North America's net terrestrial CO₂ exchange with the atmosphere 1990-2009

Abstract

Scientific understanding of the global carbon cycle is required for developing national and international policy to mitigate fossil fuel CO₂ emissions by managing terrestrial carbon uptake. Toward that understanding and as a contribution to the REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP) project, this paper provides a synthesis of net land-atmosphere CO₂ exchange for North America (Canada, United States, and Mexico) over the period 1990-2009. Only CO₂ is considered, not methane or other greenhouse gases. This synthesis is based on results from three different methods: atmospheric inversion, inventory-based methods and terrestrial biosphere modeling. All methods indicate that the North American land surface was a sink for atmospheric CO₂, with a net transfer from atmosphere to land.

Citation

King, A.W.; Andres, R.J.; Davis, K J.; Hafer, M.; Hayes, D.J.; Huntzinger, D.N.; de Jong, B.; Kurz, W.A.; McGuire, A.D.; Vargas, R.; Wei, Y.; West, T.O.; Woodall, C.W. 2015. North America's net terrestrial CO₂ exchange with the atmosphere 1990-2009. Biogeosciences. 12(2): 399-414.