Holocene peatland and ice-core data constraints on the timing and magnitude of CO₂ emissions from past land use.

ABSTRACT: CO₂ emissions from preindustrial land-use change (LUC) are subject to large uncertainties. Although atmospheric CO₂ records suggest only a small land carbon (C) source since 5,000 y before present (5 kyBP), the concurrent C sink by peat buildup could mask large early LUC emissions. Here, we combine updated continuous peat C reconstructions with the land C balance inferred from double deconvolution analyses of atmospheric CO₂ and [Formula: see text]C at different temporal scales to investigate the terrestrial C budget of the Holocene and the last millennium and constrain LUC emissions. LUC emissions are estimated with transient model simulations for diverging published scenarios of LU area change and shifting cultivation. Our results reveal a large terrestri

SUBMITTER: Stocker BD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5321034 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature