Evidence suggests that climate change dynamics have been occurring in the northern latitudes for the past two and a half decades. The CENTURY ecosystem model was used for a set of simulations related to the carbon dynamics of interior Alaska taiga forest types. The functional dynamics of three age-classes (young, middle, and mature) of three ecosystem types (white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), and hardwoods) were compared using an average climate that was present prior to 1980 and the climate record from 1980 to 2000. Estimates for total ecosystem production indicate a decrease in tree carbon capture for hardwood stands for all three age-classes summed across a 20-year climate change [...]
