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Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineLetterpeer-review

Published

Standard

Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes. / Maberly, Stephen C.; Barker, Philip A.; Stott, Andy W. et al.
In: Nature Climate Change, Vol. 3, No. 4, 04.2013, p. 391-394.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineLetterpeer-review

Harvard

Maberly, SC, Barker, PA, Stott, AW & De Ville, MM 2013, 'Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes', Nature Climate Change, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 391-394. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1748

APA

Maberly, S. C., Barker, P. A., Stott, A. W., & De Ville, M. M. (2013). Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes. Nature Climate Change, 3(4), 391-394. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1748

Vancouver

Maberly SC, Barker PA, Stott AW, De Ville MM. Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes. Nature Climate Change. 2013 Apr;3(4):391-394. Epub 2012 Nov 18. doi: 10.1038/nclimate1748

Author

Maberly, Stephen C. ; Barker, Philip A. ; Stott, Andy W. et al. / Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes. In: Nature Climate Change. 2013 ; Vol. 3, No. 4. pp. 391-394.

Bibtex

@article{b348c18a1ba7448f803ef224bf5ef6e8,
title = "Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes",
abstract = "Most lakes are oversaturated with CO2 and are net CO2 sources to the atmosphere, yet their contribution to the global carbon cycle is poorly constrained1, 2, 3, 4. Their CO2 excess is widely attributed to in-lake oxidation of terrestrially produced dissolved organic carbon5. Here we use data collected over 26 years to show that the CO2 in 20 lakes is primarily delivered directly through inflowing streams rather than being produced in situ by degradation of terrestrial carbon. This implies that high CO2 concentrations and atmospheric emissions are not necessarily symptoms of heterotrophic lake ecosystems. Instead, the annual mean CO2 concentration increased with lake productivity and was proportional to the estimated net primary productivity of the catchment. Overall, about 1.6% of net primary productivity (range 1.2–2.2%) was lost to the atmosphere. Extrapolating globally, this is equivalent to CO2 losses of ~0.9 Pg C yr−1 (range 0.7–1.3), consistent with existing estimates. These data and our catchment productivity hypothesis re-enforce the high connectivity found between lakes, their catchment and the global C cycle6. They indicate that future concentrations of CO2 in lakes, and losses to the atmosphere, will be highly sensitive to altered catchment management and concomitant effects of climate change that modify catchment productivity.",
author = "Maberly, {Stephen C.} and Barker, {Philip A.} and Stott, {Andy W.} and {De Ville}, {Mitzi M.}",
year = "2013",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1038/nclimate1748",
language = "English",
volume = "3",
pages = "391--394",
journal = "Nature Climate Change",
issn = "1758-678X",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Catchment productivity controls CO2 emissions from lakes

AU - Maberly, Stephen C.

AU - Barker, Philip A.

AU - Stott, Andy W.

AU - De Ville, Mitzi M.

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - Most lakes are oversaturated with CO2 and are net CO2 sources to the atmosphere, yet their contribution to the global carbon cycle is poorly constrained1, 2, 3, 4. Their CO2 excess is widely attributed to in-lake oxidation of terrestrially produced dissolved organic carbon5. Here we use data collected over 26 years to show that the CO2 in 20 lakes is primarily delivered directly through inflowing streams rather than being produced in situ by degradation of terrestrial carbon. This implies that high CO2 concentrations and atmospheric emissions are not necessarily symptoms of heterotrophic lake ecosystems. Instead, the annual mean CO2 concentration increased with lake productivity and was proportional to the estimated net primary productivity of the catchment. Overall, about 1.6% of net primary productivity (range 1.2–2.2%) was lost to the atmosphere. Extrapolating globally, this is equivalent to CO2 losses of ~0.9 Pg C yr−1 (range 0.7–1.3), consistent with existing estimates. These data and our catchment productivity hypothesis re-enforce the high connectivity found between lakes, their catchment and the global C cycle6. They indicate that future concentrations of CO2 in lakes, and losses to the atmosphere, will be highly sensitive to altered catchment management and concomitant effects of climate change that modify catchment productivity.

AB - Most lakes are oversaturated with CO2 and are net CO2 sources to the atmosphere, yet their contribution to the global carbon cycle is poorly constrained1, 2, 3, 4. Their CO2 excess is widely attributed to in-lake oxidation of terrestrially produced dissolved organic carbon5. Here we use data collected over 26 years to show that the CO2 in 20 lakes is primarily delivered directly through inflowing streams rather than being produced in situ by degradation of terrestrial carbon. This implies that high CO2 concentrations and atmospheric emissions are not necessarily symptoms of heterotrophic lake ecosystems. Instead, the annual mean CO2 concentration increased with lake productivity and was proportional to the estimated net primary productivity of the catchment. Overall, about 1.6% of net primary productivity (range 1.2–2.2%) was lost to the atmosphere. Extrapolating globally, this is equivalent to CO2 losses of ~0.9 Pg C yr−1 (range 0.7–1.3), consistent with existing estimates. These data and our catchment productivity hypothesis re-enforce the high connectivity found between lakes, their catchment and the global C cycle6. They indicate that future concentrations of CO2 in lakes, and losses to the atmosphere, will be highly sensitive to altered catchment management and concomitant effects of climate change that modify catchment productivity.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875751705&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/nclimate1748

DO - 10.1038/nclimate1748

M3 - Letter

VL - 3

SP - 391

EP - 394

JO - Nature Climate Change

JF - Nature Climate Change

SN - 1758-678X

IS - 4

ER -