Effect of adaptive forest management on the soil carbon pool in Central Europe

643

Artikel aus einer Zeitschrift

200206879

Adaptive forest management is required in order to cope with climate change effects. Emerging problems with current forests call for the investigation of alternatives. The management of forest stands has immediate and lasting effects on the soil carbon pool because the quantity and chemical quality of the aboveground and belowground litterfall is altered. In a simulation exercise we used the data of the Austrian Forest Inventory as starting point and ran scenarios for (i) business as usual forest management, (ii) replacement of conifer stands with deciduous stands, (iii) shorter rotation periods of conifer stands, and (iv) nonmanagement. The chosen scenarios are currently discussed as potential remedies. We used 150-years climate scenarios (RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5), a climate sensitive forest growth model (Caldis vatis), and the soil carbon model YASSO15. Preliminary results show a slight decrease in the soil carbon pool in the business-asusual scenario. A climate-change effect is likely, but the signal over-ridden by tmanagement effects. A shorter rotation period from previously approx 100 years to 70 years leads to a decline in the soil carbon pool. The analysis of the change to deciduous-tree dominated forests is in progress. We put the management effects on the soil carbon pool in perspective with the change in carbon in the aboveground biomass and the carbon that is retained in harvested wood products.