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