Back to search

KLIMAFORSK-Stort program klima

European heathland carbon storage synthesis (EuroHeath)

Awarded: NOK 99,999

The European lowland heaths are cultural landscape that date back several millennia. Heathlands throughout Europe are habitat threatened by land-use abandonment and protection of forests for enhanced CO2 sequestration. The feasibility of tree planting in mid to high latitude ecosystems for climate mitigation, however, is in question. Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately quantify the capacity of ecosystem carbon storage before such policy implementation as afforestation for climate mitigation. Current policy neglects carbon storage capacity of open landscapes, let alone the importance of ecosystem services and values provided by open landscapes such as heathlands. EuroHeath proposes a 2.5 day workshop to gather experts within the field of ecosystem carbon storage in European heathland ecosystems aiming to synthesize a much needed pan-European heathland ecosystem carbon storage capacity. We target a manuscript for a scientific journal, which will also be used to create policy documents. This information will be used to support the current conservation efforts towards cultural open landscapes in Europe such as heathland ecosystems.

Funding scheme:

KLIMAFORSK-Stort program klima