Forests suck up roughly 30% of our carbon emissions annually. If we want a fighting chance against climate change, we need them to keep doing this, and if possible to suck up more. However, there are different theories as how to best manage forest for carbon storage. Luckily, some research has shed some light on this issue. Do new forests suck up more carbon than old? How does carbon released during a forest fire compare to carbon released during harvesting? How do we do the most good for the most people?
Episode highlight
Alex Craven, Bev Law, and Jim Furnish talk about the various aspects of carbon sequestration and the promise it holds for the future.
Resources
Money Trees: The Douglas Fir and American Forestry, 1900-1944 by Emily K. Brock
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Toward a Natural Forest: The Forest Service in Transition (A Memoir) by Jim Furnish
IPCC’s Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
Sponsors
West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/
GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/
Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/
Forest Proud: https://forestproud.org/
Giveaway
Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!
Quotes
25.57 - 26.07: “Forests have been… taking up about 31% of the equivalent of our… annual emissions, for the past 60 years.” (Bev)
53.01 - 53.06: “Public lands need to play a very different role in our society.” (Jim)
1.01.34 - 1.01.44: “We know that forests can be a missing piece of… the things we could do to combat climate change.” (Alex)
1.34.04 - 1.34.12 “Biodiversity and climate change is intertwined and if you do anything to address one, you need to think about the other at the same time and deal with them simultaneously.” (Bev)
Takeaways
Getting to know Alex, Bev and Jim (06.47)
Alex is a senior campaign representative for Sierra Club, and is based in Seattle on Coast Salish Territory. Sierra Club is a grassroots organization focussed on conservation of wildlands, and national parks and forests harnessing the carbon sequestration powers of old growth forests. Bev is Professor Emeritus at Oregon State University and her research is geared towards forest carbon processes. Jim worked in the US Forest service for 35 years in different capacities, with a focus on combating climate change through government forest initiatives.
Forest service: then and now (12.11)
Jim narrates the history of logging and construction in US forests, which inspired the conservation movement in the late 1800s, followed by the creation of a forest service and park service in the 1900s. He characterizes the history of the forest service in 3 eras: 1905 to 1939 as the custodial era of little other than firefighting, the post-WWII utilitarian era of “the huge logging boom”, and ecosystem management era of a holistic, multiple value approach. He foresees the future as one of debates about the role of the national forest in climate change.
Canada and USA differences (16.45)
Jim outlines the differences between Canada and the USA: Canada has less people but more public forest estate and uses less wood. The USA has private industrial national forests driven by economic pressures, forests owned by small private landowners and the federal estate managed by the Forest Service for their ecological footprint after years of being pressured to produce timber. He discusses the types of forestry and planting, and mentions that replanting is legally required for economic purposes on private industrial lands.
Determine where to conserve nature (24.15)
Bev has been involved in various aspects of global carbon cycle research for over 30 years to understand the role of forests. She emphasizes how forests take carbon from the atmosphere and release it through their natural process. She believes that action needs to be taken imminently to reduce greenhouse gases, and that inter-country agreements to conserve more land for biodiversity and primary net productivity must be honoured. She explains how the methodology of her research captures these values by looking at ecoregions.
Carbon density and biodiversity (28.00)
Bev’s research showed that where carbon density was higher, so was biodiversity. They modelled future carbon accumulation under future climate conditions, which includes a fire model. Data is an important driver of forest health monitoring programs. By measuring carbon dioxide exchange between forests and the atmosphere and vegetation, one can find the net amount of carbon the whole ecosystem takes up over time. She found that after disturbance from fire/harvest, old to new forests can take 10 to 20 years to become a net carbon sink again.
Forest carbon accounting (32.40)
64% of the lands Bev’s team identified as high priority for protection are on federal lands, 25% on private lands and then less on state and Indigenous Peoples’ lands. However, carbon density and biodiversity don’t begin correlating till some forests are 100 years old. By reducing harvest by half and doubling harvest cycles, that number can be reduced to 80 years to increase forest carbon by 2100. Afforestation increases forest carbon 10 times more than reforestation, and a young forest takes the “slow in, fast out” approach in restoring carbon balance.
