Payments For Carbon Sequestration Research Articles

Optimal Forest Management of Even-Aged Longleaf Pine Stands with Nontimber Benefits

AbstractWe present an optimal control model to simultaneously determine the optimal planting density, thinning schedules, harvest age, and revenues of an even-aged longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill) stand, an iconic species in the Southeastern United States. We assume that the forest stand is managed for timber production and carbon sequestration under different site indexes—a measurement of potential forest productivity. Our simulation results show that the optimal planting density tends to increase when longleaf pine is managed in medium and high site indexes. Furthermore, the optimal harvest age tends to be extended with payments for carbon sequestration.

Productivity, biodiversity trade-offs, and farm income in an agroforestry versus an arable system

The uptake of diversified farming systems is constrained by a scarcity of evidence regarding financial costs, benefits, and risks. Here, we evaluate the productivity and projected farm income of an agroforestry system, where apples are integrated with arable crops, by combining primary data with ecosystem service and cost-benefit models. Our ecosystem service assessments included: 1) weed and pest associations with arable yields; 2) apple seed set as a proxy for pollination, and; 3) carbon sequestration. Arable yields were up to 11% lower in agroforestry than arable systems, and were significantly negatively associated with weed cover in both systems. Apple yields in agroforestry were similar to typical yields from comparable orchards. Apple seed set was significantly higher in agroforestry than conventional orchards for one of two varieties. Predicted gross mixed income was higher in agroforestry than arable systems in 15 of 18 productivity scenarios over 20 years, which was supported by a case-study. Apple yield and price were the major determinants of gross mixed income. Payments for carbon sequestration were predicted to contribute 47% to 88% of agroforestry establishment costs. This study demonstrates how a diversified farming system can improve farm income, but grant support would reduce the initial negative cash-flow.

Under what management and policy scenarios can alley cropping be a competitive alternative in the United States Southeast?

Despite statements that it can mitigate financial risk through farm diversification, alley cropping in the United States Southeast has not been comprehensively modeled to estimate potential financial returns and risks. We used a Monte Carlo method to model stochastic financial returns to monocropping agriculture, loblolly pine plantation, and loblolly pine alley cropping in North Carolina, USA, plotting the results from 25,000 iterations to understand financial risk. Under certain scenarios and assumptions, alley cropping did have financial returns comparable to, or potentially higher than, monocropping agriculture, but did not lower overall risk, as measured by the spread of the distribution of financial returns. Pine plantations, on the other hand, did have lower risk than both alley cropping and monocropping. Alley cropping with wider 24.4-m alleys performed better than narrow 12.2-m alleys. Allowing the producer to choose a timber rotation length that optimizes financial returns generated the best financial returns for alley cropping, but this assumes perfect knowledge of the manager and is unrealistic. Current policy programs of government payments for commodity crops and cost-share for tree planting, tend to favor monocropping over alley cropping or pine plantation. A hypothetical system of payments for carbon sequestration does increase pine plantation and alley cropping financial returns, but not to the extent that commodity crop programs currently increase monocropping financial returns, and does not reduce risk significantly. Overall, on average agricultural land in North Carolina, alley cropping may be of value to certain producers, but we find those possibilities to be somewhat limited.

Above-ground carbon stocks and timber value of old timber plantations, secondary and primary forests in southern Ghana

High deforestation rates, especially in the tropics, currently result in the annual emission of large amounts of carbon, contributing to global climate change. There is therefore an urgent need to take actions to mitigate climate change both by slowing down deforestation and by initiating new sinks. Tropical forest plantations are generally thought to sequester carbon rapidly during the initial years but there is limited knowledge on their long-term potential. In this study, we assessed the carbon sequestration in old (42–47 years) timber plantations of Aucoumea klaineana, Cedrela odorata, Tarrietia utilis, and Terminalia ivorensis, and secondary forests of similar ages, by comparing their basal areas and above-ground carbon stocks (AGC) to that of nearby primary forests. Additionally, we estimated and compared timber volume and stumpage value in the three forest types.Systematic random sampling of ninety-three 20 m × 20 m plots in eleven forest sites (2 secondary forests, 2 primary forests, and 7 timber plantations) was undertaken to determine the effect of forest type on AGC, basal area, timber volume, and stumpage value.After 42 years of growth, mean AGC of the timber plantations (159.7 ± 14.3 Mg ha−1) was similar to that of primary forests (173.0 ± 25.1 Mg ha−1) and both were significantly higher than the mean AGC of the secondary forests (103.6 ± 12.3 Mg ha−1). Mean basal area and timber volume of the timber plantations and secondary forests were similar to that of the primary forests, though in each case the timber plantations had significantly higher values compared to the secondary forests. Mean timber value of the plantations ($8577 ha−1) was significantly higher than both secondary ($1870 ha−1) and primary forests ($3112 ha−1). Contrary to our expectations, naturally regenerated trees (woody recruits) within the timber plantations had similar AGC levels, basal area, timber volume, and value compared to the secondary forests.Long-rotation tropical forest plantations under low-intensity management could achieve higher AGC levels and thus have higher climate change mitigation potential and timber values compared to naturally regenerated secondary forests, and are able to reach values similar to primary forests. Monoculture timber plantations could facilitate the successful colonization of their understoreys by native woody recruits that contribute considerably to stand AGC and timber values. Long-rotation forest plantations in the tropics therefore have a critical role to play in forest rehabilitation and climate change mitigation while having the potential to provide modest financial returns to landowners through selective harvesting of timber and/or payments for carbon sequestration.

