 |
|
Incentives for carbon sequestration may not protect species
July 08, 2008CORVALLIS, Ore. - Paying rural landowners in Oregon's Willamette Basin to protect at-risk animals won't necessarily mean that their newly conserved trees and plants will absorb more carbon from the atmosphere and vice versa, a new study has found.
The study, to be published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed hypothetical payments that were given to landowners to voluntarily take their acreage out of production for conservation. Scenarios conserving different types of land were also developed. The study then examined the relationship between the absorption of carbon, a contributor to global warming, by trees and plants and the protection of 37 different types of animals under each of these scenarios and payment schemes.
"The main thing we found is that if you want to conserve species, that policy might not be compatible with carbon sequestration," said co-author Andrew Plantinga, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Oregon State University. "On the other hand, if you want to get carbon out of the atmosphere, it's not clear that will be good for species."
He and seven others wrote the report: "Efficiency of Incentives to Jointly Increase Carbon Sequestration and Species Conservation on a Landscape."
The take-home message, he said, is this: "When you think about policies targeted to private landowners, government has to be careful about how it does this because it may achieve one objective but at the expense of something else."
The researchers created five scenarios in which different types of land were taken out of production in the Willamette Basin, which consists of a flat valley floor and the surrounding forested Coast and Cascade ranges. They applied three different budgets to each scenario. In the first budget, an entity (for example, the government or a land trust) had $1 million to give to landowners each year. The other annual budgets were for $5 million and $10 million.
In the first scenario, all landowners were eligible for the financial incentives. The result was that the precarious animals, which excluded fish and insects, increased as much or more than they did in the four other scenarios. Also, the amount of atmospheric carbon was about the same as it would have been if the landowner hadn't accepted payment.
In the second scenario, only land whose natural state is prairie, oak savanna, wetland or late-succession conifer forest was eligible for the money. The result was that species increased but in one model, the carbon level decreased from what it would have been without the financial inducement.
In the third scenario, only owners who can significantly increase the forest coverage on their land were eligible for the incentive payments. Consequently, the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere increased but the at-risk animals hardly increased, and in one model they even decreased.
In the fourth scenario, only land dense with streams was eligible for payments. There was a negligible increase in species and carbon sequestration.
In the last scenario, payments were given to parcels deemed important for the conservation of terrestrial vertebrate species in the basin. The animals increased but carbon stayed about the same.
Based on these findings, the study concluded that the conservation of species generally is maximized when landowners who accept financial incentives restore habitats that are relatively rare on the current landscape. Carbon sequestration, on the other hand, is maximized when landowners who accept payments restore forests.
Oregon State University
He and seven others wrote the report: "Efficiency of Incentives to Jointly Increase Carbon Sequestration and Species Conservation on a Landscape."
The take-home message, he said, is this: "When you think about policies targeted to private landowners, government has to be careful about how it does this because it may achieve one objective but at the expense of something else."
The researchers created five scenarios in which different types of land were taken out of production in the Willamette Basin, which consists of a flat valley floor and the surrounding forested Coast and Cascade ranges. They applied three different budgets to each scenario. In the first budget, an entity (for example, the government or a land trust) had $1 million to give to landowners each year. The other annual budgets were for $5 million and $10 million.
In the first scenario, all landowners were eligible for the financial incentives. The result was that the precarious animals, which excluded fish and insects, increased as much or more than they did in the four other scenarios. Also, the amount of atmospheric carbon was about the same as it would have been if the landowner hadn't accepted payment.
In the second scenario, only land whose natural state is prairie, oak savanna, wetland or late-succession conifer forest was eligible for the money. The result was that species increased but in one model, the carbon level decreased from what it would have been without the financial inducement.
In the third scenario, only owners who can significantly increase the forest coverage on their land were eligible for the incentive payments. Consequently, the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere increased but the at-risk animals hardly increased, and in one model they even decreased.
In the fourth scenario, only land dense with streams was eligible for payments. There was a negligible increase in species and carbon sequestration.
