Biomass Carbon Storage Research Articles

Carbon Storage Potential of Silvopastoral Systems of Colombia

Nine Latin American countries plan to use silvopastoral practices—incorporating trees into grazing lands—to mitigate climate change. However, the cumulative potential of scaling up silvopastoral systems at national levels is not well quantified. Here, we combined previously published tree cover data based on 250 m resolution MODIS satellite remote sensing imagery for 2000–2017 with ecofloristic zone carbon stock estimates to calculate historical and potential future tree biomass carbon storage in Colombian grasslands. Between 2000 and 2017, tree cover across all Colombian grasslands increased from 15% to 18%, with total biomass carbon (TBC) stocks increasing from 0.41 to 0.48 Pg. The range in 2017 carbon stock values in grasslands based on ecofloristic zones (5 to 122 Mg ha−1) suggests a potential for further increase. Increasing all carbon stocks to the current median and 75th percentile levels for the respective eco-floristic zone would increase TBC stocks by about 0.06 and 0.15 Pg, respectively. Incorporated into national C accounting, such Tier 2 estimates can set realistic targets for silvopastoral systems in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) implementation plans in Colombia and other Latin American countries with similar contexts.

A hard-to-keep promise: Vegetation use and aboveground carbon storage in silvopastures of the Dry Chaco

In dry woodland regions, silvopastures have emerged as a promising option to balance cattle production, carbon storage and biodiversity. However, one of the major challenges in these systems, particularly when implemented in a matrix of natural vegetation, is the preservation of tree populations in the face of management actions implemented by ranchers to control woody encroachment. Here, we investigate the extent of that tradeoff by analyzing the impact of woody encroachment control practices on carbon storage in silvopastures of the Argentine Dry Chaco. First, we analyze tree density and carbon storage in aboveground woody biomass for silvopastures and woodlands at 24 sites in five properties across the Argentine Dry Chaco. Then, we characterize vegetation management goals and actions of ranchers who have adopted silvopastures in that same region, combining field assessments, high-resolution imagery analysis, characterization of site history, and surveys. We find that woody biomass in silvopastures retains an average of 64 % of the carbon present in aboveground biomass in intact woodlands (28.8 Mg C ha−1). However, we also find that this storage capacity decreases by 12 % with each woody encroachment control intervention, due to these interventions’ negative effects on tree density. Ranchers expressed concern about tree mortality, but also indicated low profitability of wood products and highlighted woody encroachment as a major issue for livestock production. Therefore, ranchers feel they have no choice but to continue preventing woody encroachment, even if this implies the gradual depletion of tree populations. Understanding how ranchers manage silvopastures, and how that management affects the provision of ecosystem services, is essential and will require more careful long-term monitoring and evaluation. This is particularly true in agricultural frontiers such as the Argentine Dry Chaco, where silvopastoral systems have the potential to mitigate the seemingly irremediable conflict between commodity production and nature conservation.

Growth, Carbon Storage, and Optimal Rotation in Poplar Plantations: A Case Study on Clone and Planting Spacing Effects

Poplar, as the most widely cultivated fast-growing tree species in the middle latitude plain, provides important wood resources and plays an important role in mitigating climate change. In order to understand the response of growth, biomass production, carbon storage to poplar clones, planting spacings, and their interaction, a field trial was established in 2007. In 2018, we destructively harvested 24 sample trees for biomass measurements and stem analyses. Biomass production and carbon storage for the single tree of three clones enhanced as planting spacing increasing at the age of 13, but both the biomass production and carbon storage of clones NL-895 and NL-95 were higher than the clone NL-797 at the spacings of 6 × 6 m and 5 × 5 m. The average carbon concentration of the tested clones was in the order of stem > branches > leaves, and showed significant variation between different components (p < 0.05). Large spacing stimulated more biomass to be partitioned to the canopy. Based on the prediction values of tree volume growth by established Chapman–Richards models, the quantitative maturity ages of stand volume varied among the investigating plantations, ranging from 14 to 17 years old. Our results suggest that the selecting clones NL-895 and NL-95 with 6 × 6 m spacing would be recommended at similar sites for future poplar silviculture of larger diameter timber production, as well as for carbon sequestration.

