https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03266-z Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * My Account Login * Explore content * Journal information * Publish with us Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. matters arising 3. article * Matters Arising * Published: 24 March 2021 Old-growth forest carbon sinks overestimated * Per Gundersen ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9199-4033^1, * Emil E. Thybring^1, * Thomas Nord-Larsen ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5341-6435^1, * Lars Vesterdal^1, * Knute J. Nadelhoffer^2 & * Vivian K. Johannsen^1 Nature volume 591, pagesE21-E23(2021)Cite this article * 3933 Accesses * 1 Citations * 142 Altmetric * Metrics details Subjects * Carbon cycle Matters Arising to this article was published on 24 March 2021 The Original Article was published on 11 September 2008 Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Access options Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year $199.00 only $3.90 per issue Subscribe All prices are NET prices. VAT will be added later in the checkout. Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent or Buy article Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube. from$8.99 Rent or Buy All prices are NET prices. Additional access options: * Log in * Access through your institution * Learn about institutional subscriptions Fig. 1: Changes in C fluxes as a function of age. [41586_2021_3266] Data availability The data analysed in this study and in Luyssaert et al. (2008) are publicly available at https://daac.ornl.gov/VEGETATION/guides/ forest_carbon_flux.html (ref. ^22). We used version 3.1 (12.06.2008). References 1. 1. Luyssaert, S. et al. Old-growth forests as global carbon sinks. Nature 455, 213-215 (2008). ADS CAS Article Google Scholar 2. 2. Odum, E. P. The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164, 262-270 (1969). ADS CAS Article Google Scholar 3. 3. Pan, Y. D. et al. A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests. Science 333, 988-993 (2011). ADS CAS Article Google Scholar 4. 4. Ciais, P. et al. Carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. In Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013). 5. 5. Baccini, A. et al. Tropical forests are a net carbon source based on aboveground measurements of gain and loss. Science 358, 230-234 (2017). 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Ecological Studies Vol. 207, 1-33 (Springer, 2009). 22. 22. Luyssaert, S., Inglima, I. & Jung, M. Global Forest Ecosystem Structure and Function Data for Carbon Balance Research https:// doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/949 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, 2009). Download references Acknowledgements We thank all the contributors to the C flux database used here and in Luyssaert et al.^1. This includes all site investigators, their funding agencies, the various regional flux networks (Afriflux, AmeriFlux, AsiaFlux, CarboAfrica, CarboEurope-IP, ChinaFlux, Fluxnet-Canada, KoFlux, LBA, NECC, OzFlux, TCOS-Siberia, USCCC), and the Fluxnet project, whose support was essential for obtaining the measurements compiled in the database. P.G. received funding from Aage V. Jensens Naturfond and T.N.-L. and L.V. received funding from ERA-GAS INVENT (NRC number 276398). Author information Affiliations 1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark Per Gundersen, Emil E. Thybring, Thomas Nord-Larsen, Lars Vesterdal & Vivian K. Johannsen 2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Knute J. Nadelhoffer Authors 1. Per Gundersen View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 2. Emil E. Thybring View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 3. Thomas Nord-Larsen View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 4. Lars Vesterdal View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 5. Knute J. Nadelhoffer View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar 6. Vivian K. Johannsen View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Contributions P.G. and E.E.T conceived the study. T.N-L., E.E.T. and P.G. analysed the data. P.G. wrote and edited the manuscript with contributions from all authors. Corresponding author Correspondence to Per Gundersen. Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary information Supplementary Tables This file contains Supplementary Tables S1 to S3 and supplementary references 23-27. Supplementary Table S1 shows carbon flux estimates for the boreal and temperate forest area; Supplementary Table S2 shows estimates of nitrogen input rates needed to sustain the carbon build up in biomass, woody debris and soil organic matter; Supplementary Table S3 shows carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forests with different management history. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark Cite this article Gundersen, P., Thybring, E.E., Nord-Larsen, T. et al. Old-growth forest carbon sinks overestimated. Nature 591, E21-E23 (2021). https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03266-z Download citation * Received: 10 March 2020 * Accepted: 19 January 2021 * Published: 24 March 2021 * Issue Date: 25 March 2021 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03266-z Comments By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. 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