Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Managing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate pp 183–204Cite as

Managing Carbon Sequestration in Tropical Forests

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

This chapter examines how management methods can be implemented to reduce carbon loss and increase carbon storage in tropical forests. Tropical deforestation and degradation are contributing about 15% of total annual global greenhouse gas emissions. As policy makers work to develop solutions that address climate change, there has been considerable focus on incorporating tropical forests into the overall climate solution. Silvicultural practices will need to be an integral part of reducing carbon loss and improving carbon storage if we are to solve this global challenge while meeting resource needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Regeneration refers to treatments that prepare the stand for regeneration and the method of regeneration that promotes or excludes different suites of species.

  2. 2.

    Post establishment refers to treatments done to the stand after successful establishment of regeneration.

References

  • Appanah S, Weinland G (1990) Will the management systems for hill dipterocarp forests stand up? J Trop Forest Sci 3:140–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS (2003) Regeneration methods for dipterocarp forests of wet tropical Asia. For Chron 79:263–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS, Hall JE (2011) The ecology, silviculture, and use of tropical wet forests with special emphasis on timber rich types. In: Gunter S, Mossandl R (eds) Silviculture of tropical forests. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS, Peters C (1999) Even-aged silviculture in mixed moist tropical forests with special reference to Asia: lessons learned and myths perpetuated. J For 97:14–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS, Gunatilleke CVS, Singhakumara BMP, Gunatilleke I (2001a) Restoration pathways for rain forest in southwest Sri Lanka: a review of concepts and models. For Ecol Manag 154:409–430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS, Mendelsohn R, Singhakumara BMP, Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke I, Evans A (2001b) A financial analysis of rain forest silviculture in southwestern Sri Lanka. For Ecol Manag 154:431–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton MS, Singhakumara BMP, Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN (2011) Sustainable forest management for mixed-dipterocarp forests: a case study in southwest Sri Lanka. In: Gunter S, Mossandl R (eds) Silviculture of tropical forests. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Asner GP, Knapp DE, Broadbent EN, Oliveira PJC, Keller M, Silva J (2005) Selective logging in the Brazillian Amazon. Science 310:480–482

    Google Scholar 

  • Asner GP, Rudel TK, Aide TM, DeFries R, Emerson R (2009) A contemporary assessment of change in humid tropical forests. Conserv Biol 23(6):1386–1395

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Asner GP, Loarie SR, Heyder U (2010) Combined effects of climate and land-use change on the future of humid tropical forests. Conserv Lett 3:395–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker TR, Phillips OL, Malhi Y, Almeida S, Arroyo L, Di Fiore A, Erwin T, Killeen TJ, Laurance SG, Laurance WF, Lewis SL, Lloyd J, Monteagudo A, Neill DA, Patino S, Pitman NCA, Silva JNM, Martinez RV (2004) Variation in wood density determines spatial patterns in Amazonian forest biomass. Glob Change Biol 10:545–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertault JG, Sist P (1997) An experimental comparison of different harvesting intensities with reduced-impact and conventional logging in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. For Ecol Manag 94:209–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S, Lugo AE (1990) Tropical secondary forests. J Trop Ecol 6:1–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock SH, Mooney HA, Medina E (1995) Seasonally dry tropical forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York, 450p

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bunker DE, DeClerck F, Bradford JC, Colwell RK, Perfecto I, Phillips OL, Sankaran M, Naeem S (2005) Species loss and above-ground carbon storage in a tropical forest. Science 310:1029–1031

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Canadella JG, Le Quéré C, Raupacha MR, Field CB, Buitenhuis ET, Ciaisf P, Conway TJ, Gillett NP, Houghton RA, Marland G (2007) Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks. PNAS 104(47):18866–18870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chai DNP (1975) Enrichment planting in Sabah. Malays For 38:271–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL (2008) Beyond deforestation: restoring forests and ecosystem services on degraded lands. Science 320:1458–1460

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chomitz KM (2007) At loggerheads: agricultural expansion, poverty reduction, and environment in the tropical forest. A World Bank Report, World Bank, 2007, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark DB (1996) Abolishing virginity. J Trop Ecol 12:755–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper CF (1983) Carbon storage in managed forests. Can J For Res 13:155–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Graaf NR (1986) A silvicultural system for natural regeneration of tropical rain forest in Suriname. Ph.D. thesis, Agricultural University Wageningen, Wageningen, pp 250

    Google Scholar 

  • De Graaf NR, Filius AM, Huesca Santos AR (2003) Financial analysis of sustained forest management for timber: perspectives for application of the CELOS management system in the Brazilian Amazon. For Ecol Manag 177:287–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Madron LD, Forni E (1997) Forest management in East Cameroon. Stand structure and logging periodicity. Bois et Forets des Tropiques 294:39–50

