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Carbon Sequestration in Soil and Biomass Following Afforestation: Experiences from Oak and Norway Spruce Chronosequences in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands

  • Chapter
Environmental Effects of Afforestation in North-Western Europe

Part of the book series: Plant and Vegetation ((PAVE,volume 1))

Abstract

There is limited knowledge of the contribution of afforested arable land to mitigation of greenhouse effects. In the AFFOREST project we evaluated the rate and magnitude of carbon (C) sequestration in biomass and soils following afforestation of cropland. Two oak (Quercus robur) and four Norway spruce (Picea abies) afforestation chronosequences (age range 1 to 90 years) were studied with respect to C sequestration in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Biomass C sequestration ranged between 2.7 and 4.6 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 for stands younger than 45 years with no clear influence of different site characteristics. Such effects were probably masked by the soil enrichment, which is a legacy of former agriculture. Biomass C sequestration differed more between sites after 40-50 years owing to different management, tree species-specific growth patterns and less influence of former fertilization.

For the total soil compartment studied, i.e. forest floor and mineral soil 0-25 cm, afforestation of cropland as a minimum resulted in unchanged soil C contents and in most cases led to net C sequestration. Rates of soil C sequestration ranged from being negligible in two of the Danish chronosequences to 1.3 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 for the Dutch chronosequence. The allocation of sequestered soil C was also quite different among chronosequences. While forest floor development consistently led to C sequestration, there was no general pattern in mineral soil C sequestration. In the short term (30 years), tree species had little influence on total soil C sequestration. Afforestation of nutrient-poor sandy soils seemed to result in larger C sequestration in forest floors and the whole soil than afforestation of nutrient-rich, clayey soils.

For the afforested ecosystem as a whole, the general contribution of soils to C sequestration (i.e. to a net gain in C stock) was about one third of the total C sequestration. The contribution of soil varied among the chronosequences from none to 31%, which is not far from reported contributions of soil in similar studies. In the short term (30-40 years), total C sequestration was higher in Norway spruce than in oak whereas soil type did not clearly influence the rate of C sequestration.

The work in AFFOREST has improved the knowledge of C sequestration in afforested cropland. The new results may help to bridge the gap between existing knowledge and policy demands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Landscape Denmark, KVL, Hørsholm Kongevej 11, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark

    L. Vesterdal & K. Hansen

  2. Swedish Agricultural University, 7001, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    L. Rosenqvist & M.-B. Johansson

  3. Alterra Green World Research, 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    C. Van Der Salm & B.-J. Groenenberg

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  1. L. Vesterdal
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Utrecht University, The Netherlands

    Gerrit W. Heil

  2. KU Leuven, Belgium

    Bart Muys

  3. Forest & Landscape, Hørsholm, Denmark

    Karin Hansen

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Vesterdal, L., Rosenqvist, L., Van Der Salm, C., Hansen, K., Groenenberg, BJ., Johansson, MB. (2007). Carbon Sequestration in Soil and Biomass Following Afforestation: Experiences from Oak and Norway Spruce Chronosequences in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. In: Heil, G.W., Muys, B., Hansen, K. (eds) Environmental Effects of Afforestation in North-Western Europe. Plant and Vegetation, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4568-9_2

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