Abstract
The terrestrial biosphere provides a strong
sink for greenhouse gases (GHGs). Indeed,
global studies confirm that the terrestrial
biosphere takes up significant amounts of
carbon dioxide (CO2). However, some uncertainty
remains attached to the relative
strength of the sinks offered by different
geographical regions and ecosystems around
the world. The present synopsis of an article
planned for a forthcoming issue of Ambio
confirms the importance of European Union
(EU) forests for carbon (C) sequestration.
With the signature of the Kyoto Protocol (1)
to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (2) signed on 11 December
1997, the sequestration of C02-as well
as the five other GHGs listed in the Kyoto
Protocol, namely methane, nitrous oxide,
sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and
perfluorocarbons-has become an hot political
issue. However, the forest sink strength
estimation exercise presented in the present
synopsis attempts to do more than to generate
a pair of policy relevant numbers. Truly, the
exercise makes three additional contributions.
First,i t offers a genericf rameworkf or the
calculation of the net exchange of GHGs
between the surface and the atmosphere;
second,i t providesa serieso f generici nsights
into the problems associated with such
calculations; and, third, it sketches out a
generic methodology to refine, reengineer,
and organize data from sources as different
as flux measurementbs y eddy covariance,
field surveys, and space observations.
