Increasing carbon sinks in European forests: effects of afforestation and changes in mean growing stock volume

Vilén, T.; Cienciala, Emil; Schelhaas, M.J.; Verkerk, Pieter Johannes; Lindner, Marcus; Peltola, Heli

doi:10.1093/forestry/cpv034

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Studies of the time trend in observations of NEBP are rare, and attribution of variation to natural stand recovery, sampling artifacts, management, the legacy of past disturbances, and anthropogenic environmental change remains a topic in development and debate [ Caspersen et al ., ; Joos et al ., ; Krankina et al ., ; Foster et al ., ; McMahon et al ., ; Price et al ., ; Vilén et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ]. In this study, we outlined a methodology for attributing temporal variation in observed biomass fluxes directly from the results of linear mixed‐effects models based on the convention of temporal forcings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies conducted on field plot samples face general uncertainty in the attribution of temporal variation to various causes. The contributions of natural regeneration following disturbance, changes in management activities, and anthropogenic growth enhancement are not well understood [ Caspersen et al ., ; Schimel et al ., ; Pacala et al ., ; Krankina et al ., ; Hember et al ., ; Williams et al ., ; Erb et al ., ; Vilén et al ., ]. In some measurement networks, forest productivity is assumed to be in steady state and so there appears to be little emphasis on trying to partition actual temporal variation into components representing intrinsic factors (e.g., natural patterns of stand regeneration) and extrinsic factors (e.g., environmental change).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing net ecosystem biomass production of Canada's boreal and temperate forests despite decline in dry climates

Hember

Kurz

Coops

2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Repeated measurements of tree biomass at field plots describe recovery from disturbances, sampling artifacts, and potential effects of environmental change on forest ecosystems. Challenges in differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic sources of variation, both in theory and in practice, continue to confound claims of an anthropogenic carbon sink in forest biomass. Here we analyzed observations at 10,307 plots across southern ecozones of Canada to investigate temporal trends in stand-level biomass growth (G), biomass loss due to mortality (M), and net ecosystem biomass production (NEBP) of intact stands. Net extrinsic forcing (F ex ) was expressed by the collective dependence of biomass fluxes on climate anomalies, nitrogen deposition (N), and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (C). Inferences drawn directly from linear mixed-effects model coefficients only reflect the static behavior of the model specifically at field plot locations. We, therefore, defined a dynamic landscape-scale net extrinsic forcing (F ex 0 ), which additionally accounted for potential negative feedback responses to anthropogenic growth enhancement. Simulations were performed over 1501-2012 to estimate F ex 0 . Overall, F ex 0 was positive, suggesting that environmental changes drove a 90% increase in NEBP. The increase in NEBP was confined to wet regions, while the biomass sink in dry regions decreased, suggesting that large expanses of northern forests, historically located near the boundary between wet and dry climates, may be at high risk of decline under continued increases in evaporative demand. These results have important implications for the greenhouse gas balance of Canada's forest sector.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing net ecosystem biomass production of Canada's boreal and temperate forests despite decline in dry climates

Hember

Kurz

Coops

2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…This triggered the widespread loss of traditional agricultural landscapes (Fischer et al 2012) and, together with active afforestation efforts, has increased the forest area by about 25% since the 1950s (Gold et al 2006, Fuchs et al 2013. In the same period, the growing stock in Europe's forests doubled (Gold et al 2006, Vilén et al 2015, due to nitrogen deposition, and climate change and changes in forest management practices (Ciais et al 2008, Erb et al 2013b, Pretzsch et al 2014. Finally, Europe expanded its conservation network substantially (Jones-Walters and Čivić 2013), and concerns about the environmental costs of intensification have resulted in a growing emphasis on multifunctionality, for example through agrienvironmental and set-aside schemes (Tscharntke et al 2011, Whittingham 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hotspots of land use change in Europe

Kuemmerle

Levers

Erb

et al. 2016

Environ. Res. Lett.

213

144

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Assessing changes in the extent and management intensity of land use is crucial to understanding land-system dynamics and their environmental and social outcomes. Yet, changes in the spatial patterns of land management intensity, and thus how they might relate to changes in the extent of land uses, remains unclear for many world regions. We compiled and analyzed high-resolution, spatiallyexplicit land-use change indicators capturing changes in both the extent and management intensity of cropland, grazing land, forests, and urban areas for all of Europe for the period 1990-2006. Based on these indicators, we identified hotspots of change and explored the spatial concordance of area versus intensity changes. We found a clear East-West divide with regard to agriculture, with stronger cropland declines and lower management intensity in the East compared to the West. Yet, these patterns were not uniform and diverging patterns of intensification in areas highly suitable for farming, and disintensification and cropland contraction in more marginal areas emerged. Despite the moderate overall rates of change, many regions in Europe fell into at least one land-use change hotspot during 1990-2006, often related to a spatial reorganization of land use (i.e., co-occurring area decline and intensification or co-occurring area increase and disintensification). Our analyses highlighted the diverse spatial patterns and heterogeneity of land-use changes in Europe, and the importance of jointly considering changes in the extent and management intensity of land use, as well as feedbacks among land-use sectors. Given this spatial differentiation of land-use change, and thus its environmental impacts, spatially-explicit assessments of land-use dynamics are important for context-specific, regionalized land-use policy making.

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“…Forest ecosystems play a significant role in climate change mitigation by the uptake of a substantial portion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere as well as their long-term deposition into biomass and soil [1,2]. Afforestation has proven to be an effective method for increasing C stocks [3][4][5]. However, the growth of the economy and the population drove up demand for forest products, facilitating forest conversion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Forest Conversion Effects on Soil Erosion, Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Based on 137Cs Tracer Technique

Zhu

Lin

Dai

et al. 2019

Forests

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Soil erosion can affect the horizontal and the vertical distribution of soil carbon at the landscape scale. The 137Cs tracer technique can overcome the shortcomings of traditional erosion research and has proven to be the best method to study soil erosion. To understand the responses of soil organic carbon and nitrogen to soil erosion and forest conversion in the development of slope economic forests in rocky mountain areas, three representative types of economic forests that were all formed after clear-cutting and afforestation on the basis of CBF (coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests) were selected: CF (chestnut forests) with small human disturbance intensity, AF (apple forests), and HF (hawthorn forests) with high interference intensity. The results showed that all land use types have significantly eroded since 1950; the average annual loss of soil was 0.79 mm in the CBF, 2.31 mm in the AF, 1.84 mm in the HF, and 0.87 mm in the CF. The results indicated aggravation of soil erosion after the transformation of the CBF into an economic forest. The economic forest management reduced the average carbon storage and accelerated nutrient loss. The better vegetation coverage and litter coverage of CF made them stand out among the three economic forest varieties. Therefore, when developing economic forests, we should select species that can produce litter to ensure as much soil conservation as possible to reduce the risk of soil erosion.

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Increasing carbon sinks in European forests: effects of afforestation and changes in mean growing stock volume

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Increasing net ecosystem biomass production of Canada's boreal and temperate forests despite decline in dry climates

Increasing net ecosystem biomass production of Canada's boreal and temperate forests despite decline in dry climates

Hotspots of land use change in Europe

Evaluation of Forest Conversion Effects on Soil Erosion, Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Based on 137Cs Tracer Technique

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