Managing Stand Structure as Part of Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management in Australian Mountain Ash Forests

Ecologically sustainable management of temperate forests is a complex task that involves balancing potentially conflicting land uses such as wood production and nature conservation. We argue that a variety of strategies implemented at different spatial scales is required for biodiversity conservation in temperate forests where wood production is permitted. This is a form of "risk-spreading;" if one option is ineffective for a given species, it may still be conserved as a result of the implementation of other approaches. At the largest scale, there is a clear need for reserves to protect representative samples of forest ecosystems. Within landscapes broadly designated for timber harvesting, intermediate-scale strategies such as the implementation of networks of streamside reserves and wildlife corridors are important for biodiversity conservation. At smaller spatial scales within harvested areas, critical habitat components for forest-dependent organisms like large old trees and logs must be provided. We focus on the importance of these fine-scale attributes for the conservation of biodiversity within logged forests using the mountain ash (  Eucalyptus regnans) forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria as a case study. Forest managers must develop silvicultural practices that maintain and perpetuate critical stand attributes essential for the conservation of forest-dependent organisms. To this end, a shift is required from the extensive use of clearfelling to the adoption of new silvicultural techniques that maintain more structurally complex multi-aged stands. The maintenance of key structural features should be used as a template to guide harvesting methods to ensure that production forests contribute to biodiversity conservation, not only in mountain ash forests, but also temperate wood production elsewhere around the world.     

Patterns and drivers of forest land cover changes in tropical semi-deciduous forests in Ghana

This study was conducted to determine the patterns and drivers of forest land cover changes in Bobiri and Oboyow Forest Reserves (BFR and OFR, respectively), Ghana. Landsat images were employed to determine forest land cover types and changes in 1990, 2000 and 2010 using supervised classification method. Factors that drive forest land cover changes in the forest reserves were determined using a semi-structured questionnaire and field observations. Generally, closed-canopy forest decreased by 49% in both forests over 20-year period resulting in a tremendous increase in open-canopy forest (BFR: 85%; OFR: 46%) and non-forest land cover types (BFR: 48–80% OFR: 127–350%). Factors such as logging manual illiteracy among timber operators, offences of authorised timber operators, ineffective community participation, harvesting schedule revision, chainsaw logging, illegal logging, bushfires, fuel gathering and weak penalty for offences were identified as contributing to rapid depletion of closed canopy forest cover in the forest reserves.     

Valuing environmental amenities through inverse optimization: Theory and case study

Amenity values of private forests are implicit but play a critical role in decision and policy making. This study presents an innovative valuation approach integrating techniques of operations research and economic theory of pricing environmental goods. A forest planning problem was inversed through altering its reward function of timber values so that the observed harvesting behavior became optimal. The discrepancy between the original and new rewards uncovered amenities values which were linked to forest attributes via hedonic models. This method was applied to a case study of the U.S. southern pine region. Depending on forest conditions, total economic values of amenities varied from zero to just under one thousand dollar per ha. At a discount rate of 3%, a typically managed forest generated on average $243 ha⁻¹ of amenities values per annum, more than twice of harvested timber values. Structural diversity and density of large pine trees were the key determinants to preserving forests for environmental amenities.     

Tradeoffs between forestry resource and conservation values under alternate policy regimes: A spatial analysis of the western Canadian boreal plains

An important element of resource management and conservation is an understanding of the tradeoffs between marketed products, such as timber, and measures of environmental quality, such as biodiversity. In this paper, we develop an integrated economic-ecological spatial optimization model that we then apply to evaluate alternate forest policies on a 560,000 km² study region of managed boreal forest in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The integrated model incorporates dynamic forest sector harvesting, current levels of oil and gas sector development, coarse-filter or habitat-based old forest indicators, a set of empirical forest bird abundance models, and statistical models of the natural and current fire regimes. Using our integrated model, economic tradeoff curves, or production possibility frontiers, are developed to illustrate the cost of achieving coarse-filter targets by a set time (50 years) within a 100-year time horizon. We found levels of ecological indicators and economic returns from the timber industry could both be increased if spatial constraints imposed by the current policy environment were relaxed; other factors being equal, this implies current policy should be revised. We explore the production possibility frontier's relationship to the range of natural variation of old forest habitat, and show how this range can be used to guide choices of preferred locations along the frontier. We also show that coarse-filter constraints on the abundance of certain habitat elements are sufficient to satisfy some fine-filter objectives, expressed as the predicted abundances of various species of songbirds.     

