CASCAS

Cascading carbon flow in managed forested catchments (CASCAS)

Principal Investigator: Professor Jukka Pumpanen

Funding: Academy of Finland, 1 September 2019 – August 31 2023

In Nordic countries, a large part of the forests are growing on peatland soils, and their utilization will increase in the future because renewable energy sources such as biomass are increasingly being used as a replacement of fossil fuels to decrease the C emissions heating the atmosphere which causes also pressure on water quality due to the risk of releasing large amounts of organic matter to runoff and drainage.

The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of forest management practices on peatland on dissolved organic matter load and quality and their subsequent effects on GHG emissions in inland waters. We will study these mechanisms using state-of-the art isotope techniques and water quality measurements and construct a model for estimating the effects of different forest management operations on water quality and GHG emissions and give recommendations on less invasive and more environmentally and climatically friendly forest management options in peatland forests.