THE ROLE OF FORESTRY IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION - Economics of Sustainable Energy in Agriculture - page 133

The study results are summarized in Figure 10.1. These indicate
that upwards of 1.5 million tonnes of discounted C (discounted at 4%) can
be sequestered in the region at a cost of about $40 per t or less. This
amounts to an average of about 1.3 t or about 52 kg per year over
and above normal C uptake. If this result is applied to all of Canada's
productive boreal forestland and surrounding marginal farmland, then
Canada could potentially sequester some 10-15 Mt of C annually via this
option. This amounts to at most 7.5% of Canada's annual Kyoto-targeted
reduction, well below the 22% that had been envisioned (Canadian Pulp &
Paper Association 2000). This is a rather pessimistic conclusion given that,
in general, plantation forests are considered a cost-effective means of
sequestering C (Sedjo et al. 1995; Adams et al. 1999). Again, the reason is
that boreal forests are globally marginal at best and silvicultural
investments simply do not pay for the most part, even when C uptake is
included as a benefit of forest management (van Kooten et al. 1993;
Wilson et al. 1999).

There remains a great deal of uncertainty about planting hybrid
poplar on a large scale because it has not been done previously. There are
drawbacks that limit their viability:
Relative to native species, hybrid poplar plantations have negative
environmental impacts related to reduced biodiversity and
susceptibility to disease (see Callan 1998).
If there are transaction costs associated with afforestation, this will
increase C-uptake costs above what has thus far been estimated.

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