THE POTENTIAL ABOVEGROUND CARBON STORAGE OF NORTH-AMERICAN FORESTS

To assess the possibility of using C offset as a method of sequesterin g CO2 produced by the burning of fossil fuels, it is necessary to have accurate estimates of C reservoirs and fluxes. Recent studies have sh own that estimates of C commonly used in the past are too large, and t his may lead to confusion about the global C budget. Field data used i n recent estimates of present C storage for the North American boreal and eastern deciduous forest biomes were reanalyzed to estimate their maximum potential C storage. The original data were collected using a stratified two-stage cluster survey sampling design. The reanalysis su ggests that the boreal forest and eastern deciduous forest could seque ster possibly as little as 13.4% (3.0 Pg) and 18.5% (1.5 Pg), respecti vely, more C than they presently store. These estimates represent the potential increase in C storage under present conditions, if the study areas were allowed to revert back into forests.