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Forests, carbon and global climate.

Yadvinder Malhi1, Patrick Meir, Sandra Brown

  • 1Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JU, UK. ymalhi@ed.ac.uk

Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences
|December 4, 2002
PubMed
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Forest ecosystems are crucial to the global carbon cycle, cycling significant amounts of carbon dioxide. While deforestation releases carbon, forest regrowth and CO2 fertilization create a carbon sink, but fossil fuel emissions remain the primary climate change driver.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Climate Science
  • Biogeochemistry

Background:

  • Forest ecosystems play a vital role in the global carbon cycle, accounting for 50% of terrestrial photosynthesis.
  • The natural carbon cycle has been disrupted since the Industrial Revolution due to fossil-fuel combustion and land-use change, releasing 480 petagrams of carbon (PgC) into the atmosphere.
  • Tropical deforestation contributes significantly to atmospheric carbon release, with an estimated 1.7 PgC yr(-1).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To contextualize the role of forest ecosystems in the global carbon cycle.
  • To review the disruption of the carbon cycle and its impacts on oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere.
  • To examine the potential of forest protection and afforestation in climate change mitigation.

Main Methods:

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  • Review of existing literature on the global carbon cycle and forest ecosystems.
  • Analysis of data on carbon flux from deforestation and forest regrowth.
  • Assessment of carbon sequestration potential and its role in climate change mitigation.

    • Main Results:

    • Forests cycle approximately one-twelfth of atmospheric carbon dioxide annually.
    • A significant 'biosphere sink' for carbon exists, estimated at 3.2 PgC yr(-1) in the 1990s, driven by forest regrowth and CO2 fertilization.
    • While forest carbon sequestration can aid climate change mitigation, it cannot substitute for reduced fossil-fuel emissions.

    Conclusions:

    • Forest ecosystems are integral to regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide.
    • Forest protection and afforestation offer valuable tools for climate change mitigation, particularly in the short term.
    • Long-term climate change stabilization requires substantial reductions in fossil-fuel emissions alongside forest-based strategies.