Articles | Volume 19, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3727-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3727-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Ideas and perspectives
| 
16 Aug 2022
Ideas and perspectives |
| 16 Aug 2022
| 16 Aug 2022
Ideas and perspectives: Allocation of carbon from net primary production in models is inconsistent with observations of the age of respired carbon
Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75651 Uppsala, Sweden
Verónika Ceballos-Núñez
Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Henrik Hartmann
Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
David Herrera-Ramírez
Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany
Holger Metzler
Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden
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Valentina Lara, Carlos A. Sierra, Miguel A. Peña, Sebastián Ramirez, Diego Navarrete, Juan F. Phillips, and Álvaro Duque
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2959, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2959, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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Impacts of deforestation on the soil level are commonly overlooked. Conversion of Amazon rainforest to pastures increases soil compaction and decreases soil carbon storage, with lasting effects over time and across soil depth. After decades, pasture accumulated soil carbon doesn't match the original forest stocks. These changes may worsen climate change by reducing the Amazon basin ability to store carbon, highlighting the need to protect these ecosystems, from canopy to soil.
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We propose an approach to obtain weights for calculating averages of variables from Earth system models (ESM) based on concepts from information theory. It quantifies a relative distance between model output and reality, even though it is impossible to know the absolute distance from model predictions to reality. The relative ranking among models is based on concepts of model selection and multi-model averages previously developed for simple statistical models, but adapted here for ESMs.
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We present here a unique dataset of atmospheric observations of greenhouse gases and isotopes that provide key information on land-atmosphere interactions for the Amazon forests of central Brazil. The data show a relatively large level of variability, but also important trends in greenhouse gases, and signals from fires as well as seasonal biological activity.
Ingrid Chanca, Ingeborg Levin, Susan Trumbore, Kita Macario, Jost Lavric, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Cléo Quaresma Dias Júnior, Hella van Asperen, Samuel Hammer, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 22, 455–472, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, 2025
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Assessing the net carbon (C) budget of the Amazon entails considering the magnitude and timing of C absorption and losses through respiration (transit time of C). Radiocarbon-based estimates of the transit time of C in the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) suggest a change in the transit time from 6 ± 2 years and 18 ± 4 years within 2 years (October 2019 and December 2021, respectively). This variability indicates that only a fraction of newly fixed C can be stored for decades or longer.
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Based on an approach that involved soil organic carbon (SOC) monitoring, radiocarbon measurement in bulk soil, and incubations from a long-term 60-year experiment, it was concluded that the avoidance of old carbon losses in the integrated crop–pasture systems is the main reason that explains their greater carbon storage capacities compared to continuous cropping. A better understanding of these processes is essential for making agronomic decisions to increase the carbon sequestration capacity.
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Soil organic matter stability depends on future temperature and precipitation scenarios. We used radiocarbon (14C) data and model predictions to understand how the transit time of carbon varies under environmental change in grasslands and peatlands. Soil moisture affected the Δ14C of peatlands, while temperature did not have any influence. Our models show the correspondence between Δ14C and transit time and could allow understanding future interactions between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon
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Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Agustín Sarquis and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 20, 1759–1771, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1759-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1759-2023, 2023
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Although plant litter is chemically and physically heterogenous and undergoes multiple transformations, models that represent litter dynamics often ignore this complexity. We used a multi-model inference framework to include information content in litter decomposition datasets and studied the time it takes for litter to decompose as measured by the transit time. In arid lands, the median transit time of litter is about 3 years and has a negative correlation with mean annual temperature.
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Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Nitrogen is important for plant growth and carbon uptake, which is uaually limited in nature and can constrain carbon storage and impact efforts to combat climate change. We developed a new method of combining data and models to determine if and how much an ecosystem is nitrogen limited. This new method can help determine if and to what extent an ecosystem is nitrogen-limited, providing insight into nutrient limitations on a global scale and guiding ecosystem management decisions.
