Carbon Management In Ecosystems

Forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems are important because they help to reduce the effect of climate change by absorbing and storing carbon. Activities such as conserving and restoring wetlands, tree planting and certain forest management practices can capture and store carbon which reduces greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The 50 Million Tree Program, for example, will help clean our air by removing about 6.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2050.

Old growth White Pine

Trees store and keep carbon out of the atmosphere. They provide a variety of wood products (which also store carbon), provide employment, and help keep ecosystems functioning.

But little is known about how much carbon is stored in Ontario’s managed forests and how forest management affects the release or absorption of greenhouse gases. As a result, researchers have developed a carbon budget model for Ontario (FORCARB-ON) and are using it to determine the current and future forest carbon balance in Ontario’s managed forest using provincial forest resources inventory data and information about planned forest management activities.

• To learn more, check out this newly released report, Forest Carbon in Ontario
• To learn more about MNR’s research on forest carbon, visit Ontario's Large-Scale Forest Carbon Project

Peatlands in the Far North of Ontario

The vast Far North Boreal forest, peatlands, wetland and tundra absorb and store greenhouse gases in trees, soil and peat. The Far North of Ontario absorbs more than 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air each year and stores the equivalent of 97 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

This area includes the Hudson Bay Lowlands, which is third largest contiguous wetland complex in the world and the largest in North America. This region is also the most southern extent of non-alpine permafrost in North America, contains 12% of the organic carbon stored in all Canadian soils, and is important to global, national, and provincial carbon budgets. This landscape includes many types of peatlands and permafrost features. Its large store of carbon and the presence of permafrost mean that the region is very sensitive to changes in climate.

Research is underway to develop estimates of present and future carbon in Far North forests and peatlands. Scientists are looking at how peatlands absorb and emit greenhouse gas emissions in different geographic locations and at different scales. They are also examining the fire and hydrology may influence the amount of carbon stored.

The models developed, together with other data, will help predict how much carbon peatlands and forests can store in years to come.

Learn more about carbon and climate change issues in the Far North in the Far North Science Advisory Panel’s
 • “Science for a Changing Far North”.