Forest Management and Carbon Storage: An Analysis of 12 Key Forest Nations

Changes in forest-management practices have the potential to increase forest land carbon storage, which would help to reduce CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere linked to climate change and contribute to Kyoto Protocol targets for signatory countries. However, successfully increasing carbon storage while maintaining economic profitability is challenging because of the long planning horizons required for many forest activities and slow carbon sequestration rates in northern forests. The literature on the economics of forest management for carbon storage is unfortunately sparse and, in many instances, confused and misleading. Three carbon valuation equations are widely used that give contradictory results, with two of them (flow summation and average storage) ignoring the time-value carbon benefits and other essential data. Only the discounted carbon equation gives reasonably interpretable economic results. As well, many studies have omitted essential economic gradients that result in structurally questionable results. I review the literature, highlighting deficiencies in equations and how analyses are structured with the intent to produce a reasonable method of interpreting previous work and advice for future studies.

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Forest Carbon Management: a Review of Silvicultural Practices and Management Strategies Across Boreal, Temperate and Tropical Forests

Current Forestry Reports ◽

10.1007/s40725-021-00151-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Abderrahmane Ameray ◽

Yves Bergeron ◽

Osvaldo Valeria ◽

Miguel Montoro Girona ◽

Xavier Cavard

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Forest Management ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Forest Carbon ◽

Soil Carbon Storage ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

Intensive Forest Management ◽

Forest Carbon Sequestration

Abstract Purpose of Review Carbon sequestration and storage in forest ecosystems is often promoted as a solution for reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Yet, our understanding is lacking regarding how forest management strategies affect the net removal of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change mitigation. Here, we present a review of carbon sequestration and stock dynamics, following three strategies that are widely used in boreal, temperate and tropical forests: extensive forest management, intensive forest management and old-growth forest conservation. Recent Findings Several studies show that specific forest management strategies can improve carbon sequestration capacity and soil carbon storage. Within these studies, the old-growth forest conservation strategy results in greater carbon storage in soils than do extensive and intensive forest management. Intensive forest management enhances forest carbon sequestration capacity through afforestation using fast-growing species, mechanical soil preparation from low to moderate intensity and N fertilization. Extensive forest management is an intermediate compromise regarding carbon sequestration and soil carbon storage, between conservation and intensive forest management strategies. With respect to silvicultural treatments, partial cutting is a practice that increases forest carbon sequestration rates and maintains higher carbon storage in soils compared to clear-cuts. Each silvicultural practice that is discussed in this review showed a similar effect on forest carbon in all biomes, although the magnitude of these effects differs mainly in terms of heterotrophic respiration. Summary To achieve sustainable management and fulfill industrial demand and profitability, specific gaps must be dealt with to improve our scientific knowledge regarding forest carbon sequestration in a climate change context, mainly through the integration of the three aforementioned strategies in a functional zoning approach at the landscape scale. We present a review with promising strategies for guiding sustainable forest management in such a global context.

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Identifying priority management of Ecuadorian forests based on the environmental integrated assessment

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202016902015 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 169 ◽

pp. 02015

Author(s):

Silvia Llerena ◽

Priscila Arias ◽

Jhonn Cueva ◽

Georgina Almeida ◽

Cristian Salazar

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Global Warming ◽

Forest Management ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Integrated Assessment ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Negative Influence

Anthropogenic impacts, such as deforestation, soil erosion, and carbon dioxide emissions, have a negative influence over global warming due to the increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The sustainable forest management is a way to mitigate climate change owing to the carbon storage capacity of forests. This study highlights the priority of forest management according to the integrated assessment of carbon storage under anthropogenic impacts in the administrative units of Ecuador. In the obtained map, the provinces Guayas, Esmeraldas, and Manabí showed the highest values of 25, 22.85 and 19.9, respectively, followed by two Amazon provinces, Morona Santiago and Sucumbíos. Therefore, we concluded that deforestation, soil erosion, and carbon dioxide emissions were more pronounced on the coast mainly due to agriculture and livestock activities and the forests in these provinces must have priority management. This analysis is useful for planning environmental practices in order to increase carbon storage as a strategy of mitigation for global warming.

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Economic Valuation of Carbon Storage and Sequestration in Retezat National Park, Romania

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12010043 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Robert-George Pache ◽

Ioan Vasile Abrudan ◽

Mihai-Daniel Niță

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

National Park ◽

Economic Valuation ◽

Economic Value ◽

Market Price ◽

Specific Area ◽

Terrestrial Lidar ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Management Plans

Carbon storage and sequestration is one of the most important services provided by forest ecosystems, the most powerful tools for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Its value is not always captured and appreciated at a fair level, with people taking for granted these benefits provided by the ecosystems. Our first objective was to evaluate the amount of carbon storage and sequestration within a specific area—Retezat National Park (RNP), Romania, in a specific timeframe, using mainly the data from forest management plans. The second objective was to estimate the economic value of the carbon sequestered by the ecosystems within the national park. Based on the carbon market price, we calculated the monetary value of the sequestered carbon. The third objective was to cross-validate the model using mobile terrestrial LiDAR scanner 3D mapping technology in several field plots. Our results reveal comparable stocks of carbon with the ones modelled based on the forest management plans, enabling us to use these plans as an accurate source of information. The present study underlines that the financial effort for the management of the ecosystems which provide these services can be sustained by implementing financial mechanisms aiming to direct ecosystem services values into the management of these ecosystems.

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