Last modified 11/09/2005
Birdsey, R.A. and Heath, L.S. 2001.
Forest inventory data, models, and assumptions for monitoring carbon flux. P. 125-135.
In: Lal, R., ed. Soil Carbon Sequestration and the Greenhouse Effect.
SSSA Special publication No. 57. Soil Science Society of America, Inc. Madison, WI. 236 p.
Estimates from forest inventories indicate that U.S. forest ecosystems are a net sink for C, currently removing 0.2 to 0.3 PgC yr-1 from the atmosphere. Estimates of C storage in forest biomass are based on comprehensive forest inventory data collected periodically by the USDA, Forest Service. Estimates of C storage in forest soils (including mineral soil, litter and coarse woody debris) are based on intensive ecosystem studies and models relating soil C to climate variables, forest type, and land use history. Estimates of C storage in wood products are based on comprehensive models of biomass utilization, recycling, and disposal. Opportunities to improve the estimation process include better estimates of soil C responses to land use and environmental changes, and the need for more comprehensive data to estimate C flux on remote forest lands that are not significantly influence by human activities.
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