The Irish Meteorological Society are hosting a talk on 22nd November at 6pm in The Custom House, Dublin city. Professor Ken Byrne from the University of Limerick will be talking on the role of Irish forests in carbon capture and sequestering, as well as the unique factors relating to forests in Ireland.
You can register to attend this event for free at Irish Meteorological Society.
The Role of Forest in Mitigating Climate Change – An Irish Perspective
Forests in Ireland cover 808,848 ha or 11.6% of the total land area. Of this 49.1% is in public ownership, with the balance in private ownership. The forest estate is comprised of 30.6% broadleaves and 69.4% conifers. These forests sequester atmospheric carbon and provide wood products which can displace energy intensive materials in construction and energy generation.
This talk will give an overview of our current knowledge of the carbon balance in Irish forests and how it is influenced by legacy issues such a low afforestation rate, uneven age-class distribution and a large proportion of forests on peat soils. It will conclude by discussing current research and the need to enhance the climate resilience of our forests.
Prof Ken Byrne is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering in UL. His research focuses on the impact of land use and land use change on soil carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions. Other interests include carbon storage in harvested wood products, forest ecosystem services and nutrient stores in forest biomass.
IMS talk: The Role of Forest in Mitigating Climate Change – An Irish Perspective. Image courtesy Irish Meteorological Society