Selective thinning and initial planting density management promote biomass and carbon storage in a chronosequence of evergreen conifer plantations in Southeast China

Climate change and human activities have continuously decreased productivity, carbon storage and soil fertility of global plantations under continuous planting. However, this situation can be largely reversed through appropriate planting density and thinning management. We evaluated the effects of initial planting density and selective thinning management on biomass accumulation and carbon stocks in different plantation compartments, on soil carbon stocks in different stand stages of a chronosequence of evergreen (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations in typical hilly and mountainous areas of Jiangxi Province, Southeast China.The result showed that biomass components and carbon storage of tree, understory and the whole ecosystem in C. lanceolata plantations were significantly higher with than without selective thinning treatment, in the low (1150 trees ha−1) than in the high (2460 trees ha−1) initial density in our study. Aboveground vegetation biomass and carbon storage in C. lanceolata plantations increased with stand stages. However, carbon storage of 0–10 cm and 20–40 cm soil depth decreased with stand stages, which indicated certain degraded characteristics of soil carbon in the C. lanceolata plantations. Interestingly, low initial density increased the biomass and carbon storage of trees, shrubs, herbs and 0–20 cm soil depth greater in the pre-mature and mature stands compared to high initial density. Furthermore, these positive effects of low density increased with selective thinning. According to regressions and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), increment in carbon of trees and 0–10 cm soil with the stand age were significantly higher in the low initial density and with selective thinning than in other three treatments.Therefore, selected thinning and relatively appropriate density might have a significantly positive role in carbon storage of the ecosystem in different stand ages, especially showing a increasing trend of soil carbon. Our results provide the important evidence for selective thinning management of C. lanceolata plantations with regeneration, which plays an important role in improving the carbon storage of degraded C. lanceolata plantations.

Moving toward Net-Zero Emissions Requires New Alliances for Carbon Dioxide Removal

The 1.5°C target will require removing at least some of the carbon dioxide (CO2) previously emitted. Knowledge on how this can be done has been increasing, though barriers remain concerning governance, policy, and acceptability. For the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to move beyond an academic debate on CO2 removal (CDR), a broader alliance of research and policy communities, industry, and the public is needed.

Carbon stocks, partitioning, and wood composition in short-rotation forestry system under reduced planting spacing

The use of reduced planting spacings is an important strategy to increase the carbon storage in the above-belowground biomass and should be recommended for future exploitation of forest energy plantations when the purpose intended is the production of biomass for energy. Recent concerns about global warming have resulted in more concerted studies on quantifying carbon storage in forest systems. Forest energy plantations play an essential role in the carbon storage. We proposed to evaluate the carbon storage and partitioning in short-rotation forest plantations and to characterize the elemental composition and energetic properties of the forest species Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden, Mimosa scabrella Benth, and Ateleia glazioviana Baill, grown under four planting spacings in Southern Brazil. A field study was conducted in order to evaluate forest carbon stock and wood composition using samples collected by direct method. The four spacings evaluated were 2.0 × 1.0, 2.0 × 1.5, 3.0 × 1.0, and 3.0 × 1.5 m. The Eucalyptus grandis stored 327.1 Mg C ha−1 at 2.0 × 1.5-m spacing. When compared with the 3.0 × 1.5-m spacing, we observed a reduction of 29% in carbon stored. All forest species showed higher carbon storage in the following partitioning pattern: trunk>roots>branches>leaves>litter. Forest species energetic properties and elemental composition were not affected by planting spacing. On the other hand, variations according the tree portions were observed. For the carbon stocks in the soil, we observed an average accumulated carbon stock for the forest species studied of 77.4 Mg C ha−1 (0–40 cm). Forest managers can accelerate growth and increase the forest carbon storage and biomass yield by using reduced planting spacing that are smaller than the current pattern used by the majority of the forest producers, which is 3.0 × 1.5 m. For Eucalyptus grandis and Mimosa scabrella, the planting spacings recommended to produce biomass and improve carbon stocks were 2.0 × 1.5 and 2.0 × 1.0 m, respectively.

