Researchers at West Virginia University are working to ensure small landowners and local communities, instead of large corporations, profit from the ability of Central Appalachian forests to remove greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Researchers at West Virginia University are working to ensure small landowners and local communities, instead of large corporations, profit from the ability of Central Appalachian forests to remove greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
So-called “forest-based climate solution programs” manage forest ecosystems in a way that enhances carbon storage by planting trees, for example, or by restricting logging. To ensure these programs benefit both forests and local communities, a WVU team will spend the next four years investigating how different management practices affect Appalachian forest life — from the trees and other flora that grow there to the loggers, farmers, trail riders and ginseng gatherers who are also part of those ecosystems.
The project is supported by $1.7 million from the National Science Foundation.
“To curb climate change, we have to reduce fossil fuel emissions. But we can also take advantage of our forests’ ability to remove the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it long term in wood and soils,” said Steven Kannenberg, assistant professor of biology at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. “In particular, the forests of the eastern U.S. are an incredibly large carbon sink. The amount of carbon dioxide they capture is equivalent to 40-60% of the region’s fossil fuel emissions.”
Read more at West Virginia University
Image: In Central Appalachia, programs that manage forested lands to enhance the carbon-storing capabilities of trees and soil are paying dividends for large corporate landowners but leaving small landholders out, according to WVU research. Biologist Steven Kannenberg is working to ensure local communities benefit from the carbon credits their forests generate. (Credit: WVU Photo/Alyssa Reeves)
