Continental-Scale Carbon Budget Impacts of Forest Disturbances by Fires, Insects, and Harvests in the US: Mean, Variability, Uncertainty, and Trend

Huan Gu, Clark University, hugu@clarku.edu (Presenter)
Christopher A Williams, Clark University, cwilliams@clarku.edu
George James Collatz, NASA GSFC, jim.collatz@nasa.gov
Jeffrey Masek, NASA GSFC, jeffrey.g.masek@nasa.gov
Bardan Ghimire, Clark University, bghimire@clarku.edu
Gretchen Moisen, US Forest Service, gmoisen@fs.fed.us

Disturbances profoundly alter the structure and function of forests, imposing long lasting carbon legacies and strongly influencing rates of terrestrial carbon exchange with the atmosphere. Disturbance legacies vary across ecoregions, by forest types, and with disturbance severity and type. The associated complexity presents a significant challenge for observing and modeling the variability and mechanisms of carbon exchange, and hinders assessments of current and likely future states of the global carbon cycle under climate change and carbon management practices. This work will illustrate how carbon legacies vary following fire, insect, and harvest disturbances for forests of the US, and how these processes scale from plots to regions with consequences for the continental carbon budget. The work involves the use of satellite and aerial remote sensing products to characterize the frequency and severity of disturbance types over the past three decades. We also merge field inventory-data with satellite and aerial surveys of damage to parameterize a carbon cycle model to include live to dead transfers and associated decomposition and release to the atmosphere as well as to simulate ensuing regrowth of forest carbon stocks. Results indicate trends and interannual variability in disturbance rates, illustrate regional spatial patterns, and provide a full assessment of local to regional carbon flux impacts. Key uncertainties are identified and sampling strategies for addressing them are proposed. Discussion focuses on how these agents of change are combining to influence the US carbon budget now and into the future.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) Posters   (Mon 1:30 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Williams, Chris: Translating Forest Change to Carbon Emissions/Removals Linking Disturbance Products, Biomass Maps, and Carbon Cycle Modeling in a Comprehensive Carbon Monitoring Framework ...details

Poster Location ID: 151