What is the long-term impact of harvesting on forest carbon?
The long-term impact of harvesting on the amount of carbon stored in Canada’s managed forests varies depending on the region being considered and the type of forest harvested. Harvesting in old-growth forests results in “working” forests that can contain less carbon than the original old-growth forests; however, the fact that much of the harvested carbon is stored for a long time in durable forest products helps to partially offset this. In some regions, harvesting activity may to some extent replace natural fires as a major forest disturbance so that the net long-term effect on the forest carbon may be minimal. Harvesting of second-growth forest (forest that has been harvested in the past) generally will have little long-term impact on the carbon. If the ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere, then the impacts of harvesting should be considered in light of carbon emissions from other sectors of the economy whose products can be used in place
