Large difference in carbon emission – burial balances between boreal and arctic lakes.

ABSTRACT: Lakes play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle by burying C in sediments and emitting CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere. The strengths and control of these fundamentally different pathways are therefore of interest when assessing the continental C balance and its response to environmental change. In this study, based on new high-resolution estimates in combination with literature data, we show that annual emission:burial ratios are generally ten times higher in boreal compared to subarctic - arctic lakes. These results suggest major differences in lake C cycling between biomes, as lakes in warmer boreal regions emit more and store relatively less C than lakes in colder arctic regions. Such effects are of major importance for understanding climatic feedbacks on the continental C si

SUBMITTER: Lundin EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4642577 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature