Kaie Kriiska

• PhD
• ESG expert at Sustinere OÜ

The quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is increasingly important in spatial planning for regions, cities, and areas. The combination of territorial and consumption-based accounting (CBA) approaches can currently be considered best practice for calculating GHG emissions at sub-national levels, in terms of informing local decision-makin...

Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity, and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its...

Litter decomposition is a key process that drives carbon and nutrient cycles in forest soils. The decomposition of five different substrate types was analyzed in hemiboreal coniferous forests, focusing on the mass loss and nutrient (N, P, and K) release of fine roots (FR) and needle litter in relation to the initial substrate and soil chemistry. A...

Clear-cutting is a conventional method of forest management which significantly changes carbon (C) cycling at the ecosystem level for a long time. Estimation of the interim period during which the ecosystem turns from a C source to a C sink is crucial for clarifying the environmental effects of management on forest C cycling. The current study prov...

Estimation of soil-related carbon (C) fluxes is needed to understand the dynamics of the soil organic carbon pool, to determine changes in the carbon balance and functioning of forest ecosystems, and to support climate change policies. The objective of the study was to analyse the variation in the most dynamic soil C input (tree and understory abo...

Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litt...

Through litter decomposition enormous amount of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litte...

Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to under-stand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litt...

Accurate carbon-balance accounting in forest soils is necessary for the development of climate change policy. However, changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) occur slowly and these changes may not be captured through repeated soil inventories. Simulation models may be used as alternatives to SOC measurement. The Yasso07 model presents a suitable alte...

Estonia is the only country in Europe that is actively mining oil shale. Oil-shale-burning power plants have been and still are the main sources of heavy metals in Estonia. In order to establish how coniferous ecosystems are affected by Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb, heavy metal content in current-year and older needles, in litterfall needles and litte...

The compilation of GHG inventories has become a common practice to support environmental decision- and policy-making, for example in the context of the UNFCCC. To estimate GHG emissions, simulation models present viable alternatives to measured data. In order to make an informed decision on model selection, clear information on the purpose and appl...

The national communication describes Estonia´s vulnerability and the actions taken with regard to adapting to climate change. https://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/application/pdf/est_nc6.pdf.

Within the framework of the COST Action FP0803 'Belowground carbon turnover in European forests' several conferences, workshops and Training Schools were held during the period of 2009 and 2013. The first conference was held at our Institute, WSL, in Birmensdorf (Switzerland), as the first event of the COST Action following the kick-off meeting in...