CARBON POOLS IN OLD-GROWTH SCOTS PINE STANDS ON ORGANIC SOILS AND ITS CONCENTRATION IN DEADWOOD: CASES STUDY IN LATVIA

Carbon sequestration is crucial to mitigate climate changes, therefore it is important to have accurate estimates of carbon pools in the forest. So far, data on carbon pools in old-growth forests are very scarce, therefore aim of the study was to assess the carbon pools in old-growth Scots pine stands on organic soil and carbon concentration in deadwood of different decay classes in Latvia. Carbon content in deadwood was test in samples, collected in 26 randomly selected over mature, unmanaged stands across Latvia (five samples per decay class and tree species). Carbon pools were assessed in 38 sample plots (size 500 m2) in five Scots pine stands on wet organic soil (Caricoso- phragmitosa forest type) at the age of 167 to 203 years. Mean carbon concentration in deadwood across all species and decay classes was 46.6±1.57%. For aspen it did not change with progressing decay was found, but increase was observed for Scots pine, Norway spruce and birch. For these species difference in concentration between first three (more fresh) and last two decay classes (mean 45.9±0.9% and 49.9±1.6%, respectively) was statistically significant. Old-growth Scots pine stands on peat soils had rather large amount of deadwood: 100.6 ± 74.7 m3ha-1. However, its share in total carbon storage (290.0 ± 57.9 t ha-1) was small and most of carbon (57%) was found in soil. Mean annual carbon storage in tree biomass and deadwood decreased with stand age; its absolute value was similar in over-mature and mature (101-120 years) stands.

Elevation Distribution of Fine Root Biomass and Soil Organic Carbon Storage of Mature Chinese Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) Plantations in East China

Fine roots play an important role in productivity and dynamics of carbon and nutrient in forest ecosystems. The objective of this study is to reveal the elevational distribution patterns of fine-root (≤ 2 mm in diameter) biomass and its carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry, and the relationship between fine-root biomass and soil organic carbon storage in mature Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations (40-45 year old) in Mt. Dabie, eastern China. A field survey was conducted at five different sites along an elevation gradient from 360 m to 1200 m a.s.l. At each site, the sampling stands had similar density (from 1039 to 1238 stems ha–1) with three replicates. The fine-root biomass was ranged from 264.3 to 331.9 g m–2, with marginal significant correlation to elevation (P = 0.052). However, fine-root necromass was significantly decreased with elevation (P = 0.010). The C:N ratios ranged from 52.9 to 56.4 for living fine-roots and from 47.3 to 51.2 for dead ones, and showed an increasing trend over elevation gradient. Soil organic carbon (SOC) storages in the surface 50-cm soil layer ranged from 59.7 to 97.9 Mg ha–1 and significantly increased with elevation (P < 0.001). Positive correlations were observed between fine-root biomass and SOC density across this elevation gradient. These results indicate that fine-root turnover might be an important regulation of SOC in the Chinese fir plantation.

Comparing negative emissions and high renewable scenarios for the European power system

Emerging literature highlights the essential role played by decarbonised electricity generation in future energy systems consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement. This analysis compares the impacts of high levels of renewable electricity and negative emissions technologies on exploratory visions of the future EU power system (2050) in terms of emissions reduction, technical operation and total system costs. The analysis shows that high renewable power system scenarios coupled with low levels of negative emissions technologies, such as biomass carbon capture and storage (< 2% of installed capacity), can deliver a net-negative European power system at lower comparable cost without breaching published sustainable biomass potentials in Europe (or requiring imports) or geological storage potentials while also contributing to power system inertia. Direct air capture has the capability to further decrease overall carbon emissions. While carbon capture and storage and power-to-gas must overcome market, regulatory and social acceptance challenges, given their potential benefits to emissions reduction, costs and system operation their role in a future power system should be further explored.

