Adding Tree Rings to North America's National Forest Inventories: An Essential Tool to Guide Drawdown of Atmospheric CO2

Margaret E.K. Evans, R. Justin Derose, Stefan Klesse, Martin P. Girardin, Kelly A. Heilman, M. Ross Alexander, Andre Arsenault, Flurin Babst, Mathieu Bouchard, Sean M.P. Cahoon, Elizabeth M. Campbell, Michael Dietze, Louis Duchesne, David C. Frank, Courtney L. Giebink, Armando Gómez-Guerrero, Genaro Gutierrez García, Edward H. Hogg, Juha Metsaranta, Clementine OlsShelly A. Rayback, Anya Reid, Martin Ricker, Paul G. Schaberg, John D. Shaw, Patrick F. Sullivan, Sergio Armando Villela Gaytán

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tree-ring time series provide long-term, annually resolved information on the growth of trees. When sampled in a systematic context, tree-ring data can be scaled to estimate the forest carbon capture and storage of landscapes, biomes, and-ultimately-the globe. A systematic effort to sample tree rings in national forest inventories would yield unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution of forest carbon dynamics and help resolve key scientific uncertainties, which we highlight in terms of evidence for forest greening (enhanced growth) versus browning (reduced growth, increased mortality). We describe jump-starting a tree-ring collection across the continent of North America, given the commitments of Canada, the United States, and Mexico to visit forest inventory plots, along with existing legacy collections. Failing to do so would be a missed opportunity to help chart an evidence-based path toward meeting national commitments to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, urgently needed for climate stabilization and repair.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)233-246
Number of pages14
JournalBioScience
Volume72
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2022

Keywords

  • Carbon accounting
  • Carbon sinks
  • National forest inventory
  • Negative emissions technologies
  • Tree rings

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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