The assessment of environmentally sensitive forest road construction in Calabrian pine forest areas of Turkey

Forest road construction by bulldozers in Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests on mountainous terrain of Turkey causes considerable damage to the environment and the forest standing alongside the road. This situation obliges a study of environmentally sound road construction in Turkey. This study was carried out in 4 sample sites of Antalya Forest Directorate in steep (34-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-70% gradient) conditions with bulldozer and excavator machine and direct damages to forest during road construction was determined, including forest area losses and damages to downhill trees in mountainous areas. It was determined that in steep terrain when excavators were used, less forest area (22.16%) was destroyed compared to bulldozers and 26.54% less area in very steep terrain. The proportion of damage on trees where bulldozer worked was nearly twofold higher than excavator was used. The results of this research show that the environmentally sensitive techniques applied for the road construction projects are considerably superior to the traditional use of bulldozers on steep slopes. The environmentally sound forest road construction by use of excavator must be considered an appropriate and reliable solution for mountainous terrain where areas of sensitive forest ecosystems are to be opened up.     

Forest Taxation and Rotation Age under Private Amenity Valuation: New Results

This paper studies the impact of harvesting, property, and profit taxes on private rotation age in an ongoing rotations model, where the private landowner is interested not only in the present value of harvest revenue, but also in the private amenity services provided by the forest stand. The main finding of the paper is that conventional wisdom about the rotation effects of forest taxes, distilled from the Faustmann model, predominantly ceases to hold. This is because forest taxes distort the relative profitability of timber and amenity production in a way that is sensitive to the precise nature of amenity valuation. Therefore, the design of forest tax policy necessitates good knowledge of the landowner's objective function concerning the type of amenity services.     

Impact of nutrient removal through harvesting on the sustainability of the boreal forest

The cycling of base cations (K, Ca, Mg, and Na) was investigated in a boreal balsam fir forest (the Lake Laflamme Watershed) between 1999 and 2005. Base cation budgets were calculated for the soil rooting zone that included atmospheric deposition and soil leaching losses, two scenarios of tree uptake (whole-tree and stem-only harvesting), and three scenarios of mineral weathering, leading to six different scenarios. In every scenario there was a net accumulation of Mg within the soil exchangeable reservoir, while Ca accumulated in four scenarios. Potassium was lost in five of the six scenarios. Contrary to Ca and Mg, immobilization of K within tree biomass (69 mol x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) was the main pathway of K losses from the soil exchangeable reservoir, being five times higher than losses via soil leaching (14 mol x ha(-1) x yr(-1)). The amounts of K contained within the aboveground biomass and the exchangeable soil reservoir were 3.3 kmol/ha and 4.2 kmol/ha, respectively. Whole-tree harvesting may thus remove 44% of the K that is readily available for cycling in the short term, making this forest sensitive to commercial forestry operations. Similar values of annual K uptake as well as a similar distribution of K between tree biomass and soil exchangeable reservoirs at 14 other coniferous sites, distributed throughout the boreal forest of Quebec, suggest that the Lake Laflamme Watershed results can be extrapolated to a much larger area. Stem-only harvesting, which would reduce K exports due to biomass removal by 60%, should be used for these types of forest.     

Relation of Terrestrial-Breeding Amphibian Abundance to Tree-Stand Age

There is a lack of research on the effects of logging on Canadian amphibians. We compared the abundance of terrestrial salamanders in old-growth forests with that in young and mature post-harvest stands. We also measured habitat features of amphibians and contrasted these with old-growth and harvested stands to assess the effects of forest harvest. Quadrat searches demonstrated that clearcut harvesting reduces terrestrial amphibian populations by up to 70% in coastal old-growth forests. We suggest that this reduction results from a decrease in availability of moist microhabitats. Salamander densities within 10 meters of streams in managed stands were similar to those near and away from streams in old growth. We recommend that forest managers recognize the needs of terrestrial amphibians and help maintain amphibian populations by preserving cool, moist habitats. This can be accomplished within cutblocks by (1) maintaining an even distribution of logs and snags as stable, moist microhabitats; (2) retaining some understory as sources of shade, and (3) preserving streamside buffers. Managers must also ensure some level of landscape connectivity to enable climate-sensitive amphibians to disperse and recolonize marginal habitats.     

