The Effect of Selective Cutting on the Carbon Budget of a Northern Hardwood Forest

The global carbon (C) cycle involves the exchange of C between the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere and oceans. Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuel combustion, land-use changes and other human activities have disrupted the global C balance, causing a net accumulation of C in the atmosphere. In the last 200 years, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has risen from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 367 ppm, the sharpest increase in atmospheric CO2 levels in 20,000 years (Prentice et al. 2001). As a greenhouse gas (GHG), CO2 in the atmosphere can influence the radiative balance between incoming solar radiation absorbed by the Earth and infrared radiation re-emitted by the Earth. Increasing concentrations of CO2 and other minor GHGs (e.g. methane and carbon monoxide) can potentially cause warming of the Earth’s surface. Resulting changes in global climate could alter ecosystems and impact human health and activities (IPCC 2001)