Carbon balance analysis: The marshes of Riihimäki are a huge carbon store

The investigation of Riihimäki's carbon balance has been completed. The work complements the survey of Kanta-Häme and Päijät-Häme carbon sinks and storages carried out in 2021. The survey will be used in the ongoing general planning and in the update of Riihimäki's environmental policy that will start next year.

In the report, FCG Finnish Consulting Group mapped the carbon sinks and stores and soil emissions in the Riihimäki area. Based on the calculation, the city's forests, vegetation and soil annually bind slightly more carbon emissions than they produce. Forests are the region's most important carbon sink, but other vegetation also binds carbon to itself every year.

The largest soil carbon stores are bog areas. Riihimäki has an extraordinary amount of marshland for a small southern Finnish town. The largest single coal deposit is the Silmäkeneva marsh area. There is more than a million tons of coal in the Riihimäki area, and half of it is stored in bogs.

At Riihimäki, the carbon sinks are currently greater than the emissions from the soil. However, the difference between carbon sinks and soil emissions is not significantly large. Strengthening carbon sinks and preserving carbon reserves is very important.

Logging always reduces the carbon sink of forests and increases soil emissions. It is possible to increase the carbon stock of bog areas to a greater extent than at present and would require restoration measures. Maintaining and strengthening coal sinks and storages is a key part of Riihimäki's climate work.

The carbon balance statement and its summary can be found Resource wise from the Riihimäki website.