Availability and Extraction of Forest Products in Managed and Primary Forest around a Dayak Village in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

We examined the density and abundance of marketable products in managed forest (rubber gardens, fruit gardens, and dry rice fallows) and in primary forest surrounding the Dayak village of Kembera, near Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We calculated the proportion of trees that were marketable and useful for local consumption by counting and identifying trees in each managed forest type, and we documented extraction of products through interviews. Villagers harvested four marketable tree products: tengkawang seeds ( Shorea stenoptera ), durian fruits (various Durio spp.), rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ), and timber, especially Bornean ironwood ( Eusideroxylon zwageri ). We inventoried trees at least 20 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) of marketed species from 0.4-ha plots in primary forest ( n = 8) and from 0.1-ha plots in each managed forest type ( n = 10–11). With the exception of timber, the density of trees producing a marketable product was significantly higher in the forest type managed for that product than the density of the marketed species, or of similar wild species, in primary forest. Total abundance (product of density and available area) of durian and tengkawang was greater in primary forest; however, villagers gathered these products only from managed forest. We infer from this choice a greater efficiency of harvesting from trees in dense stands near the village. Historically, this choice resulted in deliberate development of fruit gardens in preference or in addition to gathering from the more distant, primary forest. Because of low product density in primary forest, extractive forest reserves or buffer zones designed to encourage the production of fruits such as tengkawang or durian may not provide a sufficient incentive for the protection of primary forest around Kembera and other Dayak villages near Gunung Palung National Park.     

Aboveground and belowground effects of single-tree removals in New Zealand rain forest

There has been considerable recent interest in how human-induced species loss affects community and ecosystem properties. These effects are particularly apparent when a commercially valuable species is harvested from an ecosystem, such as occurs through single-tree harvesting or selective logging of desired timber species in natural forests. In New Zealand mixed-species rain forests, single-tree harvesting of the emergent gymnosperm Dacrydium cupressinum, or rimu, has been widespread. This harvesting has been contentious in part because of possible ecological impacts of Dacrydium removal on the remainder of the forest, but many of these effects remain unexplored. We identified an area where an unintended 40-year "removal experiment" had been set up that involved selective extraction of individual Dacrydium trees. We measured aboveground and belowground variables at set distances from both individual live trees and stumps of trees harvested 40 years ago. Live trees had effects both above and below ground by affecting diversity and cover of several components of the vegetation (usually negatively), promoting soil C sequestration, enhancing ratios of soil C:P and N:P, and affecting community structure of soil microflora. These effects extended to 8 m from the tree base and were likely caused by poor-quality litter and humus produced by the trees. Measurements for the stumps revealed strong legacy effects of prior presence of trees on some properties (e.g., cover by understory herbs and ferns, soil C sequestration, soil C:P and N:P ratios), but not others (e.g., soil fungal biomass, soil N concentration). These results suggest that the legacy of prior presence of Dacrydium may remain for several decades or centuries, and certainly well over 40 years. They also demonstrate that, while large Dacrydium individuals (and their removal) may have important effects in their immediate proximity, within a forest, these effects should only be important in localized patches containing high densities of large trees. Finally, this study emphasizes that deliberate extraction of a particular tree species from a forest can exert influences both above and below ground if the removed species has a different functional role than that of the other plant species present.     

Carbon sequestration of black locust forests in the Yellow River Delta region,China

The Yellow River Delta region in China is a land area of 1,200,000 ha with rich natural resources. Adverse environmental conditions, such as low rainfall and high salinity, promote the dominance of black locust trees for afforestation. With the increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere, this forest and others throughout the world have become valued for their ability to sequester and store carbon. Forests store carbon in aboveground biomass (i.e. trees), belowground biomass (i.e. roots), soils and standing litter crop (i.e. forest floor and coarse woody debris). There are well-developed methods to sample forest ecosystems, including tree inventories that are used to quantify carbon in aboveground tree biomass. Such inventories are used to estimate the types of roundwood products removed from the forest during harvesting. Based on standard plot inventories and stem analyses, carbon sequestration estimates of trees were 222.41 t ha^?1 for the Yellow River Delta region accounted for 67.12% of the whole forest. Similarly, carbon storage by herbaceous matter and soil was 0.50 and 50.34 t ha^?1, respectively. The results suggest that carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem was performed by most of the forest, which plays an increasingly important role in sequestering carbon as the stand grows.     

