In perhaps the first long-term study of CO 2 fluxes in northern forests growing on permafrost, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team has found that climate change increased not only the sources of carbon, but also the CO 2 sinks.
The 20-year observation from 2003-2022 in the interior of Alaska showed that while CO 2 sinks turned into sources during the first decade, the second decade showed a nearly 20% increase in CO 2 sinks.
Graduate School of Agriculture Associate Professor Masahito Ueyama and colleagues found that warming led to wetness, which in turn aided the growth of black spruce trees. During photosynthesis, the growing trees were using the increasing CO 2 released from human activities.
“The 20 years of observational data that we have is, as far as we know, the longest record of such research on permafrost forests in the world,” Professor Ueyama proclaimed. “However, since it is difficult to apply the findings and data from those 20 years to a future world in which warming continues, further long-term observations are needed. But we hope that our findings will help verify and improve the accuracy of warming prediction models.”
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Observational study
Not applicable
Anomalous wet summers and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase the CO2 sink in a poorly drained forest on permafrost
25-Oct-2024
The authors declare no competing interest.