Abstract
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), can be mitigated by the planting of trees and shrubs. Appropriate agroforestry practices in Saskatchewan include field and farmyard shelterbelts, wildlife plantations, poplar plantations and managed woodlots. A study was conducted to determine the amount of carbon held in prairie shelterbelts. The effect of the soil type and tree species on biomass and carbon content was measured in shelterbelts in the brown, dark brown and black soil zones of Saskatchewan. For some of the main shelterbelt species, the mean aboveground carbon content was 79 kg/tree (32 t/km) for green ash, 263 kg/tree (105 t/km) for poplar, 144 kg/tree (41 t/km) for white spruce and 26 t/km for caragana. In the brown and the dark brown soils, which are more arid than the black soil zone, trees had 60.6% and 65.5%, respectively, of the biomass and carbon content of trees and shrubs in the black soil zone. Improved, fast-growing poplar clones had the greatest biomass at maturity and fixed the greatest amount of carbon. Simple equations were developed to calculate the carbon contents of prairie shelterbelts, based on easily measured tree or shrub parameters. This paper will discuss the results of this particular study and the broader implications of this work.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brandle JR, Wardle TD and Bratton GF (1992) Opportunities to increase tree planting in shelterbelts and the potential impacts on carbon storage and conservation. In: Sampson RN and Hair D (eds) Forests and Global Change, Vol. 1: Opportunities for Increasing Forest Cover, Ch 9, pp. 157–176. American Forests, Washington DC
Dudek DJ and LeBlanc A (1990) Offsetting new CO2 emissions: a rational first greenhouse policy step. Contemporary Policy Issues VIII (July): 29–42
Environment Canada (1995) Canada’s National Action Program on Climate Change. Government of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
Environment Canada (1997) Canada’s Second National Report on Climate Change. Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Freedman B and Keith T (1995) Planting trees for Carbon Credits. Publ by Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 42 pp
Howe JAG (1986) One hundred years of prairie forestry. Prairie Forum 11(2): 243–251
IPCC (1995) IPCC Second Assessment: Climate Change 1995. Publ by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Keyes MR and Grier CC (1981) Above-and below-ground net production in 40-year-old Douglas fir stands on low and high productivity sites. Can J For Res 11: 599–605
Sedjo RA (1989) Forests to offset the greenhouse effect. J of Forestry (July): 12–15
Van Lear DH and Kapeluck PR (1994) Above-and below-stump biomass and nutrient content of a mature loblolly pine plantation. Can J For Res 25: 361–367
Young A, Cheatle RJ and Muraya P (1987) The potential of agroforestry for soil conservation. Part III. Soil changes under agroforestry (SCUAF): A predictive model. ICRAF Working Paper No. 44. International Council for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya, 90 pp
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kort, J., Turnock, R. Carbon reservoir and biomass in Canadian prairie shelterbelts. Agroforestry Systems 44, 175–186 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006226006785
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006226006785