Data from: Carbon sequestration and biodiversity co‐benefits of preserving forests in the western United States

Forest carbon sequestration via forest preservation can be a viable climate change mitigation strategy. Here, we identify forests in the western conterminous United States with high potential carbon sequestration and low vulnerability to future drought and fire, as simulated using the Community Land Model and two high carbon emission scenario (RCP 8.5) climate models. High‐productivity, low‐vulnerability forests have the potential to sequester up to 5,450 Tg CO2 equivalent (1,485 Tg C) by 2099, which is up to 20% of the global mitigation potential previously identified for all temperate and boreal forests, or up to ~6 yr of current regional fossil fuel emissions. Additionally, these forests currently have high above‐ and below-ground carbon density, high tree species richness, and a high proportion of critical habitat for endangered vertebrate species, indicating a strong potential to support biodiversity into the future and promote ecosystem resilience to climate change. We stress that some forest lands have low carbon sequestration potential but high biodiversity, underscoring the need to consider multiple criteria when designing a land preservation portfolio. Our work demonstrates how process models and ecological criteria can be used to prioritize landscape preservation for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and preserving biodiversity in a rapidly changing climate.

Simulated carbon fluxes are available from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC) at: https://doi.org/10.3334/ornldaac/1662

• Resource Title: Table S1. Area, percent of forested domain, and carbon sequestration potential during 2020-2099 in each priority category (low, med, high) by state.

  File Name: Table_S1.csv

  Resource Description: High‐carbon‐priority forests cover 132,016 km2 or 10.3% of the forested domain and have the potential to sequester 4,815–5,450 Tg CO2 equivalent (Tg CO2 e; 1,312–1,485 Tg C) in above-ground carbon between 2020 and 2099. Medium‐carbon‐priority forests cover 9.5% of the forested domain and could sequester 1,842–2,136 Tg CO2 e (502–582 Tg C). Low‐carbon‐priority forests cover 80.2% of the forested domain and could sequester 12,789–16,533 Tg CO2 e (3,485–4,505 Tg C) by 2099.