Emission av växthusgaser från kraftverksmagasin och reglerade sjöar i norra Sverige

Carbon dioxide in Swedish hydroelectric reservoirs and natural lakes was studied to assess whether the emission of CO2 from inland waters has increased due to construction of reservoirs, and to gauge how the CO2-emission from reservoirs relates to CО2- emission from combustion plants used for electricity production. Emission of CO2 from the reservoirs was lower than from most reservoirs in other boreal regions of the world, probably since most reservoirs are constructed by damming of large natural lakes in hilly sub-arctic terrain. Therefore, comparatively small areas with small stores of organic carbon have been flooded. The total annual CO2-emission due to regulation for the seven rivers included in this study (which collectively represents 87% of the total hydroelectricity production in Sweden) is 50 000 tonnes of CO2. This emission represents 1.5 % of the yearly CO2-emission from Swedish electricity combustion plants and 1% of the net emission from natural Swedish lakes.