Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Task Force Definitions

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU): AFOLU was coined in Volume 4 of the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Volume 4 of the 2006 IPCC integrated the previously separate guidance in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Agriculture (Chapter 4) and Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (Chapter 5). This integration recognized that the processes underlying greenhouse gas emissions and removals, as well as the different forms of terrestrial carbon stocks, can occur across all types of land. It also recognized that land-use changes can involve all types of land. This approach was to improve the consistency and completeness in the estimation and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals (2006 IPCC Volume 4 at 1.4).

Agroforestry: Agroforestry is the incorporation of forestry in farming. It is growing crops and raising animals for food and other products, alongside symbiotic trees that also provide products, aid in produce management like shade, windbreak and shelterbelt systems, and pest control, as well as carbon dioxide sequestration (Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife).

Carbon Sink: A sink is a reservoir that uptakes a pollutant from another part of the cycle. Carbon reservoirs take-in and store more carbon (i.e., carbon sequestration) than they release. Carbon sinks can serve to partially offset greenhouse gas emissions. Soil and trees tend to act as natural carbon sinks. Forests and oceans are also large carbon sinks (EPA).

Forestry: Forestry is a significant aspect of environmental stewardship that focuses on managing, restoring, and caring for forests. It involves timber and other forest product industries, native wildlife health and habitat, invasive species control, water quantity and quality management, safety and erosion control, beauty and recreation, and carbon dioxide sequestration (Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife).