A 2016 study looked at how managing forests in Sweden can help reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. While the research focused on Swedish boreal forests, it was noted that the conclusions are applicable to other forested biomes with a large proportion of the forest area under active management, such as the Pacific Northwest.
To find out the greatest climate benefit over the long term, researchers explored two main strategies: setting aside more forestland to store carbon in forests or increasing production of wood products through active forest management to replace carbon-intensive materials and fossil fuels.
The study used different models to predict how various forest management choices would impact carbon emissions over the next 100 years. At first, protecting more land and reducing harvests seemed to lower carbon emissions. But over time, the reduced harvests led to greater emissions from using fossil fuel-intensive alternative materials like concrete and steel. This showed that while storing carbon in forests helps initially, it may not be the best long-term solution.
Instead, the key finding was that actively managing forests and using more wood products consistently provided greater climate benefits. This approach not only stores carbon in wood but also replaces more carbon-intensive products. The most effective strategy involved high forest production, collecting more forest residues (like branches and stumps), and using wood efficiently for both building materials and energy.