Quick Estimates of Carbon in Longleaf Pine Plantations Using Carbon-Basal Area Ratios (CBAR)

Forest carbon markets have once again become an opportunity for forest landowners to receive supplemental income. At a basic level, these markets allow industries that are emitting carbon during their production process to offset those emissions by purchasing carbon credits from others that are sequestering carbon beyond their usual practices. Carbon credits can be purchased from forest landowners who are sequestering carbon beyond what they normally would do without the presence of a forest carbon market—or their business-as-usual (BAU) forest management practices.

Increasingly, Mississippi nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners, often referred to as family forest owners, who own smaller acreages (100 acres or less), have access to forest carbon markets that allow them to participate more actively. NIPF and larger public and private forest landowners alike will be interested in knowing how many metric tons of carbon and carbon dioxide equivalents (abbreviated as MtCO₂e) their longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) plantation is sequestering and storing.

This publication describes a quick and low-cost way to obtain a carbon-per-acre estimate. It then shows how carbon per acre is converted into metric tons and how carbon is converted into metric tons of CO₂ equivalents by using basic assumptions about the chemistry of wood. By using variable-radius sampling, we can take advantage of relationships between tree stem growth and carbon production to quickly estimate carbon per acre.

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The information given here is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products, trade names, or suppliers are made with the understanding that no endorsement is implied and that no discrimination against other products or suppliers is intended.

Publication 4215 (POD-08-26)

By Curtis L. VanderSchaaf, PhD, Associate Professor, Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center, and Andrea De Stefano, PhD, Assistant Professor, Coastal Research and Extension Center.