Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Forest disturbance and North American carbon flux

Author: Goward, S. N.; Masek, J. G.; Cohen, W.; Moisen, G.; Collatz, G. J.; Healey, S.; Houghton, R. A.; Huang, C.; Kennedy, R.; Law, B.; Powell, S.; Turner, D.; Wulder, M. A.

Date: 2008

Source: EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 89(11): 105-116.

Description: North America's forests are thought to be a significant sink for atmospheric carbon. Currently, the rate of sequestration by forests on the continent has been estimated at 0.23 petagrams of carbon per year, though the uncertainty about this estimate is nearly 50%. This offsets about 13% of the fossil fuel emissions from the continent [Pacala et al., 2007]. However, the high level of uncertainty in this estimate and the scientific community's limited ability to predict the future direction of the forest carbon flux reflect a lack of detailed knowledge about the effects of forest disturbance and recovery across the continent.

Keywords: forests, atmospheric carbon, carbon flux, sequestration, North American

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Citation

Goward, S. N.; Masek, J. G.; Cohen, W.; Moisen, G.; Collatz, G. J.; Healey, S.; Houghton, R. A.; Huang, C.; Kennedy, R.; Law, B.; Powell, S.; Turner, D.; Wulder, M. A.  2008.  Forest disturbance and North American carbon flux.   EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 89(11): 105-116..