The Role of Russia's Terrestrial Biosphere in Bottom-up/Top-down Emissions Accounting

Barrett, K. (2006). The Role of Russia's Terrestrial Biosphere in Bottom-up/Top-down Emissions Accounting. IIASA Interim Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: IR-06-024

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Abstract

International accords such as the Kyoto Protocol that seek to regulate greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale necessitate methods sufficiently robust to account for uncertainties in emissions data. Any detection of changes in carbon emissions must account for such uncertainties to conclusively determine when emissions reductions have occurred. When used in combination, ground-based (bottom-up) assessments of carbon emissions and atmospheric inversion models (top-down) are powerful tools for reducing uncertainties and verifying flux estimates. Because top-down methods cannot differentiate between different ecological processes or human-induced fluxes, it is important that emissions accounting consider carbon fluxes "in toto" to properly verify flux estimates. This study compares two such comprehensive bottom-up evaluations - the Russian Full Carbon Accounting (FCA) and SIBERIA-II full greenhouse gas accounting projects. Carbon flux estimates from the terrestrial biosphere are compared in terms of mean values and uncertainties. The Russian FCA and SIBERIA-II estimates are found to be internally consistent, with a few exceptions. Top-down data may be used to further reduce uncertainties and verify flux estimates.

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