![]() ![]() Blue indicates expansion red indicates contraction. Study Figure 1: Grassland (A) and forest (B) retreat or expansion in response to 21st century climate changes. Megadrought, which can last for a century or longer.Periodic drought intervals, similar to La Niña/El Niño weather patterns.Business as usual, in which carbon emissions continue at the current rate, leading to a temperature increase of up to 8.64 F (4.8 C) by 2100.Global carbon emissions largely stop, resulting in up to 3.06 F (1.7 C) of warming by 2100.The study ran model simulations of four scenarios: We really need to start thinking about the vulnerability of ecosystem carbon, and use this information to de-risk our carbon investment and conservation strategies in the 21st century.” California is on the frontlines of the extreme weather changes that are beginning to occur all over the world. “But in a vulnerable, warming, drought-likely future, we could lose some of the most productive carbon sinks on the planet. “In a stable climate, trees store more carbon than grasslands,” said co-author Houlton, director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment at UC Davis. When fire burns grasslands, however, the carbon fixed underground tends to stay in the roots and soil, making them more adaptive to climate change. When wildfires cause trees to go up in flames, the burned carbon they formerly stored is released back to the atmosphere. Unlike forests, grasslands sequester most of their carbon underground, while forests store it mostly in woody biomass and leaves. (Joe Proudman/UC Davis) Carbon up in smoke Sheep from Skyelark Ranch graze a field planted with a cover crop in Brooks, California. “This doesn’t even include the potential benefits of good land management to help boost soil health and increase carbon stocks in rangelands.” “Looking ahead, our model simulations show that grasslands store more carbon than forests because they are impacted less by droughts and wildfires,” said lead author Pawlok Dass, a postdoctoral scholar in Professor Benjamin Houlton’s lab at UC Davis. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, could inform similar carbon offset efforts around the globe, particularly those in semi-arid environments, which cover about 40 percent of the planet. ![]() As such, the study indicates they should be given opportunities in the state’s cap-and-and trade market, which is designed to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. But decades of fire suppression, warming temperatures and drought have increased wildfire risks - turning California’s forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources.Ī study from the University of California, Davis, found that grasslands and rangelands are more resilient carbon sinks than forests in 21st century California. Forests have long served as a critical carbon sink, consuming about a quarter of the carbon dioxide pollution produced by humans worldwide. ![]()
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