North America does not absorb as much carbon dioxide as it emits, say Colorado State University researchers and others in current...( ss in the United States andin previou...)

ss in the United States, and in previously harvested forests reabsorbs carbon lost during earlier decades. For the United States, at least, this accounts for as much or more of an effect as carbon dioxide fertilization. The problem is that, when trees mature or are harvested, future carbon dioxide levels will become more difficult to predict.

"The results of this model are important scientifically because they offer the first comparison of the large-scale effects of carbon dioxide relative to estimates of actual forest growth," Parton said. "The results confirm a growing suspicion of many of us ecologists that carbon dioxide fertilization is merely one of a number of processes resulting in the total uptake of carbon by ecosystems, and they contradict the suggestion that North American ecosystem uptake balances its emissions from fossil fuel.

"The other finding is that policymakers must keep in mind that ecosystem carbon uptake can vary annually by large amounts and that short-term measurement could be very misleading."

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Contact: David Weymiller
dweymiller@ur.colostate.edu
970-491-6851
Colorado State University
16-Mar-2000

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