Pauline Sievert
Project Title
Investigating effects of thinning practices on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.
Biography
Forest ecosystems are of major importance in the context of climate chance because they have a great potential to function as a carbon sink and therefore are an important part of climate mitigation. To increase the carbon storage, management activities have to be optimised and adapted to the local environmental conditions.
At Teagasc, Pauline will be working on the ForCaSt project, investigating the effects of different thinning practices on carbon sequestration in Irish forest ecosystems. Inventory data will be used to determine carbon stocks and fluxes in broadleaf and conifer forests, managed with different thinning intensities. Additionally, we will use the CBM-CFS3 to simulate the long-term effects of thinning on future carbon storage.
The overall goal is to identify the optimal thinning intensity to increase the carbon storage of the forest as a recommendation for future sustainable forest management activities.
Pauline holds a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science and a Masters degree in Forest and Ecosystem Sciences and was already able to gain practical experience via internships or a voluntary year in a forest department, in the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and in the Bavarian forest national park.
Teagasc email Pauline.Sievert@teagasc.ie
University email pauline.sievert@ucd.connect.ie
Teagasc Research Programme Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme
Teagasc Research Location Johnstown Castle
University UCD
Teagasc Supervisor Dr. Junliang Zou
University Supervisor Dr. Brian Tobin
Funder Teagasc