Lal, R.; et al. (2018): The carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems
Lal, R.; Smith, P.; Jungkunst, H.; Mitsch, W.; Lehmann, J.; Ramachandran N. et al. (2018): The carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems. In: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 73 (6), 145A-152A. DOI: 10.2489/jswc.73.6.145A.
"Terrestrial ecosystems, comprising vegetation and soil in uplands and wetlands, significantly impact the global carbon (C) cycle and, under natural conditions, are a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). However, conversion of natural to managed ecosystems (i.e., agroecosystems, urban lands, and mined lands) depletes ecosystem C stocks, aggravates gaseous emissions, and exacerbates radiative forcing. Thus, the onset of agriculture around 8000 BC presumably transformed these sinks into a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Ruddiman 2003), mostly CO2, CH4, and nitrous oxide (N2O), and depleted the terrestrial (soil, vegetation, and peatlands) C stocks."
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