Abstract
Given the recent availability of high-resolution data on both current
forest carbon stocks and restoration potential, the next geospatial and
computational challenge is to utilize this data to identify priority
areas for reforestation. Strategic reforestation activities, which
account for both carbon sequestration potential as well as co-benefits,
such as biodiversity protection, riparian management, and economic
opportunity, can provide particularly attractive options for
policy-makers who must manage competing social and environmental goals.
The objective of this work is to identify potential future carbon
corridors that can advance habitat connectivity while maximizing
co-benefits for climate mitigation. While there have been efforts to map
existing habitat corridors, we identify future corridors to incorporate
strategic reforestation into land-use planning. First, we mapped current
protected areas and the distribution of priority habitat across Maryland
(USA) using the MD BioNet and PAD-US databases. Then, using
high-resolution NASA Carbon Monitoring System forest carbon products, we
identified optimal future corridors between existing protected areas in
the state based on established viability factors, including the: amount
of carbon stored, time to achieve habitat requirement, path length (land
required), land ownership, and current land-use. Using a least-cost
corridor model (prominently used by Jantz et al. 2014 to identify
current carbon-habitat corridors in the Amazon), we found that
reforesting a 1km habitat corridor connecting all protected areas larger
than 20 ha in size results in 48% of the state’s land area being
protected. Such a corridor would sequester an additional 80 Tg C and
protect more than 132 Tg C in total, including the ongoing growth of
existing trees along corridor pathways. This estimate is close to 50%
of the state’s remaining carbon sequestration potential and would
advance the state’s climate goals outlined in the Maryland Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Act. More broadly, this approach to reforestation is
useful for states interested in facilitating species migration in the
face of ongoing environmental change while maximizing co-benefits.