Assessing climate change causes, risks and opportunities in forestry

Forests play an important role in regulating the global climate by storing carbon that would otherwise be released as CO2 to the atmosphere, and affecting the global energy balance through absorption of solar radiation. Forests are also affected directly by the impact of increased CO2 levels and temperatures on ecosystem processes, and indirectly by human responses seeking to mitigate the net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) or adapting to new climates. This paper assesses the significance of these different aspects in the context of poverty reduction. It provides a brief assessment of the global effect of deforestation on net global GHG emissions; assesses the positive and negative direct effects of climate change on forest productivity, forest disturbance, carbon sequestration, water and air quality, biodiversity and cultural services; and discusses the indirect effects on forestry of human responses to minimize net GHG emissions through new markets, other land use change and global, national and local initiatives.