Data from: Carbon sequestration and biodiversity co‐benefits of preserving forests in the western United States

Forest carbon sequestration via forest preservation can be a viable climate change mitigation strategy. Here, we identify forests in the western conterminous United States with high potential carbon sequestration and low vulnerability to future drought and fire, as simulated using the Community Land Model and two high carbon emission scenario (RCP 8.5) climate models. High‐productivity, low‐vulnerability forests have the potential to sequester up to 5,450 Tg CO2 equivalent (1,485 Tg C) by 2099, which is up to 20% of the global mitigation potential previously identified for all temperate and boreal forests, or up to ~6 yr of current regional fossil fuel emissions. Additionally, these forests currently have high above‐ and below-ground carbon density, high tree species richness, and a high proportion of critical habitat for endangered vertebrate species, indicating a strong potential to support biodiversity into the future and promote ecosystem resilience to climate change. We stress that some forest lands have low carbon sequestration potential but high biodiversity, underscoring the need to consider multiple criteria when designing a land preservation portfolio. Our work demonstrates how process models and ecological criteria can be used to prioritize landscape preservation for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and preserving biodiversity in a rapidly changing climate.
Simulated carbon fluxes are available from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC) at: https://doi.org/10.3334/ornldaac/1662 Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Table S1. Area, percent of forested domain, and carbon sequestration potential during 2020-2099 in each priority category (low, med, high) by state. File Name: Table_S1.csvResource Description: High‐carbon‐priority forests cover 132,016 km2 or 10.3% of the forested domain and have the potential to sequester 4,815–5,450 Tg CO2 equivalent (Tg CO2 e; 1,312–1,485 Tg C) in above-ground carbon between 2020 and 2099. Medium‐carbon‐priority forests cover 9.5% of the forested domain and could sequester 1,842–2,136 Tg CO2 e (502–582 Tg C). Low‐carbon‐priority forests cover 80.2% of the forested domain and could sequester 12,789–16,533 Tg CO2 e (3,485–4,505 Tg C) by 2099.

通过森林保护实现森林碳汇，可成为一项可行的气候减缓策略。本研究旨在识别美国西部连续大陆上具有高碳汇潜力和对未来干旱及火灾低脆弱性的森林，该识别工作通过社区土地模型和两种高碳排放情景（RCP 8.5）气候模型进行模拟。高生产力、低脆弱性的森林具有到2099年积累高达5,450吨二氧化碳当量（1,485吨碳）的潜力，约占此前已识别的全球所有温带和北方森林减缓潜力的20%，或相当于当前区域化石燃料排放的约6年。此外，这些森林目前地上地下碳密度高，树种丰富度高，且为濒危脊椎动物提供了高比例的关键栖息地，这表明它们对未来生物多样性的支撑潜力和促进生态系统对气候变化的适应能力较强。我们强调，某些森林土地虽然碳汇潜力较低但生物多样性较高，这凸显了在设计土地保护组合时需考虑多重标准。本研究展示了如何利用过程模型和生态标准来优先考虑景观保护，以减缓温室气体排放并保护快速变化的气候下的生物多样性。

模拟碳通量数据可通过橡树岭国家实验室分布式主动存档中心（ORNL DAAC）获取，链接如下：https://doi.org/10.3334/ornldaac/1662

本数据集包含以下资源：
资源标题：表S1。按州划分的各优先级类别（低、中、高）在2020-2099年森林面积、森林覆盖面积百分比及碳汇潜力的表格。
文件名：Table_S1.csv
资源描述：高碳优先级森林覆盖面积达132,016平方公里，占森林总面积的10.3%，在2020年至2099年间具有在地面碳中积累4,815至5,450吨二氧化碳当量（吨二氧化碳当量；1,312至1,485吨碳）的潜力。中等碳优先级森林覆盖面积为森林总面积的9.5%，可能积累1,842至2,136吨二氧化碳当量（502至582吨碳）。低碳优先级森林覆盖面积为森林总面积的80.2%，到2099年可能积累12,789至16,533吨二氧化碳当量（3,485至4,505吨碳）。