Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Carbon benefits from protected areas in the conterminous United States

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Daolan Zheng; Linda S. Heath; Mark J. Ducey
    Date: 2013
    Source: Carbon Balance and Management. 8(4). 14 p. doi:10.1186/1750-0680-8-4
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Northern Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-0680-8-4
    PDF: View PDF  (2.04 MB)

    Description

    Conversion of forests to other land cover or land use releases the carbon stored in the forests and reduces carbon sequestration potential of the land. The rate of forest conversion could be reduced by establishing protected areas for biological diversity and other conservation goals. The purpose of this study is to quantify the efficiency and potential of forest land protection for mitigating GHG emissions. The estimated carbon benefit from the reduced forest loss based on current protected areas is 7 Tg C/yr, equivalent to the average carbon benefit per year for a previously proposed ten-year $110 million per year tree planting program scenario in the US. If there had been a program that could have reduced forest area loss by 20% in unprotected forestlands during 1992-2001, collectively the benefits from reduced forest loss would be equal to 9.4% of current net forest ecosystem carbon sequestration in the conterminous US.

    Publication Notes

    • Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication.
    • Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat.
    • During the capture process some typographical errors may occur.
    • Please contact Sharon Hobrla, shobrla@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unusable.
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Zheng, Daolan; Heath, Linda S.; Ducey, Mark J. 2013. Carbon benefits from protected areas in the conterminous United States. Carbon Balance and Management. 8(4). doi:10.1186/1750-0680-8-4

    Cited

    Google Scholar

    Keywords

    Afforestation and deforestation, Net deforestation rate, Protected and unprotected forestlands, Forest carbon emissions, Forest carbon sequestration

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/43401