Climate warming feedback from mountain birch forest expansion: reduced albedo dominates carbon uptake

Global Change Biology
Heleen A de WitGlen P Peters

Abstract

Expanding high-elevation and high-latitude forest has contrasting climate feedbacks through carbon sequestration (cooling) and reduced surface reflectance (warming), which are yet poorly quantified. Here, we present an empirically based projection of mountain birch forest expansion in south-central Norway under climate change and absence of land use. Climate effects of carbon sequestration and albedo change are compared using four emission metrics. Forest expansion was modeled for a projected 2.6 °C increase in summer temperature in 2100, with associated reduced snow cover. We find that the current (year 2000) forest line of the region is circa 100 m lower than its climatic potential due to land-use history. In the future scenarios, forest cover increased from 12% to 27% between 2000 and 2100, resulting in a 59% increase in biomass carbon storage and an albedo change from 0.46 to 0.30. Forest expansion in 2100 was behind its climatic potential, forest migration rates being the primary limiting factor. In 2100, the warming caused by lower albedo from expanding forest was 10 to 17 times stronger than the cooling effect from carbon sequestration for all emission metrics considered. Reduced snow cover further exacerbated the net wa...Continue Reading

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Apr 24, 2014·Global Change Biology·Frank HagedornPavel A Moiseev
Oct 19, 2016·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Ryan M BrightRasmus Astrup
Oct 24, 2018·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Joris P G M CromsigtFelisa A Smith
Dec 14, 2018·Carbon Balance and Management·Aude ValadeValentin Bellassen
Jul 28, 2021·Molecular Ecology·Lea-Rebekka TonjerHåvard Kauserud

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