How should forest fires be treated in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Abstract

Summary In the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Australia's commercial forests are reported as a significant carbon sink, calculated to have sequestered 6.3 MtC yr−1 in 1990. This sink was calculated as forest growth minus wood removal during harvesting. However, the direct carbon loss attributable to fire was not included in this analysis. This creates the anomalous situation where forests are reported to be a carbon sink whereas in reality, they may be losing carbon. The likely magnitude of this problem is illustrated, and it is shown that with complete accounting with respect to the treatment of fire, the reported sink activity in Australia's forests would be much smaller, or forests might even currently be a source of carbon. The incomplete accounting with respect to fire constitutes a significant problem as it creates uncertainty in the management of carbon emissions from the biosphere. Methodologically consistent treatment of fire should be possible in future with a move to full carbon accounting.