Forest management for improved natural carbon sequestration
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet - Dept of Ecology |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 6 500 000 |
| Project duration | November 2019 - December 2024 |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Venture | Innovations for a sustainable society |
| Call | Innovations for a climate-neutral future |
Purpose and goal
If climate effects are to be kept within manageable limits, we must quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and find innovative solutions to reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. One solution is to increase the forest´s carbon storage through forest management. The project´s objective is to clarify the climate benefits with large-scale forest fertilization, and describe how other ecosystem services and biodiversity might be affected, and to what extent refined stand selection can improve the climate benefit of fertilization and limit its negative environmental impact.
Expected results and effects
We will clarify what the maximum climate benefit large-scale forest fertilization, as currently practiced, the potential of more intensive fertilization treatments, with and without thinning, and what negative side effects the different alternatives can cause. The results will clarify expected climate benefit over different periods and will provide a basis for future policy on if, and how, forestry should be used to counteract climate change. The results are therefore relevant to several of the national and international environmental and sustainability goals.
Planned approach and implementation
We study how forestry can reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere by analyzing how operative and more intensive forest fertilization affects forest production, timber assortment and soil carbon stock. To evaluate climate impacts, we conduct LCA analyzes of forest raw materials and soil C storage. We will also examine fertilization effects on other ecosystem services and biodiversity. By analyzing in which stands that fertilization is most effective, and relate the effect to the national availability of such land, we can estimate the net effect of forest fertilization.