Conversion of unmanaged boreal forest to even-aged management has a stronger effect on carbon stocks in the organic layer than the mineral soil

Sammanfattning

Forest management can impact forest carbon stocks, above- and belowground. The even-aged management practice removes the aboveground carbon stock at harvest, which is thereafter restored as the new forest stand establishes. The effects of even-aged management on forest soils in earlier unmanaged stands are however less well understood, and it has been suggested that large carbon losses may occur. In this study we use a unique paired sampling approach of stands in north inland Sweden. Half of the sampled stands had been clear cut within the previous 54 years, and half were left unmanaged. Our results show that clear-cut harvesting and subsequent transformation of unmanaged stands into even-aged management resulted in lower aboveground carbon stock in the living trees. For the soil there was weak evidence for a loss of c. 15 % of the carbon stock in the organic layer. No evidence of an effect in the more stabilized soil organic carbon within the mineral soil layers was found.

Nyckelord

Forest management; Soil organic carbon; Ecosystem carbon stock; Unmanaged forests; Boreal forest; Carbon sink

Publicerad i

Forest Ecology and Management
2025, volym: 578, artikelnummer: 122458
Utgivare: ELSEVIER

SLU författare

• Larsson, Marcus

  • Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Dahl, Jenny

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Lundmark, Tomas

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Gundale, Michael

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Lim, Hyungwoo

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Nordin, Annika

  • Institutionen för skoglig genetik och växtfysiologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Skogsvetenskap

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122458

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/140103