Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Erb KH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5756473 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Erb Karl-Heinz KH Kastner Thomas T Plutzar Christoph C Bais Anna Liza S ALS Carvalhais Nuno N Fetzel Tamara T Gingrich Simone S Haberl Helmut H Lauk Christian C Niedertscheider Maria M Pongratz Julia J Thurner Martin M Luyssaert Sebastiaan S
Nature 20171220 7686
Carbon stocks in vegetation have a key role in the climate system. However, the magnitude, patterns and uncertainties of carbon stocks and the effect of land use on the stocks remain poorly quantified. Here we show, using state-of-the-art datasets, that vegetation currently stores around 450 petagrams of carbon. In the hypothetical absence of land use, potential vegetation would store around 916 petagrams of carbon, under current climate conditions. This difference highlights the massive effect ...[more]