Soils need to be considered when assessing the impacts of land use change of carbon sequestration

Abstract

In a recent analysis of the effects of land-use change (LUC) on carbon (C) sequestration and biodiversity, it was concluded that the impacts of forestry on C sequestration are probably much larger than for other types of land-use transition. This conclusion, and the policy recommendations that flow from it, are based solely on considerations of aboveground biomass or (more specifically) ?harvest volumes and typical rotation times for managed forests?. If insteadsoils and soil C are considered, then a completely different set of conclusions and policy recommendations would have emerged. The effects of LUC on aboveground C and net C sequestration are transient. Net ecosystem C sequestration varies strongly with stand age, as is shown for recovering forests, which capture moreC at young stand ages than mature forests (the land-use category that stores the largest amount of C in aboveground biomass).