A massive carbon store - could help us combat climate change

Carbon is stored in vegetation and soil. Photo: The Wilderness Society WA

Research shows there is currently almost one billion tonnes of carbon in the Great Western Woodlands – that's almost 50 times Western Australia’s annual emissions!

With better management of large, intense wildfire, more than 500 million tones of carbon could be additional stored. This represents an extraordinary global and local opportunity to significant reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

The Australian National University (ANU) has produced a report on the biomass carbon stocks in the Great Western Woodlands.

Key Findings;

•  The estimated amount of carbon currently stored in the vegetation and soil of the Great Western Woodlands is 950 million tonnes - equivalent to more than six times Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2008.
• Most of this ‘green carbon’ is stored in the soil, with every hectare containing an average of 40 tonnes of carbon. An additional 20 tonnes of carbon per hectare, on average, is stored in the trees, roots, woody debris, branches, and shrubs across the region.
• Sites located in the mature woodlands have higher carbon stocks than those sites that contained fewer or smaller trees (e.g., shrublands and mallee ecosystems). 
• The Highest amount of carbon is found in mature eucalypt woodlands that had not been disturbed by logging, pastoralism or mining.
• Large, unplanned fire is the biggest threat to carbon found in the Great Western Woodlands, with an estimated 4.5 million hectares burnt over the last 36 years, including more than 2.5 million hectares that has been burnt since 2000.
• With improved management, especially of large, intense and frequent wildfires, emissions from further degradation could be avoided, and the carbon stocks of currently degraded woodlands could be restored. The study found that under a scenario where fire was excluded and there was little or no other disturbance from vegetation clearing almost 1,550 million tonnes of carbon could be stored in the Woodlands – more than 600 million tonnes of carbon greater than is currently stored in the Great Western Woodlands.

‘Green carbon’: What is it and why is it important?

Carbon that is stored in natural ecosystems such as forests and woodlands is referred to as ‘green carbon’.

Green carbon is stored in all living and dead plant material including leaves, stems, roots and tree trunks, including dead timber on the ground, and organic matter (from decomposition of plants) in the upper soil layers. This green carbon is stored in all types of bushland and is a significant component of the global carbon cycle.
 

Fires are one of the greatest threats to the Great Western Woodlands. Photo: Vanessa Westcott

It is estimated about 20% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation (land clearing).

Emissions from other degrading processes including fire, grazing and logging have not yet been assessed on a national or global scale. These disturbances can all lead to increased carbon stored in plants being released into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas pollution when plant material is burnt, eaten or rots.

Measuring and managing natural ecosystems, and the carbon they store, is therefore a crucial part of any comprehensive approach to addressing the climate change problem.

The Great Western Woodlands has significant potential in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and, hence, climate change.

The WA State Government has released a Biodiversity and Cultural Conservation Strategy for the Great Western Woodlands. We commend them on this effort and alert them to the accompanying ANU Enterprise report as a contribution to our improved understanding of the importance of the area – including the massive opportunities for regional benefits from improved protection and management.

Download the Carbon Report Summary here (PDF,1.19MB) >>

Download the full report Biomass Carbon Stocks of the Great Western Woodlands (PDF 4.8MB)

For more information about green carbon - http://epress.anu.edu.au/green_carbon_citation.html