1. The Greenhouse Gas Balance of Italy: A Synthesis

In this chapter a comprehensive assessment of the greenhouse gases budget of the Italian terrestrial ecosystems is provided, with particular attention to forest, cropland and grassland ecosystems and some case studies focusing on Italian shrublands and lands naturally or artificially converted to forests. Different methods have been applied and compared, such as regional measurements, use of flux networks and data-driven models within specific sectoral approaches in order to characterize the greenhouse gases budget of terrestrial ecosystems. The results presented respond also to the growing interest of the recent years in the role of the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems and its relevance for national policies on mitigation and adaptation to climate changes.