Abstract
The terrestrial biosphere has an important role in the carbon cycle (Schimel, 1995); the one third of the total CO2 that comes from human activity in the atmosphere is absorbed by the terrestrial carbon sink (IPCC, 2013). The Kyoto Protocol included the last years the terrestrial carbon sources and sinks into emissions reduction because is that part of the global C cycle which can most directly be managed (IGBP Terrestrial Carbon Working Group, 1998).
In this essay is analyzed in an overall context the terrestrial carbon cycle and the factors that affect it, the factors include the land and land use change, CO2 and Nitrogen fertilization, climate and climate change and soils, and to highlight the importance of preventing the terrestrial sink to become terrestrial source.
1. Introduction
Managing the terrestrial C cycle is one of the major problems that monopolize the interest of the scientific community for the last years. Estimating the size of carbon sinks or sources, it is not only scientifically important but also attracts the public interest since it is related to Kyoto Protocol which aims to reduce the fossil fuel emissions in the atmosphere (Fang et al., 2007). The global carbon cycle has significantly altered since the industrial era (Churkina, 2013) and the C02 concentrations from 1750 since 2011 show an increase of 112.5 ppm. The land use change emissions and the fossil fuel emissions, which are caused due to human activity, increased the atmospheric CO2
When trees are burned, CO2 is relinquished. The burning of astronomically immense areas of trees is known as deforestation. Human activities integrate more CO2 into the atmosphere through activities like the burning of fossil fuels. The guiding question of this investigation is, “Which carbon cycle process affects atmospheric carbon the most?” The researchers initially wanted to learn 2 things. First, the researchers wanted to learn how much carbon engenderment there would be if they incremented the amount of fossil fuels burnt by a certain amount. The researchers also wanted to learn how much carbon engenderment there would be if they incremented the amount of deforestation.
The excess of carbon in the atmosphere is the cause of global climate change. To reverse global warming we must balance the carbon cycle by removing carbon from the atmosphere and returning it to the plants and to the soil (4). Though in the end, carbon exists in everything and the carbon cycle is much more complex because it includes every plant, animal, microbe, fallen tree, body of water, bit of soil, breath of air, plume of smoke, combustion of fossil fuel, decaying particle, and bubble popping to the surface of a swamp (5). Industrial farming has disrupted this cycle. If we completely halted the burning of fossil fuels today, which we can not by any means, climate change would still continue through modern agriculture. The key to reversing global warming is not solely through solar panels and ethanol fuel, but in proper symbiotic farming
The overwhelming majority (97%) of carbon dioxide in the earth 's atmosphere comes from nature, not from man. Volcanoes, swamps, rice paddies, fallen leaves, and even insects and bacteria produce carbon dioxide, as well as methane. According to the journalScience (Nov. 5, 1982), termites alone emit ten times more carbon dioxide than all the factories and automobiles in the world. Natural wetlands emit more greenhouse gases than all human activities combined. (If greenhouse warming is such a problem, why are we trying to save all the wetlands?) Geothermal activity in Yellowstone National Park emits ten times the carbon dioxide of a midsized coal-burning power plant, and volcanoes emit hundreds of times more. In fact, our atmosphere 's composition is primarily the result of volcanic activity. There are about 100 active volcanoes today, mostly in remote locations, and we 're living in a period of relatively low volcanic activity. There have been times when volcanic activity was ten times greater than in modern times. But by far the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions is the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It produces 72% of the earth 's emissions of carbon dioxide, and the rest of the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the other oceans also contribute. The human contribution is overshadowed by these far larger sources of carbon dioxide. Combining the factors of water vapor and nature 's production of carbon dioxide, we
“Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations have increased by approximately 40% since the start of the Industrial Revolution” (Wilmers et al. 2012). This increase in atmospheric CO₂ is a leading cause and contributor to Earth’s climate change with effects such as: “measurable global heat retention and elevated atmospheric temperatures, partial melting of the polar ice caps, ocean acidification, and a host of other impacts on Earth’s environments” (Wilmers et al. 2012). Earth’s ecosystems are combating this climate change by helping reduce the concentration of CO₂ and “sequestering C” (Carbon) in the atmosphere through “photosynthesis” (Wilmers et al. 2012). “Kelp forests are among
Tundra is one of the most widespread biomes on the globe. Covering large regions at high latitudes and high altitudes, tundra accounts for five to ten percent of the world’s land surface (1). Studying the ecology of tundra ecosystems is particularly important regarding the subject of climate change. Since climate is changing fastest at high latitudes and altitudes, the tundra ecosystem is currently experiencing rapid changes in its natural environment (2). In addition, tundra acts as a carbon sink, with soils storing more than 90% of the carbon present in this ecosystem (3). Plant growth and litter decomposition are two main factors driving carbon accumulation and release rates. Both of these processes are sensitive to climate change, and alterations in the balance of these processes will affect whether tundra will continue to serve as a carbon sink, or eventually develop into a carbon source, and thus further the greenhouse effect (4).
