Abstract
There is a traditional view suggesting forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (Pregitzer & Euskirchen, 2004), but they cease to serve as a carbon sink as they fully mature (Odum, 1969). Recent modeling of old-growth forests indicate they continue to serve as a “net sink” of carbon even after maturity (Carey, Sala, & Callaway, 2001; Zhou, 2006), sequestering an average of 2.4 +/- 0.8 tC ha-1 yr-1 (tC = metric tons of carbon; ha = hectare; yr =year), identifying a ratio of heterotrophic respiration (Rh) to net primary production (NPP) of approximately 0.65 +/- 0.02 (Luyssaert, 2008). These figures show the strongest correlation amongst temperate forest regions. Two calculations are made using the carbon sequestration average. One is made identifying the amount of carbon sequestered through a small-scale land protection organization, showing a net carbon sequestration of approximately 224 metric tons of carbon per year. The other is based on the amount of land required to offset current anthropogenic emissions of carbon in the global carbon budget, showing approximately 235 million hectares of new forest growth would be required to offset current global anthropogenic emissions. One implication of these calculations is the traditional assumption of carbon neutrality increasing with age (Magnani, 2007) is incorrect, suggesting re-growing forests may be a favored policy choice for continued carbon sequestration.
Highlights
For decades in the United States, land use policies have existed that favor planning to include the maintenance of open space. (Note 1) What may become an important question is how such land use policies support carbon sequestration as a means of absorbing net increases in atmospheric carbon concentrations
Any additional lands held by DNRT, including those designated as “Residential” (10, 11, 12, 13) or Recreation (7, 8) were included where it was shown these lands were placed into sufficient private land use restrictions to provide sufficient time (at least 10 years based on data provided by Luyssaert et al (2008)) for forest growth to incorporate continual net ecological production
Average, and extreme, the following rates of net carbon sequestration based on DNRT land preservation policy are:
Summary
For decades in the United States, land use policies have existed that favor planning to include the maintenance of open space. (Note 1) What may become an important question is how such land use policies support carbon sequestration as a means of absorbing net increases in atmospheric carbon concentrations. Recent research indicates old-growth forests may be serving as a continual net carbon sink over time (Luyssaert et al, 2008). Assuming an average rate of carbon sequestration of 2.4 +/- 0.8 tC ha-1 yr-1 (tC = metric tons of carbon; ha = hectare; yr =year), how much land is required to be set aside for new forest growth in order to offset current anthropogenic forcing or carbon into the atmosphere? The calculated average carbon sequestration rate (2.4 +/- 0.8 tC ha-1 yr-1) has been applied to a case study of land use policies favoring open space designations. The suggestion is that continuation and expansion of open space policies, multiplied over larger spatial scales, can prove effective as a growing sink of carbon to offset current anthropogenic forcing of atmospheric carbon concentrations
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