The accrual of land use history in Utah's forest carbon cycle
| Title | The accrual of land use history in Utah's forest carbon cycle |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Richter, D |
| Journal | Environmental History |
| Volume | 14 |
| Pagination | 527-542 |
| Date Published | 07/2009 |
| Abstract | The out-of-control global carbon cycle is driven not only by greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion but also from accelerated carbon cycling through human-impacted ecosystems. Here I estimate that forests in Utah are currently accumulating atmospheric carbon in biomass, detritus, and soil largely in response to 150 years of domestic livestock grazing, altered fre regimes, and logging. I attribute forest-carbon accumulation, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to expanding piñon and juniper woodlands and to timberlands regrowing following historical logging. Despite the accumulation of carbon in Utah’s forests, this forest-carbon sink compensates for at most 25 percent of statewide greenhouse gas emissions and more likely between 10 percent to 15 percent. This article emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary study of the global carbon cycle and specifcally encourages environmental historians to help natural scientists explore how historical land uses exert long-lasting infuence on the atmosphere’s concentrations of greenhouse gases. |