Carbon balance model CO2FIX
The benefits
In short- Historic forest carbon assessment
- Future carbon sink projections
- Supports Kyoto Protocol reporting
- Guides forest management strategies
- Widely used and accepted model
CO2FIX helps researchers and forest managers understand and manage European forest carbon dynamics, providing insights into historic and future carbon balances to support climate change mitigation and Kyoto Protocol reporting.
Climate change requires insight in how European forests capture carbon and how this can be managed. The CO2FIX model provides insight in how carbon is stored in a forest by using data from the historic carbon balance of European forests in the past. We assessed the historic carbon balance using international statistics on European forests and discovered that the carbon sink in European forests has gradually increased over time to 0.17 Gt C per year at present. European forests are clearly recovering from past degradation caused by overharvesting, grazing and litter raking. Moreover, the CO2FIX model can also predict future carbon balances and how to manage it. The model can therefore help predict whether you can achieve your emission reduction target as part of the Kyoto Protocol.
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Do you have a question about CO2FIX? Ask our expert:
prof.dr.ir. GJMM (Gert-Jan) Nabuurs
Lead Scientist European forests
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The behaviour of forest ecosystems locally is currently studied using micrometeorological techniques, such as the eddy covariance method. This sensor can be used to make direct measurements of the CO2 flux over a forest canopy. One site in the Netherlands (Loobos) has been continually monitored for over 10 years now in one of the longest studies in Europe. For long-term and larger-scale analyses, combinations of forest resource model outcomes and biogeochemistry models are used in the CAMELS project. This approach makes use of the strengths of each of the modelling groups.
Future research will not only examine the strength of the carbon sink, but also combine sink estimates with insights into the resilience of forest systems. If forests prove to be vulnerable to climate change, then eventually more carbon will be lost, accelerating the processes of climate change.
Future research will investigate forest carbon dynamics and climate change from many points of view, including relations to water issues, biodiversity and wood production.
