PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 103: Forest Ecology : Carbon Stocks and Cycling
Wednesday, August 10, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Meeting Room 520 C, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Spatial and multitemporal modelling of carbon stocks and sequestration in a sub-boreal forest in central British Columbia.
Janzen, Darren*,1, Bois, Claudette1, Sanborn, Paul1, Wheate, Roger2, Fredeen, Arthur1, 1 Ecosystem Science and Management Program, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada2 Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Prince George, BC, Canada
ABSTRACT- In the past decade the issue of carbon (C) sequestration in forests has become an important management consideration and will be increasingly important in coming years as the Kyoto protocol is implemented. Managers of forested areas are already faced with a large number of economic, environmental and cultural based objectives for those areas under their jurisdiction. For this reason, specific knowledge of the impacts of forest management activities on C sequestration is a key requirement for integration of this consideration into forest management. The Aleza Lake Research Forest (ALRF), 9250 ha located in central British Columbia, has the longest historical record of research oriented forest management in the province, extending back to 1920. During this time an array of forest management activities have occurred on the forest, principally clearcutting and partial cutting. A study was established in this forest to map past and present C stocks and to model future C stocks relative to forest harvesting and management. Extensive field sampling was performed to determine current aboveground and belowground C stocks for all ecosystem components. Landsat data spanning 18 years (1985-2003) were obtained and related to field sampled measurements through regression analysis to create maps of past and present C stocks. Through C stock map analysis, forested stands were found to contain 35 tonnes of aboveground C ha-1 after harvest and to reach maximal stocks of aboveground C stocks in old-growth stands (125 tonnes ha-1). No significant differences were found in aboveground C ha-1 for old-growth stands over the 18 year period measured, indicating these stands have reached equilibrium with respect to aboveground C. The rate of aboveground C sequestration was found to be a function of stand age, with younger stands accumulating more aboveground C annually than older stands. Maps of C for ecosystem components such as coarse woody debris and understory vegetation are being derived through empirical relationships with total C stocks. Comparisons of the total C stocks and sequestration for the research forest over the last eighteen years will be presented and discussed in terms of Kyoto C reporting requirements.
Key words: carbon budget, forest carbon, carbon modelling