Table of Contents

Agricultural & Forestlands: U.S. Carbon Policy Strategies

Foreword        ii

Executive Summary        iii

I. Introduction        1

II. The Context for a National Carbon Sequestration Strategy        3

A. Land-Management Resources        3
B. Physical Resources        5
C. Human Resources        8
D. Significance of Resource Availability        9

III. Carbon Sequestration Practices        11

A. Land-Use Change        12
B. Forestland Practices        15
C. Cropland Practices        18
D. Grazing-Land Practices        23
E. Sequestration Costs and Potential Quantities        24
F. Many Practices, Multiple Objectives        26

IV. Selecting Carbon Sequestration Policies        27

A. The Range of Policy Tools 29
B. The First Rung on the Policy Ladder: Government Ownership and Production 32
C. The Second Rung on the Policy Ladder: Regulatory Programs 36
D. The Third Rung on the Policy Ladder: Practice-Based Incentives 39
E. The Fourth Rung on the Policy Ladder: Results-Based Incentives 46

V. Conclusions        57

References        62

Endnotes        69