Revised estimates of the annual net flux of carbon to the atmosphere from changes in land use and land management 1850–2000

Recent analyses of land-use change in the US and China, together with the latest estimates of tropical deforestation and afforestation from the FAO, were used to calculate a portion of the annual flux of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The calculated flux includes only that portion of the flux resulting from direct human activity. In most regions, activities included the conversion of natural ecosystems to cultivated lands and pastures, including shifting cultivation, harvest of wood (for timber and fuel) and the establishment of tree plantations. In the US, woody encroachment and woodland thickening as a result of fire suppression were also included. The calculated flux of carbon…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• UE
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• BA
  Biological and Environmental Research