Full verified carbon account of forest ecosystems as a fuzzy system: An attempt to assess uncertainty

Carbon cycling of terrestrial ecosystems is a fuzzy (underspecified) system that imposes substantial constrains on possibility to get unbiased estimates of basic intermediate components (e.g., Net Primary Production, Heterotrophic Respiration) and final results (e.g., Net Ecosystem Carbon Budget) of the account within strictly defined confidential intervals based on any individually used carbon cycling method or model. We present a methodology attempting at minimizing possible biases and restricting the multivariate uncertainty.s space. The methodology follows the principles of applied systems analysis and is based on integration of major independent methods of carbon cycling study (landscape-ecosystem approach, process-based models, eddy covariance and inverse modelling) with following harmonizing and mutual constraints of the results. Based on a case study for Russia's forests, we discuss strengths and limitations of the outlined methodology.