Press Information

Net carbon dioxide losses of northern ecosystems in response to autumn warming

Shilong Piao, Philippe Ciais, Pierre Friedlingstein, Philippe Peylin, Markus Reichstein, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Hank Margolis, Jingyun Fang, Alan Barr, Anping Chen, Achim Grelle, David Y. Hollinger, Tuomas Laurila, Anders Lindroth, Andrew D. Richardson & Timo Vesala

Nature 451, 49-52(3 January 2008)
doi:10.1038/nature06444

This study finds that the duration of the net carbon uptake period (CUP) in northern ecosystems has on average decreased due to warmer autumn temperatures. Simulations and observations indicate that northern terrestrial ecosystems may currently lose carbon dioxide in response to autumn warming, with a sensitivity of about 0.2 PgC °C^-1, offsetting 90% of the increased carbon dioxide uptake during spring. If future autumn warming occurs at a faster rate than in spring, the ability of northern ecosystems to sequester carbon may be diminished earlier than previously suggested.

Manuscript and Presentations

• Access the paper from Nature http://www.nature.com/nature
• Request a copy of the manuscript from the authors:
  Shiang Piao, ShiLong.Piao@lsce.ipsl.fr
  Philippe Ciais, philippe.ciais@lsce.ipsl.fr
• Download an extended presentation with the main findings of this study:
  • Presentation (ppt, 3.0Mb)
  • Presentation (pdf, 1.5 Mb)
• For additional information on recent carbon trends and the global carbon budget updated to 2006, download the following presentation:
  • Carbon Budget and Trends (ppt, 2.9 Mb)
  • Carbon Budget and Trends (pdf, 1.5 Mb)
  • Carbon trends, data and further reading

Press Release and Media Coverage

• Global Carbon Project (doc 114kb)
• Media coverage (ppt 19 Mb; pdf 11 Mb)

Illustrative Photos (available free if credited as specified)
Mont Wright – Northern hardwood forest near Quebec City, Canada.  Photo credit: Marc André Giasson (1231 x 2362, jpg 4.05 Mb)	Mixed Beech forest in the mountains of warm temperate region in China. Photo credit: Zhehao Shen (1220 x 936 jpg 592 kb)
Deciduous broad leaf forests dominated by Betula Platyphylla in Saihanba area of northern China in Autumn. Photo credit: Wei Wang (1536 x 2048 jpg 790 kb)	Tour-Bluets - Flux tower on a recently harvest boreal black spruce site with lowbush blueberry ground cover, Chibougamau, Quebec. Photo credit: Onil Bergeron (1600 x 1200 jpg 379 kb)