Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and storing carbon within soils and forest biomass. Forest management actions are necessary to support maintaining or enhancing the forest carbon sink, which offset about 15 percent of total U.S. fossil fuel emissions. Management actions can be designed to maintain existing carbon stocks or enhance sequestration capacity while providing co-benefits for other sustainable resource management objectives, such as timber supply, wildlife habitat, or water quality.
Adaptation in Action
There is no single answer on how to best adapt to climate change, and adaptation responses will vary by location based upon the magnitude of climate impacts, the inherent resilience of ecosystems, and the values and resources of local communities. The USDA Northern Forests and NIACS Climate Change Response Framework have created resources to help land managers anticipate climate change impacts and identify adaptation actions.
The Adaptation Strategies and Approaches are designed specifically for forest carbon management that draws direct connections between climate adaptation and mitigation. Drawing from a large body of scientific literature this menu is designed to be used with the Adaptation Workbook, this new resource will help managers understand and select from a wide variety of climate-informed actions that support carbon mitigation.
Download the menu of strategies and approaches for Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration and Climate Adaptation- Download the complete peer-reviewed publication (direct link) “Forest management for carbon Sequestration and climate adaptation”
- The menu of adaptation strategies and approaches is designed to be used within the Adaptation Workbook. This resource can help managers select from a wide variety of climate-informed approaches that can support forest management.
- The Adaptation Workbook can be found in the US Forest Service report: Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers
- The forest management for carbon sequestration and climate adaptation document does not provide recommendations.
Featured Resources
- Direct link to a landowner outreach publication by MassWoods: Forest Carbon: an essential natural solution to climate change
- Webinar: Forest Carbon Management and Climate Adaptation, from the NE Climate Adaptation webinar series, featuring Paul Catanzaro (UMass Amherst), Todd Ontl (NIACS), and Steve Hagenbuch (Audubon Vermont)
- Read more about forest carbon and management, and view carbon tools at the USDA Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center
- Review the USDA Forest Service Publication on this topic: Considering Forest and Grassland Carbon in Land Management