Climate change and its effects on agricultural production in Finland – research efforts during the past 50 years

Climate change has concerned the scientific community since the 1970´s, stimulating research into its impacts, adaptation and mitigation. In 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established to coordinate the research. The first scientific publications on the effects of climate change on agriculture and forestry in Finland appeared in the early 1980´s. After the launch of the Finnish Research Program on Climate Change (SILMU) in 1990, the number of climate-related projects and publications, and the input of Finnish researchers in the work of the IPCC started to increase. During the subsequent programs, the initial optimism about future crop production conditions changed into an awareness of the threats represented by climate change. Diversity of production and breeding of heat and flooding tolerant, disease resistant and nutrient-use efficient crop varieties were identified as being crucial for adaptation of agriculture. Efficient water management, measures to limit nutrient leaching and timely control of pests and pathogens are also crucial adaptation measures. Carbon storage in soils and biomass and reduced use of organic fields are suggested to be mitigation measures. By 2019, the awareness of the threats of climate change prompted citizens worldwide to demand action, and government programs have begun to include policies addressing reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Lianas reduce biomass accumulation in early successional tropical forests.

Early successional tropical forests could mitigate climate change via rapid accumulation of atmospheric carbon. However, liana (woody vine) abundance and biomass has been increasing in many tropical forests over the past decades, which may slow the speed at which secondary forests accumulate biomass. Lianas decrease biomass accumulation in tropical forests, and may have a particularly strong effect on young forests by stalling tree growth. As forests mature, trees may outgrow or shed lianas, thus escaping some of the negative effects of lianas. Alternatively, lianas may have the strongest effect in older successional forests if the effect of lianas is commensurate with their density, which increases dramatically in the first decades of forest succession. We tested these two hypotheses using a landscape liana-removal experiment in 30 forest stands that ranged from 10 to 35yr old in Central Panama. We measured tree growth and biomass accumulation in the stands every year from 2014 to 2017. We found that the effect of liana removal on large trees (≥20-cm diameter) decreased with forest age, supporting the hypothesis that lianas have the strongest negative effects on trees, and thus biomass uptake and carbon storage, in very young successional forests. Large trees accumulated more biomass in the absence of lianas in younger forests than in older forests (compared to controls) even after accounting for the effect of canopy completeness and crown illumination, implying that the detrimental effects of lianas go well beyond resource availability and crown health. There was no significant effect of lianas on small trees (1-20-cm diameter), likely because lianas seek light and thus do not deploy their leaves on small trees that are trapped in the forest understory. Our results show that high liana density early in forest succession reduces forest biomass accumulation by negatively impacting large trees, thus decreasing the capacity of young secondary forests to mitigate climate change. Although the negative effects of lianas on forest biomass diminish as forests age, they do not disappear, and thus lianas are an important component of tropical forest carbon budgets throughout succession.

Accounting for multiple ecosystem services in a simulation of land-use decisions: Does it reduce tropical deforestation?

Conversion of tropical forests is among the primary causes of global environmental change. The loss of their important environmental services has prompted calls to integrate ecosystem services (ES) in addition to socio-economic objectives in decision-making. To test the effect of accounting for both ES and socio-economic objectives in land-use decisions, we develop a new dynamic approach to model deforestation scenarios for tropical mountain forests. We integrate multi-objective optimization of land allocation with an innovative approach to consider uncertainty spaces for each objective. These uncertainty spaces account for potential variability among decision-makers, who may have different expectations about the future. When optimizing only socio-economic objectives, the model continues the past trend in deforestation (1975-2015) in the projected land-use allocation (2015-2070). Based on indicators for biomass production, carbon storage, climate and water regulation, and soil quality, we show that considering multiple ES in addition to the socio-economic objectives has heterogeneous effects on land-use allocation. It saves some natural forest if the natural forest share is below 38%, and can stop deforestation once the natural forest share drops below 10%. For landscapes with high shares of forest (38%-80% in our study), accounting for multiple ES under high uncertainty of their indicators may, however, accelerate deforestation. For such multifunctional landscapes, two main effects prevail: (a) accelerated expansion of diversified non-natural areas to elevate the levels of the indicators and (b) increased landscape diversification to maintain multiple ES, reducing the proportion of natural forest. Only when accounting for vascular plant species richness as an explicit objective in the optimization, deforestation was consistently reduced. Aiming for multifunctional landscapes may therefore conflict with the aim of reducing deforestation, which we can quantify here for the first time. Our findings are relevant for identifying types of landscapes where this conflict may arise and to better align respective policies.

