Burning Forests for Better Carbon Credits
When people are asked what a healthy forest in the American West looks like, most might describe a landscape teeming with trees, so dense that all you see is green. This is a relatively recent development, however, and for all of history prior to European colonization, this land looked a lot different.
The megafires we’re seeing today are primarily being driven by overgrown forests. In fact, climate change may only be responsible for 20%-25% of the problem [source]. As a result of centuries of fire suppression, more plants are able to grow, forming a densely packed clump of biomass. With so many plants drinking from the water table, it begins to drop, drying out those same plants even more than they would be in their historically dry climates. Under these conditions and a little bit of wind, fires can rip through forests faster than a person can run, incinerating everything from the treetops to the organic soil under the ground. These fires severely impact the forest’s ability to regenerate and negatively affect surrounding ecosystems by cutting off habitat corridors. Additionally, through decomposition and slow regeneration, these fires cause the land to become net sources of carbon for years without extensive rehabilitation [source].
That’s not to say all fires are bad, though. For thousands of years prior to European colonization, Yosemite was a mosaic of meadows and sparse stands of trees. Harmful wildfires would have been rare and biodiversity was rich. This was mainly thanks to the Southern Sierra Miwok letting lightning fires run their course and intentionally lighting fires for cultural purposes. The use of intentional fire is a critical tool for reducing the impact of the wildfires we’re seeing today. Ecologically-minded selective tree thinning is also important for restoring forest habitat. Forests in the Sierra Nevada range, for example, need to be thinned by up to as much as 80% to be resilient to wildfires [source]. Well managed forests ultimately store carbon that is much more likely to remain sequestered despite worsening climate effects [source].
Prescribed burning in dry forests should be a necessary component in ensuring carbon market projects are high-quality and high-integrity. An ideal solution could be that projects in dry forests can claim initial carbon storage via selective thinning and pyrolysis. Through the duration of the project, trees can be thinned as needed to maintain balance and further remove carbon. Carbon can be listed on the market as realized stored carbon with each harvest, ensuring that carbon truly is sequestered. Cultural practices, like fire and plant harvesting, can restore biodiversity, while prescribed fire can keep undergrowth managed on projects where cultural fire can’t be maintained for whatever reason. Restored biodiversity can be listed as biodiversity credits, further increasing conservation and restoration cash flows while preserving ecosystem integrity.
Much of the traditional ecological knowledge that came from this land has been lost through centuries of colonization. Add in climate change and unprecedented habitat loss and fragmentation and we come to a point where everyone stands to benefit from each other’s knowledge. Restoration and biodiversity targets should be established through a sharing of ecological discoveries and rediscoveries by Indigenous peoples, landowners, and scientists alike.
The carbon market is suffering from a quality and integrity issue [source]. Projects on the carbon market that ignore the needs of the land and the rights of Indigenous people ultimately lack the quality and integrity any buyers should expect. If the carbon market wants to foster trust, holistic land management must be woven into each verified project.
Author's Bio: Robert Hess is a dedicated sustainability professional with deep roots in fire management. 🌿 After growing up doing pile burns on his family’s property in Lake County — later impacted by the Valley Fire — Robert developed a passion for wildfire management and land stewardship. He recently earned his FFT2 certification with the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance and is putting "good fire" back on the ground in California.
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