Fire, Global Warming, and the Carbon Balance of Boreal Forests

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Kasischke ◽  
N. L. Christensen ◽  
Brian J. Stocks
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Carbon Balance

scholarly journals Carbon dioxide and methane exchange of a patterned subarctic fen during two contrasting growing seasons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Heiskanen ◽  
Juha-Pekka Tuovinen ◽  
Aleksi Räsänen ◽  
Tarmo Virtanen ◽  
Sari Juutinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Annual Carbon ◽  
Ecosystem Level ◽  
Community Types ◽  
Annual Carbon Balance

<p>Abstract</p><p>Northern mires have sequestered substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon since the last glacial period forming one of the largest carbon pools in the biosphere (Hugelius et al., 2020). Current global warming is causing the subarctic and arctic regions warm rapidly, two to three times as fast as the rest of the world (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2018), which will affect the carbon balance of these mires.</p><p>In Kaamanen, northern Finland, we studied carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) and methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) exchange between patterned mesotrophic fen and the atmosphere, both on ecosystem and plant community level. The ecosystem level measurements were conducted by utilizing eddy covariance method, while the fluxes on plant community scale were measured with flux chambers. The studied fen can be described as a mosaic of strings and flarks (or hummocks and hollows, respectively). The microtopography of the string-flark continuum form four main plant community types with varying water table conditions and vegetation composition. The measurements took place in 2017–2018. The two years in question were contrasting in their meteorological and environmental conditions. The 2017 growing season had average temperature, but high precipitation sum, while 2018 growing season was warm and dry. In July 2018 a north-western Europe-wide heatwave caused a month-long drought period at the site. Compared to 2017, the annual carbon balance of the Kaamanen fen was affected by earlier onset of photosynthesis in spring and the drought event during summer 2018.</p><p>We found that the annual carbon balance of the fen did not differ markedly between the studied years, even though the meteorological and environmental conditions did. The earlier onset of growing season in 2018 strengthened the CO<sub>2</sub> sink of the ecosystem, but this gain was counterbalanced by the later drought period. Additionally, we found strong spatial variation in CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> dynamics between the main plant communities. Most of the variation in ecosystem level carbon exchange could be explained by the variation in water table level, soil temperature and vegetation characteristics, which were also the environmental factors that varied between the plant community types.</p><p> </p><p>References</p><p>Hugelius, G., Loisel, J., Chadburn, S., Jackson, R. B., Jones, M., MacDonald, G., Marushchak, M., Olefeldt, D., Packalen, M., Siewert, M. B., Treat, C., Turetsky, M., Voigt, C. and Yu, Z.: Large stocks of peatland carbon and nitrogen are vulnerable to permafrost thaw, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 117, 20438–20446, doi:10.1073/pnas.1916387117, 2020.</p><p>Masson-Delmotte, V., Zhai, P., Pörtner, H.-O., Roberts, D., Skea, J., Shukla, P. R., Pirani, A., Moufouma-Okia, W., Péan, C., Pidcock, R., Connors, S., Matthews, J. B. R., Chen, Y., Zhou, X., Gomis, M. I., Lonnoy, E., Maycock, T., Tignor, M. and Waterfield T. (Eds.): Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2018.</p>

Multi-objective forestry increases the production of ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olalla Díaz-Yáñez ◽  
Timo Pukkala ◽  
Petteri Packalen ◽  
Manfred J Lexer ◽  
Heli Peltola
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Simulation And Optimization ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Continuous Cover Forestry

Abstract Boreal forests produce multiple ecosystem services for the society. Their trade-offs determine whether they should be produced simultaneously or whether it is preferable to assign separate areas to different ecosystem services. We use simulation and optimization to analyse the correlations, trade-offs and production levels of several ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry over 100 years in a boreal forest landscape. The case study area covers 3600 ha of boreal forest, consisting of 3365 stands. The ecosystem services and their indicators (in parentheses) considered are carbon sequestration (forestry carbon balance), biodiversity (amount of deadwood and broadleaf volume), economic profitability of forestry (net present value of timber production) and timber supply to forest industry (volume of harvested timber). The treatment alternatives simulated for each of the stands include both even-aged rotation forestry (thinning from above with clear cut) and continuous cover forestry regimes (thinning from above with no clear cut). First, we develop 200 Pareto optimal plans by maximizing multi-attribute utility functions using random weights for the ecosystem service indicators. Second, we compare the average level of ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry. Based on our findings, forestry carbon balance and the amount of deadwood correlate positively with each other, and both of them correlate negatively with harvested timber volume and economic profitability of forestry. Despite this, the simultaneous maximization of multiple objectives increased the overall production levels of several ecosystem services, which suggests that the management of boreal forests should be multi-objective to sustain the simultaneous provision of timber and other ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Effects of wind damage on the optimal management of boreal forests under current and changing climatic conditions

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ane Zubizarreta-Gerendiain ◽  
Timo Pukkala ◽  
Heli Peltola
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Wind Damage ◽  
Timber Production ◽  
Optimal Management ◽  
Management Plans

