Canadian Forest Service Publications
Estimating sub-Arctic forest carbon stocks: concepts, methods and preliminary results. Presented to the XII World Forestry Congress under paper number 0254-B2. 2003. Ung, C.-H.; Lambert, M.-C.; Beaudoin, A.; Raulier, F.; Gillis, M.; Bernier, P.Y.; Bérubé, J.-P.; Dagnault, S.; Guindon, L.; Beaubien, J. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre.
Year: 2003
Issued by: Laurentian Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 25280
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Abstract
In the context of understanding the role of forests in the global carbon cycle, research interest is shifting from the wood volume of commercial forests to the carbon budget of both commercial and remote non-commercial forests. So far, there has been no structured attempt to assess the carbon stocks of Canada's non-commercial and remote sub-Arctic forests. As part of the project on improving Canada's national forest biomass inventory, this study outlines the concepts and methods for estimating carbon stocks throughout Canadian sub-Arctic forests by matching ground plots with remote-sensing data. The study also highlights the large difference between the carbon stocks in ground plot biomass estimates and the biomass predicted by an existing global carbon model, a type of model that could be used by third party observers to verify Canada's claims to forest carbon sequestration. Finally, it stresses the need to conduct coordinated biomass inventories at high latitudes to elucidate the interaction between environment, disturbance and carbon budget in sub-Arctic forests.
