TY - JOUR
T1 - Vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate change
T2 - Implications for the global carbon cycle
AU - Schuur, Edward A.G.
AU - Bockheim, James
AU - Canadell, Josep G.
AU - Euskirchen, Eugenie
AU - Field, Christopher B.
AU - Goryachkin, Sergey V.
AU - Hagemann, Stefan
AU - Kuhry, Peter
AU - Lafleur, Peter M.
AU - Lee, Hanna
AU - Mazhitova, Galina
AU - Nelson, Frederick E.
AU - Rinke, Annette
AU - Romanovsky, Vladimir E.
AU - Shiklomanov, Nikolay
AU - Tarnocai, Charles
AU - Venevsky, Sergey
AU - Vogel, Jason G.
AU - Zimov, Sergei A.
PY - 2008/9
Y1 - 2008/9
N2 - Thawing permafrost and the resulting microbial decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon (C) is one of the most significant potential feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a changing climate. In this article we present an overview of the global permafrost C pool and of the processes that might transfer this C into the atmosphere, as well as the associated ecosystem changes that occur with thawing. We show that accounting for C stored deep in the permafrost more than doubles previous high-latitude inventory estimates, with this new estimate equivalent to twice the atmospheric C pool. The thawing of permafrost with warming occurs both gradually and catastrophically, exposing organic C to microbial decomposition. Other aspects of ecosystem dynamics can be altered by climate change along with thawing permafrost, such as growing season length, plant growth rates and species composition, and ecosystem energy exchange. However, these processes do not appear to be able to compensate for C release from thawing permafrost, making it likely that the net effect of widespread permafrost thawing will be a positive feedback to a warming climate.
AB - Thawing permafrost and the resulting microbial decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon (C) is one of the most significant potential feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a changing climate. In this article we present an overview of the global permafrost C pool and of the processes that might transfer this C into the atmosphere, as well as the associated ecosystem changes that occur with thawing. We show that accounting for C stored deep in the permafrost more than doubles previous high-latitude inventory estimates, with this new estimate equivalent to twice the atmospheric C pool. The thawing of permafrost with warming occurs both gradually and catastrophically, exposing organic C to microbial decomposition. Other aspects of ecosystem dynamics can be altered by climate change along with thawing permafrost, such as growing season length, plant growth rates and species composition, and ecosystem energy exchange. However, these processes do not appear to be able to compensate for C release from thawing permafrost, making it likely that the net effect of widespread permafrost thawing will be a positive feedback to a warming climate.
KW - Carbon
KW - Climate change
KW - Global carbon cycle
KW - Permafrost
KW - Terrestrial ecosystem feedback
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U2 - 10.1641/B580807
DO - 10.1641/B580807
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:51549097236
SN - 0006-3568
VL - 58
SP - 701
EP - 714
JO - BioScience
JF - BioScience
IS - 8
ER -