Europe's Terrestrial Biosphere Absorbs 7 to 12% of European Anthropogenic CO 2 Emissions

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1083592
• Publication Date: 2003-05-22T20:09:05Z
• Authors: Ivan A. Janssens; Annette Freibauer; Philippe Ciais; Pete Smith; Gert-Jan Nabuurs; Gerd Folberth; Bernhard Schlamad...; Ronald W. A. Hutjes; Reinhart Ceulemans; E.-Detlef Schulze; Riccardo Valentini; A. Johannes Dolman
• Keywords: Terrestrial ecosystem; Carbon sink; Atmospheric carbon cycle; Carbon respiration; Soil carbon; Carbon fibers

Most inverse atmospheric models report considerable uptake of carbon dioxide in Europe's terrestrial biosphere. In contrast, stocks ecosystems increase at a much smaller rate, with gains forests and grassland soils almost being offset by losses from cropland peat soils. Accounting for non-carbon transfers that are not detected the fluxes bypassing ecosystem considerably reduces gap between small carbon-stock changes larger estimated models. The remaining difference could be because missing components stock-change approach, as well large uncertainty both methods. With use corrected atmosphere- land-based estimates dual constraint, we estimate net sink 135 205 teragrams per year biosphere, equivalent 7 to 12% 1995 anthropogenic emissions.