Search

Climate change mitigation requires countries to report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sinks, including those from land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF). In Finland, the LULUCF sector plays a crucial role in achieving net-zero GHG emissions, as the sector is expected to be a net sink. However, accurate estimates of LULUCF-related GHG emissions, such as methane (CH 4 ), remain challenging. We estimated LULUCF-related CH 4 emissions in Finland in 2013–2020 by combining national land cover and remote-sensed surface wetness data with CH 4 emissions estimated by an inversion model. According to our inversion model, most of Finland's CH 4 emissions were attributed to natural sources such as open pristine peatlands. However, our research indicated that forests with thin tree cover surrounding open peatlands may also be a significant source of CH 4 . Unlike open pristine peatlands and pristine peatlands with thin tree cover, surrounding transient forests are included in the Finnish GHG inventory if they meet the criteria used for forest land. The current Finnish national GHG inventory may therefore underestimate CH 4 emissions from forested organic soils surrounding open peatlands, although more precise methods and data are needed to verify this. Given the potential impact on net GHG emissions, CH 4 emissions from transitional forests on organic soils should be further investigated. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the potential of combining atmospheric inversion modelling of GHGs with diverse data sources and highlight the need for methods to more easily combine atmospheric inversions with national GHG inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harvested wood products (HWP) may contribute to climate change mitigation by storing carbon and by replacing energy‐intensive materials and fossil energy, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, when assessing improved HWP utilisations, interactions between wood use pathways, the carbon stock dynamics, and the resulting effect on the GHG balance are still not well‐understood. This research aims to assess the carbon sequestration effects of alternative wood product utilisations in four European Union (EU) countries. We conducted a material flow analysis of wood uses in France, Finland, Germany, and Spain for 2017 taking into account national production, imports, and exports. Then, we quantified the future dynamics of carbon stock in the HWP through time, assuming the same as in 2017 input and ignoring the forest sink. We then ran six alternative scenarios: two energy‐focused (Energy, Energy+), two material‐focused (Cascading, Material), one with extended half‐life of the wood products (HL) and one as business as usual. For the simulation period (2020–2050), the material scenario leads to the highest mitigation benefits with a cumulative HWP net CO2 removals of −502 Mt CO2 for Germany, −290 Mt CO2 for France, −118 Mt CO2 for Spain, and −116 Mt CO2 for Finland over the 30 years. The Energy+ scenario with an increase in wood usage for bioenergy generates a loss of the HWP pool of 351, 80, 77, and 6 Mt CO2 for the same countries, not accounting for energy substitution effects. Overall, our results suggest that the HWP carbon stock can be increased in the short‐medium term by prioritizing the use of wood for material purposes, while maintaining constant harvest. The HWP mitigation potential differed greatly according to national wood industry characteristics. Hence, tailoring the HWP mitigation strategies to the specific characteristics of the national wood chain would enhance the HWP climate benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable, up-to-date biomass data are needed for climate change mitigation and resource efficiency. Therefore, a calculation and reporting tool with thematic maps and data was developed. A free web-tool, Biomass Atlas, collects the spatial distribution of biomasses in Finland. Over 300 data layers present land use, cultivation, residual biomasses from forest, crop production, animal husbandry, municipalities, and industry at 1 km2 spatial resolution. The service enables calculations of biomass amount in a defined geographical area of interest and examining the opportunities and restrictions to utilise biomasses. The service was evaluated with six test-users in laboratory tests and 20 voluntary pilot test-users. Biomass Atlas shows the regional potential of biomaterials, fertilizer products, and renewable energy, as well as potential targets for utilized, recyclable biomass. Other possible uses include monitoring plant cover on fields and assessing land use diversity. Application enables users with no experience in GIS or biomass assessments to analyse biomass resources, produce maps and data summaries for decision making. [Display omitted] • Biomass Atlas is a spatially explicit web application to assess the biomass data. • Amounts and location of produced and recyclable biomass in Finland. • Forests, agricultural areas, crops and sidestreams on thematic maps. • Biomass modelling and calculation tools are given at 1 km2 spatial resolution. • Data for decision making on biomass utilisation for biomaterials, nutrients, and energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequestering carbon into agricultural soils is considered as a means of mitigating climate change. We used agronomic soil test results representing c. 95% of the farmed land area in Finland to estimate the potential of the uppermost 15 cm soil layer of mineral agricultural soils to sequester organic carbon (OC) and to contribute to the mitigation of climate change. The estimation of the maximum capacity of mineral matter to protect OC in stable mineral-associated form was based on the theory that clay and fine-sized (fines = clay + silt) particles have a limited capacity to protect OC. In addition, we used the clay/OC and fines/OC ratios to identify areas with a risk of erosion and reduced productivity, thus indicating priority areas potentially benefitting from the increased soil OC contents. We found that 32–40% of the mineral agricultural soils in Finland have the potential to further accumulate mineral-associated OC (MOC), while in the majority of soils, the current OC stock in the uppermost 15 cm exceeded the capacity of mineral matter to protect OC. The nationwide soil OC sequestration potential of the uppermost 15 cm in mineral agricultural soils ranged between 0.21 and 0.26 Tg, which corresponds to less than 2% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in Finland. The fields with the highest potential for SOC accrual were found in the southern and southwestern parts of the country, including some of the most intensively cultivated high-clay soils. Although the nationwide potential for additional OC sequestration was estimated to be relatively small, the current OC storage in Finnish arable mineral soils (0-15 cm) is large, 128 Tg. Farming practices enabling maximum OC input into the soil play an important role as a tool for mitigating the loss of carbon from high-OC soils in the changing climate. Furthermore, especially in high-clay areas with potential for MOC accrual, efforts to increase soil OC could help improve soil structural stability and therefore reduce erosion and the loss of nutrients to the aquatic environments. [Display omitted] • We estimated the potential of mineral arable soils for organic carbon sequestration • Nationwide carbon sequestration potential in the uppermost soil layer was 0.21–0.26 Tg • Less than 40% of mineral arable soils have potential to increase stable organic carbon • Greatest potential lies in the intensively cultivated high-clay soils • Maintenance of current significant carbon stock (128 Tg, 0–15 cm) should be secured [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]