15 Unexpected Ecological Impacts of Tornadoes: The 10th One Will Surprise You!

9. Carbon Cycle Perturbations

With effects felt throughout ecosystems and maybe impacting world carbon dynamics, tornadoes can produce major disturbances to the carbon cycle. A tornado's immediate effects on carbon cycling include usually a quick release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as trees and other plants are destroyed. A transient carbon source is this abrupt movement of carbon from biomass to the atmosphere. Long-term consequences on carbon cycling are more complicated and subtle, though. New vegetation starts to flourish following a tornado, and during this time there is typically fast carbon sequestration as young, fast-growing plants capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Sometimes this regrowth causes a net carbon sink effect over time, therefore perhaps compensating the initial carbon release. Additionally affecting carbon cycle is the accumulation of significant woody trash on the forest floor. Although the rate of decomposition and the destination of this carbon rely on several factors including climate and soil microbial activity, when this material breaks down it can result in enhanced soil carbon storage. Additionally influencing soil carbon dynamics are changes in soil structure and hydrology brought about by tornadoes, hence possibly changing rates of carbon accumulation or loss in the impacted areas. Moreover, the changes in plant community composition after a tornado might have long-lasting consequences on carbon cycle since different plant species have distinct ability for carbon sequestration and storage. The kind of ecosystem, recovery pace, and frequency of disturbance will all affect how tornadoes affect carbon balance. Accurate modeling of carbon cycles and prediction of ecosystem responses to changing disturbance regimes in the framework of global climate change depends on an awareness of these dynamics.