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Carbon sequestration and the optimal forest harvest decision: A dynamic programming approach considering biomass and dead organic matter

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  • Asante, Patrick
  • Armstrong, Glen W.
  • Adamowicz, Wiktor L.

Abstract

Carbon sequestration in forests is being considered as a mechanism to slow or reverse the trend of increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We present results from a dynamic programming model used to determine the optimal harvest decision for a forest stand in the boreal forest of western Canada that provides both timber harvest volume and carbon sequestration services. The state of the system at any point in time is described by stand age and the amount of carbon in the dead organic matter pool. Merchantable timber volume and biomass are predicted as a function of stand age. Carbon stocks in the dead organic matter pool changes as a result of decomposition and litterfall. The results of the study indicate that while optimal harvest age is relatively insensitive to carbon stocks in dead organic matter, initial carbon stock levels significantly affect economic returns to carbon management.

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  • Asante, Patrick & Armstrong, Glen W. & Adamowicz, Wiktor L., 2011. "Carbon sequestration and the optimal forest harvest decision: A dynamic programming approach considering biomass and dead organic matter," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 3-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:foreco:v:17:y:2011:i:1:p:3-17
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    1. Holtsmark, Bjart & Hoel, Michael & Holtsmark, Katinka, 2013. "Optimal harvest age considering multiple carbon pools – A comment," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 87-95.
    2. Asante, Patrick & Armstrong, Glen W., 2012. "Optimal forest harvest age considering carbon sequestration in multiple carbon pools: A comparative statics analysis," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 145-156.
    3. An, Hyunjin, 2017. "Forest Carbon Sequestration And Optimal Harvesting Decision Considering Southern Pine Beetle (Spb) Disturbance: A Real Option Approach," Journal of Rural Development/Nongchon-Gyeongje, Korea Rural Economic Institute, vol. 40(Special, ), December.
    4. Yu, Zhihan & Ning, Zhuo & Chang, Wei-Yew & Chang, Sun Joseph & Yang, Hongqiang, 2023. "Optimal harvest decisions for the management of carbon sequestration forests under price uncertainty and risk preferences," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Lin Zhuo & Hong Tao & Hong Wei & Wu Chengzhen, 2016. "Compatible Models of Carbon Content of Individual Trees on a Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in Fujian Province, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Mario C. López-Locés & Roger Z. Ríos-Mercado & Oscar Alberto Aguirre-Calderón & José Luis González-Velarde, 2020. "Towards sustainable timber harvesting of homogeneous stands: dynamic programming in synergy with forest growth simulation," TOP: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 28(3), pages 575-598, October.
    7. Hoel, Michael & Holtsmark, Bjart & Holtsmark, Katinka, 2014. "Faustmann and the climate," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 192-210.
    8. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nghiem, Nhung, 2016. "Optimal forest rotation for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation by farm income levels," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 185-194.
    9. Liu, Weiguo & Wang, Jingxin & Bhattacharyya, Debangsu & Jiang, Yuan & DeVallance, David, 2017. "Economic and environmental analyses of coal and biomass to liquid fuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 76-86.
    10. Vass, Miriam Münnich & Elofsson, Katarina, 2016. "Is forest carbon sequestration at the expense of bioenergy and forest products cost-efficient in EU climate policy to 2050?," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 82-105.
    11. Zhou, Wei & Gao, Lan, 2016. "The impact of carbon trade on the management of short-rotation forest plantations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 30-35.
    12. Dymond, Caren Christine & Giles-Hansen, Krysta & Asante, Patrick, 2020. "The forest mitigation-adaptation nexus: Economic benefits of novel planting regimes," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    13. Couture, Stéphane & Reynaud, Arnaud, 2011. "Forest management under fire risk when forest carbon sequestration has value," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2002-2011, September.
    14. Parajuli, Rajan & Chang, Sun Joseph, 2012. "Carbon sequestration and uneven-aged management of loblolly pine stands in the Southern USA: A joint optimization approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 65-71.
    15. Felardo, Jeff & Lippitt, Christopher D., 2016. "Spatial forest valuation: The role of location in determining attitudes toward payment for ecosystem services policies," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 158-167.
    16. Susaeta, Andres & Adams, Damian C. & Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos, 2017. "Economic vulnerability of southern US slash pine forests to climate change," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 18-32.
    17. Sharma, Bijay P. & Khanna, Madhu & Miao, Ruiqing, 2022. "Designing Efficient Payments to Incentivize GHG Mitigation Using Energy Crops," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322361, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Yu, Jinna & Yao, Shunbo & Zhang, Bisheng, 2014. "Designing afforestation subsidies that account for the benefits of carbon sequestration: A case study using data from China's Loess Plateau," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 65-76.

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