Dr James Morison, a leading climate scientist at Forest Research and one of the research team leading the NetZeroPlus project, presented a Forest Science Seminar on

“Understanding forest carbon numbers: how much carbon do forest stands take up?”

The Seminar is available to watch on the Forest Research website and examines the role that trees, woodlands and forests play in the carbon cycle. It is widely recognised that trees, woodlands and forests are key components of the carbon cycle and influence the climate. The function they provide in taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere underlies the global and national drives to increase tree cover – which is the core of the NetZeroPlus project.

To assess the potential of the ‘greenhouse gas removal’ mechanism from trees, we need to understand the ‘carbon numbers’ involved in British forests & woodlands – where is the carbon held in these forests, what are the processes underlying its cycling in the forest, what are the rates of carbon uptake, and what are the key factors influencing them.

Dr Morison’s talk examines these aspects, giving an overview of the quantities and processes involved with examples, including Forest Research’s two ‘case study’ measurement sites within lowland oak and upland Sitka spruce forests.