[...]... 1.4 Carbon Sequestration 1.5 Review Questions References 1 2 3 5 11 17 17 2 The Natural Dynamic of Carbon in Forest Ecosystems 2.1 Carbon Input into Forest Ecosystems 2.1.1 Carbon Assimilation 2.1.2 Influx of Gaseous Carbon Compounds 2.1.3 Deposition of Dissolved and Particulate Carbon 2.2 Carbon Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems 2.2.1 Carbon. .. Old-Growth Stage 3.3 Forest Management and Carbon Sequestration 3.3.1 Management Activities in Natural Forests 3.3.2 Management Activities in Forest Plantations 3.4 Effects of Peatland, Mining and Urban Land Uses on Forest Carbon Sequestration 3.4.1 Forested Peatlands 3.4.2 Mining Activities in Forests 3.4.3 Urbanization and Forest Ecosystems 3.5 Conclusions... on Carbon Sequestration in Forests 5.1 Nitrogen 5.1.1 Nitrogen Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems 5.1.2 Nitrogen Impacts on Biomass Carbon Sequestration 5.1.3 Nitrogen Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration 5.1.4 Conclusions 5.2 Phosphorus 5.2.1 Phosphorus Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems 5.2.2 Phosphorus Impacts on Carbon Sequestration in Forest. .. a focus on forest ecosystems in Europe and North America K Lorenz and R Lal, Carbon Sequestration in Forest Ecosystems, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3266-9_1, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V 2010 1 2 1 Introduction The global C cycle, ACC and the importance of C sequestration in forest ecosystems are also discussed 1.1  Forest Ecosystems The term ‘ecosystem’ was proposed by A R Chapman in the early... transfer of C into OM, because soil inorganic C is less dynamic and less effective in the storage of atmospheric CO2 (Schlesinger 2006) Thus, C sequestration in forest ecosystem in the following Chapters refers to sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in organic compounds which results in increasing pools of organic C in forest vegetation, detritus and soil Sequestration of C implies that the net change in vegetation,... may weaken the C uptake by forest ecosystems and render forests into a C source which will then have a positive feedback on the global climate While C sequestration in forest ecosystems cannot stop increases in atmospheric CO2 originating from fossil fuel combustion, enhancing and strengthening C-fluxes into stable forest C pools can offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions and minimize risks of abrupt climate... Commitments for Forest Carbon Sequestration 6.2.2 Future Forest- Based Systems for Carbon Sequestration 6.3 Major Constraints on the Importance of Forest Carbon Sequestration: Tropical Deforestation, Perturbations in Peatlands and in Old-Growth Forests 6.3.1 Tropical Deforestation 6.3.2 Perturbations in Peatland Forests 6.3.3 Perturbations in Old-Growth Forests 6.4 Conclusions ... agriculture started in south-central Europe In the following millennia, forest clearance spread to northern regions (Schulze et al 2005) Aside from clearing, natural forest vegetation was also changed in large areas around settlements by grazing, trampling, tree felling and other uses of trees The following medieval forest clearing resulted in pre-industrial extensive forest management in central Europe... Pg C in litter, and 398 Pg C in forest soils (Kindermann et al 2008) Forest C data are, however, highly uncertain as, for example, up to 691 Pg C may be stored in forest plant biomass and up to 968 Pg C in forest soils to 1-m depth (Fig 1.2) Yet, more C is stored in forests than in the atmospheric pool which is estimated to contain about 817 Pg C In particular, pristine, undisturbed, old-growth forests... coniferous forests since mid 1970s Furthermore, increasing N influx alters the forest site conditions and vegetation in many European regions independent of forest management (Schulze et al 2005) Similar to the developments in Europe, vast areas of forest were cleared worldwide over the past two to three centuries (Martin 2008) For example, in the conterminous U.S forest land was first cleared in the east, . increasing, the importance of the remaining existing forests in maintaining the global carbon cycle cannot be understated. By bringing current knowledge on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change 5 1.4 Carbon Sequestration 11 1.5 Review Questions 17 References 17 2 The Natural Dynamic of Carbon in Forest Ecosystems 23 2.1 Carbon Input into Forest Ecosystems. Effects of Peatland, Mining and Urban Land Uses on Forest Carbon Sequestration 135 3.4.1 Forested Peatlands 135 3.4.2 Mining Activities in Forests 139 3.4.3 Urbanization and Forest Ecosystems 142 3.5