Forests: Carbon sequestration, biomass energy, or both?

There is a continuing debate over the role that woody bioenergy plays in climate mitigation. This paper clarifies this controversy and illustrates the impacts of woody biomass demand on forest harvests, prices, timber management investments and intensity, forest area, and the resulting carbon balance under different climate mitigation policies. Increased bioenergy demand increases forest carbon stocks thanks to afforestation activities and more intensive management relative to a no-bioenergy case. Some natural forests, however, are converted to more intensive management, with potential biodiversity losses. Incentivizing both wood-based bioenergy and forest sequestration could increase carbon sequestration and conserve natural forests simultaneously. We conclude that the expanded use of wood for bioenergy will result in net carbon benefits, but an efficient policy also needs to regulate forest carbon sequestration.

Comparison of spatial modelling frameworks for the identification of future afforestation in New Zealand

In 2018, New Zealand announced an ambitious effort to plant one billion trees by 2028 as part of its climate change mitigation plan and Paris Agreement targets for 2030 and 2050. Afforestation will be promoted through a series of incentives, including payments for carbon sequestration linked to New Zealand’s Emission Trading Scheme. Given that afforestation will be pursued voluntarily, the identification of future afforestation areas is paramount to assist policy formulation and avoid unintended land-use outcomes. We identified spatially-explicit drivers of forest gain and the locations most likely to experience afforestation in the country using two distinct spatial modelling frameworks: logistic regressions and artificial neural networks (ANN). Five of the eight most significant drivers of forest gain that have influenced past afforestation patterns according to our logistic regressions (i.e., erosion potential, distance from exotic forests, woody grasslands, grassland productivity, and slope) were also ranked among the ten most influential drivers by the ANN model. These results indicate an overall agreement between the two modelling approaches, despite substantial methodological differences. In the absence of changes in current incentives for afforestation in the country, simulations suggest that the largest afforestation areas would be in the northeast region of the North Island. These findings can assist policymakers and landscape planners to achieve desirable land-use objectives for New Zealand.

Timber or carbon? Evaluating forest conservation strategies through a discrete choice experiment

There are growing concerns that timber harvesting in the tropics, even when done sustainably, can increase carbon emissions. Despite these concerns, few studies have addressed whether households that engage in timber harvesting would be willing to forgo property rights to receive payments for carbon sequestration. This study addresses this issue by examining the trade-off between timber production and carbon storage in the context of the Maya Biosphere Reserve forest concessions in Guatemala. We estimate willingness to increase carbon storage at the expense of timber harvesting through a discrete choice experiment administered to 716 households in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Because many individuals have rights to harvest non-timber forest products and work in the tourism sector, we assess how rights for these activities would influence the willingness to participate in carbon contracts. Contract length and group or individual payment structures are also investigated. The results show that households prefer contracts that focus on carbon storage rather than timber harvesting, but access to forests so individuals can participate in non-timber forest product harvesting and tourism is critically important in this region.

Conditional payments for carbon sequestration as a local trading game — A case study from a Tanzanian village

The authors apply the game theory principal agent model in which the principal is a donor who seeks to reduce or sequester harmful emission through a system of conditional payments, whereas the agent is a village community. The purpose is to explore strategic interactions between the two actors in the case of Mlumbilo village in Tanzania. Whereas carbon sequestration at minimum cost is an objective for the principal, the village community aims at maximizing the net present value of income from all types of land use. The application of both a multi-objective bio-economic model with detailed biological data and a bargaining game theory model with asymmetric information revealed that the choice of reference level used as a performance benchmark had major implications for the negotiated prices for CO2. However, the choice of reference level did not affect the cost efficiency of carbon sequestration. Additionally, the outcome of the bargaining model was unique and efficient. The authors conclude that recipient discretion will yield efficient results when the agent trusts that the principal will pay for verified sequestration.

