices aimed at enhancing C sequestration and ESs.

Keywords

Ecosystem services Carbon sequestration Net biome production Climate change mitigation Agricultural ecosystems Forest ecosystems Soil and land-use management 

Abbreviations

BVOC

Biogenic volatile organic carbon

CAM

Crassulacean acid metabolism

DIC

Dissolved inorganic carbon

DOC

Dissolved organic carbon

DOE

Department of Energy

ESs

Ecosystem service(s)

GPP

Gross primary production

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

MEA

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

NBP

Net biome production

NECB

Net ecosystem carbon balance

NEE

Net ecosystem exchange

NPP

Net primary production

OM

Organic matter

PC

Particulate carbon

Pg

Petagram

Ra

Autotrophic respiration

SIC

Soil inorganic carbon

SOC

Soil organic carbon

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Notes

Acknowledgements 

Klaus Lorenz greatly acknowledges financial support by the Bundesminis-terium für Bildung und Forschung and its platform for sustainable development FONA, and the Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur - Land Brandenburg.

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© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Global Soil ForumIASS Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies PotsdamPotsdamGermany

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