Keywords
mortmass
conversion factors
Fagus sylvatica L. фітомаса
мортмаса
конверсійні коефіцієнти
Fagus sylvatica L.
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction
Increasing forest cover and productivity, along with the implementation of sustainable forest management practices, plays a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon dioxide sequestration. International carbon markets, operating through the carbon credit mechanism, offer substantial opportunities for financing climate-positive initiatives. For Ukraine, this creates the potential to support projects aimed at expanding forest areas, improving forest management, and establishing new protected territories. These actions also contribute to the environmental and socio-economic resilience of the forest sector, support biodiversity conservation, and foster the development of local communities. However, the successful justification and implementation of these climate-positive projects require robust scientific support and a systematic monitoring and verification of the volumes of carbon accumulated as a result of these projects.
The aim of the present research was to estimate the volume of carbon sequestration in woody phytomass and to conduct baseline calculations necessary for monitoring carbon stocks in the forest stands of the Kremenetski Hory National Nature Park.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted in 2024 within the Kremenetski Hory National Nature Park, located in the European Broad-Leaved Forest Province of the Opil-Kremenetsk District of beech, hornbeam-oak forests, real and steppe meadows and meadow steppes. Much of the native forest has been replaced by secondary hornbeam stands, many of which have reached maturity and now require restoration.
To assess carbon stocks, circular monitoring plots with a radius of 17.84 meters were established. Within these plots, all living and dead trees were inventoried, recording species identification, diameter at breast height, tree status, and visible damage. Tree biomass was calculated using established conversion factors, while deadwood was classified according to density and assessed for volume and mass. This allowed for the calculation of carbon stocks in both living and dead organic matter. Additionally, the status of the European beech understory, established for native stand restoration, was evaluated.
Results
The growing stock of forest stands ranged from 234 to 379 cubic meters per hectare, while deadwood volume ranged from 6.7 to 37.8 cubic meters per hectare. Based on the calculations, carbon stocks were estimated for the primary forest stand components. The average carbon stock in the living stands was 98.3 tons per hectare, with deadwood containing 5.8 tons per hectare. Although natural regeneration and beech forest crops were present, beech density was low and insufficient for successful future stand replacement. Regeneration was dominated by maple and hornbeam, with oak and other species occurring only sporadically. The weakest regeneration was observed in oak-dominated stands.
Conclusion
Establishing baseline carbon stock values is essential for long-term monitoring and for evaluating the effects of restoration activities on the carbon sequestration capacity of forest ecosystems. The total estimated carbon stock across the surveyed plots was 2,200 tons, with approximately 83% stored in aboveground phytomass, 12% in belowground phytomass, and 5% in deadwood. The methodology and dataset developed in this study provide a solid foundation for future carbon monitoring and are suitable for use in climate-related projects, including carbon credit modelling strategies.
4 Tables, 23 Refs.
References
Buksha, I.F., Pasternak, V.P. and Pyvovar, T.S. (2024) ‘Development of carbon forestry in Ukraine: potential and tools for implementation’, in Proceedings of the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference “Forestry, Wood Processing and Land Management: Achievements, Status and Prospects”. Kharkiv: SBTU, pp. 18–20 (in Ukrainian).
Cairns, M.A. (1997) ‘Root biomass allocation in the world's upland forests’, Oecologia, 111, pp. 1–11.
Chiti, T., Rey, A., Abildtrup, J., B?ttcher, H., Diaci, J., Frings, O., Lehtonen, A., Schindlbacher, A. and Zavala, M.A. (2024) ‘Carbon farming in the European forestry sector’, From Science to Policy, 17. European Forest Institute.
Cienciala, E., Cerny, M., Apltauer, J. and Exnerova, Z. (2008) ‘Biomass functions applicable to European beech’, Journal of Forest Science, 54(4), pp. 147–154.
Grimault, J., Bellassen, V. and Shishlov, I. (2018) ‘Key elements and challenges in monitoring, certifying and financing forestry carbon projects’, Climate Brief N°58 I4CE, November 2018. Paris.
