The problem of permanence for carbon sequestration in forests

Carbon sequestration is widely considered to be an effective climate change mitigation option. Forests store large amounts of carbon (C) and are thus proposed as a C banking resource. Forests, however, are subject to disturbances and tree mortality. Thus, it is important to understand the permanence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change 2023-12, Vol.28 (8), p.45-45, Article 45
Main Author: Loehle, Craig
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
California
Canada
Carbon
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon sequestration
climate
Climate change
Climate Change Management and Policy
Climate change mitigation
Disturbance
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental assessment
Environmental Management
forest conservation
Forests
Landfills
Mitigation
National parks
Original Article
Permanence
shrublands
Stored products
tree mortality
Waste disposal sites
Wildfires
wood
Wood products
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Summary:Carbon sequestration is widely considered to be an effective climate change mitigation option. Forests store large amounts of carbon (C) and are thus proposed as a C banking resource. Forests, however, are subject to disturbances and tree mortality. Thus, it is important to understand the permanence of carbon storage in forests to better assess trade-offs between forest preservation, proforestation, and timber harvest. To assess disturbance rates, data were collected on California wildfires that occurred during 2016–2021. It was found that fire disturbed 0.27–4.3% of the total land area or 0.5–8.7% of the area excluding deserts and farms (i.e., for forest and shrublands). Disturbance was also modeled. For a 1% annual disturbance rate, only 37% of patches are > 100 years old at equilibrium. For a 2% annual rate, only 13.7% are > 100 years old. Data from three national parks in Canada confirmed that setting land aside does not prevent C losses. In contrast, C stored in wood products and subsequently in landfills is not subject to this magnitude of loss. While not all areas have disturbance rates as high as California, all forests experience disturbance and this needs to be considered when assessing climate benefits of C sequestration in forests.
ISSN:1381-2386
1573-1596
DOI:10.1007/s11027-023-10079-0