The release of carbon, however, was released in four phases. First, there was a large release of carbon over the initial 10 years, then it slowed down the next seven years, after the seven years, the emissions resumed, until stopping again recently. The author ends the article hinting that some sort of feedback loop is happening that favors certain organisms that consume carbon in the soil.
Does the high level of Carbon Dioxide (C02) possibly harm the Earth’s planetary biosphere, or has it already done so; in fact, many worldwide scientists have protested that the Earth is at its ‘tipping point’ but no efforts have been adapted to save the biosphere? A support of this controversial topic; congressional meeting and testimony, is from one of the top U.S. climate scientists, James Hansen to Former Vice President Al Gore, with an emphasis on the cause of C02. Beyond the ozone layer is atmospherically holey, Earth’s temperature is rising, and the climate changing conversely, one that people trivialized the most is: Global warming. Increasingly, subject to concern not only via online discussion, magazine and
Approximately 3.9% of excess carbon is produced outside of the natural carbon cycle, this is largely due to deforestation and human activities. As CO2 is able to strongly absorb infrared radiation it prevents the radiation from leaving the troposphere which results in an increase in the planetary temperature. Furthermore, only 30-35% of chemical energy from carbon is transformed into the required forms of energy, the remaining energy is lost as heat1. It is currently estimated that by 2050 the rise in CO2 and other greenhouse gases will result in a global temperature rise of 0.7-1.5˚C2, although this does not seem like much
Except for small amount of cosmic debris that enters the Earth's atmosphere, the Earth is a closed system for matter. All the elements needed for the structure and chemical processes of life come from the elements that were present in the Earth's crust when it was formed billions of years ago. This matter is continually cycling the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere, from periods of a few days to millions of years. These cycles are called biogeochemical cycles, because they include a variety of biological, geological, and chemical processes (Biogeochemical Cycles," 2008). This paper will look at the impact humans have had on the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.
Global warming and climate change attributed to increased emission of greenhouse gases have continued to be pressing issues in today’s society since they threaten the stability of the climate, population, and economy of the world (“Meeting the Energy Challenge”, 2007). The challenges associated with global warming and climate change is attributed to the fact that 75 percent of world’s carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is defined as a colorless, odorless gas and is naturally present in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is released during respiration and combustion and is intimately connected with the cycles of plant and animal life (Robinson, 2003). For millions of years, the production of greenhouses gases was regulated by the natural systems of the Earth and maintained at levels that supported life around the world (Platt, 2013). It has believed that anthropogenic effects (conditions caused by human activity) that are associated with industry, agriculture, and fossil fuel use have increased the amount of CO2 to levels more than what the planet can naturally regulate, and as a result, contributes to atmospheric warming or the greenhouse effect (M.U.S.E. Sources of CO2 Emissions, 2013). The laboratory applied data collected from five observatories located in Alaska, American Samoa, Antarctica, Greenland, and Hawaii.
Carbon sinks is places that take and keep carbon.(1) The loss of a carbon sink can cause an increase in the greenhouse gases by the ocean floor, the boreal forests, the oceans plants, and coral reefs.(1) Climate Change can cause the loss of a sink, for example millions of years ago the climate back then was hotter, and the seas were more leveled. But then it became the exact opposite, the climate got colder, and the seas got lower.(1)
The rapidly increasing amount of carbon dioxide may be one of the factors that cause climate change. As Hillman states, “Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are increasing, and have done so since the Industrial Revolution.” An atmospheric CO2 concentration, research shows that there is a dramatic increase from 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1750 to 373 ppm in 2002, a rise of the third. Furthermore, the linear chart demonstrated the trend of annual global CO2
Land-use change, such as deforestation, is a big contributor because trees are essentially ‘wet sticks of carbon’, and so burning them both releases CO2 and prevents the trees from absorbing CO2 through photosynthesis, their method of turning sunlight, nutrients and water into energy to grow.
Bringing black carbon into climate strategy offers a complementary route to act on climate change, but the scientific understanding of black carbon climate effects isn’t fully complete to support this proposition. On the one hand, there’s a group of scientists who conclude that BC is one of the most important human emission in terms of its climate forcing in current atmosphere, as it