The spatiotemporal domains of natural climate solutions research and strategies for implementation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Abstract

Natural climate solutions have been proposed as a way to mitigate climate change by removing CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and increasing carbon storage in ecosystems. The adoption of such practices is required at large spatial and temporal scales, which means that local implementation across different land use and conservation sectors must be coordinated at landscape and regional levels. Here, we describe the spatiotemporal domains of research in the field of climate solutions and, as a first approximation, we use the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States as a model system to evaluate the potential for coordinated implementations. By combining estimates of soil organic carbon stocks and CO2 fluxes with projected changes in climate, we show how land use may be prioritized to improve carbon drawdown and permanence across multiple sectors at local to regional scales. Our consideration of geographical context acknowledges some of the ecological and social challenges of climate change mitigation efforts for the implementation of scalable solutions.

Prescribed fire placement matters more than increasing frequency and extent in a simulated Pacific Northwest landscape

“…As climate change mitigation strategies increasingly turn toward natural climate solutions, or the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through natural resources management techniques, forest management has received much attention for its ability to mitigate the global impacts of climate change through C sequestration (Chafe et al, 2024;Griscom et al, 2017). Although prescribed fire could be viewed as a threat to C storage given fire suppression has increased C storage in forests over the past century, current C stocks are increasingly vulnerable to combustion during high-severity wildfire events.…”

“…Increasing the frequency of low-severity wildfires through prescribed fire, cultural burning, and wildfires managed for resource benefits (i.e., managed fires) alongside thinning treatments can reduce severity and spread rate of subsequent fires, decreasing extreme fire behavior by reducing the loading and continuity of fuels available to burn (Cochrane et al, 2012;Fernandes, 2015;Maxwell et al, 2020). This leads to decreased tree mortality (Kalies & Yocom Kent, 2016) and can help sustain ecosystem services such as water supply, wood production, and in some cases C sequestration, at local to regional scales (Chafe et al, 2024). Reintroducing low-severity wildfire in western landscapes could draw upon the long history of frequent prescribed burning in the southeastern United States.…”