1. Rising Atmospheric CO2 Reduces Sequestration of Root-Derived Soil Carbon.
- Author
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Heath, James, Ayres, Edward, Possell, Malcolm, Bardgett, Richard D., Black, Helaina I. J., Grant, Helen, Ineson, Phil, and Kerstiens, Gerhard
- Subjects
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ATMOSPHERIC carbon dioxide , *CLIMATE change , *TREES , *BIOTIC communities , *CARBON in soils , *CLIMATOLOGY - Abstract
Forests have a key role as carbon sinks, which could potentially mitigate the continuing increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and associated climate change. We show that carbon dioxide enrichment, although causing short-term growth stimulation in a range of European tree species, also leads to an increase in soil microbial respiration and a marked decline in sequestration of root-derived carbon in the soil. These findings indicate that, should similar processes operate in forest ecosystems, the size of the annual terrestrial carbon sink may be substantially reduced, resulting in a positive feedback on the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
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