Gary D. Kronrad

The cost of sequestering carbon on private forest lands

Abstract The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its possible greenhouse effect on global climate has become one of todays major environmental issues. Utility/coal companies which produce high levels of carbon dioxide are interested in mitigating their emissions by sequestering carbon in trees. This study proposed to investigate the amount of money that utility companies would have to pay private forest landowners to sequester additional tonnes of carbon in their forests. Analyses were conducted to calculate the annual financial compensation/incentives necessary to (1) compensate forest landowners who apply economically sub-optimal rotations to sequester maximum carbon; or (2) motivate private landowners to convert unstocked lands into productive forest lands to sequester carbon. Biological and financial analyses were conducted using Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) on a range of site indices. Applying the Faustmann formula, the amount of necessary compensation/incentive was calculated as the difference between the soil expectation value (SEV) of the economically optimal rotation and the SEV of the biologically optimal rotation which maximizes mean annual increment (MAI) of sawtimber and, therefore, maximizes carbon stored in the forest and in the long-lived wood products. Results indicate that the carbon sequestration difference between the MAI of the optimal economic rotation and that of the optimal carbon rotation may be up to 0.79 t of carbon per hectare. Planting unstocked land may store an additional 1.03–3.77 t of carbon per hectare per year. The annual compensation values tend to increase as real interest rates increase. The minimum annual compensation is

Economic Analysis of Sequestering Carbon in Green Ash Forests in the Lower Mississippi River Valley

0.84 per hectare using an interest rate of 2.5% on site index 50 land. The maximum annual compensation is

Economic Analysis of Carbon Sequestration in Cherrybark Oak in the United States

72.79 per hectare using an interest rate of 12.5% on site index 90 land. The average costs of sequestering an additional tonne of carbon on lands already intensively managed vary from

The effect of carbon revenues on the rotation and profitability of loblolly pine plantations in East Texas

4.18 to

Financially optimal thinning and final harvest schedules for loblolly pine plantations on nonindustrial private Forestland in East Texas

181.27. The average costs of sequestering an additional tonne of carbon on unstocked land range from

The financially optimal loblolly pine planting density and management regime for nonindustrial private forestland in East Texas

0.74 to

Economic Analyses of Sequestering Carbon in Loblolly Pine, Cherrybark Oak, and Northern Red Oak in the United States

27.32.

Characterizing Fusiform Rust Incidence and Distribution in East Texas

Since the U.S. is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), it has become crucial to develop options that are both cost effective and supportive of sustainable development to reduce atmospheric CO2. Electric utility companies have the options of reducing their use of fossil fuels, switching to alternative energy sources, increasing efficiency, or offsetting carbon emissions. This study determined the cost and profitability of sequestering carbon in green ash plantations, and the number of tons of carbon that can be sequestered. The profitability of green ash is

Economic Analysis of Pruning and Low-Density Management Compared to Traditional Management of Loblolly Pine Plantations in East Texas

2,342 and

Four-year Growth Results from 16 Year Old Intensively Managed Low Density Loblolly Pine Plantations

3,645 per acre on site indices (measurement of soil quality) 65 and 105 land, respectively, calculated with a 2.5% alternative rate of return (ARR). These figures shift to –