    Google Scholar 

  • DeFries R, Achard F, Brown S, Herold M, Murdiyarso D, Schlamadinger B, de Souza C (2007) Earth observations for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries. Environ Sci Policy 10:385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon RK, Brown S, Houghton RA, Solomon AM, Trexler MC, Wisniewski J (1994) Carbon pools and flux of global forest ecosystems. Science 263:185–190

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Durán-Medina E, Mas J, Velázquez A (2005) Land use/cover change in community-based forest management regions and protected areas in Mexico. In: Bray D, Marino-Pérez L, Barry D (eds) The community forests of Mexico: managing for sustainable landscapes. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp 213–238, 372 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Durst PB, Enters T (2001) Illegal logging and the adoption of reduced impact logging. In: Forest Law Enforcement and Governance: East Asia Regional Ministerial Conference, Denpasar, 2001

    Google Scholar 

  • Dykstra D, Heinrich R (1996) FAO model code of forest harvesting practice. FAO, Rome, 85 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Ediriweeera S, Singhakumara BMP, Ashton MS (2008) Variation in light, soil nutrition and soil moisture in relation to forest structure within a Sri Lankan rain forest landscape. For Ecol Manag 256:1339–1349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside P (1993) Rainforest burning and the global carbon budget: biomass, combustion efficiency, and charcoal formation in the Brazilian Amazon. J Geophys Res 98:16,733–16,743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldpausch TR, Jirka S, Passos CAM, Jaspar F, Rhia S (2005) When big trees fall: damage and carbon export by reduced impact logging in southern Amazonia. For Ecol Manag 219:199–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs HK, Brown S, Niles JO, Foley JA (2007) Monitoring and estimating tropical forest carbon stocks: making REDD a reality. Environ Res Lett 2:045023 (13pp)

    Google Scholar 

  • Griscom B, Ganz D, Virgilio N, Price F, Hayward J, Cortez R, Dodge G, Hurd J, Lowenstein FL, Stanley B (2009) The hidden frontier of forest degradation: a review of the science, policy and practice of reducing degradation emissions. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, 76 pages. Available at: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources/documents/hidden_degradation.pdf. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Griscom HP, Ashton MS (2011) Restoration of dry tropical forests in Central America: a review of pattern and process. For Ecol Manag 261:1564–1579

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN, Esufali S, Harmes KE, Ashton PMS, Burslem DFRP, Ashton PS (2006) Species-habitat associations in a Sri Lankan dipterocarp forest. J Trop Ecol 22:343–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall JS, McKenna JJ, Ashton PMS, Gregoire TG (2004) Habitat characterizations underestimate the role of edaphic factors controlling the distribution of Entandrophragma. Ecology 85:2171–2183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Healey JR, Price C, Tay J (2000) The cost of carbon retention by reduced impact logging. For Ecol Manag 139:237–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzman BA (2008) Tropical forest biomes. Greenwood Press, Westport

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins MS, Graham AW (1983) The species composition of soil seed banks beneath tropical lowland rainforests in north Queensland, Australia. Biotropica 15:90–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton RA (1999) The annual net flux of carbon to the atmosphere from changes in land use 1850–1990. Tellus Ser B Chem Phys Meteorol 51:298–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughell D, Butterfield R (2008). Impact of FSC certification on deforestation and the incidence of wildfires in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Report. Rainforest Alliance. 18 pages. http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/peten_study.pdf. Accessed Oct 2010

  • IPCC (2006) In: Eggleston HS, Buendia L, Miwa K, Ngara T, Tanabe K(eds) IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Hayama

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) In: Core Writing Team, Pachauri RK, Reisinger A (eds) Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPCC, Geneva, 104 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • ITTO (2006) International tropical timber organization status of tropical forest management 2005. Special edition, Tropical Forest Update 1, 35 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns JS, Barreto P, Uhl C (1996) Logging damage during planned and unplanned logging operations in the eastern Amazon. For Ecol Manag 89:59–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jusoff K, Majid NM (1992) An analysis of soil disturbance from logging operation in a hill forest of peninsular Malaysia. For Ecol Manag 47:323–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keith H, MacKey BG, Lindenmayer DB (2009) Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world’s most carbon dense forests. PNAS 106:11635–11640

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Palace M, Asner GP, Pereira R Jr, Silva JNM (2004) Coarse woody debris in undisturbed and logged forests in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. Glob Change Biol 10:784–795

