A forest's biomass grows logistically toward a carrying capacity set by land and light, while harvest removes wood and disease randomly kills or stunts trees. Because roughly half of dry wood mass is carbon, a healthier and older stand sequesters more CO2 — which can be sold as carbon credits on a voluntary market.
dB/dt = r·B·(1 − B/K) − harvest_rate·B − disease_loss
carbon (tCO2) ≈ 0.5 × biomass(t) × 3.67 (C → CO2 mass ratio)
revenue = carbon_stored × carbon_price
- Harvest rate — annual fraction of standing timber removed; taller trees shrink and revert to saplings.
- Replanting rate — annual fraction of cleared/dead plots restocked with new saplings.
- Disease risk — annual probability any given tree turns unhealthy (browns, stunts, may die).
- Carbon price toggle — cycles the market price paid per tonne of CO2 credited.
Real forest-carbon marketplaces (e.g. Verra, Gold Standard) pay landowners for verified sequestration, incentivizing sustainable rather than clear-cut management.