We present a synthesis of the land-atmosphere carbon flux from land use and land cover change (LULCC) in Asia using multiple data sources and paying particular attention to deforestation and forest regrowth fluxes. The data sources are quasi-independent and include the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization-Forest Resource Assessment (FAO-FRA 2015; country-level inventory estimates), the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGARv4.3), the 'Houghton' bookkeeping model that incorporates FAO-FRA data, an ensemble of 8 state-of-the-art Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVM), and 2 recently published independent studies using primarily remote sensing techniques. The estimates are aggregated spatially to Southeast, East, and South Asia and temporally for three decades, 1980–1989, 1990–1999 and 2000–2009. Since 1980, net carbon emissions from LULCC in Asia were responsible for 20%–40% of global LULCC emissions, with emissions from Southeast Asia alone accounting for 15%–25% of global LULCC emissions during the same period. In the 2000s and for all Asia, three estimates (FAO-FRA, DGVM, Houghton) were in agreement of a net source of carbon to the atmosphere, with mean estimates ranging between 0.24 to 0.41 Pg C yr−1, whereas EDGARv4.3 suggested a net carbon sink of −0.17 Pg C yr−1. Three of 4 estimates suggest that LULCC carbon emissions declined by at least 34% in the preceding decade (1990–2000). Spread in the estimates is due to the inclusion of different flux components and their treatments, showing the importance to include emissions from carbon rich peatlands and land management, such as shifting cultivation and wood harvesting, which appear to be consistently underreported.
Department of Ecology and Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA;Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Oceans and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 3023, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;Department of Environmental Geochemical Cycle Research/Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanawaza-ku Yokohama, 2360001, Japan;Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE CEA-CNRS-UVSQ), Gif-sur-Yvette, France;Department of Environmental Geochemical Cycle Research/Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanawaza-ku Yokohama, 2360001, Japan;Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-0053, Japan;International Center for Climate and Global Change Research and School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA;Department of Environmental Geochemical Cycle Research/Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanawaza-ku Yokohama, 2360001, Japan;Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE CEA-CNRS-UVSQ), Gif-sur-Yvette, France;Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, CNRS and Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble F-38041, France;Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany;College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK;Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-0053, Japan;The Institute of Applied Energy (IAE), Minato, Tokyo 105-0003, Japan;Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA;Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK;Imperial College London, Life Science Department, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK;Climate and Environmental Physics, and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE CEA-CNRS-UVSQ), Gif-sur-Yvette, France;Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter EX1 3PB, UK;Biogeochemical Integration Department, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoll-Str. 10, D-07745 Jena, Germany;Department of Ecology and Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
Recommended Citation:
Leonardo Calle,Josep G Canadell,Prabir Patra,et al. Regional carbon fluxes from land use and land cover change in Asia, 1980–2009[J]. Environmental Research Letters,2016-01-01,11(7)