Seasonal and interannual influences of the terrestrial ecosystems on atmospheric CO 2: a model study

Abstract

The prognostic CARAIB (Carbon Assimilation In the Biosphere) model has been used in conjunction with the Max-Planck Institut TM2 atmospheric transport model to calculate the atmospheric CO 2 fluctuations at the global scale. Two applications are briefly described. In the first one, the seasonal CO 2 variation is calculated and a Fourier analysis is performed to determine the relative contributions of the various vegetation types. It is found that the seasonal signal is dominated by the grasslands and needle leaf forests in the northern boreal and temperate zones. In the southern hemisphere, tropical deciduous forests and grasslands make the primary contribution. In the second application, the net primary productivity (NPP), soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) are calculated for years 1987 and 1988 with the model driven by observed climatic variables. Preliminary results indicate that the NEP variations between these two years are strongly dominated by tropical ecosystems. However, it is shown that the results are strongly dependent on the dataset used for the 1987-88 temperature record, raising the question of reliability of such modelling studies of the interannual variability of the biosphere.