A global calculation of the δ 13C of soil respired carbon: Implications for the 
biospheric uptake of anthropogenic CO2

Ciais, P.; Friedlingstein, P.; Schimel, D. S.; Tans, P. P.

doi:10.1029/98GB00072

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A global calculation of the δ ¹³C of soil respired carbon: Implications for the biospheric uptake of anthropogenic CO₂

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/98GB00072
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Ciais, P., Friedlingstein, P., Schimel, D. S., & Tans, P. P. (1999). A global calculation of the δ ¹³C of soil respired carbon: Implications for the biospheric uptake of anthropogenic CO₂. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 13(2), 519-530. doi:10.1029/98GB00072.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-000E-E177-9

Abstract

The continuing emissions of fossil CO₂ depleted in C-13 have been causing a gradual decrease in atmospheric delta(13)C by roughly 1.4 parts per thousand since preindustrial times. The progressive penetration of this perturbation into the land biota causes the soil organic matter to be enriched in ¹³C with respect to recently formed plant material. This effect which we call the "biotic isotope disequilibrium" is important when it comes to deducing the terrestrial carbon fluxes by using delta(13)C in atmospheric CO₂. We have estimated the geographical distribution of the isotopic disequilibrium, which is primarily influenced by the turnover of carbon in the various ecosystems, from the output of two biospheric models, (SLAVE and CENTURY). The disequilibrium is estimated to shift up the delta(13)C of atmospheric CO₂ by the same amount as a net sink of 0.6 Gt C yr(-1) in the land biota. This "fake" terrestrial sink due to the isotopic disequilibrium is distributed mainly in northern midlatitudes (0.2 Gt C yr(-1)) and tropical forests (0.3 Gt C yr(-1)). [References: 28]