Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAE), has proposed new perspectives on forest carbon sequestration and climate-smart forestry, addressing critical challenges in mitigating climate change.

Forests, which account for over 80% of terrestrial ecosystem carbon sinks, play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. However, the concept of forest carbon sinks has been plagued by unclear definitions and uncertain temporal effects, leading to limitations in enhancing carbon sink capacity and confusion in carbon trading markets. To address these issues, the “Northern Ecological Barrier Innovation Group” at IAE has systematically reviewed the concept of forest carbon sinks. They analyzed the time-dependent changes in forest carbon sinks, suggesting the use of “tonne-year” as a unit of measurement until the temporal effects of carbon sinks on climate change mitigation are clarified. They proposed methods to increase forest carbon sink capacity and extend the duration of carbon sinks, such as reducing “temporary carbon sinks” and promoting “permanent carbon sinks.” Measures to maintain permanent carbon sinks include replacing steel, cement, and plastics with wood, reducing forest fire emissions, and fixing forest biomass in the form of biochar.

The complexity of forest ecosystems, characterized by long time spans, wide spatial distribution, and dynamic interactions, poses challenges to traditional forestry science. In response, the IAE team has explored a new paradigm based on climate-smart forestry, which leverages next-generation information technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to better understand the interactions between forest ecosystems and climate change. The team identified key research directions, including carbon sink measurement, forest resilience processes, and intelligent data collection systems. They also highlighted critical technologies for climate-smart forestry applications, such as Forest 3D observation, Forestry Digital Twin, AI analysis, and human-machine decision-making systems, which can significantly reduce trial-and-error costs and transform traditional forestry research paradigms.

These findings were published in July 2024 in the journals Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and SCIENTIA SILVAE SINICAE under the titles “Carbon sink of forest ecosystems: Concept, time effect and improvement approaches” and “On the Research of Climate-Smart Forestry.”