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Biogeosciences Discuss., 9, 2005-2053, 2012
www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/9/2005/2012/ doi:10.5194/bgd-9-2005-2012 © Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
The European CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O balance between 2001 and 2005
1CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, LSCE, UMR8212, Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
2UMR 5805 EPOC – OASU, Ecologie et Biogéochimie des Systèmes Côtiers, France
3Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6290, USA
4Linköping university, The Department of Thematic Studies – Water and Environmental Studies, 586 62 Linköping, Sweden
5European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy
6Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Institute for Agricultural Climate Research, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
7Alpen-Adria Universitaet Klagenfurt-Vienna-Graz, Institute of Social Ecology Vienna (SEC), Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070 Vienna, Austria
8Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma 2, Via Vigna Murata 605, Italy
9Universität Hamburg, Geomatikum, Institute for Biogeochemistry and Marine Chemistry, Bundesstrasse 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
10Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Biogeochemical Processes, P.O. Box 100164, 07701 Jena, Germany
11Finnish Meteorological Institute, Climate Change Research, P.O. Box 503, 00101, Helsinki, Finland
12University of Antwerp, Researchgroup Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
13University of Tuscia, Department of Forest, Environment and Resources, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, snc- 01100 Viterbo, Italy
14Wageningen University, Meteorology and Air Quality, Droevendaalsesteenweg 4, 6700 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
15Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
16University of Eastern Finland, Department of Biology and Finnish Environment Institute, the Joensuu Office, PL 111, 80101 Joensuu, Finland
17European Forest Institute, Sustainability and Climate Change Programme, Torikatu 34, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
18Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
19Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Meteorology, Carl-Heinrich-Becker-Weg 6-10, 12165 Berlin, Germany
Abstract. Globally, terrestrial ecosystems have absorbed about 30% of anthropogenic emissions over the period 20007–2007 and inter-hemispheric gradients indicate that a significant fraction of terrestrial carbon sequestration must be north of the Equator. We present a compilation of the CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O balance of Europe following a dual constraint approach in which (1) a land-based balance derived mainly from ecosystem carbon inventories and (2) a land-based balance derived from flux measurements are confronted with (3) the atmospheric-based balance derived from inversion informed by measurements of atmospheric GHG concentrations. Good agreement between the GHG balances based on fluxes (1249 ± 545 Tg C in CO2-eq y−1), inventories (1299 ± 200 Tg C in CO2-eq y−1) and inversions (1210 ± 405 Tg C in CO2-eq y−1) increases our confidence that current European GHG balances are accurate. However, the uncertainty remains large and largely lacks formal estimates. Given that European net land-atmosphere balances are determined by a few dominant fluxes, the uncertainty of these key components needs to be formally estimated before efforts could be made to reduce the overall uncertainty. The dual-constraint approach confirmed that the European land surface, including inland waters and urban areas, is a net source for CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O. However, for all ecosystems except croplands, C uptake exceeds C release and us such 210 ± 70 Tg C y−1 from fossil fuel burning is removed from the atmosphere and sequestered in both terrestrial and inland aquatic ecosystems. If the C cost for ecosystem management is taken into account, the net uptake of ecosystems was estimated to decrease by 45% but still indicates substantial C-sequestration. Also, when the balance is extended from CO2 towards the main GHGs, C-uptake by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is compensated for by emissions of GHGs. As such the European ecosystems are unlikely to contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change.
Citation: Luyssaert, S., Abril, G., Andres, R., Bastviken, D., Bellassen, V., Bergamaschi, P., Bousquet, P., Chevallier, F., Ciais, P., Corazza, M., Dechow, R., Erb, K.-H., Etiope, G., Fortems-Cheiney, A., Grassi, G., Hartman, J., Jung, M., Lathière, J., Lohila, A., Moosdorf, N., Njakou Djomo, S., Otto, J., Papale, D., Peters, W., Peylin, P., Raymond, P., Rödenbeck, C., Saarnio, S., Schulze, E.-D., Szopa, S., Thompson, R., Verkerk, P. J., Vuichard, N., Wang, R., Wattenbach, M., and Zaehle, S.: The European CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O balance between 2001 and 2005, Biogeosciences Discuss., 9, 2005-2053, doi:10.5194/bgd-9-2005-2012, 2012.