Overviewing the European carbon, greenhouse gas, GHG, and non-GHG fluxes, gross primary
productivity, GPP, is about 9.3 Pg yr-1, and fossil fuel imports are 1.6 Pg yr-1. GPP is about 1.25% of
solar radiation, containing about 360 1018 J energy ¿ five times the energy content of annual fossil fuel
use. Net primary production, NPP, is 50%, terrestrial net biome productivity, NBP, 3%, and the net
greenhouse gas balance, NGB, 0.3% of GPP. Human harvest uses 20% of NPP or 10% of GPP, or
alternatively 1¿ of solar radiation after accounting for the inherent cost of agriculture and forestry, for
production of pesticides and fertilizer, the return of organic fertilizer, and for the carbon equivalent cost
of GHG emissions. Carbon equivalents are defined on a global warming potential with a 100 year time
horizon. The equivalent of about 2.4% of the mineral fertilizer input is emitted as N2O.
Agricultural emissions to the atmosphere are about 40% of total methane, 60% of total NO-N, 70% of
total N2O-N, and 95% of total NH3-N emissions of Europe. European soils are a net carbon sink (114
Tg yr-1), but considering the emissions of GHGs, soils are a source of about 26 Tg CO2 C-equivalent yr-
1. Forest, grassland and sediment carbon sinks are offset by GHG emissions from croplands, peatlands
and inland waters. Non-GHGs (NH3, NOx) interact significantly with the GHG and the carbon cycle
through ammonium nitrate aerosols and dry deposition. Wet deposition of nitrogen supports about 50%
of forest timber growth. Land use change is regionally important, comprising large unidirectional fluxes
amounting to about 50 Tg C yr-1. Nevertheless, for the European trace-gas balance, land-use intensity is
more important than land-use change. This study shows that emissions of GHGs and non-GHGs
significantly distort the carbon cycle and eliminate apparent carbon sinks.
SCHULZE E.D.;
CIAIS P.;
LUYSSAERT S.;
SCHRUMPF M.;
JANSSENS I. A.;
THIRUCHITTAMPALAM B.;
THELOKE Jochen;
SAURAT M.;
BRINGEZU S.;
LELIEVELD J.;
LOHILA A.;
REBMANN C.;
JUNG M.;
BASTVIKEN D.;
ABRIL G.;
GRASSI Giacomo;
LEIP Adrian;
FREIBAUER A.;
KUTSCH W.;
DON A;
NIESCHULZE J.;
BORNER A.;
GASH J. H.;
DOLMAN A. J.;
2010-04-19
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
JRC57678
1354-1013,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC57678,
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02215.x,
