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Decarbonization of the Atmosphere: Role of the Boreal Forest Under Changing Climate

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Recarbonization of the Biosphere

Abstract

The boreal forest, with an area of about 11.4 million km2, is the second largest terrestrial biome and plays a critical role in the global carbon (C) cycle. Its role in either accelerating or slowing climate change depends on whether the boreal forest is a net C source or a net C sink. The boreal forest stores 715.2 Pg C with 430.2 Pg present in peatlands and the remaining in forest ecosystems. In forest, about 60% of total C is present in the soil. The boreal forest sequesters C in surface vegetation, and has accumulated and conserved annual increments of C for millennia in soils, permafrost deposits, wetlands and peatlands. The net annual C sink of the boreal forest increased significantly over the last 20 years, from 0.54 Pg C year−1 to 1.07 Pg C year−1. The future C balance of the boreal forest largely depends on the frequency and intensity of different disturbances, changes in species composition, forest management regimes and alterations to the nutrient and moisture regimes under changing climate conditions. The role of the boreal forest in the decarbonization of the atmosphere can be strengthened through techniques that reduce the time for stand establishment (such as site preparation, planting, and weed control) or increase the available nutrients for growth, or through the selection of species that are more productive. Fire- and insect-protection activities have a strong impact on the C sink strength of the boreal landscape. Therefore, reducing the area prone to fire and insect mortality, and extending the rotation age for holding C longer in older age classes will strongly increase the capacity of the boreal forest to decarbonize the atmosphere.

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Abbreviations

BOREAS:

Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study

C:

carbon

CO2 :

carbon dioxide

DOY:

day of year

R :

ecosystem respiration

EC:

eddy-covariance

FLA:

Flakaliden, Sweden

FYS:

Fyedorovskoye, European Russia

GHGs:

greenhouse gases

GDP:

gross domestic product

GEP:

gross ecosystem productivity or photosynthesis

HYT:

Hyytiälä, Finland

P :

mean annual precipitation

T :

mean annual soil temperature

Ta :

air temperature

CH4 :

methane

NEE:

net ecosystem exchange

NEP:

net ecosystem productivity

NPP:

net primary productivity

N:

nitrogen

N2O:

nitrous oxide

NOPEX:

Northern Hemisphere Climate Processes Land-surface Experiment

NOBS:

Northern Old Black Spruce, Manitoba, Canada

NOR:

Norunda, Sweden

OM:

organic matter

PFT:

plant functional type

R h :

heterotrophic respiration

SOA:

Southern Old Aspen, Saskatchewan, Canada

SOBS:

Southern Old Black Spruce, Saskatchewan, Canada

SOJP:

Southern Old Jack Pine, Saskatchewan, Canada

ZOP:

Zotino, Central Siberia

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Rattan Lal and Klaus Lorenz for their critical review of an earlier version of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6H 3S

    Jagtar Bhatti

  2. Biometeorology and Soil Physics Group, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

    Rachhpal Jassal & T. Andy Black

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  1. Jagtar Bhatti
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  2. Rachhpal Jassal
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Correspondence to Jagtar Bhatti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. OARDC, Carbon Management &, Ohio State University, Coffey Road 2021, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Rattan Lal

  2. , Global Contract for Sustainability, IASS Inst. for Adv. Sust. Studies, Berliner Str. 130, Potsdam, 14467, Brandenburg, Germany

    Klaus Lorenz

  3. , Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, 14473, Germany

    Reinhard F. Hüttl

  4. , Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg 309G, Potsdam, 14473, Brandenburg, Germany

    Bernd Uwe Schneider

  5. Walter-Flex-Str. 3, Bonn, 53113, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Joachim von Braun

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Bhatti, J., Jassal, R., Black, T.A. (2012). Decarbonization of the Atmosphere: Role of the Boreal Forest Under Changing Climate. In: Lal, R., Lorenz, K., Hüttl, R., Schneider, B., von Braun, J. (eds) Recarbonization of the Biosphere. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4159-1_10

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