Harmon, M., and Sexton, J. (1996) Guidelines for measurements of woody detritus in forest ecosystems’, US LTER Publication No. 20. Seattle, WA: US LTER Network Office, University of Washington.
Hotsyk O. (2022) ‘Bioproductivity of the forests of the Cheremsky Nature Reserve’, Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science, 13 (3). pp. 32–40.
Hrom, M.M. (2010) Forest mensuration. 3rd edn. Lviv: RVV NLTU (in Ukrainian).
Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests (LtPF) (2013). Approved VCS Methodology VM0012 Version 1.2. Sectoral Scope 14.
Kim, H., Kim, Y.-H., Kim, R. and Park, H. (2015) ‘Reviews of forest carbon dynamics models that use empirical yield curves: CBM-CFS3, CO2FIX, CASMOFOR, EFISCEN’, Forest Science and Technology, 11(4), pp. 212–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/21580103.2014.987325
Kovalevskyi, S.S. (2014) ‘The development of multiple regression equations for the conversion coefficient of stands in the Dnieper upland Forest-Steppes’, Scientific Bulletin of UNFU, 24(7), pp. 55–60. (in Ukrainian).
Lakyda, P.I. (2002) Phytomass of Ukrainian forests. Ternopil: Zbruch (in Ukrainian).
Lakyda, P., Vasylyshyn, R., Lashenko, A. and Terentiev, A. (2011) Standards for evaluation the components of the above-ground phytomass of trees of the main forest-forming species of Ukraine. Kyiv: EKO-Inform Publishing House (in Ukrainian).
Neeff, T. (2021). What is the risk of overestimating emission reductions from forests – and what can be done about it? Climatic Change, 166, 26.
Myklush, S.I. (2011). Lowland beech forests of Ukraine: productivity and organization of sustainable management: monograph. Lviv: ZUKC (in Ukrainian).
Myronyuk, V.V., Bilous, A.M., Bidolakh, D.I. (2020) Scientific and methodological recommendations for the inventory of forest resources of Ukraine. Kyiv: NUBiPU (in Ukrainian).
Mund, M. (2004). Carbon pools of European beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) under different silvicultural management. PhD thesis, Georg-August-University G?ttingen.
Pan, Y., Birdsey, R.A., Fang, J., Houghton, R., Kauppi, P.E., Kurz, W.A., Phillips, O.L., Shvidenko, A., Lewis, S.L., Canadell, J.G., Ciais, P., Jackson, R.B., Pacala, S.W., McGuire, A.D., Piao, S., Rautiainen, A., Sitch, S. and Hayes, D. (2011). A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests. Science, 333(6045), pp. 988-993.
Pasternak, V., Pyvovar. T., Yarotsky, V. (2020). Forest carbon stock in Left-bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine according to intensive forest monitoring data. Proceedings of the Forestry Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 20, pp. 120–130. https://doi.org/10.15421/412011.
Shtogryn, M.O. and Bairak M. O. (eds.) (2017) National Nature Park "Kremenetski Gory": current state and prospects for the preservation, reproduction, and use of natural complexes and historical-cultural traditions. Kyiv: TVO "VTO Typography from A to Z" (in Ukrainian).
Soko?owski, K., Czerepko, J. and Gawry?, R. (2024) ‘The effects of Carpinus betulus expansion on soil properties under changing climatic conditions’, Scientific Reports, 14, 24662. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73960-1
Tokar, O.Ye., Korol, M.M. and Gusti, M.I. (2021) ‘Estimation of carbon stocks in phytomass of forest stands of protected areas in the Ukrainian Carpathians’, Scientific Bulletin of UNFU, 31(5), pp. 42–46 (in Ukrainian). https://doi.org/10.36930/40310506
Vasylyshyn, R., Lakyda, I., Melnyk, O., Lakyda, M. and Rymarenko, Yu. (2021) ‘Organic carbon in the plant biomass of forests in Kyiv region’, Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science, 12(3), pp. 63–71. https://doi.org/10.31548/forest2021.03.005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.