Carbon sequestration or water yield? The effect of payments for ecosystem services on forest management decisions in Mediterranean forests

Abstract A decrease in net benefits from market-based forest products over the last three decades seems to be connected to the increasing abandonment of forestland in Mediterranean areas of Europe. In this paper, we estimate spatially distributed probabilities of continuing with forest management practices in mainly native pine and oak forests in Andalusia (southern Spain). The continuation of active forest management encompasses landowners' investment in operations that promote the recruitment of new individuals of the same species once a stand reaches its rotation age. On the contrary, abandoning forestry investment involves natural self-regeneration including tree densification, shrub encroachment and forest species replacement. We estimate the long-term effects of alternative scenarios of forest management on carbon sequestration and water provisioning services (blue water, i.e. surface discharge and ground water recharge). We examine the effect of payments for carbon sequestration, or alternatively for increasing blue water, on forest management decisions. Results are provided as spatially disaggregated values over different time frames up to 2100 and consider the sensitivity of forest investment decisions to a wide range of price levels and discounting rates.

Payments for Carbon Sequestration to Alleviate Development Pressure in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region

The purpose of this study was to determine individuals' willingness to enroll in voluntary payments for carbon sequestration programs through the use of a discrete choice experiment delivered to forest owners living in the rapidly urbanizing region surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina. We examined forest owners' willingness to enroll in payments for carbon sequestration policies under different levels of financial incentives (annual revenue), different contract lengths, and different program administrators (e.g., private companies versus a state or federal agency). We also examined the influence forest owners' sense of place had on their willingness to enroll in hypothetical programs. Our results showed a high level of ambivalence toward participating in payments for carbon sequestration programs. However, both financial incentives and contract lengths significantly influenced forest owners' intent to enroll. Neither program administration nor forest owners' sense of place influenced intent to enroll. Although our analyses indicated that payments from carbon sequestration programs are not currently competitive with the monetary returns expected from timber harvest or property sales, certain forest owners might see payments for carbon sequestration programs as a viable option for offsetting increasing tax costs as development encroaches and property values rise.

Ecosystem service supply by European landscapes under alternative land-use and environmental policies

ABSTRACTThe European Union (EU) 2020 Biodiversity strategy aims at guaranteeing and enhancing the future supply of ecosystem services (‘ES’) in the member states. In an ex-ante assessment of plausible environmental policies, we projected the supply of 10 ES under 3 policy alternatives of land-use change (‘Nature Protection’, ‘Payment for carbon sequestration’ and ‘Payment for recreational services’) in the 27 EU member states (EU27). We assessed changes in supply of individual services across administrative units (at the NUTS-2 and EU27 levels) as well as bundles (at the EU27 level) between 2010 and 2040. Results show that the policy options only marginally affected ES bundles but several services could change substantially at the EU27 level (e.g. energy content from agricultural production and pollination). Wood supply, carbon sequestration and moderation of wind disturbance responded very differently across policy alternatives. At the NUTS-2 level, biocontrol of pests, carbon sequestration, moderation of wind disturbance and wood supply showed the most contrasted deviation from their regional supply in 2010. Finally, while payments for carbon sequestration benefited carbon sequestration as expected, specific payments for recreation services failed to promote them. Our analyses suggest that protecting nature appeared to be the best way of fostering ES supply within Europe.EDITED BY Rob Alkemade

Payments for Carbon Sequestration to Alleviate Development Pressure in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region

Payments for Carbon Sequestration to Alleviate Development Pressure in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region

Assessing uncertainty in the profitability of prairie biomass production with ecosystem service compensation

Compensation for ecosystem services can encourage the management of agricultural systems for a broad range of benefits beyond crop production. Here we explore how payments for carbon sequestration and phosphorus retention affect the profitability and economic competitiveness of perennial herbaceous biomass. We consider the case of converting marginal land currently in corn and soy production in southern Minnesota, United States, to native diverse prairie grown as a biofuel feedstock. We estimate the resulting changes in soil carbon storage and water quality, and the economic value of both. To test the robustness of our results, we perform Monte Carlo simulations that incorporate variability and uncertainty in our model parameters. Our analyses show that prairie biomass production on marginal lands is 22% likely to be profitable when ecosystem service compensation is included, but only 5% when it is not. This suggests that the two ecosystem services modeled here may alone be insufficient to make prairie biomass production reliably profitable. Furthermore, by using ranges of model parameters rather than point estimates, this study shows that the profitability gap between conventional row crops and prairie is too large to be closed with the two services modeled here across a range of recent economic conditions.

