News: Opportunities for Research on Carbon Sequestration in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems Fact Sheet
Based in part on the recent Fact Sheet on Opportunities for Research on Carbon Sequestration in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems by Kevin Robertson, Ph.D., Fire Ecology Research Scientist, Prescribed Burning has been added to the USDA Climate Smart Priorities List for FY24.
At A Glance: Reasons why NRCS decided to expand the list of practices eligible for USDA's Climate Smart Priorities List to include Prescribed Burning.
- Planting trees and suppressing wildfires do not necessarily maximize the carbon storage of natural ecosystems. New research has found that prescribed burning can lock in or increase carbon in the soils of temperate forests, savannas, and grasslands.
- Given that 70% of global topsoil Carbon is in fire-prone regions, using fire to promote soil organic matter stability may be an important nature-based climate solution to increase Carbon storage.
- Prescribed burns are widely recognized as a cost-effective tool for combating wildfires and increasing climate resilience by protecting organic materials accumulated as soil carbons from catastrophic wildfires that release large amounts of carbon.
- When fires are too frequent or intense -- as is often the case in densely planted forests -- they burn the dead plant material that would otherwise decompose and release carbon into the soil
- High-intensity fires can also destabilize the soil, breaking off carbon-based organic matter from minerals and killing soil bacteria and fungi. However infrequent, cooler fires can increase the retention of soil carbon through the formation of charcoal and soil aggregates that protect from decomposition.
- Assessment of wildland fires on working lands can be accomplished using existing geospatial data and models of burned area, burn severity, fuel consumption, fire emissions, and post-fire tree mortality.
- Much of the carbon in grasslands is stored below ground, in the roots of the plants. Controlled burning, which helps encourage grass growth, can increase root biomass and therefore increase the amount of carbon stored.
Download the fact sheet here.
