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6 - The albedo climate impacts of biomass and carbon plantations compared with the CO2 impact

from Part I - Climate system science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2010

M. Schaeffer
Affiliation:
Royal Netherlands Embassy The Netherlands
B. Eickhout
Affiliation:
Global Sustainability and Climate Team Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)
M. Hoogwijk
Affiliation:
Ecofys B.V., PO Box 8408 The Netherlands
B. Strengers
Affiliation:
Global Sustainability and Climate Team Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)
D. van Vuuren
Affiliation:
Global Sustainability and Climate Team Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)
R. Leemans
Affiliation:
Environmental Systems Analysis Group Wageningen University
T. Opsteegh
Affiliation:
KNMI, PO Box 201 De Bilt 3730 AE, The Netherlands
Michael E. Schlesinger
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Haroon S. Kheshgi
Affiliation:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering
Joel Smith
Affiliation:
Stratus Consulting Ltd, Boulder
Francisco C. de la Chesnaye
Affiliation:
US Environmental Protection Agency
John M. Reilly
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tom Wilson
Affiliation:
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto
Charles Kolstad
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
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Summary

Introduction

Changes in land use and the consequent changes in land-cover properties modify the interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere locally and regionally (Kabat et al., 2004). Important factors in these interactions are the biochemical fluxes of CO2 and other trace gases, and the biophysical fluxes of energy and water vapor. Modeling studies, well validated with detailed observations, show that changing land-use in the past centuries influenced local, regional, and probably also global climate patterns (e.g. IPCC, 2001). Historically, land-use mediated climate change appears to be an important factor (Brovkin et al., 1999). In mid to high latitudes, for example, land-use changes influence surface-air temperature because of the large difference in surface albedo between different land covers, such as cropland and forest in snow-covered conditions (Robinson and Kukla, 1985; Bonan et al., 1995; Harding and Pomeroy, 1996; Sharrat, 1998). Emission scenarios, required to estimate future climate change, nowadays often include detailed changes in land-use patterns and the consequent changes in sources and sinks of trace gases (e.g. Strengers et al., 2004). The biophysical consequences on the climate systems are, however, often neglected. It is therefore important to examine the role of land-use changes in determining future climates (Pielke Sr et al., 2002).

Future land-use change does not only include deforestation and afforestation as a consequence of expanding or contracting agriculture. Other land uses, such as plantations for carbon sequestration or energy production (to substitute fossil fuels), are likely to become more important.

Type
Chapter
Information
Human-Induced Climate Change
An Interdisciplinary Assessment
, pp. 72 - 83
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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