The Price of Snow: Valuing Albedo as an Ecosystem Service in Northeastern Forests

Surface albedo is a property of forests that provides an important climate regulating ecosystem service, particularly in environments where snow is frequent. In some cases, the influence of albedo can equal and surpass the climatic benefits of carbon sequestration from forest growth. However, no current climate mitigation platforms consider albedo in their framework. Therefore, it is essential to integrate these two climatic services in an economic context for the effective design and implementation of forestry climate projects. Here we place an economic value on albedo-related shortwave radiation through the use of shadow prices derived from an integrated assessment model (DICE). We then examine the potential impact of this value on optimal forest rotation in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire using an ecological and economic forest model. Our results suggest that including albedo can shorten optimal rotation periods significantly compared to scenarios where only timber and carbon are considered. For instance, in spruce-fir stands, very short rotation periods of just 25 years become economically optimal. Annual snowfall and productivity were important variables in assessing the net benefits of albedo in forested environments. Therefore, in high latitude forests with low carbon storage and high snowfall, we expect optimal rotation periods to approach zero, indicating that these forests should be maintained instead as open fields for optimal climatic benefits, which may have serious implications for biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling in these areas.