“Greatest good for the greatest number” (37.59)
Jim highlights a common question asked of national forest managers, about why public forests are not managed like private industrial lands. While private industrial lands are managed for economic value, public forests, particularly old growth ones, should be managed for carbon sequestration. “I would argue that the issue of climate change and carbon has really landed with a big thump on everybody’s desks”, he remarks. Alex mentions Joe Biden’s position of leadership to tackle biodiversity and climate crises using mature old growth trees.
Reexamining forest management practices (42.37)
Jim shares his experience working with the forest of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s when the northern spotted owls became endangered due to the loss of old-growth forests, which stopped the massive logging there. This caused the forest to begin storing carbon instead of emitting it. He calls for the Forest Service to reexamine their forest management and move to ecosystem management to not only meet product needs but also to pay attention to the global bottom line of carbon storage. Bev notes how trees take on heat loads in extreme events.
“The environment is the people at large” (49.15)
Jim’s book, Toward a Natural Forest, expounds his views on managing climate change and meeting natural resource needs by restoring the character of mature and old growth forests. He takes exception to the way the Forest Service has been managing USA forests. Alex brings attention to the people who enjoy forests and have values that are not being represented in forest management. “In some ways, getting involved and talking to the land managing agencies around what that management should look like is a necessity”, he believes.
Strategic forest reserves (1.00.34)
Alex proposes thinking along the lines of creating executive action for old growth and mature forests’ direct mapping, cataloguing and conservation. Jim is hopeful that the creation of more nurseries is a way to catch up with the backlog of the Forest Service’s reforestation needs. Bev explains the associations between climate change mitigation and storing carbon, and climate adaptation and protecting ecosystems She also advocates for conservation incentives and tax deferrals for the people who want to protect their forests and wildlife.
Measure twice, cut once (1.06.46)
Bev discusses her research around carbon stocks in mature and old growth forests, and how maturity of different species and fire intensity of the forests impact forest management approaches. Individual trees also need to be factored in for their carbon storage potential. The speed of growth of a tree is not directly correlated with its capacity for carbon sequestration. Trees reach maturity at an average of 80 years across the USA, Jim adds. Bev shares that 60% of carbon comes back to the atmosphere in 30 years after a forest is harvested.
Captain Planet (1.17.14)
Bev would like to protect species biodiversity and drinking water sources, and prevent extinction on federal lands. She believes that if old growth can be nurtured on federal lands where younger trees develop in canopy gaps, “we have the most ability to combat climate change”. Alex looks back at the mature forests of the pacific northwest and that the benefits offered by the forest were unimagined when the forest plan was put in place. Bev’s 17-year research showed an 8 times more increase in carbon accumulation in forests than private land.
“With fire, it’s one size does not fit all” (1.20.32)
Bev speaks about the considerations in fire and forest management and how fire impacts different types of forests differently. She laments that many wildfires are caused by human error and cautions against high fire risk times. She recommends changing the materials on the exterior of the house and the ventings for fire preparedness. Jim notes that 2% of the fires that start do all the great damage. The more fire suppression efforts that have been taking place, the more acres have been burning, with 40% backfires from controlling larger fires. Alex believes this is a good opportunity for community investment.
Hold onto the forests and grow more (1.27.25)
Jim clarifies that prescribed burning only causes 2-3% of carbon to be lost to the atmosphere but the forest soon recovers and starts sequestering carbon again. Bev also speaks to the natural regeneration capacities of burned trees. He encourages investing in community gardening which converges with the values of forest conservation and together work towards the benefits. Alex looks at carbon sequestering as a way to secure future generations, and sees an opportunity for collaboration. “It’s time to wake up and smell the carbon”, Jim quips.
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