Boreal forests serve as important global sources or sinks of carbon (C) and wildfire is a major driver of C storage in these forests. Although fire releases CO2 to the atmosphere, it also converts plant biomass into forms of black carbon, such as charcoal, that are resistant to microbial attack and persist in the soil for thousands of years. It has frequently been suggested that, because of its resistance, black C can serve as an important long-term C sink that may help offset the release of human-induced CO2 to the atmosphere.

Variations in fire regimes can be inferred from changes in the abundance of sedimentary charcoal found in lake and bog sediments. When analysed with pollen data, inferences can be made about past vegetation dynamics and climate as well. The analysis of high-resolution charcoal records generally

The Supreme Court s involvement in forest convers

The introduction of improved cookstoves is a means to reduce the consumption of cooking energy and, in the case this energy is consumed in the form of wood or charcoal, to reduce or slow down deforestation. Before introducing improved stoves data should be available concerning the fuel savings that can be expected from the improved stoves compared to the traditional cookstoves. March 2005

The authors analyzed the dynamics of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from household fuel use in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2050. The scenarios included a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, in which fuel consumption and tree-harvesting practices change little except through population growth and urbanization, and large-scale shifts to charcoal- and petroleum-based fossil fuels.