Last reviewed on December 7, 2011

Climate Change and Forestry in California

Background

The goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) have focused renewed attention on California forests and the role they play in the carbon cycle. There is a need to understand how much carbon dioxide California forests are currently producing and sequestering, and how much they could sequester in the future. There is also a need to understand how management practices could potentially increase carbon sequestration and decrease greenhouse gas loss without compromising the host of other ecosystem functions forest provide, including climate regulation, protection of air and water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, recreation and other quality of life attributes for human populations.

ARB Forest-related Activities

Forest Emissions Inventory

The ARB's forest sector greenhouse gas inventory includes CO₂ uptake and greenhouse gas emissions from wild and prescribed fires, the decomposition and combustion of residues from harvest and conversion/development, and wood products decomposition.

Interagency Forestry Working Group (IFWG)

The Interagency Forestry Working Group will provide recommendations and technical information to assist the Board of Forestry in achieving the goals and objectives in the ARB's Scoping Plan.

ARB held a Forest Inventory Symposium on October 19, 2009. Here is the Symposium agenda which contains links to the speakers' presentations. The presentations are also available below, by presenter name.

Compliance Offset Protocols: U.S. Forest Projects and Urban Forest Projects

ARB GHG Compliance Offset Protocols for U.S. forest projects and Urban Forest Projects are now available from the Cap & Trade Program.

For general questions regarding Climate Change and Forestry, please contact: Webster Tasat, Manager, Emission Inventory Analysis Section, Phone: (916) 323-4950