Preliminary assessments for the regional implementation of the inventory of forest carbon stocks in Lombardy

Abstract

Lombardy Region has established a regional inventory of forest carbon sinks in order to account for a balance between absorption and emission of carbon from forest growth and changes in forest surface, as well as to have an institutional and technical tool to characterize and exploit the forest sinks in control strategies and mitigation of anthropogenic emissions. In the first implementation has been computed the Forest Model into the regional Air Emission Inventory in order to assess and update the forest carbon stock and carbon sink of the region during the period 1990-2008. Carbon stock and carbon sink at municipal level were assigned in view of the share of municipal area of each forest type in the Region and the provincial estimated value was obtained from its municipal contributions while harvest and fire data set reported in the National Inventory Report 2011 were brought down to the NUTS2 level in order to be processed. Forest carbon stock in Lombardy has increased from 327 MtCO₂ in 1990 to 408 MtCO₂ in 2008, while carbon sink has been estimated 4.7 MtCO₂ in 2008 resulting in approximately 5.5% of regional GHGs emission level. Further analysis are in progress in order to refine the accounting at local level and to have a technical tool that allows to support decision making in the allocation of obligations for reducing emissions, as well as to enhance the forestry sector in the generation of carbon credits and in procedures of environmental impact assessment related to human settlements and infrastructure works.