The boreal forest belt stretching across Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska, and Canada ranks among Earth’s largest carbon repositories. A first-of-its-kind study in Sweden finds wood harvesting and forest management are depleting carbon storage in these northern woodlands more than previously understood. Researchers found undisturbed primary forests store 83% more carbon per acre than the managed forests that are replacing them, with soil accounting for most of the difference. The world’s northern forests act as massive carbon vaults, locking away greenhouse gases in spruce, pines, and needle-covered soils. But industrial logging is quickly eroding their ability to mitigate climate change, according to a major new study led by scientists at Lund University and Stanford University. The biggest losses are happening in soils beneath the forest floor. …Major questions remain, including how much specific forest management practices may contribute to carbon storage capacity. Drainage ditches, plowing.