Written by Alexi Lovechio on February 27, 2023

What are Natural Climate Solutions?

KS Wild’s Climate Program is busy at work advancing natural climate solutions. We are a member of the State of Oregon’s Natural and Working Lands Advisory Committee and are supporting legislative efforts that would create natural climate solutions policy. But what exactly are natural climate solutions and how would they help protect areas we care about in the Klamath-Siskiyou? 

Industry Forest and Carbon

There are several million acres of privately owned industrial forests in and adjacent to the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Changes in how these forests are managed could meaningfully increase how much carbon is stored in natural and working lands. We’ve known for decades that industrial logging emits carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change. Densely packed industrial forests are also vulnerable to high severity fire and other stressors, and they are less biologically diverse than native forests. What could be done to promote greater carbon storage on industrial forests? 

First, the timber industry can increase what is called the logging “rotation” or the length of time between the logging of an area. When trees are grown as a crop of timber, they are often logged as quickly as they reach a size where they can be made into lumber. Waiting longer before logging can greatly increase the carbon storage on the landscape. Second, instead of clearcut logging, we can retain more trees. Logging projects that leave a substantial number of trees in the forest retain the carbon in those trees, reducing the impacts (and carbon lost) of the logging operation. 

On public forests, protecting mature and old-growth forests and trees should be top priority. Old forests in the Pacific Northwest store more carbon than nearly any other ecosystem. The older trees are also more fire resistant and can mitigate the impacts of climate change-induced stress on the forest ecosystem. We should be carrying out restoration and fire resilience work, especially prescribed fire in forests that are adapted to frequent wildfires. While prescribed fire can emit carbon dioxide, it can restore forest resilience and ensure that fire-prone forests are best adapted to climate change and catastrophic wildfire.

What about tree planting?

Trees do absorb carbon and release oxygen, so more trees is always better, right? Not always, it turns out. Planting trees where there are currently none is called afforestation, and it is not always a great idea. In fact, some of the landscapes most vulnerable to stress from climate change and uncharacteristically severe wildfire are densely planted tree plantations. Other areas, such as natural meadows, grasslands, and wetlands, can’t support trees and are better left alone.  

Areas that once had forests and have been converted to non-forest uses, such as farm fields, are good candidates for reforestation and that can help store more carbon in trees. Other areas, such as along stream sites where forests have been removed, also offer great opportunities to restore forests, increase carbon storage, and enhance stream health. 

Keeping forests as forests

Perhaps most importantly, we need to recognize that forests hold more carbon than nearly any other land type, so we need to protect our forests. Many forests have been converted to other uses, such as agriculture or development. Preventing the conversion of forests will help store more carbon over time. 

Through regulatory changes, financial incentives, and community-based forestry, we can help ensure that forests are a natural climate solution and not further contributing to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.