Multicriteria decision-support system to assess the potential of exclosure-based conservation in Ethiopia

AbstractLand degradation is a global challenge that affects lives and livelihoods in many communities. Since 1950, about 65% of Africa's cropland, on which millions of people depend, has been affected by land degradation caused by mining, poor farming practices and illegal logging. One-quarter of the land area of Ethiopia is severely degraded. As part of interventions to restore ecosystem services, exclosures have been implemented in Ethiopia since the 1980s. But the lack of tools to support prioritization and more efficient targeting of areas for large-scale exclosure-based interventions remains a challenge. Within that perspective, the overarching objectives of the current study were: (i) to develop a Geographic Information System-based multicriteria decision-support tool that would help in the identification of suitable areas for exclosure initiatives; (ii) to provide spatially explicit information, aggregated by river basin and agroecology, on potential areas for exclosure interventions and (iii) to conduct ex-ante analysis of the potential of exclosure areas for improving ecosystem services in terms of increase in above-ground biomass (AGB) production and carbon storage. The results of this study demonstrated that as much as 10% of Ethiopia's land area is suitable for establishing exclosures. This amounts to 11 million hectares (ha) of land depending on the criteria used to define suitability for exclosure. Of this total, a significant proportion (0.5–0.6 million ha) is currently under agricultural land-use systems. In terms of propriety river basins, we found that the largest amount of suitable area for exclosures falls in the Abay (2.6 million ha) and Tekeze (2.2 million ha) river basins, which are hosts to water infrastructure such as hydropower dams and are threatened by siltation. Ex-ante analysis of ecosystem services indicated that about 418 million tons of carbon can be stored in the AGB through exclosure land use. Ethiopia has voluntarily committed to the Bonn Challenge to restore 15 million ha of degraded land by 2025. The decision-support tool developed by the current study and the information so generated go toward supporting the planning, implementation and monitoring of these kinds of local and regional initiatives.

Shifts in functional compositions predict desired multifunctionality along fragmentation intensities in an alpine grassland

Abstract Grassland ecosystems are experiencing increasing perturbations from climate change and anthropogenic activities, which often cause vegetation fragmentation and grassland degradation. Although individual ecosystem functions have been extensively investigated in the vegetation fragmentation and grassland degradation processes, the multiple ecosystem functions are rarely evaluated. Moreover, little is known on how species richness and functional compositions are associated with individual functions, and how such functions contribute to multifunctionality during vegetation fragmentation. In this study, 14 interconnected functions were derived from the seven fragmentation intensities of grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. According to vegetation continuity, three communities (an ungrazed grasses and Kobresia humilis community, a lightly-grazed Kobresia humilis and K. pygmaea community, and a medium-grazed K. pygmaea community) were treated as the pre-patchiness stage, and four communities (a heavily-grazed cracked K. pygmaea community, an eroded K. pygmaea community, a severely eroded K. pygmaea community, and a bare black-soil crust) were treated as the vegetation patchiness stage. Multivariate diversity interaction framework was used to test the effects of species richness and functional composition on multiple ecosystem functions. Desired multifunctionality was assessed based on three relatively independent functions: aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. The threshold was identified to signify the rapid decline of the multifunctionality. Our results showed that positive effects of species richness were observed among most of the functions in pre-patchiness communities. Such effects disappeared in vegetation patchiness communities. Shifts in functional composition explained the large variations in most of the functions in the two stages. Furthermore, a trade-off in abundance between grasses and sedges contributed to the negative correlation between the aboveground and belowground biomass in the pre-patchiness stage. Consistent decreases in the abundance of functional groups led to a rapid decline of the individual functions, and, as a consequence, an abrupt decline in the multifunctionality. Our results demonstrated that managing grassland for ecosystem multifunctionality and species conservation requires a detailed understanding of the effects of the various drivers, including species richness, functional composition, grazing intensity, and climate conditions.

