Estimation of litter input in hemi-boreal forests with drained organic soils for improvement of GHG inventories

Abstract

Assessments of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in forest land with drained organic soils conducted within the scope of National GHG inventories requires reliable data on litter production and carbon (C) input to soil information. To estimate C input through tree above-ground litter, sampling of above-ground litter was done in 36 research sites in Latvia representing typical forests with drained organic soils in hemiboreal region. To estimate C input through tree below-ground litter and litter from ground vegetation, modelling approach based on literature review and data on characteristics of forest stands with drained organic soils in Latvia provided by National Forest Inventory (NFI) was used. The study highlighted dependence of C input to soil through litter production from the stand characteristics and thus significant differences in the C input with litter between young and middle age stands. The study also proves that drained organic soils in middle age forests dominated by Silver birch, Scots pine and Norway spruce may not be the source of net GHG emissions due to offset by C input through litter production. However, there is still high uncertainty of C input with tree below-ground litter and ground vegetation, particularly, mosses, herbs and grasses which may have crucial role in C balance in forests with drained organic soils. Key words: forests, drained organic soils, litter production, carbon input, National GHG inventory