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Liski et al – Trees as carbon sinks and sources in the European Union 1Trees as carbon sinks and sources in the European UnionLiski J 1) *, Karjalainen T 1) , Pussinen A 1) , Nabuurs G-J 2) & Kauppi P 3)1) European Forest Institute, Torikatu 34, FIN-80100 Joensuu, Finland2) Institute for Forestry and Nature Research, Postbus 23, NL-6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands3) Department of Limnology and Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki,FinlandABSTRACTThe carbon (C) sinks and sources of trees that may be accounted for under Article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocolduring the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012 were estimated for the countries of the EuropeanUnion (EU) based on existing forest inventory data. Two sets of definitions for the accounted activities,afforestation, reforestation and deforestation, were applied. Applying the definitions by the Food andAgricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the trees were estimated to be a C source in 8 and aC sink in 7 countries, and in the whole EU a C source of 5.4 Tg year -1 . Applying the definitions by theIntergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), the trees were estimated to be a C source in 3 and a Csink in 12 countries, and in the whole EU a C sink of 0.1 Tg year -1 . These estimates are small compared withthe C sink of trees in all EU forests, 63 Tg year -1 , the anthropogenic CO 2 emissions of the EU, 880 Tg Cyear -1 , and the reduction target of the CO 2 emissions, 8 %. In individual countries, the estimated C sink of thetrees accounted for under Article 3.3 was at largest 8% and the C source 12% compared with the CO 2emissions.Key words:Kyoto Protocol, Article 3.3, carbon sink, carbon source, stock change, forest, CO 2 emission, afforestation,reforestation, deforestation.