Why Earth system modelers should care about land-water interactions

Freshwater ecosystems are a key component of the global carbon cycle and have the potential to provide feedbacks to the climate system. However, the functioning of these systems is poorly represented in Earth system models. Such models generally rely on static, area-based scaling of biogeochemical fluxes and lack the ability to project aquatic ecosystem response to global change. Incorporating land-water interactions into models is a critical first step for improving estimates of freshwater contributions to global carbon cycling and will assist in efforts to predict how changes in climate and shifts in terrestrial vegetation may affect freshwater processes.