Carbon sequestration by forestry is one way to mitigate climate change, and policy incentives are in place to encourage private investment in forestry. State and federal forestry cost-share programs subsidize the establishment of trees and the improvement of existing forested land. The objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of such programs in Maryland and to compare the monetized benefits from permanently sequestered carbon with the current subsidies. To meet this objective, private and social cost-benefit analyses were conducted for three forestry investment scenarios in Maryland that coincide with the main cost-share programs available there. Sensitivity analysis considered a range of values for the social cost of carbon, the discount rate, and program implementation costs. ^ The first program considered was the state funded Woodland Incentive Program (WIP), which provides cost-share assistance for improving timber management. According to the cost-benefit analysis results, the program provides sufficient incentives to induce participation. For a discount rate of 5%, the investment in pre-commercial thinning with participation in WIP increases discounted returns by 60.62peracre.However,thetotalprogramenrollmentoverthepasteightyearswasonly24,443acres,comparedtoGISanalysisresultsthatshowapproximately737,000acresacrossMarylandareeligiblefortheprogram.ThetotalcostshareassistanceprovidedbyWIPforatimbermanagementimprovementpracticeofpre−commercialthinningwas81.34 per acre, while from society’s view, the discounted carbon sequestration benefits provided by the improved timber stand were 146.82peracre.Bybasingthecost−shareassistanceonthecarbonbenefits,andsoincreasingthesubsidies,potentialandactualprogramparticipationmayconverge.Twolandconversionprogramswereconsidered:thefederallyfundedEnvironmentalQualityIncentivesProgram(EQIP)andthestatefundedLawntoWoodland(L2W)Initiative.Thecost−benefitanalysisresultsshowthattheconversionfromcroplandtoforestthroughEQIPdoesnotprovideenoughincentivetoinduceprogramparticipation.Croplandrentsgenerateincomefargreaterthanthebenefitsfromforestryconversion,evenwhencarbonbenefitsareincluded.Inthiscase,theprogramisalreadyprovidingsubsidieslargerthanthecarbonsequestrationbenefits,andtheactualparticipationofonly344acresbetween2009and2013isstillverylow.However,whenusingthepasturelandrent,whichisabouthalfofthecroplandrent,theconversiontoforestismuchmorelikely.Therearearound750,000acresofpasturelandinMarylandthatcouldbeconvertedtoforesttoincreasecarbonsequestrationacrossthestate.TheconversionfromlawntoforestthroughL2Wprovidedcontrastingresults.Sincetimberharvestisunlikelyfollowingtheconversionfromlawntoforest,thecarbonbenefitsaremuchhigher.Thecost−shareassistancewas335.91 per acre, and the discounted carbon benefits from the conversion were $1,245.87 per acre. Cost-share assistance based on the benefits from permanently sequestered carbon could justify increasing the incentive to participate by almost four times. Since neither land use in this scenario provides financial returns to the owner, the investment decision depends largely on the aesthetic values of lawn versus forest that the landowner possesses, which are difficult to estimate. GIS analysis estimated that approximately 230,000 acres are eligible for this new program across Maryland. ^ Maryland is at the forefront when compared to other states, supplementing federal cost-share programs with its own resources to combat climate change. This analysis suggests the state financed initiatives may exhibit the potential to enhance carbon sequestration more than the federal programs, and for each state program there was scope to increase subsidies given the value of carbon benefits realized
Carbon sequestration by forestry is one way to mitigate climate change, and policy
incentives are in place to encourage private investment in forestry. State and federal
forestry cost-share programs subsidize the establishment of trees and the improvement of
existing forested land. The objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness
of such programs in Maryland and to compare the monetized benefits from permanently
sequestered carbon with the current subsidies. To meet this objective, private and social
cost-benefit analyses were conducted for three forestry investment scenarios in Maryland
that coincide with the main cost-share programs available there. Sensitivity analysis
considered a range of values for the social cost of carbon, the discount rate, and program
implementation costs.
The first program considered was the state funded Woodland Incentive Program
(WIP), which provides cost-share assistance for improving timber management.
