Carbon sequestration in forests - Addressing the scale question

Forests may have an important role to play in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, the extent of their role depends not only on the a rea available but also the management system that is applied and whether it is based on sound scientific principles, including those of basic ecosyste m science. One aspect of ecosystem science that generally has been overlook ed in forestry-related carbon projects is that of scale. By paying closer a ttention to scale, seemingly contradictory statements concerning forest man agement and carbon sequestration can be resolved, which can lead to the dev elopment of a viable carbon sequestration policy.