minnesota north woods carbon partnership: cass and aitkin county land departments case study
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by John Gunn, Senior Program Leader, Manomet CCenter for Conservation Sciences, at the Blandin Foundation sponsored Forest Values and Carbon Markets: Opportunities for Minnesota conference. February 25-26, 2009 at the Cloquet Forestry Center, Cloquet MNTRANSCRIPT
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John Gunn, Ph.D.Senior Program Leader
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences
Brunswick, Maine
26 February 200804/10/23 1
Minnesota North Woods Carbon Partnership: Cass and Aitkin County Land Departments Case Study
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Project IntentUnderstand the implications of Forest Carbon
Offset Markets for managed forests in MinnesotaCreate a structure to evaluate forest carbon
stocks under existing Forest Carbon Offset Standards
Evaluate Potential of Payments for other Ecosystem Services in the North Woods
Today – present results for Aitkin and Cass County Land Department Forest Carbon Analysis under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)
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Carbon offset market landscapeMarkets & Registries (Regulatory and
Voluntary)Standards, Protocols, & RulesPrimary Pathways Relevant to North
American forest owners:Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) California Climate Action Registry (CCAR)Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)
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Basic Elements of the Major Forest Carbon Offset Standards
Standard Baseline Additionality Permanence
CCX Base Year =Growth – Harvest 15 years
VCS 5-10 Years Prior
Practices Permanent
CCAR Regulatory Practices Perm. Easement
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CCX (a) vs. VCS (b) Additionality
=“improved” forest management category
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Process1. VCS
a) Derive VCS Baseline (BAU) from ACLD/CCLD Tactical Plans, and harvest and inventory data
b) Work with LDs to determine where opportunities exist for “improved forest management (IFM)” practices
c) Model impacts of management changes on carbon stocks
d) Calculate eligible carbon: Alternate IFM minus BAU residual carbon stocks
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Process2. CCX
a) Evaluate growth models and inventory protocols (against CCX requirements) used to generate Baseline data and net growth calculations for CCX scenario
b) Determine eligible CO2e volume (above ground and live below ground net change converted to CO2 equivalent) in forest stands over time
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“Improved” Forest Management Options Extended rotation lengths (10-15 years)
Increase average stand age on landscapeEnhances structural complexity (larger and more
debris associated with harvesting)Reduces frequency of harvesting emissions
through disturbanceFuels reduction to minimize risk of catastrophic fireReduced Impact Logging
Minimize soil disturbance through shifting more harvests to frozen conditions
Minimize damage to residual stand (reduce mortality, maintain vigor)
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Management Options (cont.)
Create Late-Successional/Old-Growth reservesOr reserves with other objectives
Increase stand-level retention practices (residual BA)Patches or dispersed live trees (Legacies)Dead standing, CWDIncreased riparian buffer widths
Reduce acreage of higher intensity silvicultural practices 10
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BAU and Alternate Harvest Intensity Summary CCLD Harvest Intensity Summary (% of total annual harvest) 2008-2018
Harvest Intensity BAU Alternate High 59% 51%
Medium 29% 29%
Low 12% 20% ACLD Harvest Intensity Summary (% of total annual harvest)
Historical 2008-2018
Harvest Intensity 1999-2007 BAU Alternate High 44% 56% 43%
Medium 17% 7% 10%
Low 38% 37% 47%
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BAU and Alternate Residual Basal Area (RBA) Following Treatment (ft.2 per acre) Treatment Intensity Class Treatment Type Mean BAU RBA Alternate RBA
High Clearcut (RBA 0-19) 8 10
Med Partial Harvest (RBA 20-49) 34 34
Low Select/Thin (RBA 50+) 79 79
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FVS Carbon ModuleCarbon Submodel of the Fire
and Fuels ExtensionLake States Variant (individual
tree model) – approved by CCXCSA GIS Inventory Data from
CCLD and ACLD (used subset of 30% of total acreage in models)
Uses accepted forest carbon assumptions (Smith et al. 2006, Jenkins et al. 2003)
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FVS Fuels and Fire Extension – Carbon SubmodelStand Carbon Stocks are calculated and reported
for:Total aboveground live CBelowground live CStanding Dead CDown Dead CForest Floor CHerbs and Shrubs CTotal Removed C
Disposition of Carbon in Harvested Wood Products
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Eligible PoolsCategory Carbon PoolAbove Ground: Living
Tree biomass
Shrubs and Herbaceous Understory
Above Ground:Dead
Standing Dead Coarse and Fine Woody MaterialLitter
Below Ground Soil organic
Live RootsOff-site Wood
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Total Metric Tons of Carbon (aboveground and belowground live) for Aitkin and Cass County Land Departments
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1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Year
MT
C ACLD (Total MTC)CCLD (Total MTC)
Mean Net Annual Change:
ACLD = -63,717 MTC
CCLD = -97,052 MTC
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Summary of Annual Residual Live Carbon (aboveground and belowground) in BAU vs. Alternate (ALT) Harvest Scenarios
County
BAU Residual Live Carbon Biomass (MTC)
ALT Residual Live Carbon Biomass (MTC)
VCS Eligible Carbon ALT – BAU (MTC)
ACLD 43,846
50,016 6,169 (~1.6 MTC/ac./year)
CCLD 45,262
51,947 6,685(~1.5 MTC/ac./year)
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Eligible Carbon SummaryCounty CCX Eligible
MTCO2e (annual)
CCX Potential Revenue (annual)$2.00/MTCO2e
ACLD Eligible MTCO2e (annual)
ACLD Potential Revenue (annual)$4.00 - $6.00/MTCO2e
CCLD -97,052 MTC or -355,889 MTCO2e
NA 6,685 MTC – or 24,516 MTCO2e
$98,064 – $147,096
ACLD -63,717 MTC or -233,650 MTCO2e
NA 6,169 MTC – or 22,624 MTCO2e
$90,496 - $135,744
NOTE: 1 MT Carbon =3.667 MTCO2 equivalent (MTCO2e)Source: US EPA
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Notes on Results - CCXArea Regulation (harvest target acres instead
of target volume) for Desired Future Condition perhaps not suited for Base Year approach
Once age classes become more regulated, might be more opportunities for credit
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Notes on Results - VCSImpact of modifying Residual Basal Area was
minimalThe harvest intensity shift was conservative – but
we now have a spreadsheet calculator tool to evaluate other scenarios
Carbon stocks within expected range (e.g., Smith et al. 2006)
ACLD and CCLD already practicing FSC-certified management – not much room to alter current practices
VCS is considering standards-based methodologies for IFM
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Next StepsEvaluate Product Fate and Economic Impacts
of Forgone HarvestRefine Harvest Intensity Carbon
Calculator for broader useFinal Report to discuss:
LeakagePermanence ImplicationsPeatland Conservation Carbon ImplicationsEcosystem Services Scoping (e.g., water,
recreation)
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AcknowledgementsBlandin FoundationMark Jacobs, Norm Moody, Beth Jacqmain,
Josh StevensonDovetail Partners – Katie FernholzDavid Saah, Ph.D., Univ. of San Francisco