Widespread Unquantified Conversion of Old Boreal Forests to Plantations

Ahlström, Anders; Canadell, Josep G.; Metcalfe, Daniel B.

doi:10.1029/2022ef003221

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…There is no evidence for 'favorable' trends in climate driving increased plant growth, nor for shifts in land use (such as decreased harvest) in these two regions. The trend of weakening CO 2 sinks in Scandinavia is possibly linked to changes in forest management and the cutting of old forests (Ahlström et al, 2022). On the other hand, Poland and Eastern European countries show a strong CO 2 sink that intensified over time, which may be explained by a substantial increase in forest biomass (Winkler et al, 2023).…”

Section: Land Co 2 Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of Europe: trends, interannual and spatial variability, and their drivers

Lauerwald,

Bastos,

McGrath

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In the framework of the RECCAP2 initiative, we present the greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon (C) budget of Europe. For the decade of the 2010s, we present a bottom-up (BU) estimate of GHG net-emissions of 3.9 Pg CO2-eq. yr-1 (global warming potential on 100 year horizon), and are largely dominated by fossil fuel emissions. In this decade, terrestrial ecosystems are a net GHG sink of 0.9 Pg CO2-eq. yr-1, dominated by a CO2 sink. For CH4 and N2O, we find good agreement between BU and top-down (TD) estimates from atmospheric inversions. However, our BU land CO2 sink is significantly higher than TD estimates. We further show that decadal averages of GHG net-emissions have declined by 1.2 Pg CO2-eq. yr-1 since the 1990s, mainly due to a reduction in fossil fuel emissions. In addition, based on both data driven BU and TD estimates, we also find that the land CO2 sink has weakened over the past two decades. In particular, we identified a decreasing sink strength over Scandinavia, which can be attributed to an intensification of forest management. These are partly offset by increasing CO2 sinks in parts of Eastern Europe and Northern Spain, attributed in part to land use change. Extensive regions of high CH4 and N2O emissions are mainly attributed to agricultural activities and are found in Belgium, the Netherlands and the southern UK. We further analyzed interannual variability in the GHG budgets. The drought year of 2003 shows the highest net-emissions of CO2 and of all GHGs combined.

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Section: Land Co 2 Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of Europe: trends, interannual and spatial variability, and their drivers

Lauerwald,

Bastos,

McGrath

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…No reliable data exists on the harvesting rate of old natural forests in Finland; however, most regeneration fellings in Northern Finland are estimated have taken place in old natural forests and evidence exists of clearcutting in unprotected natural forests (Kröger 2018;Kumpula et al 2019). In Northern Sweden, clearcutting of old forests has increased in extent since 2003 (Ahlström et al 2022). Clearcutting and heavy soil preparation are a common practice in boreal forestry (Kumpula et al 2019;Ahlström et al 2022), which generally result in low biodiversity and ecological integrity in managed forests (Mönkkönen et al 2022).…”

Section: Changes In Vegetation Landscape Features and Animal Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Northern Sweden, clearcutting of old forests has increased in extent since 2003 (Ahlström et al 2022). Clearcutting and heavy soil preparation are a common practice in boreal forestry (Kumpula et al 2019;Ahlström et al 2022), which generally result in low biodiversity and ecological integrity in managed forests (Mönkkönen et al 2022).…”

Section: Changes In Vegetation Landscape Features and Animal Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions on and impacts of environmental changes under multiple stressors: a case study from two communities in northern Fennoscandia

Eilola,

Horstkotte,

Forbes

et al. 2024

Reg Environ Change

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Against the backcloth of particularly fast environmental change in the Arctic, this study juxtaposes local perceptions of environmental change in two communities in the boreal zone of Northern Europe with scientific data. The local knowledge was gathered through an online participatory mapping survey among the two communities and scientific evidence was gathered from various peer-reviewed and official monitoring sources. Local knowledge of environmental change in Savukoski (Finland) resembles that in Jokkmokk (Sweden). Most perceived changes are in line with scientific studies, public discourse, and local concerns in the Arctic. What differs, however, is the degree of correspondence between local and scientific knowledge on certain phenomena: some dynamics are well documented in both local and scientific observations whereas other dynamics require more nuanced scientific research, particularly considering their relevance for local livelihoods. Among these are: berry yields, the abundance of mosquitoes and other Nematocera, peatland thaw and frost, and changes in river and lake ice conditions. It is noteworthy that in both Savukoski and Jokkmokk, for many people the most impactful changes are caused by resource extraction rather than climate change. Local concerns and perceptions of environmental change are not all shared nor easily translate into adaptation strategies, but nonetheless they have clear policy implications.

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“…However, forests are threatened globally because they are subject to many negative pressures: in the tropics due to high levels of deforestation and increased degradation from human exploitation (selective logging, human induced fires, edge effects, etc. ), and drought, and in boreal and temperate forests due to harvest pressure (Ahlström et al, 2022), and to fires, insect attacks and drought-induced mortality. These environmental impacts are exacerbated by climate change, resulting in more frequent and intense extreme events such as droughts, heat waves, storms, floods, extreme fires, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global carbon balance of the forest: satellite-based L-VOD results over the last decade

Wigneron,

Ciais,

et al. 2024

Front. Remote Sens.

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Monitoring forest carbon (C) stocks is essential to better assess their role in the global carbon balance, and to better model and predict long-term trends and inter-annual variability in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. On a national scale, national forest inventories (NFIs) can provide estimates of forest carbon stocks, but these estimates are only available in certain countries, are limited by time lags due to periodic revisits, and cannot provide spatially continuous mapping of forests. In this context, remote sensing offers many advantages for monitoring above-ground biomass (AGB) on a global scale with good spatial (50–100 m) and temporal (annual) resolutions. Remote sensing has been used for several decades to monitor vegetation. However, traditional methods of monitoring AGB using optical or microwave sensors are affected by saturation effects for moderately or densely vegetated canopies, limiting their performance. Low-frequency passive microwave remote sensing is less affected by these saturation effects: saturation only occurs at AGB levels of around 400 t/ha at L-band (frequency of around 1.4 GHz). Despite its coarse spatial resolution of the order of 25 km × 25 km, this method based on the L-VOD (vegetation optical depth at L-band) index has recently established itself as an essential approach for monitoring annual variations in forest AGB on a continental scale. Thus, L-VOD has been applied to forest monitoring in many continents and biomes: in the tropics (especially in the Amazon and Congo basins), in boreal regions (Siberia, Canada), in Europe, China, Australia, etc. However, no reference study has yet been published to analyze L-VOD in detail in terms of capabilities, validation and results. This paper fills this gap by presenting the physical principles of L-VOD calculation, analyzing the performance of L-VOD for monitoring AGB and reviewing the main applications of L-VOD for tracking the carbon balance of global vegetation over the last decade (2010–2019).

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Widespread Unquantified Conversion of Old Boreal Forests to Plantations

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of Europe: trends, interannual and spatial variability, and their drivers

Carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of Europe: trends, interannual and spatial variability, and their drivers

Perceptions on and impacts of environmental changes under multiple stressors: a case study from two communities in northern Fennoscandia

Global carbon balance of the forest: satellite-based L-VOD results over the last decade

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