Comparison of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and metabolic activity in boreal forest ecosystems

Analyses in which a mechanist model of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition was driven with the observed annual increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration and observed daily air temperature and precipitation show that from 1974 to 1982 the seasonal amplitude in metabolic activity in boreal forests near Fairbanks, Alaska, increased by 0.52 ± 0.03% year^-1. The increasing amplitude was due to increased tree photosynthesis as CO₂ concentration increased. However, the increase in annual aboveground biomass production was so small (3 g m^-2 year^-1 year^-1) that it is undetectable given field sampling errors. -from Author