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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Project • 2005-12-NSY

Vulnerabilities of the carbon-climate system: Carbon pools in Wetlands/Peatlands as positive feedbacks to global warming

Ecosystem responses that cause carbon loss to the atmosphere as a result of warmer climates and land use changes could greatly accelerate climate change during this century. Potentially vulnerable carbon pools that currently contain hundreds of billion tons of carbon could release as much as 200 ppm of atmospheric CO2 during this century, so rivaling the expected release from fossil fuel combustion. This proposal will (i) quantify the carbon content of one of the largest vulnerable carbon pools in the earth system, wetlands in the Asia Pacific region, (ii) analyse the risk of large releases of carbon over this century, and (iii) analyse the plausible impact on global warming.