CONTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATE FORESTS TO THE WORLDS CARBON BUDGET

Temperate forests currently cover about 600 MHa, about half of their p otential. Almost all these forests have been directly impacted by huma ns. The total living biomass in trees (including roots) was estimated to contain 33.7 Gt C. The total C pool for the entire forest biome was estimated as 98.8 Gt. The current net sink flux of biomass was calcul ated at 205 Mt yr-1, with a similar amount removed in harvests for man ufacture into various products. The major cause of this C sink is fore st regrowth. Forest regrowth is possible because fossil fuels are the major source of energy in temperate countries, instead of fuelwood. Fu ture C in these forests will be greatly influenced by human activity. Options to sequester more C include conservation of forest resources, activities that increase forest productivity such as adopting rotation ages to optimize C production, afforestation, improvement of wood uti lization, and waste management.