Study |
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Economics Unit |
Robert J. Moulton,
Southern Research Station
John M. Pye, Southern Research Station
Forests play an interesting and important role in the earth's carbon cycle. On one hand, the loss of forests on a global scale to other uses (deforestation) is responsible for up to one-third of carbon emissions to the atmosphere, and ranks second only to the burning of fossil fuels as a source of CO2 emissions. On the other hand, forests serve as a huge carbon sink: they capture CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it as carbon in wood and other carbon-based compounds in soil, in understory plants, and in the litter on the forest floor. Large amounts of additional carbon could be stored in U.S. forests, especially on nonindustrial private ownerships, through afforestation, reforestation and practices to enhance the growth rate of trees in existing forests.
Problem Area(s):
Public programs,
Market-level models
Status:
Ongoing
Birdsey, Richard, Ralph Alig, Darius Adams, and Robert Moulton. In press. Mitigation options in the forest sector to reduce emissions or enhance sinks of greenhouse gases. (To be published as a GTR as part of the 1999 RPA Assessment technical report series).
Moulton, Robert J. and John F. Kelly. 1997. The physical risks of reforestation as strategy to offset global climate change. In: Economics of Carbon Sequestration in Forestry. Editors Roger Sedjo, Neil Sampson, and Joe Wisniewski. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton. 245-257.
Parks, Peter, David O. Hall, Bengt Kristrom, Omar R. Masera, Robert J. Moulton, Andrew J. Plantiga, Joel N. Swisher, and Jack K. Winjum. 1997. An economic approach to planting trees for carbon storage. In: Economics of Carbon Sequestration in Forestry. Editors Roger Sedjo, Neil Sampson, and Joe Wisniewski. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton. 9-21.
Moulton, Robert J. 1996. Forestry in the President's climate change action plan: year 2000 and beyond. In: Baughman, Melvin J.; Goodman, Nancy, eds. Proceedings: Symposium on nonindustrial private forests: learning from the past, prospects for the future; 1996 February 18-20; Washington, DC. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota, Minnesota Extension Service, Extension Special Programs: 334-339.
| modified: 13-MAR-2000 |
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USDA FS SRS |