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Asner GP, Blate G, McGlocklin J, Merry F, Pena-Claros M, Zweede J (2007) Timber production in selectively logged tropical forests in South America. Front Ecol Environ 5:213–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby KR, Potvin C (2007) Variation in carbon storage among tree species: implications for the management of a small-scale carbon sink project. For Ecol Manag 246:208–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirilenko AP, Sedjo RA (2007) Climate change impacts on forestry. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:19697–19702

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klassen A (2005a) Planning considerations for reduced impact logging. In: Hasbillah (ed) Prepared for ITTO Project PD 110/01 Rev. 4 (I). Tropical Forest Foundation, Jakarta. http://www.tff-indonesia.org/en/tff-library/technical-procedure-manuals. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Klassen A (2005b) Operational considerations for reduced impact logging. In: Hasbillah (ed) Prepared for ITTO Project PD 110/01 Rev. 4 (I). Tropical Forest Foundation, Jakarta. http://www.tff-indonesia.org/en/tff-library/technical-procedure-manuals. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Klassen A (2006a) Planning, location, survey, construction & maintenance for low-impact forest roads. In: Hasbillah (ed) Prepared for ITTO Project PD 110/01 Rev. 4 (I). Tropical Forest Foundation, Jakarta. http://www.tff-indonesia.org/en/tff-library/technical-procedure-manuals. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Klassen A (2006b) Management considerations for successful implementation of reduced impact logging. In: Hasbillah (ed) Prepared for ITTO Project PD 110/01 Rev. 4 (I). Tropical Forest Foundation, Jakarta. http://www.tff-indonesia.org/en/tff-library/technical-procedure-manuals. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Leigh EG (1999) Tropical forest ecology: a view from Barro Colorado Island. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 245 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Lugo AE, Silver WE, Colon SE (2003) Biomass and nutrient dynamics of restored neotropical forest. Water Air Soil Pollut 4:731–746

    Google Scholar 

  • Malaisse F (1978) The miombo ecosystem. Trop For Ecosyst Nat Resour Res 14:589–606

    Google Scholar 

  • Meggers BJ, Ayensu ES, Duckworth WD (1973) Tropical forest ecosystems in Africa and South America: a comparative review. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Montagnini F, Jordan CF (2005) Tropical forest ecology: the basis for conservation and management. Springer, Berlin/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmiotto PA, Davies SA, Vogt KA, Ashton PMS, Vogt DJ, Ashton PS (2004a) Soil related habitat specialization in dipterocarp rain forest tree species in Borneo. J Ecol 92:609–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmiotto PA, Vogt KA, Ashton PMS, Ashton PS, Vogt DJ, Semui H, Seng LH (2004b) Linking canopy gaps, topography and soils in a tropical rain forest: implications for species diversity. In: Losos E, Leigh R (eds) Forest diversity and dynamism: results from the global network of large-scale demographic plots. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 101–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Pena-Claros M, Fredericksen TS, Alarcon A, Blate GM, Choque U, Leano C, Licona JC, Mostacedo B, Pariona W, Villegas Z, Putz FE (2008a) Beyond reduced-impact logging: silvicultural treatments to increase growth rates of tropical trees. For Ecol Manag 256:1458–1467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pena-Claros M, Peters EM, Justiniano MJ, Bongers F, Blate GM, Fredericksen TS, Putz FE (2008b) Regeneration of commercial tree species following silvicultural treatments in a moist tropical forest. For Ecol Manag 255:1283–1293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira R Jr, Zweede J, Asner GP, Keller M (2002) Forest canopy damage and recovery in reduced-impact and conventional selective logging in eastern Para, Brazil. For Ecol Manag 168:77–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinard MA, Putz FE (1996) Retaining forest biomass by reducing logging damage. Biotropica 29:278–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinard MA, Putz FE, Tay J, Sullivan TE (1995) Creating timber harvest guidelines for a reduced-impact logging project in Malaysia. J For 93:41–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinard MA, Barker MG, Tay J (2000) Soil disturbance and post-logging forest recovery on bulldozer paths in Sabah, Malaysia. For Ecol Manag 130:213–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Pinard MA (1993) Reduced-impact logging as a carbon-offset method. Conserv Biol 7:755–757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Dykstra DP, Heinrich R (2000) Why poor logging practices persist in the tropics. Conserv Biol 14:951–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Sist P, Fredericksen T, Dykstra D (2008a) Reduced-impact logging: challenges and opportunities. For Ecol Manag 256:1427–1433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Zuidema PA, Pinard MA, Boot RGA, Sayer JA, Sheil D, Sist P, Elias, Vanclay JK (2008b) Improved tropical forest management for carbon retention. PLoS Biol 6:1368–1369

