Biodiversity and Carbon Stock

Knowledge on biodiversity in coniferous forests in Denmark and Northern Germany and the options for managing these forests to increase biodiversity is limited. Since coniferous forests make up almost half of the forest area in DK, and since coniferous forests are native to countries south as well as north of DK they may have a potential to contribute significantly to increased forest biodiversity on a national scale.

Close-to-Nature Forestry (CNF) has been identified as a means to increase the provision of ecosystem services such as carbon storage and creation of habitats for increased biodiversity. However, although conversion to CNF has been on the agenda for several decades, there is little substantial knowledge on the provision of such ecosystem services.

This action is aimed at monitoring the development of carbon stocks and indicators for biological diversity in forests under conversion to CNF and in afforestation sites. Hereby the action seeks to close knowledge gaps on the provision of ecosystem services by conversion of coniferous forests to CNF Carbon stocks will be estimated for all five principal pools used by the IPCC.

Monitoring of biodiversity indicators will include structural elements, soils and species collections as well as sampling for microbiomes and genetic characteristics.