Conceptual approaches for incorporating climatic change into the development of forest management options for sequestering carbon

Abstract

The potential for significant environmental change over the next 100 yr has resulted in efforts to develop mitigation options for reducing the rate of increase of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. One of the more promising options is management of forest and agroforestry systems. Most assessments of the potential of forest management options to sequester carbon have not factored future environmental change (climate and CO2 concentration) into their analyses. Climate and ecological models that could be used to incorporate environmental change into forest mitigation planning efforts are reviwewed in this paper in terms of their relative strengths and limitations for this particular application. Recommendations are then made as to how to use the available models. Recommendations are also made as to how to target the most promising regions for reforestation efforts given the likelihood of future environmental change. -from Author