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Bomb radiocarbon evidence for strong global carbon uptake and turnover in terrestrial vegetation: carbon cycling

Vegetation and soils are taking up approximately 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions because of small imbalances in large gross carbon exchanges from productivity and turnover that are poorly constrained. We combined a new budget of radiocarbon produced by nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Graven, Heather (Author) , Warren, Hamish (Author) , Gibbs, Holly K. (Author) , Khatiwala, Samar (Author) , Koven, Charles (Author) , Lester, Joanna (Author) , Levin, Ingeborg (Author) , Spawn-Lee, Seth A. (Author) , Wieder, Will (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 21 June 2024
In: Science
Year: 2024, Volume: 384, Issue: 6702, Pages: 1335-1339
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adl4443
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adl4443
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl4443
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Author Notes:Heather D. Graven, Hamish Warren, Holly K. Gibbs, Samar Khatiwala, Charles Koven, Joanna Lester, Ingeborg Levin, Seth A. Spawn-Lee, Will Wieder
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Summary:Vegetation and soils are taking up approximately 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions because of small imbalances in large gross carbon exchanges from productivity and turnover that are poorly constrained. We combined a new budget of radiocarbon produced by nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s with model simulations to evaluate carbon cycling in terrestrial vegetation. We found that most state-of-the-art vegetation models used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project underestimated the radiocarbon accumulation in vegetation biomass. Our findings, combined with constraints on vegetation carbon stocks and productivity trends, imply that net primary productivity is likely at least 80 petagrams of carbon per year presently, compared with the 43 to 76 petagrams per year predicted by current models. Storage of anthropogenic carbon in terrestrial vegetation is likely more short-lived and vulnerable than previously predicted.
Item Description:Gesehen am 24.06.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adl4443

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