Modelling carbon stock and carbon sequestration ecosystem services for policy design: a comprehensive approach using a dynamic vegetation model

• Main Authors: Sandra Quijas, Alice Boit, Kirsten Thonicke, Guillermo Murray-Tortarolo, Tuyeni Mwampamba, Margaret Skutsch, Margareth Simoes, Nataly Ascarrunz, Marielos Peña-Claros, Laurence Jones, Eric Arets, Víctor J. Jaramillo, Elena Lazos, Marisol Toledo, Lucieta G. Martorano, Rodrigo Ferraz, Patricia Balvanera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
• Series: Ecosystems and People
• Subjects: christine fürst
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26395908.2018.1542413

Ecosystem service (ES) models can only inform policy design adequately if they incorporate ecological processes. We used the Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land (LPJmL) model, to address following questions for Mexico, Bolivia and Brazilian Amazon: (i) How different are C stocks and C sequestration quantifications under standard (when soil and litter C and heterotrophic respiration are not considered) and comprehensive (including all C stock and heterotrophic respiration) approach? and (ii) How does the valuation of C stock and C sequestration differ in national payments for ES and global C funds or markets when comparing both approach? We found that up to 65% of C stocks have not been taken into account by neglecting to include C stored in soil and litter, resulting in gross underpayments (up to 500 times lower). Since emissions from heterotrophic respiration of organic material offset a large proportion of C gained through growth of living matter, we found that markets and decision-makers are inadvertently overestimating up to 100 times C sequestrated. New approaches for modelling C services relevant ecological process-based can help accounting for C in soil, litter and heterotrophic respiration and become important for the operationalization of agreements on climate change mitigation following the COP21 in 2015.