Compared to "business as usual" or current forest management approaches, all of the other approaches increased carbon emissions, the study found. Under the most optimal levels of efficiency, management just for fire prevention increased it 2 percent; for better economic return, 6 percent; and for higher bioenergy production,14 percent. About 98 percent of the forests in the region are now estimates to be a carbon sink,meaning that even with existing management approaches they sequester more carbon than they release to the atmosphere.