“Carbon dynamics in ecosystems: a global perspective” – Dr Lan Qie, University of Lincoln, presenting at the Net Zero Conference 2022, ‘Research Journeys in/to Net Zero: Current and Future Research Leaders in the Midlands, UK’ (on Friday 24th June 2022 at De Montfort University)

1. Carbon dynamics in ecosystems: a
global perspective
Lan Qie (Lainie), Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation

2. Principal global carbon pools and fluxes
Lal 2007 PNAS
SOC = soil organic carbon
(humus, inert charcoal,
plant and animal residues,
microbiota)
SIC = soil inorganic carbon
(elemental carbon,
carbonate minerals, e.g.
calcite, primary and
secondary carbonates)
Pg = 1015g, petagrams, or
Gigatonne (Gt), or billion
tonne

3. Carbon stored by biome gigatonnes of C
Source: UNEP – WCMC, 2009
3

4. Ballyntyne et al. 2012 Nature
Global biosphere carbon sink
4

5. Pan et al. 2011 Science
A Large and Persistent Carbon Sink in the
World’s Forests

6. Qie et al. 2017 Nature Communications
71 plots
Mean plot size 1.3 ha
Monitoring period 1958-2015
Long-term carbon sink in Borneo’s forests
6

8. How do we estimate above-ground biomass (AGB)
of a tree?
A large body of published biomass equations are available. http://www.globallometree.org/ 8
About half of dry biomass is carbon
Allometric equations for tree biomass
AGB = f(ρ, D, H)
AGB = above-ground biomass (dry mass)
ρ = wood density/specific gravity
D = diameter at breast height (DBH)
H = tree height

9. Image: Nick Vaughn,
Carnegie Institution for
Science
https://cao.carnegiescie
nce.edu/portfolio/3d-
laser-scan-of-worlds-
tallest-tropical-tree-
found-in-borneo
Airborne and terrestrial LiDAR
9

10. 10
Above-ground biomass (AGB) measuring – field
measurement and remote-sensing integration
Chave et al. 2019. Ground Data are Essential for Biomass Remote Sensing Missions. Surveys in Geophysics

11. Protect the tropical forests with carbon finance?
Koh et al. 2021 Nature Communications doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21560-2

12. Protect the tropical forests with carbon finance?
Koh et al. 2021 Nature Communications doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21560-2
At a global level, carbon pricing
at $16/tCO2 and $44/tCO2 are
needed to protect 50 and 80% of
investible carbon sites,
respectively

14. UK Woodland Carbon Code (WCC)
The Woodland Carbon Code is the voluntary
standard for UK woodland creation projects
where claims are made about the carbon
dioxide they sequester. Independent
validation and verification to this standard
provides assurance and clarity about the
carbon savings of these sustainably managed
woodlands.

15. So let’s just plant as many trees as possible?!
15
“…the manifesto commitment to plant 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK by 2025.”
https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/06/12/tree-planting-on-the-up-in-england/
“The area of woodland in England at 31 March 2021 is 1,320 thousand hectares (10.1% of the
country) – this is 2 thousand hectares more than last year’s figure.”
https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/08/06/coverage-on-government-tree-planting-commitments/

16. Scharlemann et al. Carbon Management 2014
But majority of ecosystem C outside the tropics is stored belowground
16

17. Tree planting in organic soils does not result in net carbon
sequestration on decadal timescales
Friggens et al. 2020 Global Change Biology
• Planting of native tree species (Betula sp.
and Pinus sylvestris) onto heather (Calluna
vulgaris) moorland with organic soils
• Despite increased above-ground C, the loss
of SOC in planted plots resulted in no net
increase in ecosystem C stock
• Possible soil ‘priming’ effect: recent C inputs
stimulate the soil microbial community,
enabling decomposition of pre-existing soil C
stores and release of CO2

18. The "4 for
1000"
Initiative
18
www.4p1000.org
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)

19. Urban ecosystems are also important
carbon pools
Davies et al. 2011 Journal of Applied Ecology

20. Low and Qie 2021, https://lalt.lincoln.ac.uk/portfolio/urban-ecosystem-services-aboveground-vegetation-carbon-storage-on-brayford-pool-campus/
Aboveground Vegetation Carbon Storage on Brayford Pool
Campus, University of Lincoln

21. The big picture
• Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer a promising way forward for a range of
land use sectors
• voluntary carbon markets (VCM) and offer a potential revenue stream to
landowners looking to reduce environmental footprint of their activities
• Plant the right tree in the right place!
• Key challenges:
• opportunity costs
• competition for land
• entrenched cultures and risk aversion

22. THANK YOU
Lan Qie (Lainie)
lqie@lincoln.ac.uk