Fig. 2: Forest carbon flux illustration.
The forest carbon balance of the coastal temperate rainforests of western North America available for action by Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) (Table 1; NCS 1). Total aboveground forest carbon and Standard Error (SE) was calculated using a global carbon model15 for the year 2018 (Table 2). Average annual carbon losses were calculated from a global flux model9 for the 2001-2021 time period (Table 2). Average annual carbon sequestered was calculated with a global sequestration model9 for the 2001–2021 time period (Table 2). The results were converted to two significant digits and therefore do not sum exactly. *Average annual carbon losses are primarily driven by timber harvest (estimated to be 78% using an independent course scale model; see Supplementary Table 5), but also include other disturbances9. A portion of carbon losses due to timber harvest are captured in durable wood products3,9,23. Figure by Erica Sloniker using publicly available data.
