Possibilities for carbon sequestration by the forestry sector in Hungary

In Hungary, gross emissions of carbon amount to some 17.6 Mt C yr-1. Forestry, the only sector which can offset emissions, seems to be a net sink of 1.6 Mt C yr-1. Afforesting large areas could substantially increase the carbon fixing capacity of the Hungarian forests. To assess the possibilities of sequestering carbon by afforestation, the CASFOR model, an adaptation of the COMAP model, was developed for Hungarian conditions. The technical potential scenario showed that, by afforesting 773,000 ha of former agricultural land by 2050, some 46 Mt C could be sequestered. The specific costs of sequestering carbon by afforestation are pretty low