How to Manage Forests for Carbon: An Introduction for Family Forest Owners

Family forest owners are increasingly interested in participating in a carbon payments program, but some are still unclear if their forest may qualify.

Introduction

Carbon sequestration is the process where trees take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the form of woody biomass. The carbon stored in woody biomass is only temporarily locked up. Most trees have life spans of less than 100 years, either because the species is short lived or due to forest management. Carbon is gained and lost on a regular cycle, as trees grow, die, decompose and grow back again. Because of this, carbon accounting in a forest is often the quantification of total carbon "gains versus losses" within the project area over time.

Forest management practices influence the rate of carbon losses and gains over time. Practices that help promote carbon gains are considered an important part of climate-smart forestry. Climate smart forestry also involves practices that help forests adapt to climate change, but these practices are not discussed at length in this article. The four strategies described in Figure 1 can all be used to provide additional carbon storage and offset carbon emissions. These include creating new forests, protecting forest heath, improved forest management for carbon and production of climate-smart wood products. Most market payments to forest owners (over 80%) are associated with improved forest management practices, but many of the activities in Figure 1 can also be implemented voluntarily.

Additional Carbon Storage is Extra Wood

Planting new forests helps create a new carbon sink by increasing the total amount of woody biomass on the landscape. Reforestation is when new trees are planted in locations where forests are in decline or the land has been clearcut. Afforestation is the process of planting trees in locations where there were few or no trees to begin with. The carbon sequestered after new trees are planted may qualify as being "additional". Classifying which carbon is "additional" is important for assigning value to the carbon because the extra carbon storage is the outcome that buyers pay for to offset their carbon footprint.

Carbon storage can also be provided by generating sustainable wood products. The process is sustainable when new trees are grown to replace the harvested trees. Wood products in use and wood disposed of in landfills continue to store carbon for many years. It has been estimated that some wood products continue to store 10% to 50% of the original carbon after 100 years. Wood products and bioenergy also help displace the use of other products with a larger carbon footprint, such as coal, concrete and steel.

The key to making wood products qualify as "additional" is to develop carbon offset projects that lead to the production of wood products that would not have been created except for that project. For example, low grade wood can be turned into biochar which can store carbon in a fixed state for long periods of time. The production and distribution of biochar is limited due to a lack of investment in businesses and facilities that can produce biochar. An offset project that supports the establishment of new biochar producers, also helps generate more biochar than what would have been otherwise. Because the production of biochar was dependent on the project being created, managers can claim that the carbon stored in the biochar is additional.

Investors in projects that help plant new forests and expand forest products is growing. Many of these projects are collaborations between non-governmental conservation organizations (e.g., Arbor Day Foundation*) and market investors. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently invested almost $4 billion to help jump start the production of climate-smart commodities in agriculture and forestry and reach underserved communities.

Additional Carbon Storage is a Function of Risk

The future of forests and climate are interlinked. Forests help regulate the climate by controlling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A stable climate helps forests grow and live longer by reducing likelihood of drought, extreme temperatures and intense storms. To help avoid a negative feedback loop between forests and climate, management activities can help protect forest health.

• Controlling pests and disease in forests is one important way of reducing tree mortality and the risk that forest carbon will be released earlier than expected.
• Controlling extreme wildfire and the distribution of invasive plants also helps promote conditions that allow native forests to remain healthy and store carbon for as long as possible.
• Assisted species migration is the practice of moving seed sources or populations to new locations within the historical species range, in response to environmental changes caused by climate change.

Risk of forest degradation can be understood by looking at current trends and making predictions about future conditions if nothing changes. For example, the risk of a beetle infestation in a stand can be understood by looking at the types of trees in the stand, the number of trees in the stand (i.e., density), and the location and movement of woodborers in the region. The risk of wildfire can be understood by looking at how much woody fuels are on the forest floor and the type of land uses surrounding the forest. Practices that help reduce the risk of carbon losses can be considered additional because future outcomes are changed from the business-as-usual outcome (i.e., not managing forest health) (Figure 2).

Protocols for quantifying reductions in risk, for use in a carbon offset project, are only just starting to be developed. For example, the Verra registry recently approved a method (vm0045) that uses matched baselines to determine differences in carbon storage between enrolled and unenrolled forests with the same risks. To learn more about the general risks to forests in your region contact your county forester or forestry extension professional.

