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Integrated long-term, in-situ observations are needed to document ongoing environmental change, to "ground-truth" remote sensing and model outputs and to predict future Earth system behaviour. The scientific and societal value of in-situ observations increases with site representativeness, temporal duration, number of parameters measured and comparability within and across sites. Research Infrastructures (RIs) can support harmonised, cross-site data collection, curation and publication. Integrating RI networks through site co-location and standardised observation methods can help answers three questions about the terrestrial carbon sink: (i) What are present and future carbon sequestration rates in northern European forests? (ii) How are these rates controlled? (iii) Why do the observed patterns exist? Here, we present a conceptual model for RI co-location and highlight potential insights into the terrestrial carbon sink achievable when long-term in-situ Earth observation sites participate in multiple RI networks (e.g., ICOS and eLTER). Finally, we offer recommendations to promote RI co-location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-use are deeply interconnected and integrated solutions are needed. This paper presents results from 11 contributions to a special issue covering topics of integrated modeling and spatial prioritization, mass-balance studies, Earth Observation techniques, research infrastructure developments, and evaluation of policy measures and economic compensation schemes. The spatial scale of the studies ranges from detailed site-specific to a European scale. This paper briefly summarizes the main findings of these studies, makes some general overall conclusions, and identifies topics for further research and methods developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01930-4. B Publisher Correction to: Ambio b https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01930-4 In the original publication of article, a typo was introduced in the co-author name during the creation of the article proof. [Extracted from the article]

Land use directly impacts ecosystem carbon and indirectly influences atmospheric carbon. Computing ecosystem carbon for an area experiencing changes in land use is not trivial, as carbon densities change slowly after land-use changes. We developed a tool, CarboScen, to estimate ecosystem carbon in landscapes. It is a simple tool typically used with an annual time step, and is based on carbon pools and densities. It assumes that carbon density asymptotically approaches a value, which is set for the land-use type in question. We recommend CarboScen for landscapes with spatially relatively homogenous soils and climate, multiple land uses, and changes between these leading to slow changes in carbon densities because either soil organic carbon is included in the analysis or afforestation occurs. Thanks to its simplicity, it is particularly suitable for participatory planning, rapid assessment of REDD+ project potential, and educational use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adequate and advance knowledge of the response of forest ecosystems to temperature-induced drought is critical for a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of global climate change on forest ecosystem structure and function. Recent massive decline in aspen-dominated forests and an increased aspen mortality in boreal forests have been associated with global warming, but it is still uncertain whether the decline and mortality are driven by drought. We used a series of ring-width chronologies from 40 trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) sites along a latitudinal gradient (from 52° to 58°N) in western Canada, in an attempt to clarify the impacts of drought on aspen growth by using Standardized Precipitation Index ( SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index ( SPEI). Results indicated that prolonged and large-scale droughts had a strong negative impact on trembling aspen growth. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal variability of drought indices is useful for explaining the spatial heterogeneity in the radial growth of trembling aspen. Due to ongoing global warming and rising temperatures, it is likely that severer droughts with a higher frequency will occur in western Canada. As trembling aspen is sensitive to drought, we suggest that drought indices could be applied to monitor the potential effects of increased drought stress on aspen trees growth, achieve classification of eco-regions and develop effective mitigation strategies to maintain western Canadian boreal forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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