Carbon, Corporate Forestry and Conservation: Struggles for Science in Sustainability and Benchmarks
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To help limit further climate change, science must be robust and the best available, because it provides insight and understanding, of our impacts and reparations. Although strong standards are part of science, human frailties and facets of society also contribute. Initially, science aided industrialisation of forests, and conservation-oriented science followed. Some early data and methods suit both purposes, but there are different needs, dimensions and scales to consider. Science struggles to blend these frontiers and societal features, such that peer review cannot be the only quality control. Examples are reviewed in depth under two main headings: sustainability and benchmarks. The main arena is a target for industry and conservation: mixed-forests in Tasmania, Australia. Common flaws leading to faulty conclusions were: mis-representing and not noticing earlier studies, inadequately accounting for spatial dimensions and time, and inappropriate benchmarks or error margins when making comparisons. Example results after refinements are: carbon stocks are not sustained within several cycles of first logging primary forest, succession to rainforest may not reduce carbon more than logging cycles, and the proclaimed highest-carbon site is a common peak. Recognizing the carbon legacy and industrial use together through time is necessary for consideration of alternatives and consequent climate-change mitigation.