Implications of albedo changes following afforestation on the benefits of forests as carbon sinks

Kirschbaum, Miko U. F.; Whitehead, David; Dean, S. M.; Beets, Peter N.; Shepherd, James D.; Ausseil, Anne-Gäelle

doi:10.5194/bgd-8-8563-2011

Cited by 29 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…due to pasturing) than when the canopy closes during succession. These findings are in line with former studies that estimate the effects of succession and forest structure on RF and show that changes in carbon stocks and changes in albedo are not linearly related (Kirschbaum et al, 2011;Bernier et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Since we used a time horizon of 100 years, we rather underestimated albedo RF. This apparently goes against the findings of Schaeffer et al (2006) and Kirschbaum et al (2011) who both argue that CO 2 RF becomes more dominant for larger time horizons. However, they consider relatively short time periods (including rotations) where carbon sequestration does not end before the forests are removed.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…While some studies suggest that albedo RF can completely offset CO 2 RF (Betts, 2000;Bernier et al, 2011;de Wit et al, 2013), others have found that the offset is rather small (e.g. Montenegro et al, 2009;Kirschbaum et al, 2011). The offset seems to vary widely depending on the regional characteristics of the determining variables: global radiation, snow cover, albedo change and carbon sequestration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since a detailed description of the temporal evolution of albedo change and carbon sequestration is complex and varies with location, we used a simplified scheme in which we assumed that albedo change is complete after 30 years, carbon sequestration in biomass after 50 years and carbon sequestration in soils after 100 years. This seems to be a reasonable approximation since albedo change is likely to end before carbon accumulation in biomass does (Kirschbaum et al, 2011, de Wit et al, 2013 and carbon sequestration in soils will most likely not end in less than 100 years (Poeplau et al, 2011). We assumed that albedo change and carbon sequestration stop after a certain time; however, interactions with the global carbon cycle will still cause changes in the atmospheric CO 2 concentration.…”

Section: Temporal Signature Of Rfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The offset seems to vary widely depending on the regional characteristics of the determining variables: global radiation, snow cover, albedo change and carbon sequestration. These factors vary greatly, but little research has focused on how each of them influences RF (Kirschbaum et al, 2011), and only a few attempts have been made to quantify RF in a spatially explicit way (e.g. Betts, 2000;Montenegro et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbon storage versus albedo change: radiative forcing of forest expansion in temperate mountainous regions of Switzerland

Schwaab

Bavay²,

Davin³

et al. 2015

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. In this study, we assess the climate mitigation potential from afforestation in a mountainous snow-rich region (Switzerland) with strongly varying environmental conditions. Using radiative forcing calculations, we quantify both the carbon sequestration potential and the effect of albedo change at high resolution. We calculate the albedo radiative forcing based on remotely sensed data sets of albedo, global radiation and snow cover. Carbon sequestration is estimated from changes in carbon stocks based on national inventories. We first estimate the spatial pattern of radiative forcing (RF) across Switzerland assuming homogeneous transitions from open land to forest. This highlights where forest expansion still exhibits climatic benefits when including the radiative forcing of albedo change. Second, given that forest expansion is currently the dominant land-use change process in the Swiss Alps, we calculate the radiative forcing that occurred between 1985 and 1997. Our results show that the net RF of forest expansion ranges from −24 W m −2 at low elevations of the northern Prealps to 2 W m −2 at high elevations of the Central Alps. The albedo RF increases with increasing altitude, which offsets the CO 2 RF at high elevations with long snow-covered periods, high global radiation and low carbon sequestration. Albedo RF is particularly relevant during transitions from open land to open forest but not in later stages of forest development. Between 1985 and 1997, when overall forest expansion in Switzerland was approximately 4 %, the albedo RF offset the CO 2 RF by an average of 40 %. We conclude that the albedo RF should be considered at an appropriately high resolution when estimating the climatic effect of forestation in temperate mountainous regions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Temporal Signature Of Rfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbon storage versus albedo change: radiative forcing of forest expansion in temperate mountainous regions of Switzerland

Schwaab

Bavay²,

Davin³

et al. 2015

Biogeosciences

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The impact of future forest dynamics on climate: interactive effects of changing vegetation and disturbance regimes

Thom

Rammer

Seidl

2017

Ecological Monographs

101

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Currently, the temperate forest biome cools the earth's climate and dampens anthropogenic climate change. However, climate change will substantially alter forest dynamics in the future, affecting the climate regulation function of forests. Increasing natural disturbances can reduce carbon uptake and evaporative cooling, but at the same time increase the albedo of a landscape. Simultaneous changes in vegetation composition can mitigate disturbance impacts, but also influence climate regulation directly (e.g., via albedo changes). As a result of a number of interactive drivers (changes in climate, vegetation, and disturbance) and their simultaneous effects on climate-relevant processes (carbon exchange, albedo, latent heat flux) the future climate regulation function of forests remains highly uncertain. Here we address these complex interactions to assess the effect of future forest dynamics on the climate system. Our specific objectives were (1) to investigate the long-term interactions between changing vegetation composition and disturbance regimes under climate change, (2) to quantify the response of climate regulation to changes in forest dynamics, and (3) to identify the main drivers of the future influence of forests on the climate system. We investigated these issues using the individual-based forest landscape and disturbance model (iLand). Simulations were run over 200 yr for Kalkalpen National Park (Austria), assuming different future climate projections, and incorporating dynamically responding wind and bark beetle disturbances. To consistently assess the net effect on climate the simulated responses of carbon exchange, albedo, and latent heat flux were expressed as contributions to radiative forcing. We found that climate change increased disturbances (+27.7% over 200 yr) and specifically bark beetle activity during the 21st century. However, negative feedbacks from a simultaneously changing tree species composition (+28.0% broadleaved species) decreased disturbance activity in the long run (-10.1%), mainly by reducing the host trees available for bark beetles. Climate change and the resulting future forest dynamics significantly reduced the climate regulation function of the landscape, increasing radiative forcing by up to +10.2% on average over 200 yr. Overall, radiative forcing was most strongly driven by carbon exchange. We conclude that future changes in forest dynamics can cause amplifying climate feedbacks from temperate forest ecosystems.

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Climate impacts of bioenergy: Inclusion of carbon cycle and albedo dynamics in life cycle impact assessment

Bright¹,

Cherubini²,

Strømman³

2012

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

121

128

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Implications of albedo changes following afforestation on the benefits of forests as carbon sinks

Cited by 29 publications

References 28 publications

Carbon storage versus albedo change: radiative forcing of forest expansion in temperate mountainous regions of Switzerland

Carbon storage versus albedo change: radiative forcing of forest expansion in temperate mountainous regions of Switzerland

The impact of future forest dynamics on climate: interactive effects of changing vegetation and disturbance regimes

Climate impacts of bioenergy: Inclusion of carbon cycle and albedo dynamics in life cycle impact assessment

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