Bomb radiocarbon evidence for strong global carbon uptake and turnover in terrestrial vegetation | Science

[Michael Hayes]

Net primary productivity (NPP), the storage of carbon within plant tissues resulting from photosynthesis, is a major carbon sink that we rely on for slowing climate change. Global NPP estimates are variable, leading to uncertainty in modeling current and future carbon cycling. Graven et al. updated NPP estimates using radiocarbon data from nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s. This analysis of radiocarbon uptake into vegetation suggested that current models underestimate NPP, likely by underestimating the carbon stored in short-lived, nonwoody tissues. This work suggests that plants store more carbon but for a shorter time frame than is currently recognized. —Bianca Lopez

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl4443