Storing carbon or growing forests?

Forest managers should promote the long-term growth of forests rather than maximize their short-term accumulation of carbon. Contemporary economic and political interests favor rapidly storing carbon in global forests. Against this background, forest managers are expected to contribute to mitigating planetary climate change by sharply increase forest carbon stocks. Building up the global forest growing stock too rapidly ignores the long-term cycles that govern forest growth dynamics. A further flaw in the strategy stems from the fact that anticipated changes in future climate argue against indiscriminately maximizing the carbon stock over the next two or three decades.(4) A range of forest practices from planting site specific species to more comprehensive landscape management offer a path to better long-term forest growth. We claim that past climate policies have taken a narrow view that favors rapidly accumulating forest carbon stocks to the detriment of management options that focus on improving long term forest growth and ecosystem health.

Automated summary

Forest managers should prioritize the long-term growth of forests rather than focusing solely on accumulating carbon in the short term. Current economic and political interests favor rapid carbon storage in global forests, but this strategy overlooks the long-term cycles of forest growth and the impacts of future climate changes. Various forest practices, such as planting specific species and implementing comprehensive landscape management, offer a path towards better long-term forest growth and ecosystem health.