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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems

Published on: June 30, 2020

Human-Impacted Natural Ecosystems Drive Climate Warming.

Ülo Mander¹, Jaan Pärn¹, Mikk Espenberg¹

¹Department of Geography, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

Global Change Biology

|August 21, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Greenhouse gas budgets overlook indirect human impacts. Natural ecosystems, especially peatlands, are emitting more greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity and climate change, necessitating new mitigation strategies.

Keywords:

anthro‐natural ecosystems carbon budget climate change droughts peatlands soil moisture

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Last Updated: Sep 10, 2025

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Design and Use of a Full Flow Sampling System FFS for the Quantification of Methane Emissions

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Published on: June 12, 2016

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Climate Science
Ecology

Background:

Current greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets fail to incorporate most indirect anthropogenic impacts on natural ecosystems.
Natural ecosystems are increasingly significant sources of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, driven by climate change and human activities.
Peatlands, crucial for global soil carbon storage, face mounting pressure from warming and human interference, impacting their role as carbon sinks.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the growing significance of greenhouse gas fluxes from human-impacted natural ecosystems.
To introduce and define the concept of "anthro-natural emissions" for a more comprehensive understanding of GHG sources.
To emphasize the need for mitigation measures addressing both natural and anthro-natural emissions for effective climate change mitigation.

Main Methods:

Perspective-based analysis of current greenhouse gas budget limitations.
Introduction of the "anthro-natural emissions" concept using peatlands as a case study.
Review of climate change impacts, particularly drought, on terrestrial ecosystems and carbon cycling.

Main Results:

Indirect anthropogenic impacts on natural ecosystems represent a substantial, yet unaccounted for, source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Anthro-natural emissions from ecosystems like peatlands are increasing and projected to rise with climate warming.
Droughts are a major threat, diminishing the carbon sequestration capacity of wetlands and altering their climate regulation functions.

Conclusions:

A paradigm shift is needed to include anthro-natural emissions in climate change assessments.
Conservation and restoration of peatlands, alongside renaturalization of forest ecosystems, are critical for climate change mitigation.
Effective adaptation strategies must consider soil carbon sequestration in both natural and human-impacted ecosystems.