Review of the Draft Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2)

The second "State of the Climate Cycle Report" (SOCCR2) aims to elucidate the fundamental physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the carbon cycle and to discuss the challenges of accounting for all major carbon stocks and flows for the North American continent. This assessment report has broad value, as understanding the carbon cycle is not just an academic exercise. Rather, this understanding can provide an important foundation for making a wide variety of societal decisions about land use and natural resource management, climate change mitigation strategies, urban planning, and energy production and consumption. To help assure the quality and rigor of SOCCR2, this report provides an independent critique of the draft document.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Summary
Introduction
Report Overview Analysis
Comments on the Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Overview of the Global Carbon Cycle
Chapter 2: The North American Carbon Budget: Past, Present, and Future
Chapter 3: Energy Systems
Chapter 4: Urban
Chapter 5: Agriculture
Chapter 6: Social Science Perspectives on Carbon
Chapter 7: Tribal Lands
Chapter 8: Observations of Atmospheric CO2 and CH4
Chapter 9: Forests
Chapter 10: Grasslands
Chapter 11: Arctic and Boreal Carbon
Chapter 12: Soils
Chapter 13: Terrestrial Wetlands
Chapter 14: Inland Waters
Chapter 15: Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries
Chapter 16: Coastal Oceans and Continental Shelves
Chapter 17: Consequences of Rising Atmospheric CO2
Chapter 18: Carbon Cycle Science in the Support of Decision-making
Chapter 19: Future of the North American Carbon Cycle
References
Appendix: Committee Biosketches