Coastal forest management options affect both carbon and water resources
Loblolly pine forests in the southern U.S. are the ‘world’s wood baskets’, benefiting local economies, people and the environment at large. Long-term monitoring of the full rotation of pine plantations reveals that forest carbon and water cycles are tightly coupled. Growing plantation forests on the coastal plains with multi-age stands optimizes water supply and carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services at the landscape level.
Loblolly pine plantations are a major economic component in the southern U.S. region while providing a variety of ecological services to people such as timber supply, clean water, carbon sequestration, and wildlife habitat. Since 2005, USDA Forest Service scientists and partners have been conducting a series of long-term studies to understand ecosystem responses to forest change on the lower coastal plain of North Carolina. Using advanced hydrometric methods, the scientists have studied energy, water, and carbon budgets at loblolly pine plantations representing various stages of forest growth.
The researchers have found that forest carbon and water are tightly coupled under variable climatic conditions. Managed pine forests were carbon sources at a young age, but turned to net carbon sinks (storing more carbon than they lose) around year ten. Forest water use increased dramatically from tree planting but stabilized when trees were around 10-15 years old. Findings suggest that a mosaic of forest stands of different ages will minimize the negative impacts of forest harvesting on runoff and carbon emission and maximize the overall benefits of pine forests at the landscape scale. This research provides new knowledge about how forest management options mitigate greenhouse gas emission and runoff in managed forest landscapes
Pictured: Meteorology instruments installed on an eddy flux tower to measure carbon and water cycles in a pine plantation forest on the coastal plain in North Carolina. USDA Forest Service image.
