The impacts of changes in federal timber harvest on forest carbon sequestration in western Oregon

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1710-1723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Ho Im ◽  
Darius M. Adams ◽  
Gregory S. Latta
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
Forest Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Regional Forest

This study examines the potential impacts of changes in federal timber harvest, acting through regional log markets, on the sequestration of carbon in forests and forest products in western Oregon. We construct a dynamic model of the region’s log markets in which market prices, log consumption at mills, and timber harvests and timber inventories on private, federal, and state forests are endogenous. Absent any policies regulating forest carbon sequestration, simulations show that regional carbon flux in forests and forest products would gradually decline as federal harvest rises from recent historical levels. If regional forest carbon flux were constrained to meet some minimum target, however, projections indicate that there would be opportunities for substituting carbon sequestration between federal and nonfederal lands through coordination of harvests across ownerships. We find that relatively small reductions in average private harvest could offset substantial losses of carbon flux on federal timberlands caused by increased federal harvest. One mechanism for achieving the changes needed in private harvest to meet a regional carbon flux target would be a carbon tax/subsidy program or a carbon offset market. For example, if federal owners offered timber for sale equal to the maximum sustainable level under the Northwest Forest Plan, our analysis indicates that a carbon price of roughly $US 19 per tonne of carbon would be sufficient to induce private owners to undertake the harvest and management modifications necessary to maintain regional forest carbon flux at its level in the early 2000s.

Forest carbon sequestration changes in response to timber harvest

2009 ◽  
Vol 258 (9) ◽  
pp. 2101-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah C. Davis ◽  
Amy E. Hessl ◽  
Carrie J. Scott ◽  
Mary Beth Adams ◽  
Richard B. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Forest Carbon Sequestration

scholarly journals Howland Forest, ME, USA: Multi-Gas Flux (CO2, CH4, N2O) Social Cost Product Underscores Limited Carbon Proxies

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 436
Author(s):  
Bruno D. V. Marino ◽  
Nahuel Bautista ◽  
Brandt Rousseaux
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Direct Measurement ◽  
Social Cost ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Carbon Offsets ◽  
Carbon Accounting ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Forest Carbon Sequestration

Forest carbon sequestration is a widely accepted natural climate solution. However, methods to determine net carbon offsets are based on commercial carbon proxies or CO2 eddy covariance research with limited methodological comparisons. Non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHG) (e.g., CH4, N2O) receive less attention in the context of forests, in part, due to carbon denominated proxies and to the cost for three-gas eddy covariance platforms. Here we describe and analyze results for direct measurement of CO2, CH4, and N2O by eddy covariance and forest carbon estimation protocols at the Howland Forest, ME, the only site where these methods overlap. Limitations of proxy-based protocols, including the exclusion of sink terms for non-CO2 GHGs, applied to the Howland project preclude multi-gas forest products. In contrast, commercial products based on direct measurement are established by applying molecule-specific social cost factors to emission reductions creating a new forest offset (GHG-SCF), integrating multiple gases into a single value of merit for forest management of global warming. Estimated annual revenue for GHG-SCF products, applicable to the realization of a Green New Deal, range from ~$120,000 USD covering the site area of ~557 acres in 2021 to ~$12,000,000 USD for extrapolation to 40,000 acres in 2040, assuming a 3% discount rate. In contrast, California Air Resources Board compliance carbon offsets determined by the Climate Action Reserve protocol show annual errors of up to 2256% relative to eddy covariance data from two adjacent towers across the project area. Incomplete carbon accounting, offset over-crediting and inadequate independent offset verification are consistent with error results. The GHG-SCF product contributes innovative science-to-commerce applications incentivizing restoration and conservation of forests worldwide to assist in the management of global warming.

scholarly journals Estimating Leakage from Forest Carbon Sequestration Programs

2004 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Murray ◽  
Bruce A. McCarl ◽  
Heng-Chi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Forest Carbon Sequestration

Using bioeconomic models to assess research priorities: a case study on afforestation as a carbon sequestration tool

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 886-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W McKenney ◽  
Denys Yemshanov ◽  
Glenn Fox ◽  
Elizabeth Ramlal
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Hybrid Poplar ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Decay Rates ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Fuel Substitution ◽  
Spatial Estimates

We have developed a spatial cost–benefit afforestation model that includes the tracking of five carbon pools. In this application we represent three possible afforestation strategies that could be implemented in Canada using plantations of hybrid poplar, hardwoods, and softwoods with average expected growth rates of 12–14, 5–7, and 5–7 m3· ha–1·year–1 respectively. The model provides spatially explicit insights into the cost effectiveness of afforestation as a carbon sequestration tool. Here we develop an elasticity metric and experiment to assess model sensitivity and use the results to make recommendations about research priorities. The most important biological variables across all scenarios include site suitability, which is related to refining the spatial estimates of potential yields, biomass to carbon ratios, and wood density. The most important economic variables include refinement and lowering of establishment costs and agricultural opportunity costs. Parameters that have a low impact on the break-even carbon price, suggesting refinements in knowledge in these areas would be relatively less beneficial, include decay rates for forest products, stand senescence age (the age when stand mortality reaches its maximum), bioenergy and pulpwood prices, and mean residual time for leaf litter. Less importance was also placed on the proportions of forest products in the total harvest and refining a fossil fuel substitution coefficient.

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