Did ManFor C.BD forest treatments influence carbon stock and sequestration?

Forests are a key component of the global carbon cycle. It hasbeen estimated that of the 480 Gt of carbon emitted by anthropogenicactivities (fossil fuel and land-use change related emissions)since the start of industrial revolution, 166 GtC (35%) havebeen absorbed by forest ecosystems, 124 GtC by oceans (25%),while 190 GtC (40%) remained in the atmosphere, causing the relevantincrease of CO2 concentrations that is the main driver of climatechange (House et al., 2002). In this respect, the role of managedforests is crucial as several studies attributed to the forests ofthe Northern hemisphere, a large part of which is managed, a prominentrole in the carbon cycle of the last 20 to 30 years (Schimel etal., 2001). The C cycle begins with the process of CO2 assimilationby plants that determines the delivery of assimilates to the plantinternal store, which may then be used for growth, reserve ordefense. In trees, growth adds biomass as foliage, wood and roots.The annual cycle of plant part losses, arising in the form of the litterfallderived from above- and below-ground parts, migrates carbonto the soil and feeds back to the heterotrophs of the ecosystemwhich use the energy stored in the organic matter and recycle nutrientsas a major resource for further plant growth (Schulze, 2000).