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Science 9 February 1990:
Vol. 247. no. 4943, pp. 699 - 702
DOI: 10.1126/science.247.4943.699
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Articles

Effects on Carbon Storage of Conversion of Old-Growth Forests to Young Forests

Mark E. Harmon 1, William K. Ferrell 1, and Jerry F. Franklin 2

1 Department of Forest Science, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
2 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Corvallis, OR 97331; College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195

Simulations of carbon storage suggest that conversion of old-growth forests to young fast-growing forests will not decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in general, as has been suggested recently. During simulated timber harvest, on-site carbon storage is reduced considerably and does not approach old-growth storage capacity for at least 200 years. Even when sequestration of carbon in wooden buildings is included in the models, timber harvest results in a net flux of CO2 to the atmosphere. To offset this effect, the production of lumber and other long-term wood products, as well as the life-span of buildings, would have to increase markedly. Mass balance calculations indicate that the conversion of 5 x 109 to 1.8 x 109 megagrams of carbon to the atmosphere.


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