Quantification of Woody Biomass Available for Wood Harvesting and Sequestration in the Continental United States – a Top-Down Approach

Abstract Background: Wood Harvesting and Sequestration is a form of Carbon Removal and Storage (CRS) that utilizes a combined natural and engineered process to harvest woody biomass and put it into long term sequestration, most frequently in the form of subterranean burial. This paper aims to quantify the availability of woody biomass for the purposes of wood harvesting and sequestration in the continental United States using a top-down approach. Using a regional version of the VEGAS terrestrial carbon cycle model, this paper calculates the annual woody net primary production in the continental United States. It then applies a series of constraints to exclude woody biomass that is unavailable for wood harvesting and sequestration. These constraints include fine woody biomass, current land use, current wood utilization, land conservation, and topographical limitations. These results were then split into state by state and regional totals Results: In total, the model projects the continental United States could produce 1,274 MtCO2e (CO2 equivalent of woody biomass) worth of coarse woody biomass annually in a scenario with no anthropogenic land use or constraints. In a scenario with anthropogenic land use and constraints on wood availability, the model projects that 415 MtCO2e of coarse woody biomass is available for wood harvesting and sequestration annually. This is enough to offset 8.5% of the United States’ 2020 greenhouse gas emissions. Of this potential, 20 MtCO2e is from the Pacific region, 77 MtCO2e is from the Western Interior, 91 MtCO2e is from the Northeast region, and 228 MtCO2e is from the Southeast region. Conclusion: There is enough coarse woody biomass available in the continental United States to make wood harvesting and sequestration a viable form of carbon removal and storage in the country. There is coarse woody biomass available all across the continental United States, All four primary regions analyzed have enough coarse woody biomass available to justify investment in wood harvesting and sequestration projects.