An Ecosystem-Scale Flux Measurement Strategy to Assess Natural Climate Solutions

Eddy covariance measurement systems provide direct observation of the exchange of greenhouse gases between ecosystems and the atmosphere, but have only occasionally been intentionally applied to quantify the carbon dynamics associated with specific climate mitigation strategies. Natural climate solu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2021-03, Vol.55 (6), p.3494-3504
Main Authors: Hemes, Kyle S, Runkle, Benjamin R. K, Novick, Kimberly A, Baldocchi, Dennis D, Field, Christopher B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide - analysis
Carbon dioxide removal
Carbon sequestration
Climate
Climate Change
Climate change mitigation
Covariance
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Emissions
Environmental assessment
Environmental changes
Fluctuations
Fluxes
Greenhouse Gases
Photosynthesis
Sequestering
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Summary:Eddy covariance measurement systems provide direct observation of the exchange of greenhouse gases between ecosystems and the atmosphere, but have only occasionally been intentionally applied to quantify the carbon dynamics associated with specific climate mitigation strategies. Natural climate solutions (NCS) harness the photosynthetic power of ecosystems to avoid emissions and remove atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), sequestering it in biological carbon pools. In this perspective, we aim to determine which kinds of NCS strategies are most suitable for ecosystem-scale flux measurements and how these measurements should be deployed for diverse NCS scales and goals. We find that ecosystem-scale flux measurements bring unique value when assessing NCS strategies characterized by inaccessible and hard-to-observe carbon pool changes, important non-CO2 greenhouse gas fluxes, the potential for biophysical impacts, or dynamic successional changes. We propose three deployment types for ecosystem-scale flux measurements at various NCS scales to constrain wide uncertainties and chart a workable path forward: “pilot”, “upscale”, and “monitor”. Together, the integration of ecosystem-scale flux measurements by the NCS community and the prioritization of NCS measurements by the flux community, have the potential to improve accounting in ways that capture the net impacts, unintended feedbacks, and on-the-ground specifics of a wide range of emerging NCS strategies.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.0c06421