In the last scenario, payments were given to parcels deemed important for the conservation of terrestrial vertebrate species in the basin. The animals increased but carbon stayed about the same.
Based on these findings, the study concluded that the conservation of species generally is maximized when landowners who accept financial incentives restore habitats that are relatively rare on the current landscape. Carbon sequestration, on the other hand, is maximized when landowners who accept payments restore forests.
Oregon State University
Carbon Sequestration Current Events and Carbon Sequestration News RSSWorld will miss 2010 target to stem biodiversity loss, experts say
The world will miss its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, according to experts convening in Cape Town for a landmark conference devoted to biodiversity science.
First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification opens in Argentina
As climate change negotiators continue to skirt the role of agricultural land use in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, top scientists working on land management in the world's vast dry areas will gather this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, determined to make the case that thwarting desertification in drylands is viable and also critical to the success of a new climate deal.
Exotic timber plantations found to use more than twice the water of native forests
Ecologists have discovered that timber plantations in Hawaii use more than twice the amount of water to grow as native forests use.
New genomic model defines microbes by diet -- provides tool for tracking environmental change
In line with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) interest in characterizing the biotic factors involved in global carbon cycling, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) characterizes a diverse array of plants, microorganisms, and the communities in which they reside to inform options for reducing and stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Scientists say climate change mitigation strategies ignore carbon cycling processes of inland waters
In the paper, The Boundless Carbon Cycle, published in the September issue of Nature Geoscience, scientists from the University of Vienna, Uppsala University in Sweden, University of Antwerp, and the U.S. based Stroud™ Water Research Center argue that current international strategies to mitigate manmade carbon emissions and address climate change have overlooked a critical player - inland waters.
Researchers link jellyfish, other small sea creatures to large-scale ocean mixing
The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered.
Forest fire prevention efforts will lessen carbon sequestration, add to greenhouse warming
Widely sought efforts to reduce fuels that increase catastrophic fire in Pacific Northwest forests will be counterproductive to another important societal goal of sequestering carbon to help offset global warming.
Scientists track chemical changes in cells as they endure extreme conditions
One of nature's most gripping feats of survival is now better understood. For the first time, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed the chemical changes in individual cells that enable them to survive conditions that should kill them.
Pacific Northwest forests could store more carbon, help address greenhouse issues
The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed primarily for that purpose through timber harvest reductions and increased rotation ages.
A new approach to engineering for extreme environments
Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking composites to the nanoscale, where entirely new properties, not found in any of the original compounds, can emerge.
More Carbon Sequestration Current Events and Carbon Sequestration News Articles
 |
Carbon Capture and Sequestration Integrating Technology, Monitoring, Regulation by Elizabeth Wilson (Editor), David Gerard (Editor) This book is the first systematic presentation of the technical, legal, and economic forces that must coalesce to deploy carbon dioxide capture and geologic sequestration as a viable technology within a larger carbon dioxide reduction strategy. It synthesizes key engineering data and explains the technological, regulatory, and legal conditions that must be in place for carbon sequestration to be deployed. The book offers a system of carbon management that takes into account regulation, cost, risk analysis, and geological science. The practical information in this book is designed for individuals who need to understand the requirements for achieving carbon dioxide reduction through carbon capture and sequestration technologies. |
 |
2009 Complete Guide to Carbon Sequestration Research, Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies to Fight Global Warming and Control Greenhouse Gases, Government Research Programs (CD-ROM) by U.S. Government (Author) This comprehensive electronic book on CD-ROM provides an up-to-date review of all aspects of carbon sequestration, carbon capture and storage technologies from the Federal Government! To retain fossil fuels as a viable world energy source, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies must play a central role. By cost-effectively capturing CO2 before it is emitted to the atmosphere and then permanently storing or sequestering it, fossil fuels can be used in a carbon constrained world and without constraining economic growth. Absent binding constraints, CO2 emissions in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries which include the United States, most of Europe, Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Japan are expected to increase at about 1.1 percent per year through... |
