"Terrestrial ecosystem carbon turnover time (τ) is the average time that carbon atoms spend in terrestrial ecosystems from the initial photosynthetic fixation until respiratory or non-respiratory loss. Ecosystem turnover time is an emergent property that represents the macro-scale turnover rate of terrestrial carbon that results from different processes such as plant mortality and soil decomposition. Alongside photosynthetic fixation of carbon, τ is a critical ecosystem property that co-determines the terrestrial carbon storage and the terrestrial carbon sink potential. "^[1]