Abstract
Ecosystems influence climate through multiple pathways--primarily by changing the energy, water, and greenhouse gas balance of the atmosphere. Consequently, efforts to mitigate climate change through modification of one pathway, as with carbon in the Kyoto Protocol, only partially address the issue of ecosystem-climate interactions. For example, carbon sequestration in vegetation that cools climate may be partially offset by reduced land albedo that increases solar energy absorption and warms the climate. The relative importance of these effects varies with spatial scale and latitude. We suggest that consideration of multiple interactions and feedbacks could lead to novel, potentially useful climate-mitigation strategies. Implementing these strategies requires improved knowledge of the interactions among these feedback processes, their consequences at local and global scales, and the teleconnections that link changes occurring in different regions.