He et al. 2016 studied a Norway spruce forest on fertile drained peatland under a 60 year period in Skogaryd, Sweden. During this period, 60 kg m-2 carbon dioxide was stored while 97 kg m-2 released to the atmosphere. The young forest remained a carbon source for 39 years, only after this period did the forest become a carbon sink. The peatland released nitrous oxide (N2O) as well, and if this is taken into account the forest remains a source of greenhouse gas emissions. If the forest is harvested after 80 years, most of the carbon will be released, in particular if the biomass is used for short lifetime products like paper. Read the whole article in Biogeosciences here.
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