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Global Change and Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystems pp 452–472Cite as

Century Trends in the Volume Balance of Boreal Forests: Implications for Global CO2 Balance

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Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 124))

Abstract

Considerable uncertainty exists on the actual carbon budget of the boreal forest, and of its response to changes in global climate. These features have assumed considerable importance in light of ongoing, rapid changes in temperature at high latitudes (Jones and Wigley, 1990; Mitchell et al., 1990). North and south limits of the boreal forest are separated by 2 to 4°C, suggesting that the existing trees could be adversely impacted. Loss of boreal forest in Canada and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) would be significant to their economies. In addition, large-scale fires (Auclair and Carter, 1993) and dieback (Neilson, 1990; Turner et al., 1993) may feedback C to the atmosphere through the release of transient pulses of CO2.

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Authors
  1. Allan N. D. Auclair
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  2. Julie A. Bedford
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Global Change Research Group, San Diego State University, 92182, San Diego, CA, USA

    Walter C. Oechel

  2. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield Centre for Arctic Ecology, University of Sheffield, S1D 5BR, Sheffield, UK

    Terry V. Callaghan

  3. Department of Vertebrate Zoology and General Ecology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    Tagir G. Gilmanov

  4. Arctic Adaptation Division, Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview, Ontario, Canada

    Barrie Maxwell

  5. Department of Systematic Botany, University of Göteborg, S-413 19, Göteborg, Sweden

    Ulf Molau

  6. Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Bjartmar Sveinbjörnsson

  7. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska, 99775, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Bjartmar Sveinbjörnsson

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Auclair, A.N.D., Bedford, J.A. (1997). Century Trends in the Volume Balance of Boreal Forests: Implications for Global CO2 Balance. In: Oechel, W.C., et al. Global Change and Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 124. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2240-8_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2240-8_24

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