A Virtual “Field Test” of Forest Management Carbon Offset Protocols: The Influence of Accounting

Of the greenhouse gas mitigation options available from U.S. forests and agricultural lands, forest management presents amongst the lowest cost and highest volume opportunities. A number of carbon accounting shemes or protocols have recently emerged to track the mitigation achieved by individual forest management projects. Using 50-year carbon cycling data from the Calhoun Experimental Forest in South Carolina, carbon storage is estimated for a hypothetical forest management carbon offset project operating under seven of these protocols.