Crediting of carbon storage in reforestation projects under timber management

Abstract

The permanence and crediting of carbon storage in reforestation projects that are subject to timber harvesting is a key issue for project-level accounting of carbon sequestration in forests. With increasing momentum in the development of carbon markets, it is essential to establish a consistent and appropriate method for crediting that can be attributed to reforestation projects.Worldwide, the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme (NSW Scheme) is the first fully operational scheme that allows for the generation of carbon credits from sequestration in forests. The method used by the NSW Scheme to address the issue of permanence, known as the 100-Year Rule, limits the generation of credits from a given pool to the minimum carbon stocks that are maintained over a I 00-y period. This is an inequitable approach that does not adequately recognize the contribution that individual forest stands make in reducing levels of C0 2 in the atmosphere. It results in greater benefits to larger owners, and provides a disincentive for participation by smaller owners. This paper illustrates an alternative approach, based on the actual contribution by individual stands. The non-declining yield of a stand, when considered as part of a normal forest, provides a more equitable basis for crediting, especially for small-scale forest growers. This method is numerically equivalent to the 'average stocks' approach suggested by other authors, once pools of debris and soil carbon stocks are accounted for.This method of crediting is not only fairer in that it recognises more appropriately the contribution of projects, regardless of ownership boundary, but is far simpler to administer for managers of carbon pools aggregated over a number of forest owners. Greater benefits from carbon accrue to projects using longer rotations, providing incentive for the establishment of permanent forests that produce high-quality wood products.

Incorporating Carbon Credits into Breeding Objectives for Plantation Species in Australia

“…For forestry systems that include harvested products, but are also managed for carbon, the average stock approach is usually adopted to estimate the value of carbon (Maclaren, 2000;Baalman and O'Brien, 2006). For forests managed in a regulated way over multiple rotations the carbon stock that may be claimed for credits is approximately half the carbon stock at harvest (Fig.…”