New England Forestry Foundation has contributed to an effort to understand the role of forest management in increasing carbon storage in New England’s working forests as part of the Forest Carbon for Commercial Landowners (FCCL) Initiative, a broad coalition of large forest landowners, conservationists, nonprofit organizations, scientists, and economists.
The FCCL Initiative’s Steering Committee commissioned a report from the University of Maine and other researchers to determine if 7+ million commercially owned timberland acres in northern Maine could sequester more carbon through climate-smart forest management while maintaining harvest levels and profitability, and if so, how much it would cost to incentivize landowners to implement. The resulting report showed the forestlands could store at least 20 percent more carbon each year without reducing harvest levels.
Related:
Low-Resolution Report | Appendices
The Forest Carbon for Commercial Landowners report and its four appendices are fascinating, but they’re also a pretty long and technical read. NEFF science and communication staff members have pulled together a “Science Highlights of New ‘Forest Carbon for Commercial Landowners’ Report” blog post that summarizes the report’s methods, findings and recommended next steps to get you started.