Quantitative Assessment of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors in Forest Carbon Sequestration

The ability of the ecosystems to generate services is vital for humanwell-being, economic development and even survival. The production ofecosystem services is influenced by a complex interplay of natural andanthropogenic factors. Quantitative assessment of the ecosystem services as wellas natural and anthropogenic factors affecting them is a crucial aspect ofsustainable environmental development and management. The paper discusses atheoretical framework for quantifying ecosystem services and their changes inresponse to natural and anthropogenic factors on the basis of a meta-modellingapproach. The effect of anthropogenic factors on the ecosystem components andservices is modelled using corresponding transformation functions. Forestecosystems and their services, with a special emphasis on the role of forests incarbon cycling and sequestration, are considered.