NCEAS Project 2208

The carbon balance of Eurasia and North America

  • Field, Christopher
  • Harmon, Mark
  • Holland, Elisabeth
  • Kohlmaier, Gundolf

ActivityDatesFurther Information
Working Group27th—29th September 1999Participant List  
Working Group20th—23rd February 2000Participant List  
Working Group8th—11th March 2000Participant List  
Postdoctoral Fellowship15th September 2000—14th September 2002Participant List  
Working Group22nd—26th October 2000Participant List  
Working Group13th—16th May 2001Participant List  
Working Group15th—18th January 2002Participant List  

Abstract
We propose a working group, including an NCEAS postdoc, configured to fill a series of critical gaps in our ability to quantify and understand the carbon balance of large regions. The working group will focus on three topics that are ripe for progress and where the current state of the science falls far short of the requirements for useful practical application or basic understanding. The focal topics are current land use, past land use, and disturbance. The working group will meet in one workshop on each of these topics, with a fourth workshop on integrated estimates of the carbon balance of Eurasia and North America. At each workshop, we will (1) review the status of the data (2) evaluate strategies for integrating to the continental scale, and (3) consider approaches for constraining estimates with observations. We propose an approach that is synthesis at a number of levels. It will synthesize the role in carbon balance of three factors in time and space. And it will expand the suite of processes represented in large-scale carbon balance models.

We propose a working group, including an NCEAS postdoc, configured to fill a series of critical gaps in our ability to quantify and understand the carbon balance of large regions. The working group will focus on three topics that are ripe for progress and where the current state of the science falls far short of the requirements for useful practical application or basic understanding. The focal topics are current land use, past land use, and disturbance. The working group will meet in one workshop on each of these topics, with a fourth workshop on integrated estimates of the carbon balance of Eurasia and North America. At each workshop, we will (1) review the status of the data (2) evaluate strategies for integrating to the continental scale, and (3) consider approaches for constraining estimates with observations. We propose an approach that is synthesis at a number of levels. It will synthesize the role in carbon balance of three factors likely to be critically important. It will scale these factors in time and space. And it will expand the suite of processes represented in large-scale carbon balance models.

This activity is a component of the GCTE Terrestrial Carbon Initiative.

TypeProducts of NCEAS Research
PublicationGoodale, Christine ; Apps, Michael ; Birdsey, Richard A.; Field, Christopher B.; Heath, Linda S.; Houghton, Richard A.; Jenkins, Jennifer ; Kohlmaier, Gundolf ; Kurz, Werner ; Liu, Shirong ; Nabuurs, Gert-Jan ; Nilsson, Sten ; Svidenko, Anatoly 2002. Forest carbon sinks in the Northern Hemisphere. Ecological Applications. Vol: 12(3). Pages 891-899.
PublicationPacala, Stephen W.; Hurtt, George ; Baker, David ; Peylin, P. ; Houghton, Richard A.; Birdsey, Richard A.; Heath, Linda S.; Sundquist, E. ; Stallard, R. ; Ciais, P. ; Moorcroft, Paul ; Caspersen, John ; Shevliakova, E. ; Moore, Berrien ; Kohlmaier, Gundolf ; Holland, Elisabeth A.; Gloor, M. ; Harmon, Mark ; Fan, S.-M. ; Sarmiento, J. ; Goodale, Christine ; Schimel, David W.; Field, John 2001. Consistent land- and atmosphere-based U.S. carbon sink estimates. Science. Vol: 292. Pages 2316-2320.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Biogeosciences at the threshold, March 2001. American Geophysical Union. Washington D.C..
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, December 2001. Department of the Geological Sciences, University of Chicago. Chicago, IL.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, December 2001. Department of Geography, University of Toronto. Toronto.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, January 2001. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, July 2001. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Livermore.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, November 2001. Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2001. Topic: Carbon balance, November 2001. Department of Biology, McGill University. Montreal.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2002. Conservation strategies in the Andes: Incorporating paleo, modelling and field perspectives, January 2002. Conservation International. Santa Barbara, CA.
PresentationCowling, Sharon A.2002. Plant physiology, CO2 and palaeovegetation. International Association of Vegetation Sciences, Special Workshop, March 2002. Porto Alegre, Brazil.
PresentationGoodale, Christine 2000. A common framework for the Forest Carbon Budget of Eurasia and North America. Boreal Forests in the Global Carbon Cycle, May 2000. Edmonton, Alberta.
PresentationKohlmaier, Gundolf 1999. Wood energy in the industrialized world: Present status and potential contribution to CO2 mitigation - technology, economy and policy issues. International BIOCIMECO Workshop, 19-20 November 1999. Graz, Austria.
ReportBradshaw, R. ; Lindbladh, M. ; Holmqvist, B. ; Cowling, Sharon A.2001. Shift from deciduous to coniferous forest in southern Scandinavia driven by climate change and land-use interactions. Past Global Changes. Vol: 8(3). Pages 29-30.
ReportCowling, Sharon A.2001. Earth Day folly: Fossil fuels and the ozone hole. ScienceLinks. Vol: 21(3). Pages 10.
ReportKohlmaier, Gundolf ; Kohlmaier, Luita ; Field, Christopher B.2004. Global aspects of the CO2 and wood option: Current use and future potentials of fuelwood in relation to fossil fuels and their CO2 emissions. Edited by Esser, G.; Holm-Muller, K.; Prentice, C..The Consequences of the Interaction of the Atmosphere and Biosphere for the Sustainable Development of the Biosphere and for Climate Protection. Federal Minstry for Education and Research. Bonn, Germany.
ReportKohlmaier, Gundolf ; Kohlmaier, Luita ; Jaekel, U. ; Busch, G. ; Badeck, Franz 2002. Age class and standing stock development of high forests in the temperate and boreal zone until 2100: Considering different wood and CO2 managment strategies - six country study USA, Canada, Russian Federation, Germany, Austria and Finland. Edited by Esser, G.; Holm-Muller, K.; Prentice, C..The Consequences of the Interaction of the Atmosphere and Biosphere for the Sustainable Development of the Biosphere and for Climate Protection. Federal Ministry for Education and Research. Bonn, Germany.
ReportKohlmaier, Gundolf ; Kohlmaier, Luita ; Jaekel, U. ; Busch, G. ; Badeck, Franz 2002. Climate impact under the IPCC scenarios S-92a and S-450 on the vegetation with focus on temperate forests between 1975 and 2100. Edited by Esser, G.; Holm-Muller, K.; Prentice, C..The Consequences of the Interaction of the Atmosphere and Biosphere for the Sustainable Development of the Biosphere and for Climate Protection. Federal Minstry for Education and Research. Bonn, Germany.