News Finding: Through efficient harvesting and product use, more CO 2 is saved through the avoided emissions, materials, and wood energy than is lost from the harvested forest.
Paper Finding: Wood harvested to create the open and savanna structures can be used for construction products and wood energy and to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires-all of which save CO 2 and FF.
News Context: Wood-based construction consumes much less energy than concrete or steel construction. Through efficient harvesting and product use, more CO 2 is saved through the avoided emissions, materials, and wood energy than is lost from the harvested forest. "This study shows still another reason to appreciate forests -- and another reason to not let them be permanently cleared for agriculture," said Chadwick Oliver, the Pinchot Professor of Forestry and Environmental Studies, director of the Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry at F&ES and lead author of the new study.
Paper Context: Maximum forest carbon will not create maximum biodiversity since savanna, open, and dense structures sequester less CO 2 than understory and complex ones. Wood harvested to create the open and savanna structures can be used for construction products and wood energy and to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires-all of which save CO 2 and FF. When regrowth after harvest is considered, even wood harvested just for energy (energy pathway) can be more efficient for CO 2 sequestration than not harvesting the forest and using FF for energy.