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades CC, Eckert GE, Coleman DC (2000) Soil carbon differences among forest, agriculture, and secondary vegetation in lower montane Ecuador. Ecol Appl 10:497–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel DS (1995) Terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon-cycle. Glob Change Biol 1:77–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH (1997) Biogeochemistry: an analysis of global change. Academic Press, Inc, San Diego/London, Illus. Maps, xi  +  443p

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartzman S, Moreira A, Nepstad D (2000) Rethinking tropical forest conservation: perils in parks. Conserv Biol 14:1351–1357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siry J, Cubbage F, Ahmed M (2005) Sustainable forest management: global trends and opportunities. For Policy Econ 7:551–561

    Google Scholar 

  • Sist P, Ferreira FN (2007) Sustainability of reduced-impact logging in the Eastern Amazon. For Ecol Manag 243:199–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sist P, Fimbel R, Sheil D, Nasi R, Chevallier MH (2003) Towards sustainable management of mixed dipterocarp forests of South-east Asia: moving beyond minimum diameter cutting limits. Environ Conserv 30:364–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DM, Larson BC, Kelty MJ, Ashton MS (1997) The practice of silviculture: applied forest ecology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sohngen B, Mendelsohn R (2003) An optimal model of forest carbon sequestration. Am J Agric Econ 85:448–457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornley JHM, Cannell MGR (2000) Managing forests for wood yield and carbon storage: a theoretical study. Tree Physiol 20:477–484

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tropical Forest Foundation (2007) TFF Standard for Reduced Impact Logging (TFF-STD-RIL-2006, V1.1.1). Alexandria. http://www.tff-indonesia.org/images/stories/pustaka/others/STANDARD_FOR_RIL.pdf. Accessed Oct 2010

  • Uhl C, Kauffman JB (1990) Deforestation, fire susceptibility, and potential tree responses to fire in the eastern Amazon. Ecology 71:437–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uhl C, Barreto P, Verissimo A, Vidal E, Amaral P, Barros AC, Souza C Jr, Johns J, Gerwing J (1997) Natural resource management in the Brazilian Amazon. Bioscience 47:160–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USDA (1975) Soil conservation survey-USDA soil taxonomy: a basic system of classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. USDA Agriculture handbook No. 436, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Valle D, Phillips P, Vidal E, Schulze M, Grogan J, Sales M, van Gardingen P (2007) Adaptation of a spatially explicit individual tree-based growth and yield model and long-term comparison between reduced-impact and conventional logging in eastern Amazonia, Brazil. For Ecol Manag 243:187–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Werf GR, Morton DC, DeFries RS, Olivier JGJ, Kasibhatla PS, Jackson RB, Collatz GJ, Randerson JT (2009) CO2 emissions from forest loss. Nat Geosci 2:737–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verissimo A, Barreto P, Mattos M, Tarifa R, Uhl C (1992) Logging impacts and prospects for sustainable forest management in an old Amazonian frontier – the case of Paragominas. For Ecol Manag 55:169–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Sanford RL (1986) Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 17:137–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wadsworth FH, Zweede JC (2006) Liberation: acceptable production of tropical forest timber. For Ecol Manag 233:45–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitmore TC (1990) Tropical forest ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zarin DJ, Schulze MD, Vidal E, Lentini M (2007) Beyond reaping the first harvest: management objectives for timber production in the Brazilian Amazon. Conserv Biol 21:916–925

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 360 Prospect St, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Cecilia Del Cid-Liccardi, Tim Kramer & Mark S. Ashton

  2. Carbon Science Program, The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203, USA

    Bronson Griscom

Authors
  1. Cecilia Del Cid-Liccardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tim Kramer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark S. Ashton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bronson Griscom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark S. Ashton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Forestry and Environmental Stu, Yale University, Prospect St 360, New Haven, 06511, Connecticut, USA

    Mark S. Ashton

  2. , School of Forestry and Environmental Stu, Yale University, Prospect Street 360, New Haven, 06511, Connecticut, USA

    Mary L. Tyrrell

  3. , School of Forestry and Environmental Stu, Yale University, Prospect Street 360, New Haven, 06511, Connecticut, USA

    Deborah Spalding

  4. , School of Forestry and Environmental Stu, Yale University, Prospect Street 360, New Haven, 06511, Connecticut, USA

    Bradford Gentry

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cid-Liccardi, C.D., Kramer, T., Ashton, M.S., Griscom, B. (2012). Managing Carbon Sequestration in Tropical Forests. In: Ashton, M., Tyrrell, M., Spalding, D., Gentry, B. (eds) Managing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2232-3_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation