Recent Pause in the Growth Rate of Atmospheric CO Due to Enhanced Terrestrial Carbon Uptake

Overview

Journal Nat Commun

Specialty Biology

Date 2016 Nov 9

PMID 27824333

Citations 60

Authors

Trevor F Keenan

I Colin Prentice

Josep G Canadell

Christopher A Williams

Han Wang

Michael Raupach

G James Collatz

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Terrestrial ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle and offset a large fraction of anthropogenic CO emissions. The terrestrial carbon sink is increasing, yet the mechanisms responsible for its enhancement, and implications for the growth rate of atmospheric CO, remain unclear. Here using global carbon budget estimates, ground, atmospheric and satellite observations, and multiple global vegetation models, we report a recent pause in the growth rate of atmospheric CO, and a decline in the fraction of anthropogenic emissions that remain in the atmosphere, despite increasing anthropogenic emissions. We attribute the observed decline to increases in the terrestrial sink during the past decade, associated with the effects of rising atmospheric CO on vegetation and the slowdown in the rate of warming on global respiration. The pause in the atmospheric CO growth rate provides further evidence of the roles of CO fertilization and warming-induced respiration, and highlights the need to protect both existing carbon stocks and regions, where the sink is growing rapidly.

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