Many American companies are relying on carbon offsets to reduce their carbon footprint, especially those who have pledged to achieve 'net-zero emissions.' Sequestering carbon in forests is an example of a nature-based solution that is being used to address climate change, but a new study suggests that hurricanes could pose a risk. The results show that a single hurricane may wipe out 5% to 10% of total above-ground forest carbon, through tree damage, in New England.
As it happens, New England is one of the most heavily forested regions in the U.S. with Maine at 83%, New Hampshire at 80%, and Vermont at 74%. While New England hasn't experienced many severe hurricanes in recent decades, they are an important driver of long-term ecosystem change. The Hurricane of 1938, for example, caused widespread tree damage in New England, leading to the salvaging of 500 million board feet of lumber in the Granite State alone, according to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
They mapped the trees -- the aboveground forest carbon in New England -- using USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program data and mapped the hurricanes using tracking and wind speed data to simulate a storm's path and strength in a geographic area. They determined how susceptible a forest was to wind damage based on the height and type of the trees. The team applied meteorological predictions to estimate the potential future strength of hurricanes.
The results show that it takes nearly 19 years for trees knocked over by a hurricane to become a net emission and 100 years for most of the downed carbon to be emitted.
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