Carbon Sequestration in Farm and Forest Ecosystems Sarah Hines April 2009 [email protected].
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Transcript of Carbon Sequestration in Farm and Forest Ecosystems Sarah Hines April 2009 [email protected].
Carbon Sequestration in Farm Carbon Sequestration in Farm and Forest Ecosystemsand Forest EcosystemsSarah Hines
April 2009
OverviewOverview
• Sequestration: What is it and how does it happen?• Global Carbon Cycle & Stocks• Forests
• Forest Carbon Pools• Carbon Flux & Cycling
• Agriculture and Rangelands• The local process• Soil & co-benefits
Carbon Sequestration
• The long term storage of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere, oceans, or underground, by maintaining/enhancing natural processes, improving management, or improving technology.
The Global Carbon Cycle
Source: NASA Earth Observatory and Woods Hole Research Institute
Global Carbon Stocks and Soil Carbon Global Carbon Stocks and Soil Carbon PoolsPools
Source: IPCC Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry, 2001
Carbon Budget of the US Forest Sector
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
YEAR
Mill
ions
ton
s C
O2/
yr Net Emissions
Net Sequestration
• National Baseline ~200 Tg C/yr• 10% of CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels• “A goal of an additional 100 to 200 Tg C/yr of forest
carbon is achievable, but would require investment in inventory and monitoring, development of technology and practices, and assistance for land managers.” Birdsey et al, 2006.
Carbon Pools in Forested Ecosystems: What the US Forest Service Monitors & Reports
Detailed measurement and estimation Summarized estimates for default tables
Summarized estimates for reporting
Live trees: above-groundLive trees
Ecosystem carbon
Live trees: below-ground
Tree seedlings Understory vegetation
Shrubs, herbs, forbs, grasses
Standing dead trees: above-groundStanding dead treesStanding dead trees: below-ground
Down dead woodDown dead woodStumps and dead roots
Fine woody debrisForest floorLitter
Humus
Soil carbon Soil carbon
Carbon Pools in CCAR:Optional & Required
Category Carbon PoolForest
ManagementReforestation Avoided Conversion Determination of Value
Above-ground living Biomass
Required Required1 Required Sampled in Project
Below-ground living biomass
Required Required1 RequiredCalculation based on above
ground sampling
Shrubs and Herbaceous Understory
Optional Required Optional Sampled in Project
Standing Dead Biomass
Required Required Required Sampled in Project
Lying Dead Wood Optional Optional2 Optional Sampled in Project
Litter Optional Optional Optional Sampled in Project
Soil Soil3 Optional Optional Optional Sampled in project
Off-site Dead biomass
Wood Products Required NA RequiredDecay calculation from volume of
harvested wood
Living biomass
On-site Dead biomass
Source: CCAR, 2nd Public Workshop for Updated Forest Protocol, 2/3/09
Carbon Pools and Fluxes
Carbon movement between pools…
Evey Canyon, Angeles National Forest
Carbon Flux: How we know what we know
Suggestions on how to Measure Flux at a Landscape Scale…
Hoover, Ed. 2008
Relationship Between Forest Ecosystem Components
Smith et al, 2006. Methods for Calculating Forest Ecosystem and Harvested Carbon with Standard Estimates for Forest Types of the United States. GTR-NE-343
Mitigation Options…
Emissions Reduction•Substitute Wood Products for More Energy-Intensive Products•Reduce Demand for Energy through Forest Operations Efficiency•Reduce Biomass Burning (Wildfires) Sink Enhancement•Afforest Marginal Cropland and Pasture•Reduce Conversion of Forestland to Nonforest Use •Improve Forest Management•Reduce Harvest•Increase AgroforestryEmissions Reduction & Sink Enhancement•Substitute Renewable Biomass for Fossil Fuel Energy•Increase Proportion and Retention of C in Durable Wood Products•Increase Paper and Wood Recycling•Plant Trees in Urban and Suburban Areas
…Mitigation Potential
• From 1990-2005, forest sector sequestered 162 Tg C/yr
• Lots more here…
Management counts for a lot…
Root Systems of Native Grasses and Crops
1
2
3
meters
Source: Courtesy of Ron Follett, Agricultural Research Service, USDA