Biomass and soil carbon along altitudinal gradients in temperate Cedrus deodara forests in Central Himalaya, India: Implications for climate change mitigation

Abstract Carbon inventories are urgently needed for understanding climate dynamics and implementing climate mitigation strategies, but such data is scarce in for forest ecosystem of Himalaya. Therefore, the present study focuses to supplement the existing information by estimating carbon stocks in temperate forests dominated by Cedrus deodara along the altitudinal gradients in the Central Himalaya. Three altitudes i.e., lower (1750 m), middle (1900 m) and upper (2050 m) of the stand was considered to understand and estimate biomass and soil carbon storage potential of the forests based on the standard protocol. The results showed that the soil carbon stock (SOC) decreased significantly with increasing soil depths and altitudes. Litterfall production in the forests varied adversely with altitude. Above and below-ground biomass carbon stock also decreased along with altitude. The study observed that the total carbon stock (soil, trees and forest floor) of the Cedrus deodara forest in different altitudes was 395.4 t ha−1 (lower altitude), 321.6 t ha−1 (middle altitude) and 282.5 t ha−1 (upper altitude). The estimates of the Cedrus forests would provide guidelines for estimating carbon for forest-based mitigation activities in the Himalayan region.

Response of tree community composition, plant diversity and aboveground tree biomass in tropical rainforests of Sri Lanka to variation in altitude

Tropical rain forests (TRFs) are a major carbon sink and play an important role in regulating the global climate. Floristic composition, structure and carbon storage in biomass of TRFs could vary substantially with climatic and edaphic factors. Altitudinal transects represent an excellent setting for investigating the responses of TRFs to environmental change. Objectives of this study were to determine the variation patterns and possible inter-relationships between plant community composition, diversity and aboveground biomass (AGB) in TRFs across an altitudinal gradient from 134 m to 1,667 m above sea level in Sri Lanka. Five permanent sampling plots of 1 ha each, consisting of four plots in lowland rainforests in Kanneliya and Pitadeniya- Sinharaja Forest Reserves and one plot in the tropical montane forest in Rilagala, were established. Trees with DBH≥10 cm were measured and taxonomically identified. A total of 3,781 trees, belonging to 191 species from 106 genera and 53 families were recorded, with a total basal area of 203.68 m2. Floristic composition of sampling plots showed substantial variation with altitude. Tree density and numbers of species, genera and families and plant diversity indices (i.e. Shannon-Wiener and Simpson’s Indices, evenness and richness of tree species) showed negative curvilinear declines with increasing altitude. Mean DBH, tree basal area and AGB increased from low- (348 kg ha-1) to midaltitudes (762 kg ha-1) and decreased from mid- to highaltitudes (70 kg ha-1), thus showing second-order polynomial relationships with altitude. Similar trends were shown between AGB and tree species number and diversity indices, thus indicating that AGB is maximum at intermediate vegetation diversity.

Growth and carbon storage of black saxaul in afforested areas of the Aralkum Desert

This study aimed to determine the growth and carbon storage of planted Haloxylon aphyllum in the Aralkum Desert in Kazakhstan. Six sites afforested in 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2017 were selected. The root collar diameter (cm) and height (m) were measured for all H. aphyllum in 30 m×44 m plots. Biomass accumulation (g m-2) and carbon storage (C g m-2) were calculated using allometric equations and the carbon concentration data of Haloxylon species. The diameters varied from 2.5 cm to 4.3 cm and the height varied from 106.2 cm to 223.7 cm. The growth of H. aphyllum was not linearly related to the afforestation year or soil properties. Tree growth might have been influenced by variations in the microclimate, such as temperature, precipitation, and dust storms. The mean total biomass accumulation was 20.57 g m-2 and ranged from 2.42 g m-2 to 64.53 g m-2. The mean carbon storage was 9.70 C g m-2 and ranged from 1.12 C g m-2 to 30.61 C g m-2. These biomass and carbon storage estimates were smaller than those reported for other Central Asian deserts, but afforestation enabled the generation of vegetative cover and consequently, carbon sequestration in the manmade Aralkum Desert.

