Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics
What is CTCD?
The NERC Earth Obersvation Centre of Excellence for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics (CTCD) began its five year contract with NERC on 1 January 2002. Its task is essentially to provide the scientific basis for understanding the role of terrestrial ecosystems in the carbon cycle and for reducing the uncertaintainties in the terrestrial carbon budget.
Who is involved in CTCD?
This major initiative combines the expertise of ecologiests, mathematical modellers, forest specialists, Earth Observation scientists and statisticians, drawn from five institutions
- University of Sheffield
- Univesrity of Edinburgh
- University of York
- University College London (UCL)
- Forest Research
In addition, there are also important collaborations with
- Centre d'Etudes du Biosphere (CESBIO), Paris
- Joint Research Centre of the European Community (JRC)
- University of Maryland, USA
- Ispra
The Context of the Centre
Climate change is strongly driven by atmospheric changes, particularly increases in greenhouse gases. The dominant greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), and understanding the temporal changes in atmospheric CO2 requires us to consider the whole pattern of interchanges between the atmosphere, ocean and land: we must consider the whole Earth system. Terrestrial ecosystems form a critical part of this system (not least because of their role in sustaining human life), and are the major source of uncertainty in the carbon budget. In particular the causes, magnitude and permanence of the land's sequestration of carbon (the land carbon sink) are all subjects of fierce debate.
Forest ecosystems (by which we mean the whole complex of vegetation and soil processes) play a dominant role in the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. Their interaction with the atmosphere, both as a source and a sink of carbon, their environmental and economic value, and man's ability to modify them, makes them important policy instruments. However, uncertainties about the dynamics of carbon in forest ecosystems has a major impact on defining and verifying policies, as is evident from the difficulties in ratifying the Kyoto protocol. Quantifying and reducing this uncertainty requires the combination of mathematical models for ecological processes, and data, within a unifying statistical framework. Earth Observation data have a crucial, irreplaceable role to play in providing consistent, regular, large-scale measurements of biophysical processes, and in dealing with spatial variability.
CTCD Mission
The mission of the Centre of Excellence in Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics is to provide the science basis for understanding the role of terrestrial systems in the carbon cycle, especially forest ecosystems. This will be achieved by combining state-of-the-art ecosystem models, experiments to elucidate key ecological processes, data from EO sensors and other relevant sources and advanced statistical techniques. Through this integrated approach, we aim to quantify carbon fluxes and their uncertainties at local, regional and continental scales, and to devise methodological, data and instrument advances to reduce these uncertainties.
- to provide a focus and driver for UK science in this area, with a central role in bringing together modellers, ecologists, EO scientists and statisticians
- to ensure the Centre has significant impact on European and wider international programmes
- to present our finding in ways accessible to policy makers and the wider public
