The objective of the project was to develop a new integrated method for better estimates of the carbon budgets of forests. In this case better estimates refer to more accurate and precise estimates, in which vegetation and soil are better integrated and estimates on the carbon budgets of different stocks of vegetation and soil can be transparently reported. The project aimed at improving accuracy and precision of the estimates by reducing the uncertainties related to current forest inventory based methods and by employing eddy covariance measurements and modelling together with them. In the method developed, vegetation and soil were functionally linked but their carbon budgets can be separately reported. This new method could be applied to estimate the carbon budgets of forests at scales ranging from single sites to regions.
The project was funded by the Academy of Finland.