Higher carbon storage in primary than secondary boreal forests in Sweden

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Pascual, Didac; Hugelius, Gustaf; Canadell, Josep G.; Harden, Jennifer; Jackson, Robert B.; Georgiou, Katerina; Jonshagen, Anders; Lindstrom, Johan; Ljung, Karl; Register, Emily; Volle, Camille; Asch, Johanna; Ervander, Ulrika; Falthammar De Jong, Geerte; Sun, Jia; Ahlstrom, Anders
• 署名单位: Lund University; Stockholm University; Stockholm University; Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); CSIRO Environment; Stanford University; Stanford University; Stanford University; Oregon State University; Lund University; China University of Geosciences; University of Wurzburg; University of Gothenburg; University of Gothenburg
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adz8554
• 发表日期: 2026-03-19
• 关键词: soil carbon; old-growth; land-use; management; sequestration; PRODUCTIVITY; northern; wildfire; nitrogen; HISTORY

摘要

Boreal forests provide considerable global land carbon storage and uptake, but they are being rapidly transformed to managed secondary forests, with poorly quantified implications for ecosystem carbon storage. Here we present data from extensive mapping and field inventories of carbon storage in primary forests in Sweden and use multiple methods to show that primary forests store similar to 72% (70 to 74% across methods) more carbon than managed secondary forests in vegetation, deadwood, soils, and harvested wood products combined. Soils constitute both the largest carbon store and the largest difference between these forest types. The total carbon storage difference between primary and managed secondary forests is 2.7 to 8.0 times larger than previous estimates. Our results challenge estimated past and future contributions of boreal forest management to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.