FCCP co-authors report quantifying climate-smart forest management in Minnesota with American Forests
Print
EmailFCCP co-authors report quantifying climate-smart forest management and wood utilization in Minnesota with American Forests, Natural Resources Canada, and the USDA Forest Service.
The Michigan State University Department of Forestry Forest Carbon and Climate Program co-authored a report alongside American Forests, the USDA Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Canada Forest Service Carbon Accounting Team that quantifies the climate mitigation potential of climate-smart forestry, wood utilization, and other emission reduction strategies. 
This study used participatory methods working directly with local experts to identify forest management priorities, concerns, and goals, and the CBM-CFS3 modeling framework to estimate potential changes in forest carbon and harvested wood product dynamics. Key findings show that actions such as maintaining and increasing forest area through tree plantings, continued sustainable management of working forestlands that balances growth with timber demand, innovative uses of wood, increasing efficiency of the forest products sector, reducing the rate of forest loss, and preparing for future impacts of climate change can have substantial effects on the future mitigation potential of Minnesota’s forests. The results suggest that a suite of climate-smart actions can increase the sink strength of Minnesota’s forests by 27% by 2100 as compared to a modeled business-as-usual scenario.
This report is a part of our larger state-level forest carbon and wood product modeling project, which is a collaboration between US and Canadian institutions exploring how climate-smart forestry can support forests as natural climate solutions to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. To learn more about this project, visit here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/fccp/Projects-and-Research/cbm-modeling-project
