Researchers in Metsälehti: Forest carbon sinks are miscalculated in Finland – this variable is ignored

Why are forests a carbon sink in Sweden but a source of emissions in Finland? The Ministry is launching an investigation into Luke’s calculation models.

Why are forests a carbon sink in Sweden but a source of emissions in Finland? Finnish researchers question the calculation model of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and stress the need for an EU-wide overhaul.

– For all the world’s peatlands, when the water table is high, organic matter decomposition is low, and when the water table is deep, decomposition accelerates and carbon emissions increase,” Laurén writes.

According to Laurén, however, this is not taken into account in the calculations of the Natural Resources Institute of Finland.

– Even if all the ditches were blocked, the batteries of the sky would open and the ground would flood, our carbon calculations would not vibrate, even if the emissions actually reduce.

Annamari Laurén states that carbon emissions are based on calculations only on the bottom area of \u200b\u200bthe stand and the average temperature of the year.

– And as the forest grows and the years are warming up, the emission figures point to the heavens. This Judgment Day plane will inevitably transport us towards higher calculated soil emissions and billion invoices.

Report coming soon

According to Metsälehti, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is now conducting a survey of the carbon selection of the Natural Resources Center.

– We evaluate the impact of different factors on the results of greenhouse gas calculations. In addition, we will test the results of the calculation used in Sweden, ”Kangas says.

The project lasts for a year, but according to Metsälehti, the new calculation model is not developed.

“A varied set of trials and tribulations”

According to the UN Climate Convention, Finland must report annually the emissions and sinks of greenhouse gases caused by human activity.

According to Metsälehti, Swedish emission models reduce peat emissions as the amount of trees increases. In Finland, on the other hand, the temperature has also been taken into account since 2021, and as a result, carbon sinks collapsed. As a result, the requirements for restrictions on logging have been made.

– According to Statistics Finland’s overall confidence analysis, the forests may be either pharynx or emissions.