Carbon mitigation in the peri urban forest of Xanthi, Greece: a GIS mapping application

Abstract

The global average surface temperature is determined by the energy balance of the Earth, which is affected by, among other factors, gases that can absorb or reflect either solar radiation or the radiation from the Earth’s surface. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere absorb radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface and re-emit that radiation back towards the surface, increasing the Earth’s surface temperature. In this work, the medium-term effects of three forest thinning interventions on GHG emissions from forest soil and on litterfall biomass were studied. The studied area was a peri-urban forest in Greece. Two years after the thinning interventions, the thinning was found to have significantly affected the CO2 flux from the soil, although the impact of the thinning was weak. Litterfall was also significantly decreased two years after the thinning interventions. Litterfall was reduced at all thinned sites, with the greatest reduction observed at the most intensely thinned sites. Generating carbon pool maps in a GIS environment allowed the GHG distribution and litterfall biomass to be easily visualized. Such mapping may prove useful to local policy makers when they are planning appropriate sustainable actions aimed at climate-change mitigation.