New report calculated carbon emissions and sinks of the land use sector in Joensuu

In Finland, forests are the most important carbon sink, and their usage affects carbon sequestration. New report (in Finnish) by Sitowise Oy in July 2021 calculated carbon emissions and sinks of the land use sector in Joensuu.

These calculations include forms of land use in which the emissions and sinks are caused by human activity: forests, agricultural lands, grasslands and peat production areas. The calculations do not take into account emissions of water systems or natural swamps. In the calculations of forests emissions, changes in the carbon stock of forest stand biomass and the emissions and sinks of soil were included.

The impact of soil in emissions and sinks in the land use sector is smaller compared to forests. Greenhouse gas balance of forests varies depending on growth and natural removal of trees. In 2018, forests made up around 88 kt of CO2 equivalent carbon sink in Joensuu, and the land use sector made up around 135 kt in total. In the same year, greenhouse gas emissions of Joensuu were 492.9 kt of CO2 equivalent. Thus, the land use sector compensated over a fourth of Joensuu’s emissions in 2018.

The emissions and sinks of forests and of the entire land use sector can vary considerably from year to year. If logging and natural removal of trees exceed growth, forests will change from a carbon sink into a source of carbon emissions. In 2014, this was the case in Joensuu. In years 2016 and 2018, the forests were a carbon sink again, even though the growth of the forest stand mass was considerably smaller compared to years 2015–2017.