Print PageThe last two decades have seen tremendous growth in the numbers of multi-factor global change experiments. This provides us with an opportunity to look for commonalities and differences among experiments in key functions related to carbon storage [net primary production, soil carbon gain (or loss) and trace gas emissions] and albedo. The objectives of this presentation are (1) to bring together existing data synthesis studies and new data on the C-cycle responses of terrestrial ecosystems to multi-factor global change manipulations, and (2) to make an initial assessment of whether changes in albedo are sufficiently large that they reinforce or reduce the climate benefits of changes in C storage.
Results/Conclusions
Initial responses to global change differ from long-term responses in many, though not all, cases, highlighting the need to update meta-analysis studies. Temperature and precipitation have significant impacts on the C cycle across ecosystems even if within a study correlations with temperature or precipitation are weak. This work on albedo is in its initial stages of development so it is difficult to draw strong conclusions at the time of writing this abstract. As we continue to develop next-generation models, it is important that data not only be used as constraints on model parameter estimates but that the underlying structure of models be modified so that they reflect the modern understanding of key processes affecting terrestrial productivity.
