Metsä Group's Metsäverkko service will feature a new carbon calculator to help forest owners understand their forests' carbon storage and carbon sinks.

With good forest management, forest owners can nurture the carbon sink created by their forest. Metsä Group's new carbon calculator helps forest owners examine carbon flows in the forest, the amount of carbon stored in the soil, trees and wood products, and the development of the forest carbon storage as a result of forest management. The carbon calculator also offers practical examples illustrating the number of wood products that can be produced from the wood obtained from felling.

The carbon calculator is based on advanced forest growth modelling that displays the current size of forest carbon storages and the forecast trend in five-year periods over the next 50 years. In Metsäverkko, carbon data can be reviewed by individual stands, forest estates or forest assets.

"Climate change mitigation and adaptation is also a concern for and interesting to forest owners. Metsä Group's owner-members own around half of Finland's private forests, giving forest owners a key role in influencing the carbon sinks of Finnish forests. Our carbon calculator is a way for us to support our owner-members in managing their forest assets and to increase awareness and provide practical examples of the long-term management of carbon sinks," says Juho Rantala, SVP, Development, Metsä Group Wood Supply and Forest Services.

Forests function as carbon sinks when the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide sequestered in trees and the soil exceeds the amount released. The forest carbon storage comprises the carbon stored in trees and other biomass and the soil. Products made from wood also store carbon throughout their life-cycle.

Carbon calculations will become available in Metsäverkko for all Metsä Group owner-members by the end of the year.