Greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands have received attention in recent years as countries seek to minimize land-use emissions as part of their climate change mitigation efforts. Continuous cover forestry (CCF) has been proposed as a solution to minimize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from peatland forests, but despite great interest in its use, information on its effects on forest CO2 balance is very limited. We studied the effects of partial harvesting on forest CO2 balance in two nutrient-rich peatland forest sites Lettosuo (ICOS associate site) and Ränskälänkorpi, both managed with continuous cover forestry. Forest CO2 fluxes were measured with eddy covariance method before and after partial harvesting (Lettosuo 2010-2022, Ränskälänkorpi 2020-2024). Forest CO2 balances after harvest were compared with pre-harvest CO2 balances in both sites and with a control treatment in Ränskälänkorpi, and results from the two sites were compared. The results show large variation in the CO2 balances of the peatland forests, high sensitivity to weather conditions, but similarities between the sites in response to partial harvesting. In both sites, net forest CO2 emissions decreased a few years after partial harvesting but results from Lettosuo indicate that the strengthening of the CO2 sink stabilizes, and the forest CO2 balance starts to transition towards pre-harvest conditions 6-8 years after harvesting. The results indicate a relatively fast recovery of forest CO2 balance after harvesting but suggest that nutrient-rich peatland forests managed with continuous cover forestry might still be sources of CO2 for most of the time.