 |
Geological Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide, Volume 11: Thermodynamics, Kinetics, and Reaction Path Modeling (Developments in Geochemistry) by Luigi Marini (Author) The contents of this monograph are two-scope. First, it intends to provide a synthetic but complete account of the thermodynamic and kinetic foundations on which the reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration is based. In particular, a great effort is devoted to review the thermodynamic properties of CO2 and of the CO2-H2O system and the interactions in the aqueous solution, the thermodynamic stability of solid product phases (by means of several stability plots and activity plots), the volumes of carbonation reactions, and especially the kinetics of dissolution/precipitation reactions of silicates, oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates. Second, it intends to show the reader how reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration is carried out. To this purpose the... |
 |
Soil Carbon Sequestration and the Greenhouse Effect, 2nd edition by Rattan Lai (Author), Ronald F. Follett (Author) |
 |
60 Minutes - Powered by Coal (April 26, 2009) Airdate 4/26/09 Coal is America's cheapest and most abundant fossil fuel, and it generates nearly half the electricity on earth. But coal is also one of the most polluting sources of energy, and its carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to global warming. Is clean coal possible? If so, can coal emission be eliminated before it's too late to undo the damage to the planet? Scott Pelley reports. This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply. |
 |
Coal & Nuclear: Problem or Solution? Also With: PBS (Producer) |
 |
Carbon Sequestration in Forest Ecosystems by Klaus Lorenz (Author), Rattan Lal (Author) Carbon Sequestration in Forest Ecosystems is a comprehensive book describing the basic processes of carbon dynamics in forest ecosystems, their contribution to carbon sequestration and implications for mitigating abrupt climate change. This book provides the information on processes, factors and causes influencing carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. Drawing upon most up-to-date references, this book summarizes the current understanding of carbon sequestration processes in forest ecosystems while identifying knowledge gaps for future research, Thus, this book is a valuable knowledge source for students, scientists, forest managers and policy makers. |
 |
Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low-Carbon Economy: How to Create, Measure, and Verify Greenhouse Gas Offsets by Zach Willey (Editor), Bill Chameides (Editor) As the United States moves to a low-carbon economy in order to combat global warming, credits for reducing carbon dioxide emissions will increasingly become a commodity that is bought and sold on the open market. Farmers and other landowners can benefit from this new economy by conducting land management practices that help sequester carbon dioxide, creating credits they can sell to industry to “offset” industrial emissions of greenhouse gases. This guide is the first comprehensive technical publication providing direction to landowners for sequestering carbon and information for traders and others who will need to verify the sequestration. It will provide invaluable direction to farmers, foresters, land managers, consultants, brokers, investors, regulators, and others... |
 |
21st Century Essential Guide to Carbon Sequestration: Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Dioxide Capture and Pollution Control to Prevent Global Warming, Coal Power Plant Research (CD-ROM) by U.S. Government (Author) This unique electronic book on two CD-ROMs has the finest collection of federal documents and resources available anywhere about carbon sequestration, capturing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants to help prevent global warming from greenhouse gases. The Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) manages laboratory and field R&D focused on technologies with great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and controlling global climate change. Most efforts focus on capturing carbon dioxide from large stationary sources such as power plants, and sequestering it using geologic, terrestrial ecosystem, or oceanic approaches. Control of fugitive methane emissions is also addressed. Carbon sequestration work directly implements the President's... |
 |
Economics of Carbon Sequestration in Forestry (Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology) by Roger A. Sedjo (Editor), R. Neil Sampson (Editor), Joe. Wisniewski (Editor) Since the 1992 Earth Summit, there have been increased efforts on an international scale to address global climate change. Reducing the increased levels of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases," which are believed to be contributing to this climatic change, will require major effort on the part of the world's governments. This means that the environmental, economic, social, and political consequences of climate change must be understood, and that strategies to mitigate climate change must also address these issues.The workshop detailed in this book concentrated on how economic principles and analysis could contribute to the planning of forestry projects aimed at affecting terrestrial carbon balances. More than 30 international scientists came together for one week near Stockholm, Sweden and... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |