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Background: We analyze the forest carbon stock development following the recent historically unprecedented dieback of coniferous stands in the Czech Republic. The drought-induced bark-beetle infestation resulted in record-high sanitary logging and total harvest more than doubled from the previous period. It turned Czech forestry from a long-term carbon sink offsetting about 6% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 to a significant source of CO2 emissions in recent years (2018–2021). In 2020, the forestry sector contributed nearly 10% to the country's overall GHG emissions. Using the nationally calibrated Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) at a regional (NUTS3) spatial resolution, we analyzed four scenarios of forest carbon stock development until 2070. Two critical points arise: the short-term prognosis for reducing current emissions from forestry and the implementation of adaptive forest management focused on tree species change and sustained carbon accumulation. Results: This study used four different spruce forest dieback scenarios to assess the impact of adaptive forest management on the forest carbon stock change and CO2 emissions, tree species composition, harvest possibilities, and forest structure in response to the recent unprecedented calamitous dieback in the Czech Republic. The model analysis indicates that Czech forestry may stabilize by 2025 Subsequently, it may become a sustained sink of about 3 Mt CO2 eq./year (excluding the contribution of harvested wood products), while enhancing forest resilience by the gradual implementation of adaptation measures. The speed of adaptation is linked to harvest intensity and severity of the current calamity. Under the pessimistic Black scenario, the proportion of spruce stands declines from the current 43–20% by 2070, in favor of more suited tree species such as fir and broadleaves. These species would also constitute over 50% of the harvest potential, increasingly contributing to harvest levels like those generated by Czech forestry prior to the current calamity. The standing stock would only be recovered in 50 years under the optimistic Green scenario. Conclusion: The results show progress of adaptive management by implementing tree species change and quantify the expected harvest and mitigation potential in Czech forestry until 2070. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust estimates of CO2 budget, CO2 exchanged between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere, are necessary to better understand the role of the terrestrial biosphere in mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Over the past decade, this field of research has advanced through understanding of the differences and similarities of two fundamentally different approaches: "top‐down" atmospheric inversions and "bottom‐up" biosphere models. Since the first studies were undertaken, these approaches have shown an increasing level of agreement, but disagreements in some regions still persist, in part because they do not estimate the same quantity of atmosphere–biosphere CO2 exchange. Here, we conducted a thorough comparison of CO2 budgets at multiple scales and from multiple methods to assess the current state of the science in estimating CO2 budgets. Our set of atmospheric inversions and biosphere models, which were adjusted for a consistent flux definition, showed a high level of agreement for global and hemispheric CO2 budgets in the 2000s. Regionally, improved agreement in CO2 budgets was notable for North America and Southeast Asia. However, large gaps between the two methods remained in East Asia and South America. In other regions, Europe, boreal Asia, Africa, South Asia, and Oceania, it was difficult to determine whether those regions act as a net sink or source because of the large spread in estimates from atmospheric inversions. These results highlight two research directions to improve the robustness of CO2 budgets: (a) to increase representation of processes in biosphere models that could contribute to fill the budget gaps, such as forest regrowth and forest degradation; and (b) to reduce sink–source compensation between regions (dipoles) in atmospheric inversion so that their estimates become more comparable. Advancements on both research areas will increase the level of agreement between the top‐down and bottom‐up approaches and yield more robust knowledge of regional CO2 budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short rotation plantations are often considered as holding vast potentials for future global bioenergy supply. In contrast to raising biomass harvests in forests, purpose‐grown biomass does not interfere with forest carbon (C) stocks. Provided that agricultural land can be diverted from food and feed production without impairing food security, energy plantations on current agricultural land appear as a beneficial option in terms of renewable, climate‐friendly energy supply. However, instead of supporting energy plantations, land could also be devoted to natural succession. It then acts as a long‐term C sink which also results in C benefits. We here compare the sink strength of natural succession on arable land with the C saving effects of bioenergy from plantations. Using geographically explicit data on global cropland distribution among climate and ecological zones, regionally specific C accumulation rates are calculated with IPCC default methods and values. C savings from bioenergy are given for a range of displacement factors (DFs), acknowledging the varying efficiency of bioenergy routes and technologies in fossil fuel displacement. A uniform spatial pattern is assumed for succession and bioenergy plantations, and the considered timeframes range from 20 to 100 years. For many parameter settings—in particular, longer timeframes and high DFs—bioenergy yields higher cumulative C savings than natural succession. Still, if woody biomass displaces liquid transport fuels or natural gas‐based electricity generation, natural succession is competitive or even superior for timeframes of 20–50 years. This finding has strong implications with climate and environmental policies: Freeing land for natural succession is a worthwhile low‐cost natural climate solution that has many co‐benefits for biodiversity and other ecosystem services. A considerable risk, however, is C stock losses (i.e., emissions) due to disturbances or land conversion at a later time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study were 1) to estimate the biomass in the mangrove forests using satellite imagery and airborne LiDAR data, and 2) to estimate the amount of carbon stock changes using biomass estimated. The study area is located in the coastal area of the South Sumatra state, Indonesia. This area is approximately 66,500 ha with mostly flat land features. In this study, the following procedures were carried out: (1) Classification of types of tree species using Satellite imagery in the study area, (2) Development of correlation equations between spatial volume based on LiDAR data and biomass stock based on field survey for each types of tree species, and estimation of total biomass stock and carbon stock using the equation, and (3) Estimation of carbon stock change using Chronological Satellite Imageries. The result showed the biomass and the amount of carbon stock changes can be estimated with high accuracy, by combining the spatial volume based on airborne LiDAR data with the tree species classification based on satellite imagery. Quantitative biomass monitoring is in demand for projects related to REDD+ in developing countries, and this study showed that combining airborne LiDAR data with satellite imagery is one of the effective methods of monitoring for REDD+ projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International agreements require countries to annually report on greenhouse gas emissions and removals. For the land-use sector, this includes estimating stock changes in various carbon pools. For carbon pools like mineral forest soil where a country-level statistical inventory based on measurements is very difficult, models are usually applied together with data from case studies. In this paper, we present a country-specific model together with case studies that aim at capturing major soil processes due to forestry activity. These processes include “hot moments”, e.g., disturbances that occur rarely but might result in relatively high emissions. The model only aims at developing a conservative estimate, rather than a central one, of net country-level carbon stock change with emissions overestimated and removals underestimated. The model is partially parameterised using paired sampling of soil organic carbon in the uppermost 30-cm layer, applying standard methods including those suggested by IPCC, in afforestations on former croplands and in artificial regenerations. Results show that soils of afforested croplands act as a sink, and carbon stock after regeneration might decrease due to disturbance by forest operations, but might also increase due to transfer of carbon from dead roots to soil depending on disturbance levels. The estimation at the country level, which involves additional considerations and data from the literature, suggests that overall, forest soils are a net sink in Hungary, but also that artificially limiting soil organic carbon changes estimation to the uppermost 30-cm layer as applied in the IPCC methodology might lead to artefacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent days, climate change is a main global problem which concerns the scientists. Climate change is defined as the change of global mean temperature. While the reasons for global climate change were investigated, the effect of CO2, which is the most important greenhouse gas, was found. In the world the oceans and forests are the biggest carbon sinks. So the forests are very important for climate change and carbon storage. 75% of carbon was stocked by plants in the forests. In this study, we aimed to determine the carbon stock change between 1970 and 2009 in Saraycık Forest Management Chiefdom using the carbon conversion coefficient calculated for Turkey's forests by Asan (2002). The stand type maps and forest management plans produced in 1970 and 2009 were digitized for calculating the carbon stock. In addition the carbon stock maps were produced with ArcGIS 10.0 software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the environmental impacts of producing bread, as delivered to the consumer, assuming the use of Norwegian ingredients only. Ten impact categories, including global warming potential (GWP), were quantified by mixed modelling and life cycle assessment. Firstly, we quantified the impacts of growing barley, oats, winter and spring wheat on 93 farms that were representative of the main cereal production regions in Norway. We used wide system boundaries, which included all relevant processes occurring both pre-farm and on-farm. Secondly, we assessed a representative production chain for bread, including transport, milling, baking and packing processes. On-farm processes accounted for a large share of the environmental impacts attributable to the production of bread (e.g. 50% for GWP). There is thus considerable potential for environmental improvements through changes in farm management. In total, the GWP per kg of bread (freshweight) was 0.95 kg CO2-equivalent. The environmental footprint of transport was small. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a need to assess climate change mitigation opportunities in forest sector in India in the context of methodological issues such as additionality, permanence, leakage and baseline development in formulating forestry mitigation projects. A case study of forestry mitigation project in semi-arid community grazing lands and farmlands in Kolar district of Karnataka, was undertaken with regard to baseline and project scenario development, estimation of carbon stock change in the project, leakage estimation and assessment of cost-effectiveness of mitigation projects. Further, the transaction costs to develop project, and environmental and socio-economic impact of mitigation project was assessed. The study shows the feasibility of establishing baselines and project C-stock changes. Since the area has low or insignificant biomass, leakage is not an issue. The overall mitigation potential in Kolar for a total area of 14,000 ha under various mitigation options is 278,380 t C at a rate of 20 t C/ha for the period 2005-2035, which is approximately 0.67 t C/ha/year inclusive of harvest regimes under short rotation and long rotation mitigation options. The transaction cost for baseline establishment is less than a rupee/t C and for project scenario development is about Rs. 1.5-3.75/t C. The project enhances biodiversity and the socio-economic impact is also significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Data from 57 permanent monitoring sites are used to document the growth in woody vegetation and estimate the carbon sink in 27 M ha of eucalypt woodlands (savannas), contained within c. 60 M ha of grazed woodlands in Queensland (northeast Australia). The study sites are shown to be representative of the environment and structure of the eucalypt woodlands in the defined study area. Mean basal area increment for all live woody plants in 30 long-term sites, with an average initial basal area of 11.86 ± 1.38 (SE) m2 ha-1 , was 1.06 m2 ha-1 over a mean 14 years timeframe. The majority of the measurement period, commencing between 1982 and 1988, was characterized by below-average rainfall. The increase in live tree basal area was due primarily to growth of existing trees (3.12 m2 ha-1 ) rather than establishment of new plants (0.25 m2 ha-1 ) and was partly offset by death (2.31 m2 ha-1 ). A simple but robust relationship between stand basal area and stand biomass of all woody species was developed for the eucalypt dominant woodlands. Analysis of above-ground carbon stocks in live and standing dead woody plants gave a mean net above-ground annual carbon increment for all 57 sites of 0.53 t C ha-1 y-1 , similar to values estimated elsewhere in world savannas. Published root : shoot ratios were used to infer C flux in woody root systems on these sites. This results in an estimated sink in above- and below-ground biomass of 18 Mt C y-1 over the eucalypt woodlands studied, and potentially up to 35 Mt C y-1 if extended to all grazed woodlands in Queensland. It is suggested that introduction of livestock grazing and altered fire regimes have triggered the change in tree-grass dominance in these woodlands. Thus, change in carbon stocks in the grazed woodlands of Queensland is identified as an important... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]