The Political Economy of Conservation at Mount Elgon, Uganda: Between Local Deprivation, Regional Sustainability, and Global Public Goods

This paper presents a case study from Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda, examining and deepening an understanding of direct incomes and costs of conservation for local people close to protected areas. In the early 1990s, collaborative arrangements were introduced to Mount Elgon National Park to improve people-park relations and enhance rural livelihoods after a period of violent evictions and severe resource access restrictions. In areas with such arrangements – including resource access agreements, Taungya farming, and beekeeping schemes – we observe a marginal increase in annual incomes for involved households. Other incomes accrue from tourism revenue sharing schemes, a community revolving fund, and payments for carbon sequestration. However, these incomes are economically marginal (1.2% of household income), unevenly distributed and instrumentally used to reward compliance with park regulations. They do not necessarily accrue to those incurring costs due to eviction and exclusion, crop raiding, resource access restrictions and conflicts. By contrast, costs constitute at least 20.5 % of total household incomes, making it difficult to see how conservation, poverty alleviation and development can be locally reconciled if local populations continue to bear the economic brunt of conservation. We recommend a shift in policy towards donor and state responsibility for compensating costs on a relevant scale. Such a shift would be an important step towards a more substantive rights-based model of conservation, and would enhance the legitimacy of protected area management in the context of both extreme poverty and natural resource dependence.

Global modelling to predict timber production and prices: the GFPM approach

Timber production and prices are determined by the global demand for forest products, and the capability of producers from many countries to grow and harvest trees, transform them into products and export. The Global Forest Products Model (GFPM) simulates how this global demand and supply of multiple products among many countries determines prices and attendant consumption, production and trade. This paper documents the methods, data and computer software of the GFPM model, followed byexamples of applications to forecasting, and for policy analysis of the consequences of offset payments for carbon sequestration in forests.

Optimal wood harvest in miombo woodland considering REDD + payments — A case study at Kitulangalo Forest Reserve, Tanzania

Models for optimal management of forests and woodlands are important for designing climate change mitigation strategies. Biomass measurements from eight plots in Kitulangalo Forest Reserve, Tanzania, were used to estimate a Verhulst growth model for miombo woodland. After incorporating the effect of fire, a non-linear programming model was used to determine economically optimal harvest of such woodland for charcoal production. Optimization was done with and without payment for reduced emissions from forest degradation under the assumption that the woodland was not reserved for environmental protection. It helped testing strategies for management of public land. At the current charcoal price and discount rates above 7.3%, immediate harvest of present stock was found optimal. At 10% interest rate, carbon sequestration payments and emission taxes of 15 USD MgCO2e−1 were required so as to avoid woodland degradation. If emissions were not taxed, sequestration payments of more than 40 USD MgCO2e−1 would not prevent harvest when biomass density is high (60–100MgCO2eha−1). The farm-gate price discussed here will be lower than the price found in international agreements due to transaction costs. Unless affluent societies are prepared to pay more than 10–20 USD MgCO2e−1, degradation of miombo woodlands in Tanzania and other sub-Saharan countries is likely to continue in the absence of some alternate measures.

Factors explaining variability in woody above-ground biomass accumulation in restored tropical forest

Secondary forests comprise an increasing area of the tropics and play an important role in global carbon cycling. We compare above-ground biomass accumulation of both planted and naturally regenerating trees, as well as C in the top soil layer, in three restoration treatments replicated at 14, six to eight year old restoration sites in southern Costa Rica. Restoration strategies include: control (no planting), planting tree islands, and conventional, mixed-species tree plantations. We evaluate the importance of past land-use, soil nutrients, understory cover, and surrounding forest cover in explaining variation in above-ground biomass accumulation (ABA) rate across sites. Total ABA and planted tree ABA rate were highest in plantations, intermediate in islands, and lowest in control treatments, whereas ABA rate of naturally regenerating trees did not differ across treatments. Most ABA in plantations (89%) and islands (70%) was due to growth of planted trees. Soil carbon did not change significantly over the time period of the study in any treatment. The majority of across-site variation in both total and planted tree ABA rate was explained by duration of prior pasture use. Tree growth in the first two years after planting explained approximately two-thirds of the variation in ABA rate after 6–8years. Soil nutrient concentrations explained relatively little of the variation in planted or naturally recruiting ABA rate. Our results show that planting trees substantially increases biomass accumulation during the first several years of forest recovery in former agricultural lands and that past-land use has a strong effect on the rate of biomass accumulation. Planting tree islands is a cost-effective strategy for increasing ABA and creating more heterogeneous habitat conditions than tree plantations. We recommend small scale planting trials to quickly assess potential biomass accumulation and prioritize sites for ecosystem service payments for carbon sequestration.