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We explored carbon cycling in soils in three climate zones in Chile down to a depth of 6 m, using carbon isotopes. Our results show that microbial activity several meters below the soil surface is mostly fueled by recently fixed carbon and that strong decomposition of soil organic matter only occurs in the upper decimeters of the soils. The study shows that different layers of the critical zone are tightly connected and that processes in the deep soil depend on recently fixed carbon.
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3471–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3471-2022, 2022
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Plant litter breakdown in aridlands is driven by processes different from those in more humid ecosystems. A better understanding of these processes will allow us to make better predictions of future carbon cycling. We have compiled aridec, a database of plant litter decomposition studies in aridlands and tested some modeling applications for potential users. Aridec is open for use and collaboration, and we hope it will help answer newer and more important questions as the database develops.
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Biogeosciences, 18, 1029–1048, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1029-2021, 2021
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The climate benefit of carbon sequestration (CBS) is a metric developed to quantify avoided warming by two separate processes: the amount of carbon drawdown from the atmosphere and the time this carbon is stored in a reservoir. This metric can be useful for quantifying the role of forests and soils for climate change mitigation and to better quantify the benefits of carbon removals by sinks.
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
Impacts of deforestation on the soil level are commonly overlooked. Conversion of Amazon rainforest to pastures increases soil compaction and decreases soil carbon storage, with lasting effects over time and across soil depth. After decades, pasture accumulated soil carbon doesn't match the original forest stocks. These changes may worsen climate change by reducing the Amazon basin ability to store carbon, highlighting the need to protect these ecosystems, from canopy to soil.
Carlos A. Sierra and Estefanía Muñoz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1640, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1640, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We propose an approach to obtain weights for calculating averages of variables from Earth system models (ESM) based on concepts from information theory. It quantifies a relative distance between model output and reality, even though it is impossible to know the absolute distance from model predictions to reality. The relative ranking among models is based on concepts of model selection and multi-model averages previously developed for simple statistical models, but adapted here for ESMs.
Carlos A. Sierra, Ingrid Chanca, Meinrat Andreae, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Hella van Asperen, Lars Borchardt, Santiago Botía, Luiz Antonio Candido, Caio S. C. Correa, Cléo Quaresma Dias-Junior, Markus Eritt, Annica Fröhlich, Luciana V. Gatti, Marcus Guderle, Samuel Hammer, Martin Heimann, Viviana Horna, Armin Jordan, Steffen Knabe, Richard Kneißl, Jost Valentin Lavric, Ingeborg Levin, Kita Macario, Juliana Menger, Heiko Moossen, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Michael Rothe, Christian Rödenbeck, Yago Santos, Axel Steinhof, Bruno Takeshi, Susan Trumbore, and Sönke Zaehle
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-151, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-151, 2025
Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
We present here a unique dataset of atmospheric observations of greenhouse gases and isotopes that provide key information on land-atmosphere interactions for the Amazon forests of central Brazil. The data show a relatively large level of variability, but also important trends in greenhouse gases, and signals from fires as well as seasonal biological activity.
Ingrid Chanca, Ingeborg Levin, Susan Trumbore, Kita Macario, Jost Lavric, Carlos Alberto Quesada, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Cléo Quaresma Dias Júnior, Hella van Asperen, Samuel Hammer, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 22, 455–472, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Assessing the net carbon (C) budget of the Amazon entails considering the magnitude and timing of C absorption and losses through respiration (transit time of C). Radiocarbon-based estimates of the transit time of C in the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) suggest a change in the transit time from 6 ± 2 years and 18 ± 4 years within 2 years (October 2019 and December 2021, respectively). This variability indicates that only a fraction of newly fixed C can be stored for decades or longer.
