What are the other environmental effects of sequestration practices?
Practices that aim to reduce carbon losses and increase sequestration generally enhance the quality of soil, water, air and wildlife habitat. Tree planting that restores fuller forest cover may not only sequester carbon but could improve habitat suitability for wildlife. Preserving threatened tropical forests may avoid losses in both carbon and biodiversity, absent any leakage effects. And reducing soil erosion through tree planting or soil conservation measures can sequester carbon and improve water quality by reducing nutrient runoff. In certain cases, there may be tradeoffs between carbon objectives and environmental quality. Replacing diverse ecosystems with single-species timber plantations may generate greater carbon accumulation, but could result in less biodiversity, at least at the scale of the plantation. For more information on some of the broader environmental effects of sequestration visit the Co-benefits section of this Web site.
