State-Level Forest and Forest Product Carbon Modeling

The MSU Forest Carbon and Climate Program (FCCP) are working collaboratively alongside American Forests, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS), the Canadian Forest Service Carbon Accounting Team, and various state/federal partners to model the effects of forest management, wood-use, and conservation on future greenhouse gas emission. Together, we established a participatory exercise to model climate-smart forestry and wood utilization in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The results of this research will be used to inform policy and management decisions in support of forests as natural climate solutions to meet GHG emission reduction goals.

The FCCP and our partners are engaging with 7 US states to develop a business-as-usual simulation and alternate management and wood utilization scenarios to understand the effects various policies and management actions may have on net carbon balances throughout the 21st century. Our long-term goal is to continually build capacity within state agencies to understand the role of forest management under climate change. Working directly with state decision-makers in natural resource management agencies, we expect these results to have immediate impact for forest management in these states.

Check out our publication in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change: https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1259010