This study presents a new method for considering the risk of wind damage in forest planning and for predicting the amount of damage and its effects on timber production, economic profitability and carbon balance of forestry. The effects of wind damage on the optimal management of boreal forests under current and changing climatic conditions were analyzed by comparing four forest management plans. A reference plan maximized net present value (NPV) with even-flow harvesting constraints. The second plan minimized height differences between adjacent stands, the third minimized height differences while simultaneously maximizing NPV, and the fourth maximized height differences between adjacent stands. To obtain damage-adjusted results, schedules that belonged to the optimal management plans were simulated with wind damage, taking into account the shelter provided by adjacent stands. Maximizing NPV and simultaneously minimizing height differences resulted in the highest damage-adjusted NPV. Increasing wind damage increased carbon balance of forest soil but decreased the total carbon balance of forestry as it decreased the carbon balances of living forest biomass and wood-based products. Climate change slightly improved the total carbon balance of forestry. If wind damage was ignored in calculations, NPV, total carbon balance of forestry, and timber production were overestimated.

scholarly journals Applicability of international indicators of land degradation neutrality estimation for Russian boreal forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-198
Author(s):  
A. V. Ptichnikov ◽  
D. V. Karelin ◽  
V. M. Kotlyakov ◽  
Y. A. Pautov ◽  
A. Y. Borovlev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Degradation ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Komi Republic ◽  
Middle Taiga ◽  
Taiga Zone ◽  
Land Productivity ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
Different Types

In this paper, we analyze applicability of Land degradation neutrality (LDN) concept of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification for Russian boreal forests. In this regard, it is necessary to adapt the three global LDN indicators (land cover, land productivity, and carbon stocks) to the assessment of land degradation processes of boreal forests in Russia and around the world. The proposed study concludes that landscapes with different types of forest restoration dynamics can be viewed as the object in forest land dynamic studies. The proposed research also suggests the set of LDN indicators adapted for boreal forests conditions. In order to assess LDN proxies we calculated the retrospective and projected net carbon balance in the middle taiga zone of Noshulskoye forest domain (Komi Republic, Russia) using the CBM CFS model. Here we explored 3 scenarios of forest net carbon balance under the three different felling regimes. It was shown that the net carbon balance cannot be applied as an independent LDN indicator, since it does not take into account changes in species diversity and primary productivity. We also suggest that industrial felling should imitate natural types of restoration dynamics in order to achieve LDN targets. It can be reached through minimization of forest felling at sites with fireless types of succession, which accumulate maximum stocks of dead phytomass matter and serve as forest refuges supporting biodiversity.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Effect of Climate Warming on Paludification Processes: Will Soil Conditions Limit the Adaptation of Northern Boreal Forests to Climate Change? A Synthesis

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1176
Author(s):  
Ahmed Laamrani ◽  
Osvaldo Valeria ◽  
Abdelghani Chehbouni ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Peat Accumulation

Northern boreal forests are characterized by accumulation of accumulation of peat (e.g., known as paludification). The functioning of northern boreal forest species and their capacity to adapt to environmental changes appear to depend on soil conditions. Climate warming is expected to have particularly pronounced effects on paludified boreal ecosystems and can alter current forest species composition and adaptation by changing soil conditions such as moisture, temperature regimes, and soil respiration. In this paper, we review and synthesize results from various reported studies (i.e., 88 research articles cited hereafter) to assess the effects of climatic warming on soil conditions of paludified forests in North America. Predictions that global warming may increase the decomposition rate must be considered in combination with its impact on soil moisture, which appears to be a limiting factor. Local adaptation or acclimation to current climatic conditions is occurring in boreal forests, which is likely to be important for continued ecosystem stability in the context of climate change. The most commonly cited response of boreal forest species to global warming is a northward migration that tracks the climate and soil conditions (e.g., temperature and moisture) to which they are adapted. Yet, some constraints may influence this kind of adaptation, such as water availability, changes in fire regimes, decomposer adaptations, and the dynamic of peat accumulation. In this paper, as a study case, we examined an example of potential effects of climatic warming on future paludification changes in the eastern lowland region of Canada through three different combined hypothetical scenarios based on temperature and precipitation (e.g., unchanged, increase, or decrease). An increase scenario in precipitation will likely favor peat accumulation in boreal forest stands prone to paludification and facilitate forested peatland expansion into upland forest, while decreased or unchanged precipitation combined with an increase in temperature will probably favor succession of forested peatlands to upland boreal forests. Each of the three scenarios were discussed in this study, and consequent silvicultural treatment options were suggested for each scenario to cope with anticipated soil and species changes in the boreal forests. We concluded that, despite the fact boreal soils will not constrain adaptation of boreal forests, some consequences of climatic warming may reduce the ability of certain species to respond to natural disturbances such as pest and disease outbreaks, and extreme weather events.

Impact of global warming on the tree species composition of boreal forests in Finland and effects on emissions of isoprenoids

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 531-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seppo Kellomäki ◽  
Ismo Rouvinen ◽  
Heli Peltola ◽  
Harri Strandman ◽  
Rainer Steinbrecher
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Tree Species Composition
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