Nov 13 2018
Since forests are capable of storing substantial amounts of carbon, both in the soil and the trees, restoration of degraded forests is an important strategy for dealing with climate change.
However, while extensive efforts are being made to restore streamside forests around the world, researchers often overlook the potential carbon storage benefits of these forests.
Now researchers, from Point Blue Conservation Science and Santa Clara University and headed by Dr. Kristen Dybala, have compiled carbon storage data from 117 reports, publications, and other data sets on streamside forests worldwide. This is the first-of-its-kind analysis to assess the universal results on the carbon storage potential of streamside forests.
The researchers discovered that in mature streamside forests, the average amount of carbon stored rivals the highest estimates for any other type of forest across the globe, for example, boreal or tropical forests. While these estimates differ based on climate, it was observed that the average values in the case of mature streamside forests range between 168 and 390 tons of carbon per acre in the trees alone. The team also discovered that, on average, soil carbon can be anticipated to increase more than three times when transforming to a mature streamside forest from an unforested site. Conversely, as with other types of forests, it can take many years for these changes to occur into full effect, on the order of more than 115 years for soil carbon and 40 to 90 years for the carbon stored in trees (based on climate).
One of the most important things we found was that actively restoring forests by planting trees jump-starts this process. If you look at two forests, one planted and one regenerating naturally, the restored forest gains carbon in the trees at more than twice the rate of the naturally regenerating forests over the first ten years. After that point, however, the total amount of carbon stored is comparable.
Dr. Kristen Dybala, Point Blue Conservation Science.
This latest discovery reinforces the importance of restoring degraded streamside forests as a means to mitigate climate change.
Globally, streamside ecosystems have been adversely degraded, and their restoration on a larger scale has become important in the majority of places, such as Brazil and California's Central Valley. The restoration of these ecosystems can benefit the habitat for fish and wildlife, water quality, and recreational opportunities like wildlife watching and fishing that help in supporting local economies. These latest results highlight the significant additional advantage of carbon storage, which should boost the importance of maintaining and restoring streamside forests.
In the future, new funding sources and tools are evolving to plan and implement effective restorations of streamside forests. As part of the Bonn Challenge—a global commitment to restore forests as a climate mitigation strategy—countries across the globe have pledged to restore the degraded forests.
As these countries strive to meet their goals, we hope restoring streamside forests will be a key part of their strategy.
Dr. Kristen Dybala, Point Blue Conservation Science.