Management objectives dictate the decisions land managers make. These objectives vary widely based on the landowner as well as the conditions of the ecosystem in question, and objectives may include any number of desired ecosystem benefits: water protection, wood production, wildlife, specific recreational opportunities, aesthetics, privacy, and more. Greenhouse gas mitigation is thus part of a wider array of management aims for forests and grasslands. Managers may choose to incorporate greenhouse gas mitigation as a management objective for a number of reasons, including increasing forest productivity or deriving benefits from participating in carbon markets. However, focusing solely on carbon could lead to non-optimal management decisions, and, in some situations, managing for carbon benefits may be at odds with other goals.
The tradeoffs inherent in balancing multiple management goals necessitate the recognition that it may not be possible to meet all goals, including those for carbon, in a single stand or at a single point in time (15). Consideration of the effects of management actions on carbon require thinking broadly across large spatial scales and long timeframes to determine the true effects on atmospheric greenhouse gases (4). The following topics represent some examples of tradeoffs between carbon and other management goals or intentions; it is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather to illustrate some of the considerations that factor into carbon as one of many management objectives.
Janowiak, M.; Swanston, C.; Ontl, T. (May, 2017). Carbon as One of Many Management Objectives. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Climate Change Resource Center. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/carbon-one-many-management-objectives
