Research Seminar on the Carbon budget of Finnish forest 1920 - 2000

Date and venue

Background

Reliable estimates biomass, litter and soil carbon are needed both to understand the effect of forests on atmospheric carbon dioxide and to fulfill the reporting requirements of international agreements. Forest inventories are among the few sources of information for such estimates. Inventory data must, however, be complemented with other data and modelling to quantify the whole carbon budget of forests.

This seminar deals with the integration of forest inventory data with other data and modelling to obtain estimates of the whole carbon budget of forests. The seminar is based on results of a three-year research project and perspectives by scientists from outside the project. The nationwide case study to be presented gives insight into factors that affected the carbon budget of Finnish forests in the 20th century.

Program

Carbon budget of Finnish forests from 1920 to 2000

• 9.00 - 9.15:
  Opening by Ilkka Savolainen, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
• 9.15 - 10.00:
  Carbon budget of Finnish forests from 1920 to 2000 - an example of integrating forest inventory data with other data and modelling by Jari Liski, EFI and Aleksi Lehtonen, Metla

Components of the carbon budget - obtaining regional estimates

Chair: Anneli Jalkanen, Academy of Finland, SUNARE Research Programme. The Finnish Society of Forest Science, Forest Biology Group

• 10.00 - 10.30:
  Biomass estimates in national forest carbon inventories by Aleksi Lehtonen, Metla
• 10.30 - 11.00:
  Coffee break
• 11.00 - 11.30:
  Litter production in carbon budget modelling by Petteri Muukkonen, Metla
• 11.30 - 12.00:
  Soil carbon stocks and stock changes in national forest carbon inventories by Taru Palosuo, EFI

Reliability of the results

• 12.00 - 12.20:
  Reliability of the estimated 80-year carbon budget of Finnish forests by Mikko Peltoniemi, Metla
• 12.20 - 12.40:
  Soil carbon accumulation along stand age by Raisa Mäkipää, Metla
• 12.40 - 13.00:
  Carbon fluxes - calculated estimates compared to stand-scale measurements by Thies Eggers, EFI

Perspectives

Chair: Jari Liski, EFI

• 14.00 - 14.45:
  Estimation of biomass and litter production: a functional-structural perspective by Annikki Mäkelä, University of Helsinki
• 14.45 - 15.15:
  Coffee break
• 15.15 - 16.00:
  Evaluating and testing models of terrestrial biogeochemistry: the role of temperature in controlling decomposition by Ingrid C. Burke, Colorado State University, USA
• 16.00 - 16.45:
  Applicability of the developed Integrated method in other countries by Mats Olsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
• 16.45 - 17.00:
  Closing

Organizers

Research project "Integrated method to estimate the carbon budget of forests" of the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla); the project is a part of the research programme "Sustainable Use of Natural Resources (SUNARE)" of the Academy of Finland. Co-organized by the Finnish Society of Forest Sciences.

Lehdistölle / Press release

Media coverage

• "Tutkijat: Maaperä mukaan hiilinielujen raportointin", a piece of news prepared on 23.3.2004 by the Finnish News Byro (STT). Published at least by newspapers Turun Sanomat and Kaleva, and the internet services of DNA and Jippii.
• "Maaperä mukaan hiilinielujen raportointin", Keski-Uusimaa 24.3.2004
• Metsälehti 8.4.2004
• "Suomella kiire uudistaa hiiliraportointinsa", A Propos, Suomen akatemian lehti 2/2004