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https://theconversation.com/in-20-years-of-studying-how-ecosystems-absorb-carbon-heres-why-were-worried-about-a-tipping-point-of-collapse-179554>
"From rainforests to savannas, ecosystems on land absorb almost 30% of the
carbon dioxide human activities release into the atmosphere. These ecosystems
are critical to stop the planet warming beyond 1.5℃ this century – but climate
change may be weakening their capacity to offset global emissions.
This is a key issue that OzFlux, a research network from Australia and Aotearoa
New Zealand, has been investigating for the past 20 years. Over this time,
we’ve identified which ecosystems absorb the most carbon, and have been
learning how they respond to extreme weather and climate events such as
drought, floods and bushfires.
The biggest absorbers of atmospheric carbon dioxide in Australia are savannas
and temperate forests. But as the effects of climate change intensify,
ecosystems such as these are at risk of reaching tipping points of collapse.
In our latest research paper, we look back at the two decades of OzFlux’s
findings. So far, the ecosystems we studied are showing resilience by rapidly
pivoting back to being carbon sinks after a disturbance. This can be seen, for
example, in leaves growing back on trees soon after bushfire.
But how long will this resilience remain? As climate change pressures
intensify, evidence suggests carbon sinks may lose their ability to bounce back
from climate-related disasters. This reveals vital gaps in our knowledge."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
