Quantification of the regional carbon cycle of the biosphere: policy, science and land-use decisions.

This paper addresses some issues related to the carbon cycle and its utilization by society. Traditional uses for agriculture, forestry, as a source of fuel and other products, and for pastoral farming, among others, have recently been supplemented by identifying its potential for mitigating the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Through the Kyoto Protocol, carbon has become a commodity and the CO(2)-absorbing capability of the vegetation and soils an economically valuable asset. The multi-facetted roles of the C cycle and its sensitivity to human activities present a demand for techniques that permit accurate, timely and affordable characterization of the various components of this cycle, especially on land where most human activities take place. Such techniques must satisfy a range of demands in terms of purpose, clients for the information, and biosphere properties. However, if successful, they offer the potential to support monitoring, reporting, policy setting, and management of terrestrial biospheric resources. The context for these requirements and possibilities is illustrated with reference to the China Carbon Sequestration Project and its findings.

[1]  Josef Cihlar,et al.  An integrated terrestrial ecosystem carbon-budget model based on changes in disturbance, climate, and atmospheric chemistry , 2000 .

[2]  Jia-Yu Pan,et al.  Enhancing forest carbon sequestration in China: toward an integration of scientific and socio-economic perspectives. , 2007, Journal of environmental management.

[3]  Yude Pan,et al.  ‘New Estimates of Carbon Storage and Sequestration in China’S Forests: Effects of Age–Class and Method On Inventory-Based Carbon Estimation’ , 2004 .

[4]  P. Beets,et al.  Variation in soil carbon in pine plantations and implications for monitoring soil carbon stocks in relation to land-use change and forest site management in New Zealand , 2004 .

[5]  W. Ju,et al.  Spatial distribution of carbon sources and sinks in Canada’s forests , 2003 .

[6]  Isabel Loza-Balbuena,et al.  Monitoring and economic factors affecting the economic viability of afforestation for carbon sequestration projects , 2004 .

[7]  G. Fedosejevs,et al.  GeoComp-n, an advanced system for generating products from coarse and medium resolution optical satellite data. Part 1: System characterization , 2002 .

[8]  Min Zhao,et al.  Estimation of biomass and net primary productivity of major planted forests in China based on forest inventory data , 2005 .

[9]  T. Hámor.  Sustainable Mining in the European Union: The Legislative Aspect , 2004, Environmental management.

[10]  J. Chen,et al.  A process-based boreal ecosystem productivity simulator using remote sensing inputs , 1997 .

[11]  L. Greene.  EHPnet: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , 2000, Environmental Health Perspectives.

[12]  Rebecca Wirfs-Brock,et al.  Enabling Change , 2008, IEEE Software.

[13]  Sean Pascoe,et al.  Management Objective Importance in Fisheries: An Evaluation Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) , 2004, Environmental management.

[14]  Richard Birdsey,et al.  Data Gaps for Monitoring Forest Carbon in the United States: An Inventory Perspective , 2004 .

[15]  Jing M. Chen,et al.  Daily canopy photosynthesis model through temporal and spatial scaling for remote sensing applications , 1999 .

[16]  Pamela A. Matson,et al.  HUMAN APPROPRIATION OF THE PRODUCTS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS , 1986 .

[17]  G. Brundtland.  World summit on sustainable development , 2002, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[18]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis , 2001 .

[19]  E. Thürig,et al.  Evaluation of the growth function of an empirical forest scenario model , 2005 .

[20]  Clare Breidenich,et al.  The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , 1998, American Journal of International Law.

[21]  Gordon B. Bonan,et al.  Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications , 2002 .

[22]  J. Chen,et al.  Net primary productivity distribution in the BOREAS region from a process model using satellite and surface data , 1999 .

[23]  S. Sterling,et al.  Human Appropriation of Photosynthesis Products , 2001, Science.

[24]  K. Paustian,et al.  Influence of Project Scale and Carbon Variability on the Costs of Measuring Soil Carbon Credits , 2004 .

[25]  Josef Cihlar,et al.  Net primary productivity mapped for Canada at 1-km resolution , 2002 .

[26]  C. Peng,et al.  Changes in Forest Biomass Carbon Storage in China Between 1949 and 1998 , 2001, Science.

[27]  Wei Xu,et al.  Social and economic impacts of carbon sequestration and land use change on peasant households in rural China: a case study of Liping, Guizhou Province. , 2007, Journal of environmental management.