Transformation of Plantation Forestry Productivity for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

The protection of natural forests as the major land-based biotic sink of carbon is regarded as a priority for climate action, and zero deforestation is an accepted global imperative. Sustainable intensification of plantation forestry will be essential to meet escalating, shifting, and diversifying demand for forest products if logging pressure on natural forests is to be decreased. Substitution strategies involves enhanced offtake from plantation forestry into long life-cycle products, opening up new options for medium- to long-term carbon drawdown, downstream decarbonization, and fossil fuel displacement in the construction and chemicals sectors. However, under current plantation productivity levels, it has been projected that by 2050, supply could provide as little as 35% of demand. This could be further exacerbated by climate change. To mitigate this shortfall, to avoid ensuing catastrophic logging pressure on natural forests, and to ensure that downstream decarbonization and fossil fuel substitution strategies are feasible, a dramatic step change in plantation productivity is required. This is particularly necessary in developing countries where increases in per capita demand and pressure on natural forests will be the most acute.