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This article looks at a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America detailing a systems approach to evaluate climate change mitigation potential and wildfire outcomes throughout forest management scenarios and various wood products.
Natural carbon sinks can help mitigate climate change, but climate risks—like increased wildfire—threaten forests’ capacity to store carbon. California has recently set ambitious forest management goals to reduce these risks. However, management can incur carbon losses because wood residues are often burnt or left to decay. This study applies a systems approach to assess climate change mitigation potential and wildfire outcomes across forest management scenarios and several wood products. We find that innovative use of wood residues supports extensive wildfire hazard reduction and maximi...