Larsson, Marcus
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
This thesis explores the link between forest management and carbon (C) sequestration, particularly belowground. It investigates C effects of a forest management system shift, going from unmanaged to rotational forestry and two different forest management practices, and their related effects on soil C stocks. The studies are based on experimental data from extensive field trials in Sweden, aiming to account for both site-to-site heterogeneity and long-term effects. The impact on soil C stocks in older unmanaged forests in relation to rotational even-aged management, especially on mineral soil, was examined in Paper I. The long-term legacy effects from standard forest fertilization practices on soil C accumulation, tree growth, N-cycling and biodiversity was examined in Paper II. The potential of using tree species choice as a tool to increase the soil C stock was examined in Papers III and IV. Together these two studies focus on the above and belowground C inputs and their interaction with heterotrophic respiration and the belowground microbial community, as well as the tree species effect on total ecosystem C stock.
In all studies, the majority of C stock changes from the studied management practices occurred in the biomass of the living trees, followed by moderate responses in the soil organic layer. In contrast, the mineral soil exhibited very limited responses in relation to the forest management practices examined in this thesis. Overall, the results suggest that a more comprehensive view of forest management could be used, in which aboveground and belowground C stocks are evaluated simultaneously, shifting the traditional focus from aboveground biomass towards total ecosystem C management. Such a reframing would make it possible to incorporate information about the relationships between above- and belowground ecosystem compartments into existing forest management practices, thus widening the range of solutions applicable to the challenge of optimizing the carbon sequestration capacity of boreal forests.
Keywords
boreal forest; forest management; harvesting; forest fertilization; tree species; ecosystem carbon stock; soil organic carbon; forest growth
Published in
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2026, number: 2026:14
Publisher: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Forest Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.6k93ov123l
- ISBN: 978-91-8124-211-9
- eISBN: 978-91-8124-231-7
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/145862