Carbon protection and fire risk reduction: Toward a full accounting of forest carbon offsets

Management of forests for carbon uptake is an important tool in the effort to slow the increase in atmospheric CO₂ and global warming. However, some current policies governing forest carbon credits actually promote avoidable CO₂ release and punish actions that would increase long-term carbon storage. In fire-prone forests, management that reduces the risk of catastrophic carbon release resulting from stand-replacing wildfire is considered to be a CO₂ source, according to current accounting practices, even though such management may actually increase long-term carbon storage. Examining four of the largest wildfires in the US in 2002, we found that, for forest land that experienced catastrophic stand-replacing fire, prior thinning would have reduced CO₂ release from live tree biomass by as much as 98%. Altering carbon accounting practices for forests that have historically experienced frequent, low-severity fire could provide an incentive for forest managers to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire and associated large carbon release events.