ABSTRACT
The developing market for woodchips and other products has led to the intensification of harvesting in many native forests of the Australasia and Oceania region. This chapter describes carbon (C) pools in different forest and woodlands in Australasia and the Oceania region. Carbon is usually calculated from biomass data by assuming a conversion factor of 0.5. Highest quantities of aboveground carbon in Australia are stored in the woodlands of medium height primarily because of the vast areas under the ecosystems. These woodlands are also those most subject to clearing for agricultural purposes and thus have the potential to contribute in a significant way to carbon dioxide emissions. Exclusion of fire can result in senescence of eucalypts, invasion of rainforest species in wetter areas and eventually the development of a rainforest ecosystem probably with a lower C storage. Carbon in charcoal is considered to be sequestered for a very long time.
