The global potential for carbon capture and storage from forestry

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Forestry Science
• Climate Change Mitigation

Background:

• Current climate change mitigation strategies primarily focus on renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
• The significant role of forests, forest products, and low-tech solutions in carbon management is often overlooked.
• Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions necessitate a broader range of mitigation approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel simulation model for assessing global forest carbon content.
• To evaluate the potential of active annual carbon harvest from forests over the next 100 years.
• To quantify the contribution of forests to carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Main Methods:

• Development of a new simulation model to assess global forest carbon stocks.
• Application of the model to simulate active annual carbon harvest scenarios.
• Analysis of potential carbon sequestration in tree biomass and wood product substitution for fossil fuels.

Main Results:

• Globally sustainable forestry could establish forests as a significant carbon sink, sequestering approximately one gigatonne of carbon annually through enhanced tree biomass.
• Sustainable forestry practices could yield 11.5 gigatonnes of carbon per year from wood extraction.
• Wood extraction can reduce CO2 emissions by substituting fossil fuels.

Conclusions:

• Forest carbon harvest and storage in living forests present a substantial potential for global-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS).
• Forestry offers a viable low-tech strategy for climate change mitigation.
• Integrating sustainable forestry into climate strategies can enhance carbon sequestration and reduce emissions.