Developing strategies for wildfire and forest management that minimize climate impact and strengthen BC’s bioeconomy
Wildfire and Carbon aims to incorporate future wildfire impacts into forest management practises to help develop strategies to reduce emissions from wildfires, enhance forest carbon (C) sinks, and assess bioeconomy opportunities for forest fibre.
Climate change is causing increased frequency and severity of wildfires with significant consequences for the forest carbon balance. Direct emissions from wildfires in British Columbia (BC) in each of 2017 and 2018 were more than three times those of all sectors in BC combined, motivating wildfire risk management as a high priority in future forest management approaches.
Managing forests to achieve emissions reductions involves many complex trade-offs. This project aims to investigate potential changes in forest management that reduce emissions from forests and enhance C sinks while also considering economic strategies for the use of forest fibre derived from wildfire risk reduction activities.
The project brings together forestry scientists and experts from the University of British Columbia, University of Washington, US Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, the BC Wildfire Service, and Parks Canada.
Theme Partnership Project: Began Jan 1, 2020 / Project Duration: Four years
Prescribed Burn: a wildfire risk reduction activity that also releases greenhouse gases and smoke. Image: NRCan.