Fuel treatment effects on tree-based forest carbon storage and emissions under modeled wildfire scenarios

Hurteau, M.D. and North, M. (2009) Fuel treatment effects on tree-based forest carbon storage and emissions under modeled wildfire scenarios. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 7. pp. 409-414. ISSN 1540-9295

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Abstract

Forests are viewed as a potential sink for carbon (C) that might otherwise contribute to climate change. It is unclear, however, how to manage forests with frequent fire regimes to maximize C storage while reducing C emissions from prescribed burns or wildfire. We modeled the effects of eight different fuel treatments on tree-based C storage and release over a century, with and without wildfire. Model runs show that, after a century of growth without wildfire, the control stored the most C. However, when wildfire was included in the model, the control had the largest total C emission and largest reduction in live-tree-based C stocks. In model runs including wildfire, the final amount of tree-based C sequestered was most affected by the stand structure initially produced by the different fuel treatments. In wildfire-prone forests, tree-based C stocks were best protected by fuel treatments that produced a low-density stand structure dominated by large, fire resistant pines.

Item Type:	Article
Publisher’s Statement:	© The Ecological Society of America.
ID number or DOI:	10.1890/080049
Keywords:	Carbon, Climate change, Fuels, Wildfire, ERI Library
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences S Agriculture > SD Forestry
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit:	Research Centers > Ecological Restoration Institute College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > School of Forestry
Date Deposited:	12 Feb 2016 22:20
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/1428

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