More Logging May Better Serve the Climate in Snowy Areas

It may seem counterintuitive, but logging could help serve the climate more in some locations. Scientists have discovered that replacing forests with snow-covered meadows may just provide greater climactic and economic benefits, which could lead to new methods to help restore climate stability.

Climate change mitigation projects, such as the Kyoto Protocol, encourage reforestation. Forests take up carbon dioxide and thus help reduce the carbon load in the atmosphere. Yet previous studies have suggested the cooling aspect of surface albedo could counterbalance the benefits of forest growth. In order to understand which benefits were greater, the researchers used models.

The scientists placed an economic value on timber through wood prices as well as on albedo and carbon by using a model called an integrated-assessment tool. The researchers then examined the potential impact of these values on hardwood and softwood forest rotations in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. A rotation period begins when new trees are planted and ends when most of the trees are harvested.

So what did they find? It turns out that the value of albedo can shorten optimal forest rotation periods significantly compared to scenarios where only timber and carbon are considered. For example, in spruce and fir stands, very short rotation periods of 25 years become economically optimal when albedo is considered. This is possibly due to the low timber productivity and substantial snowfall in the White Mountain National Forest.

The findings mean that in high latitude sites, where snowfall is common and forest productivity is low, valuing albedo may mean the optimal forest size is near zero. This, in turn, means that in some areas it's best to not have any trees present or to have frequently logging or deforestation activities in those areas.

The new research could mean that new policies should be put in place in order to better impact climate. The fact that snow cover can reflect sunlight means that by leaving an area forest-free, some areas can better serve the local conditions.

The findings will be presented Dec. 12^th at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting in San Francisco.