Terrestrial carbon-storage from the last glacial maximum to the present

A carbon-isotope mass balance approach suggests that terrestrial carbon storage increased from the Last Glacial Maximum to pre-industrial times by 300–700PgC. This result is in good agreement with several recent model-and-data-based studies, but mass balance constraints preclude previously published high (1350PgC) and low (≈0PgC) estimates. The magnitude of the calculated change in carbon storage is not large enough to have significantly affected atmospheric pCO2 during the period over which the change occurred.