Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 23 November 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5547, pp. 1688 - 1691
DOI: 10.1126/science.1062962
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Factors Controlling Long- and Short-Term Sequestration of Atmospheric CO2 in a Mid-latitude Forest

Carol C. Barford,1* Steven C. Wofsy,1dagger Michael L. Goulden,2 J. William Munger,1 Elizabeth Hammond Pyle,1 Shawn P. Urbanski,1 Lucy Hutyra,1 Scott R. Saleska,1 David Fitzjarrald,3 Kathleen Moore3

Net uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) measured by eddy covariance in a 60- to 80-year-old forest averaged 2.0 ± 0.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare per year during 1993 to 2000, with interannual variations exceeding 50%. Biometry indicated storage of 1.6 ± 0.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare per year over 8 years, 60% in live biomass and the balance in coarse woody debris and soils, confirming eddy-covariance results. Weather and seasonal climate (e.g., variations in growing-season length or cloudiness) regulated seasonal and interannual fluctuations of carbon uptake. Legacies of prior disturbance and management, especially stand age and composition, controlled carbon uptake on the decadal time scale, implying that eastern forests could be managed for sequestration of carbon.

1 Division of Engineering and Applied Science and Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
3 Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12203, USA.
*   Present address: Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

dagger    To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: steven_wofsy{at}harvard.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The influence of temperature on within-canopy acclimation and variation in leaf photosynthesis: spatial acclimation to microclimate gradients among climatically divergent Acer rubrum L. genotypes.
W. L. Bauerle, J. D. Bowden, and G. G. Wang (2007)
J. Exp. Bot.
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Impact of global warming on a group of related species and their hybrids: cherry tree (Rosaceae) flowering at Mt. Takao, Japan.
A. J. Miller-Rushing, T. Katsuki, R. B. Primack, Y. Ishii, S. D. Lee, and H. Higuchi (2007)
Am. J. Botany 94, 1470-1478
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Weak Northern and Strong Tropical Land Carbon Uptake from Vertical Profiles of Atmospheric CO2.
B. B. Stephens, K. R. Gurney, P. P. Tans, C. Sweeney, W. Peters, L. Bruhwiler, P. Ciais, M. Ramonet, P. Bousquet, T. Nakazawa, et al. (2007)
Science 316, 1732-1735
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Characterization of Rubisco activase from thermally contrasting genotypes of Acer rubrum (Aceraceae).
D. J. Weston, W. L. Bauerle, G. A. Swire-Clark, B. d. Moore, and Wm. V. Baird (2007)
Am. J. Botany 94, 926-934
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Long-Term Soil Experiments: Keys to Managing Earth's Rapidly Changing Ecosystems.
D. deB. Richter Jr., M. Hofmockel, M. A. Callaham Jr., D. S. Powlson, and P. Smith (2007)
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 71, 266-279
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Photographs and herbarium specimens as tools to document phenological changes in response to global warming.
A. J. Miller-Rushing, R. B. Primack, D. Primack, and S. Mukunda (2006)
Am. J. Botany 93, 1667-1674
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Drying and Wetting Effects on Carbon Dioxide Release from Organic Horizons.
W. Borken, E. A. Davidson, K. Savage, J. Gaudinski, and S. E. Trumbore (2003)
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67, 1888-1896
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Extending the Applicability of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Total Soil Carbon Measurement.
M. H. Ebinger, M. L. Norfleet, D. D. Breshears, D. A. Cremers, M. J. Ferris, P. J. Unkefer, M. S. Lamb, K. L. Goddard, and C. W. Meyer (2003)
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67, 1616-1619
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)