Whole-Rotation Carbon Budgets in Swedish forests

Watch film recordings:

• Recording Part 1
• Recording Part 2

Forests and carbon are intimately linked: forest productivity depends on uptake of carbon dioxide, CO₂, from the atmosphere, and the release of carbon, C, from forests is a major source of CO₂ into the atmosphere. The net balance between C uptake and release is very responsive, differing by several fold across landscapes, over time within a stand, and across species and silvicultural systems. Accounting for the C balance of forests depends on accurate representations for these factors that influence C release and uptake.

The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has donated SEK 12 million to the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry on the occasion of the Academy’s 200^th anniversary. With the funds, the Academy has announced one-year guest professorships for researchers of the highest international standard in the fields of the Academy. Professor Dan Binkley (School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, USA) is the second holder of this professorship. During his year in Sweden, Professor Binkley worked at the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences in Umeå.

This seminar will develop and discuss the state of knowledge in C balances and accounting for the forests of Sweden. Professor Binkley will join with experts from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the United States to examine the key features of carbon budgets, forests, and forest products. Topics will include the challenges of complete accounting for carbon over long periods and large landscapes, how carbon budgets shift with forest age and management (including even-age and continuous-cover systems), and important current trends and possible future scenarios for forests and carbon in Sweden.

For more information an program, please read PDF-invitation.