Carbon Sequestration in Forest Management Systems
Summary
Forests serve as major carbon reservoirs, capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and storing it in woody biomass, litter and soil organic matter. Sustainable forest management systems seek to optimise this process by balancing timber production, biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. Practices such as afforestation, reforestation and improved forest management—including selective thinning, extended rotation lengths and mixed‐species plantings—can enhance carbon uptake and long‐term storage. Technological advances in remote sensing and carbon accounting allow for more precise estimation of carbon stocks and fluxes at stand and landscape scales. Economic instruments, including carbon markets and subsidies, are increasingly employed to reward landowners for maintaining or increasing forest carbon pools. Globally, such measures contribute to national climate commitments and support co-benefits, such as soil conservation, water regulation and habitat provision. Integrating ecological resilience against disturbances—such as pests, pathogens and extreme weather—with carbon objectives remains a central challenge for designing adaptive management strategies that deliver durable climate benefits.
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Carbon Sequestration in Forest Management Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in carbon sequestration in forest management systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Bioeconomic model: Integration of biological growth and economic valuation to assess management decisions under uncertainty.
Payment for ecosystem services (PES): Financial mechanism rewarding landowners for the provision of environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration.
Thinning: Selective removal of trees to optimise stand density, enhance growth and regulate carbon fluxes.
Rotation length: Planned interval between establishment and final harvest, determining the volume of accumulated biomass and long‐term carbon stocks.
Carbon sink: Natural or managed system that absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits, thereby mitigating atmospheric concentrations.
References
- The effect of pests and pathogens on forest harvesting regimes:A bioeconomic model. Ecological Economics (2023).
- Reforming a pre-existing biodiversity conservation scheme: Promoting climate co-benefits by a carbon payment. Ambio (2023).
- A PES scheme promoting forest biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Forest Policy and Economics (2022).
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