Growth and carbon stocks of multipurpose tree species plantations in degraded lands in Central Himalaya, India

Deficiency of long-term data on performance of multipurpose tree plantations in degraded lands delimits the scope of realization of economic benefits from the United Nations-REDD+(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiative of climate change mitigation by making payments for reducing emissions in developing countries. This study reports survival, growth and carbon stocks over a period of 20years of mixed-species (Albizia lebbeck, Alnus nepalensis, Boehmaria rugulosa, Celtis australis, Dalbergia sissoo, Ficus glomerata, Grewia optiva, Prunus cerasoides, Pyrus pashia and Sapium sebiferum) plantations (planting density of 110 treesha−1 of each species and random mixing such that neighboring individuals did not belong to the same species) established with people’s participation in abandoned agricultural land (AAL) and highly degraded forest land (HDFL), in Central Himalaya, India. Trees were lopped and crops were grown at the AAL site, while grasses were cut after planting at the HDFL site. Mortality occurred during the initial 3-year-period at both sites but after 7years only at the AAL site. After 20years, average survival at the AAL site was 87% compared to 51% at the HDFL site, with B. rugulosa, G. optiva and F. glomerata showing higher mortality than other species at the latter site. Annual height, girth and aboveground biomass increment rates across species and sites over 20-year period varied in the range of 23–84cmyear−1, 1.3–3.9cmyear−1 and 1.0–8.0 kg tree−1 year−1, respectively. The site as well as species effects tended to diminish with age. At the age of 20years, B. rugulosa accumulated aboveground biomass 5.7-fold, G. optiva 3.2-fold, C. australis 2.3-fold, F. glomerata and P. cerasoides 1.5–1.6-fold and, A. nepalensis and D. sissoo 1.2-fold greater at the AAL site compared to the HDFL site. S. sebiferum and A. lebbeck had marginally lower biomass at the AAL site than the HDFL site, while the site effect was not significant in P. pashia. Over the 20-year period, tree-crop mixed system at the AAL site, apart from supporting better tree growth, provided larger quantities of utilizable biomass (206Mg of food, fodder and fuelwoodha−1) compared to the HDFL site (14.4Mg of palatable grassesha−1). The two sites had similar total (vegetation+litter+soil) C accumulation rates (2.3–2.5MgCha−1year−1). With ban on income from timber in the current policies, payments for carbon sequestration from exclusive tree planting (US $ 37family−1year−1) would be negligible compared to the income from crops (US $ 400–900family−1year−1) in tree-crop mixed system. There is an urgent need of policies (i) safeguarding economic interests of local people from tree planting in degraded lands and (ii) enhancing silvicultural and ecological knowledge of multipurpose tree species to optimize multiple benefits from them.

Economics of carbon sequestration under fluctuating economic environment, forest management and technological changes: An application to forest stands in the southern United States

This study presents a model that determines the effect of current and future payments for carbon sequestration, proportion of wood that sequesters carbon in long-lived product and landfills, and amount of carbon in the wood, on the optimal current forest harvest age. Increased current and future prices of carbon would lead to a longer and shorter harvest age, respectively. Higher current prices of carbon could increase the supply of carbon at a decreasing rate due to longer harvest ages. Moderate prices of carbon would encourage landowners to maintain standing timber. Policies focused then on stimulating landowners to hold timber on forestlands may not necessarily imply higher amounts of sequestered carbon. Increased future values of carbon could imply a reduction of the current supply of carbon.

Mapping environmental variation in lowland Amazonian rainforests using remote sensing and floristic data

This article describes a method for detailed mapping of ecological variation in a tropical rainforest based on field inventory of pteridophytes (ferns and lycophytes) and remote sensing using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery. Previously known soil cation optima of the pteridophyte species were first used in calibration, i.e. to infer soil cation concentrations for sites on the basis of their pteridophyte species composition. Multiple linear regression based on spectral reflectance values in the Landsat image was then used to derive an equation that allowed the prediction of these calibrated soil values for unvisited sites in the study area. The predictive accuracy turned out to be high: the mean absolute error, as estimated by leave-one-out cross-validation, was just 7% of the total range of calibrated soil values. This method for detailed mapping of natural environmental variability in lowland tropical rainforest has applications for land-use planning, such as wildlife management, forestry, biodiversity conservation, and payments for carbon sequestration.