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

North America is both a source and sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). 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 CO 2 from the atmosphere, respectivel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment 2012-12, Vol.10 (10), p.512-519
Main Authors: King, Anthony W, Hayes, Daniel J, Huntzinger, Deborah N, West, Tristram O, Post, Wilfred M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical estimating
Atmosphere
Atmospheric models
Atmospherics
biomass
carbon
Carbon cycle
carbon dioxide
Climate change
Climate models
combustion
deforestation
Ecosystem models
ecosystems
Forest ecosystems
fossil fuels
greenhouse gas emissions
photosynthesis
Pollutant emissions
Reviews
secondary forests
soil
Terrestrial ecosystems
uncertainty
wood products
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Summary:North America is both a source and sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). 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 CO 2 from the atmosphere, respectively. Photosynthesis converts CO 2 into carbon as biomass, which is stored in vegetation, soils, and wood products. However, ecosystem sinks compensate for only ~35% of the continent's fossil-fuel-based CO 2 emissions; North America therefore represents a net CO 2 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.
ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1890/120066