First Carbon Sequestration Report Issued
Regional report of carbon absorbed in Great Plains.
Compiled by staff
Published: Dec 7, 2011
The Department of the Interior has released its first in a series of regional studies measuring the amount of carbon stored in U.S. ecosystems. This first study covers an area of the United States that includes parts of fourteen states from eastern Montana to southern Texas and eastern Iowa. The study applies a comprehensive methodology designed by the USGS in 2010 to assess how much carbon is stored in various ecosystems, such as wetlands, forests and rangelands.
A key finding in the Great Plains study is that the region is currently an overall “carbon sink,” meaning it takes up more carbon than it emits. In addition, the amount of carbon sequestered offsets most of the emissions of nitrous oxide and methane from this region. Next the USGS is expected to release studies on the western, eastern, Alaskan and Hawaiian regions. The full national assessment is expected to be completed around 2013.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes says that this is truly groundbreaking research that, for the first time, takes a landscape-level look at how our lands naturally store carbon and explores how we can encourage this capability in ways that enhance our stewardship of natural resources. Hayes notes our landscapes are helping us to absorb carbon emissions that would otherwise contribute to atmospheric warming.
On a national scale, the amount of carbon that is currently stored per year in ecosystems within the Great Plains is about 21% of emissions from personal vehicles and 3.6% of total fossil fuel emissions nationwide. The values for vehicle and total fossil fuel emissions are not part of the USGS study but were calculated using the 2009 EPA national greenhouse gas inventory report.
"For the first time, we will have a comprehensive view of how carbon is cycling through our Nation's ecosystems: sources, sinks, and relative residence times in the various biological components," explained USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "This study will not only result in better land-use decisions but should also advance our fundamental understanding of one of the most important chemical cycles on the planet."
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: EPA
|