Additional Carbon Storage is a Planned Tradeoff

In climate-smart forestry, improved forest management (IFM) practices are intended to help increase carbon stocks within forests and/or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forestry activities. In other words, it is about making carbon gains a priority when managing for other objectives (e.g., timber harvesting, recreational trails, wildlife habitat).

Making forest carbon a priority can come with some costs, either to the owner, the ecosystem, or society. For example, delaying harvest is one of the most common IFM practices, but it also means revenues to the owner are delayed. Extending harvest rotations can also reduce the amount of early successional habitat on the landscape, which is important for a wide variety of wildlife. Maintaining trails to prevent erosion and carbon losses can be expensive or lead to the closure of some trails. In short, managing for improved carbon outcomes can lead to tradeoffs in other management objectives, depending on the context in which it occurs. When changes in forest management practices are incentivized, the extra carbon stored is considered additional and can be traded on a carbon market.

In a delayed harvest scenario, additional carbon storage is determined by comparing the business-as-usual outcome with a delayed harvest outcome (Figure 3). In year one of a business-as-usual outcome there are significant carbon losses due to harvesting activities, but as years pass some of that carbon will be recovered due to new forest growth. In a delayed harvest outcome, there are no carbon losses in year 1 and over the next few years the forest sequesters even more carbon. Additional carbon is the difference in total carbon sequestered between these two scenarios.

A key assumption in this approach is that timber harvesting is the most common business-as-usual situation for a forest. The likelihood of harvest is generally based on the percent of commercially valuable trees on the property and the forest owner's intentions about harvesting. Forest owner intentions are often a function of their management objectives, timber market conditions (e.g., price) and distance to mills. Trees that are unlikely to be harvested are not included in a delay harvest scheme. For example, natural forests with low grade wood, or forests that have been high-graded (i.e., most of the commercially valuable trees have been removed) often don't have enough economic incentive to risk being harvested in the first place.

From a carbon offset project perspective, incentivizing widespread delays in harvesting is an efficient way of enhancing carbon gains at the landscape level. Project managers can estimate increases in total woody biomass and carbon storage in a region over time by tracking multiple properties of land enrolled in a harvest deferral scheme (Figure 4).

Most carbon market programs today use delay in harvest strategies, however, there is opportunity to support innovation in a wide variety of climate-smart forest management approaches. Recent federal actions (i.e., Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) are directing millions of dollars to state programs that support climate-smart forestry practices on private lands. You can be part of climate-smart solutions in your community by working with your state representatives, state foresters and landowner associations.

 Closing Thoughts

• Regardless of what owners have, or want for their forest, the criteria used to determine the value of forest carbon in an offset market will include concepts such as additionally, risk, and rate of carbon sequestration. In addition to these requirements, carbon offset managers have to provide assurances to buyers that the project protocols they follow offer permanent benefits (100+ years) and will not increase the likelihood of carbon releases (e.g., harvest) in other regions.
• Before enrolling in a program its important that landowners seek advice from a forestry professional to understand if required management actions are a good fit for their broader management objectives and a good fit for their forest. If you are considering a carbon program in your area, be sure to check out the links below.

*The organizations mentioned in this article are not necessarily endorsed.

This article was produced by the Forest Owner Carbon and Climate Education (FOCCE) program. What do you think? Please take this short survey.

Related FOCCE Articles and Resources

• Forest Carbon Pools
• Methods for Estimating Carbon in Forests
• Carbon Accounting in Forest Management
• How Much Should I be Paid to Manage Forest Carbon?
• What Should I Think about Before Signing a Forest Carbon Contract?
• The Economic Value of Private Forests and Climate Change Mitigation

Article Information Sources

• Arbor Day Foundation, Forestry Carbon Credits
• Ling, P. Y., Baiocchi, G., & Huang, C. (2016). Estimating annual influx of carbon to harvested wood products linked to forest management activities using remote sensing. Climatic change, 134(1), 45-58.
• USDA Climate Hubs. Adaption in Action
• USDA Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities
• USDA, US  Forest Service. Climate Resource Center
• Verra Registry. Protocol VM0045.