Estimation of carbon storage of forest biomass for voluntary carbon markets: preliminary results

Estimating the carbon storage of forests is essential to support climate change mitigation and promote the transition into a low-carbon emission economy. To achieve this goal, voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) are essential. VCMs are promoted by a spontaneous demand, not imposed by binding targets, as the regulated ones. In Italy, only in Veneto and Piedmont Regions (Northern Italy), VCMs through forestry activities were carried out. Valle Camonica District (Northern Italy, Lombardy Region) is ready for a local VCM, but carbon storage of its forests was never estimated. The aim of this work was to estimate the total carbon storage (TCS; t C ha−1) of forest biomass of Valle Camonica District, at the stand level, taking into account: (1) aboveground biomass, (2) belowground biomass, (3) deadwood, and (4) litter. We developed a user-friendly model, based on site-specific primary (measured) data, and we applied it to a dataset of 2019 stands extracted from 45 Forest Management Plans. Preliminary results showed that, in 2016, the TCS achieved 76.02 t C ha−1. The aboveground biomass was the most relevant carbon pool (48.86 t C ha−1; 64.27% of TCS). From 2017 to 2029, through multifunctional forest management, the TCS could increase of 2.48 t C ha−1 (+ 3.26%). In the same period, assuming to convert coppices stands to high forests, an additional TCS of 0.78 t C ha−1 (equal to 2.85 t CO2 ha−1) in the aboveground biomass could be achieved without increasing forest areas. The additional carbon could be certified and exchanged on a VCM, contributing to climate change mitigation at a local level.

Re-estimating the changes and ranges of forest biomass carbon in China during the past 40\u2009years

BackgroundIn recent decades the future of global forests has been a matter of increasing concern, particularly in relation to the threat of forest ecosystem responses under potential climate change. To the future predictions of these responses, the current forest biomass carbon storage (FCS) should first be clarified as much as possible, especially at national scales. However, few studies have introduced how to verify an FCS estimate by delimiting the reasonable ranges. This paper addresses an estimation of national FCS and its verification using two-step process to narrow the uncertainty. Our study focuses on a methodology for reducing the uncertainty resulted by converting from growing stock volume to above- and below-ground biomass (AB biomass), so as to eliminate the significant bias in national scale estimations.MethodsWe recommend splitting the estimation into two parts, one part for stem and the other part for AB biomass to preclude possible significant bias. Our method estimates the stem biomass from volume and wood density (WD), and converts the AB biomass from stem biomass by using allometric relationships.ResultsBased on the presented two-step process, the estimation of China’s FCS is performed as an example to explicate how to infer the ranges of national FCS. The experimental results demonstrate a national FCS estimation within the reasonable ranges (relative errors: + 4.46% and − 4.44%), e.g., 5.6–6.1 PgC for China’s forest ecosystem at the beginning of the 2010s. These ranges are less than 0.52 PgC for confirming each FCS estimate of different periods during the last 40 years. In addition, our results suggest the upper-limits by specifying a highly impractical value of WD (0.7 t∙m− 3) on the national scale. As a control reference, this value decides what estimate is impossible to achieve for the FCS estimates.ConclusionsPresented methodological analysis highlights the possibility to determine a range that the true value could be located in. The two-step process will help to verify national FCS and also to reduce uncertainty in related studies. While the true value of national FCS is immeasurable, our work should motivate future studies that explore new estimations to approach the true value by narrowing the uncertainty in FCS estimations on national and global scales.

Carbon assimilation and sequestration by industrial crop Jerusalem artichoke in coastal saline land

Understanding the role of Jerusalem artichoke grown in low fertility coastal saline soil in carbon sequestration is important for characterizing the relationship between soil use in agriculture production and carbon sequestration. In the present study, the mechanisms of photosynthesis and carbon distribution were studied in three saline soils with different salt contents (Xinyang 0.6–1.0 g salt/kg; Dafeng 1.5–2.4 g salt/kg; Shuntai 3.8–4.5 g salt/kg) by characterizing the biomass production, carbon storage, and carbon sequestration in the soil under Jerusalem artichoke. The biomass production and carbon storage during the growth cycle of Jerusalem artichoke were significantly higher in Dafeng than the other plots. The highest carbon sequestration was found in the Xinyang plot. The organic matter content in the rhizosphere soil was 28–44% higher than that in the non-rhizosphere soil. The soil organic carbon content in the rhizosphere soil was higher than that in the non-rhizosphere soil. High soil salinities decreased the carbon storage of Jerusalem artichoke. Carbon sequestration in soil decreased with the increase in soil salinity.