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Carbon stock on forest land (1.4)
The main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is absorbed and stored
(sequestered) into vegetation and the soil by forests.
The amount of carbon sequestered in the soil in Finnish forests
is currently estimated to be about 1,300 million tonnes in the
mineral soil forests and about 5,500 million tonnes in the soil
of peatlands. The amount of carbon sequestered in woody biomass
is about 700 million tonnes.
The carbon stock in trees increases when the annual increment
of growing stock exceeds the drain. The amount of the
carbon stock in soil varies with changes in forest litter production,
weather conditions and fellings. The carbon stocks sequestered in forest vegetation and soil in Finland have increased; the
forests have functioned as a carbon sink, even though part of
their growth has been harvested for wood product production
and for bioenergy.
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| Figure 1.4. Carbon balance between emissions of fossil carbon dioxide and net changes in sequestration of carbon dioxide by forest
land (left). Changes of carbon sequestration of forest land by share of wooden biomass, dead organic matter and soil organic matter
(right), 1990–2010. |
In 2010, forests sequestered 32,8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Trees and mineral soil were sinks and peat soil a source of carbon dioxide (see Figure 1.4). Finland’s total emissions of greenhouse gases in 2010 were 74,6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, of which land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sequestered about 44%. LULUCF also includes the carbon dioxide sequested on wood products. In all, Finland’s emissions in 2010 were about 5% above the target level of the Kyoto Protocol.
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