2Forest Carbon Practices
Forest carbon practices encompass afforestation, reforestation, improved forest management, and sustainable forest management practices; each taking a slightly different approach toward increasing the amount of CO2 absorbed by and stored in forests.
Afforestation is the process by which trees are planted in an area that has not been inhabited by trees for at least 50 years.
Reforestation involves replanting trees in an area that recently housed trees.
Improved forest management refers to the active modification of forestry practices to promote greater forest biomass and carbon storage.
Sustainable forest management aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social, and environmental values of all forests for the benefit of present and future generations.
Forest carbon practices vary in their durability, financeability, scalability, and equity. These practices play a clear role in climate restoration, but their capacity to shoulder a considerable share of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) depends on many variables.
Durability
Nature-based CDR approaches like forest carbon practices work to absorb and store carbon. However, the durability of storage depends largely on how forests are managed. For example, improved forest management can include regulating logging to protect some areas and incorporating cultivation practices to improve growth. Sustainable forest management can increase forests’ resilience to climate change impacts like wildfires and pests that can cause widespread destruction and release carbon. If well managed, trees can durably store carbon, but it is less certain and harder to measure than many other approaches.
Financeability
Forest carbon practices are relatively inexpensive, and more funding is available for these initiatives than for most other CDR approaches. Tree planting programs are abundant to choose from, which enables individuals and organizations to participate through on-line donations to local, national, and international forestation initiatives. Some forest carbon practices can be free to implement, such as allowing forests to regenerate naturally. Others can cost upwards of $50/ton of CO2 captured, such as afforestation in areas where significant land preparation is needed, e.g., draining a bog to plant trees.
Scalability
One of the key constraints in scaling forest carbon practices is the limited supply of land. Not all land is suitable for forests and much of our land area is needed for agriculture to support a growing global population. Many areas can store more carbon through existing ecosystems, e.g., peat bogs, than they could if converted to forests. Moreover, if all available and suitable land were converted to forests, it’s unlikely that forest solutions could scale up by 2030 to remove and store at least 10 Gt of CO2 per year, climate restoration’s overarching goal.
Equity
Forest carbon practices can be implemented equitably through careful consideration of risks and participation of potentially impacted communities. Such communities should be engaged in decision-making when projects are being planned, and special care should be taken to ensure that forests benefits are distributed equitably, e.g., creating local jobs and preventing erosion. When possible, land for forests should be returned to the Indigenous communities who originally held them; they have often been shown to outperform government agencies and conservation organizations in supporting biodiversity, sequestering carbon, and generating ecological benefits on their land.