Tree mortality following partial harvests is determined by skidding proximity

Recently developed structural retention harvesting strategies aim to improve habitat and ecological services provided by managed forest stands by better emulating natural disturbances. The potential for elevated mortality of residual trees following such harvests remains a critical concern for forest managers, and may present a barrier to more widespread implementation of the approach. We used a harvest chronosequence combined with dendrochronological techniques and an individual-based neighborhood analysis to examine the rate and time course of residual-tree mortality in the first decade following operational partial "structural retention" harvests in the boreal forest of Ontario, Canada. In the first year after harvest, residual-tree mortality peaked at 12.6 times the preharvest rate. Subsequently, mortality declined rapidly and approached preharvest levels within 10 years. Proximity to skid trails was the most important predictor both of windthrow and standing death, which contributed roughly equally to total postharvest mortality. Local exposure further increased windthrow risk, while crowding enhanced the risk of standing mortality. Ten years after harvest, an average of 10.5% of residual trees had died as a result of elevated postharvest mortality. Predicted cumulative elevated mortality in the first decade after harvest ranged from 2.4% to 37% of residual trees across the observed gradient of skid trail proximity, indicating that postharvest mortality will remain at or below acceptable rates only if skidding impacts are minimized. These results represent an important step toward understanding how elevated mortality may influence stand dynamics and habitat supply following moderate-severity disturbances such as partial harvests, insect outbreaks, and windstorms.     

Fungi and wind strongly influence the temporal availability of logs in an old-growth spruce forest.

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is a key habitat for many species in forest ecosystems. To ensure the long-term survival of such species, forest management regimes must include measures that promote dead wood dynamics similar to those of natural forests. Thus, information on CWD dynamics under natural conditions is required, including data pertaining to the underlying agents of disturbance. This study examines modes of mortality, decay rates, and temporal patterns in the availability of Picea abies logs in a Swedish old-growth forest affected by internal, small-scale disturbance. All 684 logs in a 6.6-ha plot were mapped and classified into one of six decay classes. Logs in the early stages of decay were examined for the presence of heart-rot fungi. Six years later all logs were re-inventoried, including newly formed logs. Matrix models based on the transition rates between decay classes showed that it took about 60 years for 90% of the logs to decay beyond class 6 (a deformed trunk with soft wood). Large logs (> 26 cm) decayed 40% more slowly than small logs (< 25 cm). The initial volume of logs was 37.6 m3/ha but increased to 44.8 m3/ha after six years. In addition, there was a large shift in the decay-class distribution. The volume of logs in early and late decay classes increased by 71% and 45%, respectively, while the volume of logs in the intermediate decay classes decreased by 32%. The fluctuations appear to result from pulses in mortality, driven by a combination of strong winds and the heart-rot fungus, Phellinus chrysoloma, which was present in more than 30% of all logs at an early stage of decay. These results show that large temporal fluctuations in dead wood also occur in the absence of large-scale disturbance, and that heart-rot fungi are important factors driving the overall dynamics of dead wood. Since many wood-inhabiting species are naturally rare and have very specific substrate demands, such temporal variability in dead wood availability may have effects on biodiversity and should be taken into account when designing small, protected forest areas.     

Characterization of soil erosion and its implication to forest management

Forests have traditionally been managed to maximize timber production or economic profit, completely neglecting other forest values. Nowadays, however, forests are being managed for multiple uses. The basic requirement of multiple use forestry is to identify and quantify forest values and to determine management objectives. The priorities of management objectives, however, must be decided. In this study, a model predicting the soil loss for multi objective forest management was developed. The model was based on data from remeasurement of permanent sample plots. The data were gathered from 132 sample plots. Approximately 80% of the observations were used for model development and 20% for validation. The model was designed for even aged and uneven aged forests, as well as for forests with mixed and pure species composition. The explicatory variables in the model were mean diameter and number of trees. All parameter estimates were found highly significant (p < 0.001) in predicting soil loss. The model fit and validation tests were fairly good. The soil loss model presented in this paper was considered to have an appropriate level of reliability. It can be used in the overall multi-objective forest management planning, but, it should be limited to the conditions for which the data were gathered.     

