Tuesday, December 28, 2010

USFS study recommends methods to mitigate climate change

The U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) has released a new scientific summary regarding forest management methods to mitigate the effects of climate change. The full report is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p061.pdf. "Integrated Management of Carbon Sequestration and Biomass Utilization Opportunities in a Changing Climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID, (RMRS-P- 61)" contains scientific findings concerning how the forest environment is changing, treatment effects on carbon pools such as forests, computerized tools for simulating forest growth, models for collaboration and more. The ability of trees to withdraw carbon from the atmosphere---carbon sequestration---is considered one of the most important steps in reducing the effects of climate change. Forests and soils act as carbon pools because of their ability to store carbon from the atmosphere. Foresters challenged by how to manage vegetation in a changing climate will benefit from research findings summarized in these proceedings...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't trees release CO2? If they do then how do they fit into the current EPA regs? Maybe clear-cutting is still the answer to CO2 control, with the slash becoming the vehicle for carbon sequestration?