Climate Change, Carbon Sequestration, and Biomass Energy

Western forests are facing impacts associated with the changing climate. Improving their resilience is necessary if forests are to adapt to climate change. The effects of climate variability and change in the West includes shifts in species ranges, changes in snowpack duration and extent that affect water supplies, changes in the frequency and intensity of wildfire and pest disturbances, and changes in overall forest productivity.

The West has experienced an average temperature increase during the last five years that is more than 70 percent greater than for the world as a whole. In the Pacific Islands, many small populations of endemic and “specialist” species are restricted to small geographic areas and are highly vulnerable to change. Sea level rise, coastal erosion, freshwater contamination, and extreme weather events are also of significant concern to island communities.

Forests play a complex and important role in both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Management for carbon sequestration and the production of biomass energy are two approaches many states and islands are pursuing that can create economic incentives for landowners to sustain forest health, reduce fuel loads, and provide alternative, sustainable energy. Recommendations and Guidance for Addressing Climate Change and be found in the WFLC report. However, without integrated markets for biomass, carbon and traditional wood products, management expenses continue to present challenges.