Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Current knowledge of the world carbon budget is reviewed with special emphasis on the question of whether the biota is a source or a sink for CO/sub 2/. The analysis shows through convergent lines of evidence that the biota is not a sink and may be a source of CO/sub 2/ as large or larger than the fossil fuel source. The issue is important because of the potential that changes in the CO/sub 2/ content of air have for changing climate worldwide. Various analyses suggest that human activities in the near future could release large additional amounts of CO/sub 2/ into the atmosphere with results that are substantially unpredictable.
Woodwell et al. (Fri,) studied this question.