To manage or not to manage: The role of silviculture in sequestering carbon in the specter of climate change

Robert F. Powers; Carl N. Skinner; Jianwei Zhang

Treesearch

To manage or not to manage: The role of silviculture in sequestering carbon in the specter of climate change

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Robert F. Powers, Carl N. Skinner, Jianwei Zhang

Year:

2010

Type:

Proceedings

Station:

Pacific Southwest Research Station

Source:

In: Jain, Theresa B.; Graham, Russell T.; Sandquist, Jonathan. Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-61. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 95-110.

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Abstract

Forests and the soils beneath them are a major sink for atmospheric CO2 and play a significant role in offsetting CO2 emissions by converting CO2 into wood through photosynthesis and storing it for an extended period. However, forest fires counter carbon sequestration because pyrolysis converts organic C to CO and CO2, releasing decades or centuries of bound C to the atmosphere as a pulse, exacerbating the greenhouse gas effect. With global warming, the probability of fire has increased. Silviculture is an important tool for reducing wildfire risk and enhancing long-term carbon sequestration and - through this - mitigating the effect of climate change.

Parent Publication

Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID.

Keywords

silviculture, carbon sequestration, climate change, forest management

Citation

Zhang, Jianwei; Powers, Robert F.; Skinner, Carl N. 2010. To manage or not to manage: The role of silviculture in sequestering carbon in the specter of climate change. In: Jain, Theresa B.; Graham, Russell T.; Sandquist, Jonathan. Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-61. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 95-110.