Exvessel Price Determination in the Alaska King Crab Fishery: A Formula Price Contract under Uncertainty?

Commercial fisheries industry structure often suggests exvessel price formation occurs in the context of a competitive harvesting sector and an oligopsonistic processing sector. However, industry conduct leading to a determination of exvessel price can be notably at odds with this inference. This paper presents empirical evidence that the conduct of at least one such fishery, the Alaska king crab industry, may emulate bilateral monopoly. Exvessel price determination is consistent with an implicit formula price contract in which fishers behave as monopolists through bargaining associations, while processors behave as countervailing monopsonists, even in the absence of explicit collusion. Both sectors appear to behave in a manner consistent with joint expected profit maximization, with profit shares apportioned via the implicit formula price contract. This price formation process simplifies empirical analysis of the bilateral monopoly conduct by avoiding complicated game theoretic/bargaining models.     

Sources and dynamics of large logs in a temperate floodplain river.

Large logs, important agents of biophysical heterogeneity in temperate floodplain rivers, have been virtually eliminated from modified systems. Our purpose was to quantify the sources and dynamics of large logs (> or = 1 m diameter) in the mainstem of a nearly pristine system: the Queets River, Washington, USA. Erosion of forests by the river supplies 0.40 logs x (100 m)(-1) x yr(-1) to the channel. Most (72%) are new logs entering the river for the first time as the river undercuts mature fluvial terraces dominated by large conifers. Retrospective airphoto analyses demonstrate that, over 63 years, the Queets River recruits 95% of new logs from a riparian corridor extending 265 m laterally on both banks, mostly through channel meandering. However, input rates are patchy, with 10% of the valley length supplying 38% of the new logs. As the river moves laterally, remnant logs are left on channel surfaces that later develop riparian forests and reenter the river when those forests erode. Remnant logs lying on the floodplain forest floor surface or buried in alluvium constitute 21% and 7% of the annual inputs from bank erosion, respectively. We estimate that 50% of logs deposited in the channel in a given year, including those underpinning logjams, are transported downriver within five years. Over the next 55 years, bank erosion reclaims an additional 23%, leaving 27% of the logs stable for > 60 years. Simulations indicate that recurrent transport is common, with half of the large conifers being deposited in > or = 3 locations and transported > or = 1.5 km prior to disintegrating. One in ten logs links distant reaches by occupying > or = 7 locations spanning > or = 12.0 km. Instream supplies are therefore a mixture of new and old logs from nearby and upstream forests, sustained by the recapture and transport of stockpiled remnant logs during periods when new inputs are low. We propose that patchy input rates and the periodic rearrangement of large logs are important drivers of temporal variation in river valley habitats, adding to the spatial complexity created by stable logs. These findings underscore the importance of extensive mature forests and connectivity in temperate floodplain rivers.     

Corruption and forest concessions

We examine how corruption impacts a central government's application of concession policy instruments consisting of royalty rates, concession size, environmentally sensitive logging levels, and enforcement. Harvesters have incentives to illegally log by taking more volume than is allowed, high grading through removal of only the highest valued and best formed trees, and shirking environmentally sensitive logging requirements, all of which reduce public goods produced from native tropical forests. Corruption is introduced through logging inspectors who can be bribed by harvesters to avoid fines associated with illegal logging. Both the theory and a simulation are used to compare policy design under corruption and no corruption.     

Canopy Seed Banks as Time Capsules of Biodiversity in Pasture-Remnant Tree Crowns

