Productivity of forests in the Eurosiberian boreal region and their potential to act as a carbon sink –‐ a synthesis

Based on review and original data, this synthesis investigates carbon pools and fluxes of Siberian and European forests (600 and 300 million ha, respectively). We examine the productivity of ecosystems, expressed as positive rate when the amount of carbon in the ecosystem increases, while (following micrometeorological convention) downward fluxes from the atmosphere to the vegetation (NEE = Net Ecosystem Exchange) are expressed as negative numbers. Productivity parameters are Net Primary Productivity (NPP=whole plant growth), Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP = CO2 assimilation minus ecosystem respiration), and Net Biome Productivity (NBP = NEP minus carbon losses through disturbances bypassing respiration, e.g. by fire and logging). Based on chronosequence studies and national forestry statistics we estimate a low average NPP for boreal forests in Siberia: 123 gC m ‐2 y ‐1 . This contrasts with a similar calculation for Europe which suggests a much higher average NPP of 460 gC m ‐2 y ‐1 for the forests there. Despite a smaller area, European forests have a higher total NPP than Siberia (1.2‐1.6 vs. 0.6‐0.9 3 10 15 gC region ‐1 y ‐1 ). This arises as a consequence of

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