Carbon storage is typically greater within forest ecosystems when compared to lands that are used for settlements or agriculture (1). Natural ecosystems themselves also have a great degree of variation in how much and for how long carbon is stored based on the interactions among climate, soils, vegetation, and past disturbance in a particular location (2). For this reason, actions to maintain the integrity of forest ecosystems or increase their extent will generally have positive benefits for greenhouse gas mitigation (3, 4).
voided Conversion of Forest to Non-Forest Use
Although the conversion of forest to non-forest use (i.e., deforestation) is often discussed as an international issue, a substantial amount of forested land within the United States is converted to other uses each year. Between 1982 and 2012, more than 1 million acres of U.S. forest land were converted each year to development, agriculture, or other purposes (7). Although this loss is more than accounted for by a gain of more than 1.3 million acres of non-forest area that is converted to or reverts back to forest each year (resulting in a net gain of forest acres) (8), converting land to a non-forest use removes a very large amount of carbon at one time. Because mature forest stands are more likely to be carbon rich from the high volume of tree biomass, recovery through afforestation takes a very long time (9). Forest harvesting can quickly remove much of that accumulated biomass carbon. Further, soil carbon generally declines after deforestation from accelerated decomposition of organic matter such as litter and tree roots (9). Efforts to maintain forest cover and prevent conversion to non-forest uses help to maintain the ability of that land to sequester carbon into the future, thereby preventing emissions and also increasing the potential for additional sequestration.
Janowiak, M.; Swanston, C.; Ontl, T. 2017. Importance of Forest Cover. (June, 2017). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Climate Change Resource Center. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/forest-mgmt-carbon-benefits/forest-cover