According to the cost-benefit analysis results, the program provides sufficient incentives
to induce participation. For a discount rate of 5%, the investment in pre-commercial
thinning with participation in WIP increases discounted returns by 60.62peracre.However,thetotalprogramenrollmentoverthepasteightyearswasonly24,443acres,comparedtoGISanalysisresultsthatshowapproximately737,000acresacrossMarylandareeligiblefortheprogram.ThetotalcostshareassistanceprovidedbyWIPforatimbermanagementimprovementpracticeofpre−commercialthinningwas81.34 per acre,
while from society’s view, the discounted carbon sequestration benefits provided by the
improved timber stand were 146.82peracre.Bybasingthecost−shareassistanceonthecarbonbenefits,andsoincreasingthesubsidies,potentialandactualprogramparticipationmayconverge.Twolandconversionprogramswereconsidered:thefederallyfundedEnvironmentalQualityIncentivesProgram(EQIP)andthestatefundedLawntoWoodland(L2W)Initiative.Thecost−benefitanalysisresultsshowthattheconversionfromcroplandtoforestthroughEQIPdoesnotprovideenoughincentivetoinduceprogramparticipation.Croplandrentsgenerateincomefargreaterthanthebenefitsfromforestryconversion,evenwhencarbonbenefitsareincluded.Inthiscase,theprogramisalreadyprovidingsubsidieslargerthanthecarbonsequestrationbenefits,andtheactualparticipationofonly344acresbetween2009and2013isstillverylow.However,whenusingthepasturelandrent,whichisabouthalfofthecroplandrent,theconversiontoforestismuchmorelikely.Therearearound750,000acresofpasturelandinMarylandthatcouldbeconvertedtoforesttoincreasecarbonsequestrationacrossthestate.TheconversionfromlawntoforestthroughL2Wprovidedcontrastingresults.Sincetimberharvestisunlikelyfollowingtheconversionfromlawntoforest,thecarbonbenefitsaremuchhigher.Thecost−shareassistancewas335.91 per acre, and the discounted carbon benefits from the conversion were $1,245.87 per acre. Cost-share assistance based on the benefits from permanently sequestered carbon could justify increasing the incentive to participate by almost four times. Since neither land use in this scenario provides financial returns to the owner, the investment decision depends largely on the aesthetic values of lawn versus forest that the landowner possesses, which are difficult to estimate. GIS analysis estimated that approximately 230,000 acres are eligible for this new program across Maryland.
Maryland is at the forefront when compared to other states, supplementing federal cost-share programs with its own resources to combat climate change. This analysis suggests the state financed initiatives may exhibit the potential to enhance carbon sequestration more than the federal programs, and for each state program there was scope to increase subsidies given the value of carbon benefits realized
Small proteins (10–200 amino acids [aa] in length) encoded by short open reading frames (sORF) play important regulatory roles in various biological processes, including tumor progression, stress response, flowering, and hormone signaling. However, ab initio discovery of small proteins has been relatively overlooked. Recent advances in deep transcriptome sequencing make it possible to efficiently identify sORFs at the genome level. In this study, we obtained ∼2.6 million expressed sequence tag (EST) reads from Populus deltoides leaf transcriptome and reconstructed full-length transcripts from the EST sequences. We identified an initial set of 12,852 sORFs encoding proteins of 10–200 aa in length. Three computational approaches were then used to enrich for bona fide protein-coding sORFs from the initial sORF set: (1) coding-potential prediction, (2) evolutionary conservation between P. deltoides and other plant species, and (3) gene family clustering within P. deltoides. As a result, a high-confidence sORF candidate set containing 1469 genes was obtained. Analysis of the protein domains, non-protein-coding RNA motifs, sequence length distribution, and protein mass spectrometry data supported this high-confidence sORF set. In the high-confidence sORF candidate set, known protein domains were identified in 1282 genes (higher-confidence sORF candidate set), out of which 611 genes, designated as highest-confidence candidate sORF set, were supported by proteomics data. Of the 611 highest-confidence candidate sORF genes, 56 were new to the current Populus genome annotation. This study not only demonstrates that there are potential sORF candidates to be annotated in sequenced genomes, but also presents an efficient strategy for discovery of sORFs in species with no genome annotation yet available