Effects of silvicultural practices on carbon stores in Douglas-fir – western hemlock forests in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.: results from a simulation model

We used a new model, STANDCARB, to examine effects of various treatments on carbon (C) pools in the Pacific Northwest forest sector. Simulation experiments, with five replicates of each treatment, were used to investigate the effects of initial conditions, tree establishment rates, rotation length, tree utilization level, and slash burning on ecosystem and forest products C stores. The forest examined was typical of the Cascades of Oregon and dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg). Simulations were run until a C steady state was reached at the landscape level, and results were rescaled relative to the potential maximum C stored in a landscape. Simulation experiments indicated agricultural fields stored the least (15% of the maximum) and forests protected from fire stored the greatest amount (93% of the maximum) of landscape-level C. Conversion of old-growth forests to any other management or disturbance regime resulted in a net loss of C, whereas conversion of agricultural systems to forest systems had the opposite effect. The three factors, in order of increasing importance, most crucial in developing an optimum C storage system were (i) rotation length, (ii) amount of live mass harvested, and (iii) amount of detritus removed by slash burning. Carbon stores increased as rotation length increased but decreased as fraction of trees harvested and detritus removed increased. Simulations indicate partial harvest and minimal fire use may provide as many forest products as the traditional clearcut – broadcast-burn system while increasing C stores. Therefore, an adequate supply of wood products may not be incompatible with a system that increases C stores.