Forest carbon storage: ecology, management, and policy

The objective of this review is to give ecologists and policy makers a better understanding of forest carbon dynamics and recent policy and management activities in this arena. The ecology of forest carbon is well understood, but measurement and projection of carbon sequestration at small scales can be costly. Some forest management activities qualify as offsets in various carbon markets. To promote wider use, a system is needed that will provide inexpensive and standardized approaches to forest carbon accounting that are not prone to dishonest handling. The prospects are fairly promising for development of such a system, but first, technical and organizational constraints must be overcome. In contrast, the benefits – in terms of greenhouse‐gas reduction – of substituting wood for other building materials, and in displacing fossil fuel energy, could be realized immediately, if standards for calculations can be developed.