Carbon Sequestration in Forest and Semi-Natural Ecosystems

Forest ecosystems store large quantities of carbon in above- and belowground biomass, dead wood, forest floor and mineral soil. The pertinent question is whether these carbon stocks can be increased through targeted forest management and selection of tree species as well as land-use change.

For assessments of global warming potentials of forest ecosystems we also study the flux dynamics of the strong greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide.

Our main focus is:

• How do tree species and tree species mixtures affect soil carbon stocks?

• How does forest management such as silvicultural system, drainage and harvesting intensity affect soil C stocks?

• To which extent does land-use change (e.g. cropland to forest and grassland to forest) influence the potential to sequester carbon in biomass and soil – and how fast?

• How much do the strong greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide) contribute or offset the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in forests?

• Can we estimate changes in soil and biomass carbon stocks over decades using our established soil inventory networks?

Our research supports Denmark’s international commitment to monitor and document carbon stock change in forests and forest-related land-use change under the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.

Collaboration

We collaborate with other Danish research institutes as well as many European research institutes through participation in EU Framework Program 7 Integrated Projects.