Estimation of the biospheric carbon dioxide balance of Hungary using the BIOME-BGC model

• Published in: Idoejaras Vol. 113; no. 3; pp. 203 - 219
• Main Authors: BARCZA, Zoltan, HASZPRA, Laszló, SOMOGYI, Zoltan, HIDY, Dóra, LOVAS, Katalin, CHURKINA, Galina, HORVATH, Laszló
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Budapest Hungarian Meteorological Service 01.09.2009
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Chemical composition and interactions. Ionic interactions and processes; Dispersed sources and other; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Meteorology; Pollution; Pollution sources. Measurement results; Hungary; Central Europe; Europe; United Nations; Natural origin pollution; eddy covariance measurements; models; Carbon dioxide; model calibration; plant functional types; Source sink relationship; Carbon balance; biospheric carbon balance; greenhouse gas; Emission inventory; Biogenic factor; ecosystem model; net ecosystem exchange; Atmospheric chemistry; Air biosphere interaction; Air pollution; BIOME-BGC model; Plant cover; Gas exchange; upscaling; land cover
• ISSN: 0324-6329

Here we estimate the biospheric carbon dioxide balance of Hungary using the adapted BIOME-BGC process oriented ecological system model. The model was calibrated using the Hungarian measurements of biosphere-atmosphere carbon dioxide exchange. After calibration, the model was run for the four major land cover types such as croplands, grasslands, deciduous and coniferous forests for the period of 2002-2007. Our calculations suggest that all Hungarian ecological systems together formed a net carbon dioxide source during the time period studied. Since agricultural fields cover more than 50% of the total area of Hungary, the net carbon dioxide flux is dominated by the carbon balance of croplands. The average net release of CO sub(2) is 8.7 Mt per year with significant interannual variation: the highest net emission was 21.6 Mt CO sub(2) in 2003, while the lowest was 1.2 Mt CO sub(2) in 2006. Due to the model limitations, simulated CO sub(2) release from croplands is most likely overestimated, thus, the present results provide an upper limit for the potential range of the carbon balance of Hungary. The model results highlight the strong dependence of the biospheric carbon dioxide balance on the weather conditions. The results are compared with the carbon budget estimations previously published for Hungary as well as with those reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.