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Long term carbon export from mountain forests driven by hydroclimate and extreme event driven landsliding

Howarth, Jamie D.; Fitzsimons, Sean J.; Moody, Adelaine; Wang, Jin; Garnett, Mark H.; Croissant, Thomas; Densmore, Alexander; Howell, Andy; Hilton, Robert G.

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Authors

Jamie D. Howarth

Sean J. Fitzsimons

Adelaine Moody

Jin Wang

Mark H. Garnett

Thomas Croissant

Andy Howell

Robert G. Hilton



Abstract

The export of organic carbon from terrestrial ecosystems by erosion may play a central role in balancing the geological carbon cycle and Earth’s climate over millennial timescales. However, constraints on organic carbon yields have come from sampling modern rivers that don’t capture variation over decades to millennia driven by changing hydroclimate and erosion during extreme events. Here we use volumetric reconstructions of lake sedimentary fills to generate timeseries of sediment and organic carbon yields from two catchments draining the Southern Alps, New Zealand over the last millennium. The reconstructed yields indicate that earthquake-induced landslides significantly increase sediment and organic carbon yields, contributing to pulsed export that accounts for ~40% of the total. Between extreme events, organic carbon export increased twofold during centuries with a wetter reconstructed climate. Our findings suggest that the link between hydroclimate and organic carbon export may act as a negative feedback in the longer-term carbon cycle.

Citation

Howarth, J. D., Fitzsimons, S. J., Moody, A., Wang, J., Garnett, M. H., Croissant, T., Densmore, A., Howell, A., & Hilton, R. G. (2025). Long term carbon export from mountain forests driven by hydroclimate and extreme event driven landsliding. Communications Earth & Environment, 6, Article 432. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02382-2

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 14, 2025
Online Publication Date Jun 4, 2025
Publication Date 2025-06
Deposit Date May 22, 2025
Publicly Available Date Jun 6, 2025
Journal Communications Earth & Environment
Electronic ISSN 2662-4435
Publisher Nature Research
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Article Number 432
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02382-2
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3958247

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