Focus region Metropolitan Region Hamburg/Germany

Germany is a high-income country in the temperate climate zone with a strong economy within Europe and a stable political system. The Metropolitan Region Hamburg has a central urban core and is surrounded by cropland, grassland and forests. Drought, overuse, soil and groundwater depletion, and changing societal demands may increase land use competition, reduce biological production, and change the provision of ecosystem services and functions.

A simulation study examining different forest management approaches and their effects on carbon storage in forests and emission reductions from wood use presented strategies for maximizing forest carbon offsets.

A study in hardwood floodplain forests of the lower middle Elbe River reveal that soil carbon stocks ranged between 99 and 149 t/ha. Carbon storage was mainly controlled by relief-affected features such as flooding duration and fine texture.