Abstract: Tropical pastures present multiple barriers to tree regeneration and restoration. Relict trees serve as “regeneration foci” because they ameliorate the soil microclimate and serve as safe spots for dispersers. Here, we describe another mechanism by which remnant trees may facilitate pasture regeneration: the presence of seed banks in the canopy soil that accumulates from decomposing epiphytes within the crowns of mature remnant trees in tropical cloud forest pastures. We compared seed banks of canopy soils (histosols derived from fallen leaves, fruits, flower, and twigs of host trees and epiphytes, dead bryophytes, bark, detritus, dead animals, and microorganisms, and dust that accumulate on trunks and the upper surfaces of large branches) in pastures, canopy soils in primary forest trees, and soil on the forest floor in Monteverde, Costa Rica. There were 5211 epiphytic and terrestrial plant seeds in the three habitats. All habitats were dominated by seeds in a relatively small number of plant families, most of which were primarily woody, animal pollinated, and animal dispersed. The density of seeds on the forest floor was greater than seed density in either pasture‐canopy or forest‐canopy soils; the latter two did not differ. Eight species in 44 families and 61 genera from all of the habitats were tallied. There were 37 species in the pasture‐canopy soil, 33 in the forest‐canopy soil, and 57 on the forest floor. Eleven species were common to all habitats. The mean species richness in the pasture canopy was significantly higher than the forest canopy (F =83.38; p < 0.02). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed that the communities were distinct. Greenhouse experiments verified that many of these seeds were viable, with 29 taxa germinating (23 taxa in pruned mats [mimic of exposed conditions] and 16 taxa in control mats [intact conditions]) within 2 months of observation. Nearly half the species that germinated were characteristic of primary forests (primary forest samples, 19%; pasture samples, 29%). This supports the idea that canopy seed banks of pasture trees can function as time capsules by providing propagules that are removed in both space and time from the primary forest. Their presence may enhance the ability of pastures to regenerate more quickly, reinforcing the importance of trees in agricultural settings.     

Forest loss,monetary compensation,and delayed re-planting: The effects of unpredictable land tenure in China

Over the past 65 years, forest tenure in China has oscillated unpredictably between private and village property regimes. This policy-induced uncertainty has distorted the harvesting decisions of individuals granted rights to grow trees and has lowered the value of China׳s forest output. We provide an analytical framework for assessing these effects quantitatively. Understanding the consequences of this policy-induced uncertainty is particularly important since China is currently engaged in an ambitious plan to increase its domestic supply of timber. To conduct this analysis, we extend the literature on forestry economics when there is a risk of loss due to forest fire or pests. We (1) take account of the possibility that replanting can only resume after an interval of uncertain length (with immediate replanting as a special Case); (2) investigate the effects of compensation for such losses based only on the net value of the stand of trees at the time of the loss; and (3) compare it to compensation that would leave the wealth and rotation decisions of the farmer unaffected by the presence of uncertainty.     

A synthesis of current knowledge on forests and carbon storage in the United States

Using forests to mitigate climate change has gained much interest in science and policy discussions. We examine the evidence for carbon benefits, environmental and monetary costs, risks and trade-offs for a variety of activities in three general strategies: (1) land use change to increase forest area (afforestation) and avoid deforestation; (2) carbon management in existing forests; and (3) the use of wood as biomass energy, in place of other building materials, or in wood products for carbon storage. We found that many strategies can increase forest sector carbon mitigation above the current 162-256 Tg C/yr, and that many strategies have co-benefits such as biodiversity, water, and economic opportunities. Each strategy also has trade-offs, risks, and uncertainties including possible leakage, permanence, disturbances, and climate change effects. Because approximately 60% of the carbon lost through deforestation and harvesting from 1700 to 1935 has not yet been recovered and because some strategies store carbon in forest products or use biomass energy, the biological potential for forest sector carbon mitigation is large. Several studies suggest that using these strategies could offset as much as 10-20% of current U.S. fossil fuel emissions. To obtain such large offsets in the United States would require a combination of afforesting up to one-third of cropland or pastureland, using the equivalent of about one-half of the gross annual forest growth for biomass energy, or implementing more intensive management to increase forest growth on one-third of forestland. Such large offsets would require substantial trade-offs, such as lower agricultural production and non-carbon ecosystem services from forests. The effectiveness of activities could be diluted by negative leakage effects and increasing disturbance regimes. Because forest carbon loss contributes to increasing climate risk and because climate change may impede regeneration following disturbance, avoiding deforestation and promoting regeneration after disturbance should receive high priority as policy considerations. Policies to encourage programs or projects that influence forest carbon sequestration and offset fossil fuel emissions should also consider major items such as leakage, the cyclical nature of forest growth and regrowth, and the extensive demand for and movement of forest products globally, and other greenhouse gas effects, such as methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and recognize other environmental benefits of forests, such as biodiversity, nutrient management, and watershed protection. Activities that contribute to helping forests adapt to the effects of climate change, and which also complement forest carbon storage strategies, would be prudent.