Much More to Come

At the Copenhagen Summit in 2009 President Hu Jintao told the world that China would add to its forest carbon sink capacity, increasing its forests by 40 million hectares and their growing stock by 1.3 billion cubic meters by 2020 on the 2005 basis. For this target, China would augment its afforestation efforts and upgrade forest management, doing its share in the war on global climate change.

At present China has more than 400 million hectares of barren lands and mountains plus considerable amounts of farmland at gradients above 25° that are better suited for woods. According to government plans, China's forest coverage will climb from the current 20.36 to 23 percent by 2020 and will exceed 26 percent by 2050. This increase will be accompanied by gains in forest carbon storage.

The quality of Chinese forests is still wanting. The growing stock of arboreal forests is a lowly 85.55 cubic meters per hectare, 78 percent of the world average, and that for plantations is even lower - 49.01 cubic meters. Experts estimate that the current carbon storage level of Chinese forests is about 44.3 percent of their potential capacity, so there is a big margin to be filled. The unit growing stock of forests will increase markedly under conditions of scientific management.

Stricter protection measures will include more stricter controls over llegal logging and unjustified expropriation of wooded land. For sanctioned tree felling, the damage inflicted to groundcover plants and soil can be reduced through scientific planning and low-intensity operations, lowering the risks of soil erosion and retaining the carbon-capture capability of forest areas. Through more effective management including warning systems for fire and insect danger plus control of combustible matter, the frequency and scale of forest fires and infestation, both causes of carbon emissions, can be kept low.

Forests are also a source of biomass, in turn a source of clean energy. A study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predicts that the energy generated from biomass will account for more than half of worldwide energy consumption by mid-century. China's annual usable biomass stock is estimated at more than 300 million tons, equivalent to 200 million tons of coal. Biomass-supplying forests can be grown on wasteland and mountains, saline lands and lands reclaimed from abandoned mines. By growing the share of alternative fuels in energy supply, China can effectively chop its greenhouse gas emissions.

Increasing the use of wood can also put a dent in carbon discharge. The production and processing of timber use far less energy and emit far less carbon dioxide compared with iron and aluminum. More use of wood will lead to more tree plantations, which store carbon dioxide in their growing process. Once made into products, wood retains the carbon it has absorbed unless it is burnt or rots. Many wooden items survive for centuries, holding on to their stored carbon for just as long.

Wang Zhuxiong is director of the Afforestation Department of the State Forestry Administration.