CARBON CONUNDRUM

Forests help keep climate change in check by absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide in their leaves, branches, trunks, roots – and in surrounding soil.

But the story is more complicated in Colorado. Overall, forests in the state emitted slightly more carbon into the atmosphere than they absorbed from 2002 to 2019, according to the 2024 Colorado Forest Carbon Inventory, a state-mandated report from the Colorado State Forest Service and CSU’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.

The finding tracks to insects and disease, particularly bark beetles that have ravaged Colorado’s forests. As stricken trees die, they break down and release carbon back into the atmosphere. Forests affected by wildfire are also reflected in the report – and will likely be a bigger factor in the next update, as recent wildfires are wrapped into the study.

“People are looking to our natural ecosystems to mitigate climate change,” said Tony Vorster, lead author and a research scientist with CSU’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. “We shouldn’t necessarily look to our forests to offset emissions because they’re currently a net carbon source across the state as a whole, and that trend is probably going to continue with ongoing droughts and wildfires.”

The Colorado Forest Carbon Inventory provides the most detailed and comprehensive assessment to date of how much carbon is stored in Colorado’s forests and harvested wood products and how that amount is changing over time.

“It’s natural for forests to cycle through times where they are carbon sinks and then carbon sources,” Vorster said. “We’re interested in long-term trends.”

Results vary by region, county, and forest type in the state, the study’s authors noted.

The report’s findings are valuable as policymakers consider options for drawing down carbon to reduce climate change and forest managers develop long-term strategies for forest and carbon management.

Photo at top: Katie Nigro.