Project description

Title: Afforestation management in north-western Europe - influence on nitrogen leaching, groundwater recharge, and carbon sequestration.

Acronym: AFFOREST.

EU contract number: EVK1-CT-00020

Running period: May 2000--April 2004

Abstract: The overall aim of AFFOREST is to elaborate guidelines for afforestation of former agricultural land in north-western Europe to account for a number of environmental impact categories: atmospheric deposition, the leaching of nitrate, groundwater recharge, and carbon sequestration. The guidelines will be based on i) exploitation of existing research data complemented by data to be collected on issues where the present scientific knowledge is insufficient, ii) development and use of process-based models and (iii) a GIS-based system for scenario-analysis and decision support (AFFOREST-DSS). The objective of the guidelines and AFFOREST-DSS is to support end-users like landscape planners (on a local level) and policy makers (on a national/regional level) scheming future afforestation projects in an environmentally sound way.

Co-ordination: Forest and Landscape Denmark

Senior researcher Lars Vesterdal, Phone +45 353 31672,

 

Partners:

• Institute of Environmental Sciences Energy Research and Process Innovation, TNO-MEP (the Netherlands)
• Utrecht University, Section of Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology (the Netherlands)
• Alterra Green World Research (the Netherlands)
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Soils and Department of Forest Management and Products (Sweden)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Laboratory of Forest, Nature and Landscape Research, Department of Land Management

Read the full project description