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Aspects of spatial and temporal aggregation in estimating regional carbon dioxide fluxes from temperate forest soils

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7164123

The authors examine the influence of aggregation errors on developing estimates of regional soil-CO2 flux from temperate forests. The authors find daily soil-CO2 fluxes to be more sensitive to changes in soil temperatures than air temperature. The direct use of mean monthly air temperature with a daily flux model underestimates regional fluxes by approximately 4%. Temporal aggregation error varies with spatial resolution. Overall, the authors' calibrated modeling approach reduces spatial aggregation error by 9.3% and temporal aggregation error by 15.5%. After minimizing spatial and temporal aggregation errors, mature temperature forest soils are estimated to contribute 12.9 Pg C/yr to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Georeferenced model estimates agree well with annual soil-CO2 fluxes measured during chamber studies in mature temporate forest stands around the globe. (Copyright (c) 1994, American Geographical Union.)

Research Organization:
Marine Biological Lab., Woods Hole, MA (United States). Ecosystems Center
OSTI ID:
7164123
Report Number(s):
PB-94-174729/XAB; CNN: EPA-R-817734
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English