Fact Sheet: Carbon Cycling in Southwestern Forests: Reservoirs, Fluxes, and the Effects of Fire and Management

Forest death from extreme drought and wildfires are reducing regional carbon reservoirs and overall forest sequestration capacity. At the same time, land use practices and development have increased the vulnerabil- ity of some forests during extreme droughts. The intent of this fact sheet is to explain the basics of the car- bon cycle in southwestern forests. It also summarizes how carbon cycling patterns are most likely to change in the coming years to decades in the Southwest