Biomass turnover time in terrestrial ecosystems halved by land use

Biomass turnover time is a key parameter in the global carbon cycle. An analysis of global land-use data reveals that biomass turnover is almost twice as fast when the land is used to enhance terrestrial ecosystem services. The terrestrial carbon cycle is not well quantified1. Biomass turnover time is a crucial parameter in the global carbon cycle2,3,4, and contributes to the feedback between the terrestrial carbon cycle and climate2,3,4,5,6,7. Biomass turnover time varies substantially in time and space, but its determinants are not well known8,9, making predictions of future global carbon cycle dynamics uncertain5,10,11,12,13. Land use—the sum of activities that aim at enhancing terrestrial ecosystem services14—alters plant growth15 and reduces biomass stocks16, and is hence expected to affect biomass turnover. Here we explore land-use-induced alterations of biomass turnover at the global scale by comparing the biomass turnover of the actual vegetation with that of a hypothetical vegetation state with no land use under current climate conditions. We find that, in the global average, biomass turnover is 1.9 times faster with land use. This acceleration affects all biomes roughly equally, but with large differences between land-use types. Land conversion, for example from forests to agricultural fields, is responsible for 59% of the acceleration; the use of forests and natural grazing land accounts for 26% and 15% respectively. Reductions in biomass stocks are partly compensated by reductions in net primary productivity. We conclude that land use significantly and systematically affects the fundamental trade-off between carbon turnover and carbon stocks.