Terrestrial carbon cycle
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A series of experiments examined the role of the terrestrial carbon cycle in overall climate change scenarios implemented in IMAGE 2.2 (Leemans et al., 2002). The experiments yielded a broad spectrum of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, ranging, for example, in the IPCC-SRES A1B scenario from 714 to 1009 ppmv in 2100. The spread of this range is comparable to the full range arising from the different SRES scenarios with respect to the IMAGE 2.2 default settings for the carbon cycle: 515-895 ppmv. The most important respective negative and positive feedback processes are CO2 fertilization and soil respiration. In recognition of the importance of a proper parameterization of the major feedbacks on the carbon cycle and land use, and thus in determining the future state of the climate system, the issue has more recently been further pursued. |
