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Old Growth Forests Store Far More Carbon Than Logged Ones, Study Finds
Old-growth forests hold 83% more carbon than managed ones, storing significantly more in trees, dead wood, and soils, underscoring their key role in climate mitigation.
- Published in the journal Science, a new study from Lund University found that Swedish old-growth forests store 83% more carbon than managed woodlands. This research offers the most comprehensive mapping to date of carbon storage in the country's natural forests.
- Researchers analyzed carbon distribution by digging 220 pits up to one metre deep and using national forest inventory data. Their findings reveal that old-growth forests store 87% more carbon in trees, 334% more in dead wood, and 68% more in soils than managed forests do.
- The total gap in storage capacity is about 3 to 8 times greater than previous estimates, equivalent to approximately 211 years of Sweden's current fossil carbon dioxide emissions. This magnitude underscores the climate benefits of protecting these natural areas.
- Conservationists have criticized proposed Swedish definitions for old-growth forests, which set high bars of 180 years in the north and 160 years in the south. Critics argue these standards undermine Europe restoration regulations and could allow continued logging of remaining natural forests.
- Didac Pascual, researcher at the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences at Lund University, noted that most wood products are short-lived. Protecting remaining old-growth forests and allowing unmanaged areas to recover could provide substantially greater climate benefits than previously thought.
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Eurasia Review
Stanford UniversityA ‘Shocking’ Carbon Discovery In Sweden’s Forests
The world’s northern forests act as massive carbon vaults, locking away greenhouse gases in spruce, pines, and needle-covered soils. But industrial logging is quickly eroding their ability to mitigate climate change, according to a major new study led by scientists at Lund University and Stanford University. The biggest losses are happening in soils beneath the forest floor.
Eurek Alert
Lunds universitetOld-growth forests store a lot more carbon than managed forests
Swedish old-growth forests store 83 percent more carbon than managed forests, according to a new study from Lund University. The difference is substantially larger than previous estimates and is mainly due to large carbon stocks in the soil.
Sweden’s ‘old-growth’ natural forests store 83% more carbon than managed woodlands – new study
Old-growth forest in Sweden. Ulrika Ervander, CC BY-NC-NDMost of Europe’s original natural forests have been transformed for agriculture and managed forests producing energy, paper and timber. The few remaining “old-growth” natural forests are relics of the past that illustrate how forests would have looked in the absence of human management. They can, therefore, tell us how people have transformed forests. Most Swedish forests are so-called bor…
Old-growth forests store a lot more carbon than managed forests, study finds
Swedish old-growth forests store 83% more carbon than managed forests, according to a new study from Lund University. The difference is substantially larger than previous estimates and is mainly due to large carbon stocks in the soil.
Natural forests in Sweden store significantly more carbon than production forests, shows new extensive mapping published in Science.
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