How long does carbon stay in a near-pristine central Amazon forest? An empirical estimate with radiocarbon

Chanca, Ingrid; Levin, Ingeborg; Trumbore, Susan; Macario, Kita; Lavric, Jost; Quesada, Carlos Alberto; Carioca de Araújo, Alessandro; Quaresma Dias Júnior, Cléo; van Asperen, Hella; Hammer, Samuel; Sierra, Carlos A.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

Research article

|

28 Jan 2025

Research article |

| 28 Jan 2025

How long does carbon stay in a near-pristine central Amazon forest? An empirical estimate with radiocarbon

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

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-455-2025-supplement

Data sets

Trace gases and isotope ratios (13C, 14C, 18O, 2H) of ambient air collected in flasks at a vertical profile at the ATTO site in October 2019 Ingrid Chanca et al. https://doi.org/10.17871/atto.437.4.1683

Trace gases and isotope ratios (13C, 14C, 18O, 2H) of ambient air collected in flasks at a vertical profile at the ATTO site in December 2021 Ingrid Chanca et al. https://doi.org/10.17871/atto.438.4.1684

CORSO_14CO2_background_data_compilation Samuel Hammer and Ingeborg Levin https://heibox.uni-heidelberg.de/d/1f481155f63c46a8aaf0/

CORSO Deliverable 3.1 - Database of existing Δ14CO2 measurements Samuel Hammer and Ingeborg Levin https://meta.icos-cp.eu/objects/HnpnYFcQljQ-SJer66F-hr-b

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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.