HR: 16:30h
AN: B44B-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Lateral Flow of Carbon From U.S. Agricultural Lands: Carbon Uptake, Consumption, and Respiration
AU: * Sabesan, A
EM: sabesana@ornl.gov
AF: Computing and Computational Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6017 United States
AU: West, T O
EM: westto@ornl.gov
AF: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335 United States
AU: Roddy, A B
EM: adam.roddy@gmail.com
AF: Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 United States
AU: Marland, G
EM: Gregg.Marland@miun.se
AF: Mid Sweden University, Ecotechnology Program, Ostersund, S-831 25 Sweden
AU: Bhaduri, B L
EM: bhaduribl@ornl.gov
AF: Computing and Computational Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6017 United States
AB: Net carbon exchange between biomass and the atmosphere can be estimated and modeled on a regional basis to understand the effects of land-use change on the carbon cycle and on net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. However, within ecosystems that are managed to produce commodities for consumption (i.e., agriculture and forest lands), carbon can be transported laterally when crops or timber are harvested, in addition to being transported vertically between plants and the atmosphere. The spatial and temporal domain over which carbon uptake, transport, and release occur has implications for regional carbon studies. For example, carbon may be taken up by crops in one region, but released through human consumption in another region. Estimates of lateral transport and release of carbon may therefore contribute another dimension to bottom-up carbon modeling, and may also be used as input for comparison to top-down atmospheric modeling. Our research to date has focused on the uptake, consumption, and respiration of CO2 associated with agricultural crops and related food commodities. We estimate a net uptake of 495 Tg C on U.S. croplands in 2000. This uptake occurs primarily in the Midwestern U.S. Human respiration of CO2 contributed about 31 Tg C and livestock emitted about 77 Tg C as CO2 and CH4 in 2000. Estimates of CO2 from food wastes in municipal landfills and from human excrement in wastewater treatment plants are currently being developed. The spatial distribution of CO2 uptake and release are mapped, respectively, at the county level and at 1km resolution that is commensurate with Landscan USA population data.
DE: 0402 Agricultural systems
DE: 0414 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling (0412, 0793, 1615, 4805, 4912)
DE: 0426 Biosphere/atmosphere interactions (0315)
DE: 0428 Carbon cycling (4806)
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005