Maximiliano González-Sosa, Carlos A. Sierra, J. Andrés Quincke, Walter E. Baethgen, Susan Trumbore, and M. Virginia Pravia
SOIL, 10, 467–486, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-467-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Based on an approach that involved soil organic carbon (SOC) monitoring, radiocarbon measurement in bulk soil, and incubations from a long-term 60-year experiment, it was concluded that the avoidance of old carbon losses in the integrated crop–pasture systems is the main reason that explains their greater carbon storage capacities compared to continuous cropping. A better understanding of these processes is essential for making agronomic decisions to increase the carbon sequestration capacity.
Andrés Tangarife-Escobar, Georg Guggenberger, Xiaojuan Feng, Guohua Dai, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Mina Azizi-Rad, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 21, 1277–1299, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic matter stability depends on future temperature and precipitation scenarios. We used radiocarbon (14C) data and model predictions to understand how the transit time of carbon varies under environmental change in grasslands and peatlands. Soil moisture affected the Δ14C of peatlands, while temperature did not have any influence. Our models show the correspondence between Δ14C and transit time and could allow understanding future interactions between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon
Shane W. Stoner, Marion Schrumpf, Alison Hoyt, Carlos A. Sierra, Sebastian Doetterl, Valier Galy, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 20, 3151–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Agustín Sarquis and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 20, 1759–1771, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1759-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1759-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Although plant litter is chemically and physically heterogenous and undergoes multiple transformations, models that represent litter dynamics often ignore this complexity. We used a multi-model inference framework to include information content in litter decomposition datasets and studied the time it takes for litter to decompose as measured by the transit time. In arid lands, the median transit time of litter is about 3 years and has a negative correlation with mean annual temperature.
Song Wang, Carlos Sierra, Yiqi Luo, Jinsong Wang, Weinan Chen, Yahai Zhang, Aizhong Ye, and Shuli Niu
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-33, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-33, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen is important for plant growth and carbon uptake, which is uaually limited in nature and can constrain carbon storage and impact efforts to combat climate change. We developed a new method of combining data and models to determine if and how much an ecosystem is nitrogen limited. This new method can help determine if and to what extent an ecosystem is nitrogen-limited, providing insight into nutrient limitations on a global scale and guiding ecosystem management decisions.
Andrea Scheibe, Carlos A. Sierra, and Marie Spohn
Biogeosciences, 20, 827–838, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-827-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-827-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We explored carbon cycling in soils in three climate zones in Chile down to a depth of 6 m, using carbon isotopes. Our results show that microbial activity several meters below the soil surface is mostly fueled by recently fixed carbon and that strong decomposition of soil organic matter only occurs in the upper decimeters of the soils. The study shows that different layers of the critical zone are tightly connected and that processes in the deep soil depend on recently fixed carbon.
Agustín Sarquis, Ignacio Andrés Siebenhart, Amy Theresa Austin, and Carlos A. Sierra
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3471–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3471-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Plant litter breakdown in aridlands is driven by processes different from those in more humid ecosystems. A better understanding of these processes will allow us to make better predictions of future carbon cycling. We have compiled aridec, a database of plant litter decomposition studies in aridlands and tested some modeling applications for potential users. Aridec is open for use and collaboration, and we hope it will help answer newer and more important questions as the database develops.
Carlos A. Sierra, Susan E. Crow, Martin Heimann, Holger Metzler, and Ernst-Detlef Schulze
Biogeosciences, 18, 1029–1048, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1029-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The climate benefit of carbon sequestration (CBS) is a metric developed to quantify avoided warming by two separate processes: the amount of carbon drawdown from the atmosphere and the time this carbon is stored in a reservoir. This metric can be useful for quantifying the role of forests and soils for climate change mitigation and to better quantify the benefits of carbon removals by sinks.
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Short summary
Empirical work that estimates the age of respired CO2 from vegetation tissue shows that it may take from years to decades to respire previously produced photosynthates. However, many ecosystem models represent respiration processes in a form that cannot reproduce these observations. In this contribution, we attempt to provide compelling evidence, based on recent research, with the aim to promote a change in the predominant paradigm implemented in ecosystem models.
Empirical work that estimates the age of respired CO2 from vegetation tissue shows that it may...
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