Limited capacity of tree growth to mitigate the global greenhouse effect under predicted warming

Abstract

It is generally accepted that animal heartbeat and lifespan are often inversely correlated, however, the relationship between productivity and longevity has not yet been described for trees growing under industrial and pre-industrial climates. Using 1768 annually resolved and absolutely dated ring width measurement series from living and dead conifers that grew in undisturbed, high-elevation sites in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Russian Altai over the past 2000 years, we test the hypothesis of grow fast—die young. We find maximum tree ages are significantly correlated with slow juvenile growth rates. We conclude, the interdependence between higher stem productivity, faster tree turnover, and shorter carbon residence time, reduces the capacity of forest ecosystems to store carbon under a climate warming-induced stimulation of tree growth at policy-relevant timescales.

A comprehensive data-based assessment of forest ecosystem carbon stocks in the US 1907–2012

“…Despite this extra potential, we identify several future challenges for future GHG mitigation: Enhanced biomass growth, influenced by climate change, seems to be limited (Zhu et al 2018)-early saturation of the forest biomass carbon sink has already been detected in Europe (Nabuurs et al 2013). Increased biomass growth might even shorten tree lifespans, therefore nullifying additional C sink gains (Büntgen et al 2019). Possible additional C sequestration in western forests could be obstructed by recurring disturbances like wildfire and bark beetle outbreaks (McKinley et al 2011) which are more common in this section (e.g.…”

Reforestation is Not a Mitigation of Climate Change in All Situations – A Literature Review

“…At the global level, this process removes about 130 giga tonnes of carbon every year. This is 13 times more than that produced by anthropogenic activities [4].…”

“…Recent global warming has already caused a change in factors influencing photosynthesis. A study, "Carbon sequestration in Forest Ecosystem" by Lorenz and Lal [4] published that the rising trend of atmospheric CO 2 has a positive effect on the process. Analysis further reveals that current CO 2 levels are not high enough to saturate photosynthesis.…”

“…Carbon sequestration is the uptake of carbon containing substances, in particular CO 2 , into a long-lived reservoir [4]. This process of carbon sequestration allows forests to store more than 80% of all terrestrial aboveground carbon and more than 70% of all Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) [10].…”

Controls of forest age and ecological memory effects on biosphere-atmosphere CO2 exchange

“…In addition to the instantaneous responses of terrestrial ecosystems to environmental conditions, other responses lag in time due to mortality, changes in plant physiology, and heterotrophic metabolic activity (Frank et al, 2015). Consequently, the temporal vegetation and climate dynamic properties embed fluctuations from seasonal to interannual scales that can exert variable lagged responses on the carbon (C) cycle, depending on both their magnitudes and frequencies (Büntgen et al, 2019). As a result, it is essential to understand the contribution of the climate and vegetation's temporal dynamics to the spatiotemporal patterns of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes (Thornton et al, 2002;Tramontana et al, 2016;Zscheischler et al, 2017).…”