Advancing forest carbon projections requires improved convergence between ecological and economic models

Area of Science:

• Forestry science
• Climate change mitigation
• Ecological economics

Background:

• Forests play a crucial role in global climate policy through carbon sequestration and storage.
• Current forest carbon modeling often occurs in disciplinary silos, limiting effective policy guidance.
• Disciplinary divides hinder efforts to increase forest carbon sinks and enhance ecosystem resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize forest carbon modeling literature across ecological and economic disciplines.
• To identify the benefits and limitations of existing forest carbon models.
• To propose an integrated framework for ecological and economic forest carbon systems.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of forest carbon modeling in ecological and economic fields.
• Analysis of disciplinary divides and their impact on policy guidance.
• Proposal of a convergence approach integrating ecological and economic modeling frameworks.

Main Results:

• Independent economic and ecological carbon models create critical feedback loops.
• An integrated approach can reduce disciplinary bias and limitations in forest carbon models.
• Sharing methodologies, perspectives, and data between model types is beneficial.

Conclusions:

• Integrating ecological and economic forest carbon models enhances their strengths and mitigates limitations.
• A convergence approach offers improved policy guidance for forest carbon management.
• Collaborative modeling frameworks are essential for effective climate change mitigation strategies.