CONTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATE FORESTS TO THE WORLDS CARBON BUDGET

Temperate forests currently cover about 600 MHa, about half of their potential. Almost all these forests have been directly impacted by humans. The total living biomass in trees (including roots) was estimated to contain 33.7 Gt C. The total C pool for the entire forest biome was estimated as 98.8 Gt. The current net sink flux of biomass was calculated at 205 Mt yr-1, with a similar amount removed in harvests for manufacture into various products. The major cause of this C sink is forest regrowth. Forest regrowth is possible because fossil fuels are the major source of energy in temperate countries, instead of fuelwood. Future C in these forests will be greatly influenced by human activity. Options to sequester more C include conservation of forest resources, activities that increase forest productivity such as adopting rotation ages to optimize C production, afforestation, improvement of wood utilization, and waste management.