Gc. Vankooten et al., EFFECT OF CARBON TAXES AND SUBSIDIES ON OPTIMAL FOREST ROTATION AGE AND SUPPLY OF CARBON SERVICES, American journal of agricultural economics, 77(2), 1995, pp. 365-374
Carbon taxes and subsidies will affect the optimal forest rotation and
, consequently, the carbon stored in forests. Unlike the Hartman rotat
ion, where externality benefits are a function of the volume of timber
growing on a site at any time, carbon benefits are a function of the
change in biomass. Theoretical and empirical results (for coastal Brit
ish Columbia and northern Alberta) indicate that, under some tax regim
es, it may be socially optimal never to harvest the trees. In general,
inclusion of the external benefits from carbon uptake results in rota
tion ages only a bit longer than the financial (Faustmann) rotation ag
e.