Members of the FWS recently held a meeting with forest scientists representing the Minnesota Forest Research Council (MFRC) to better understand the Carbon Study funded by the MFRC.
The Carbon Study is a three-pronged group of studies.
The first study is focused on Minnesota’s public and private forests. It determines how much carbon is stored in our forests and provides data for an interactive forest-carbon dashboard. It also graphs data on the size of annual commercial harvests beginning many years before the major harvests of the last century.
The second study produced a hypothetical forest management plan which could replace current plans in working forests. Under this plan, climate-adapted species would be inserted into each of eight forest types. These species are pre-qualified to “stand-in” for current species, if necessary. Climate-adapted species would diversify the stands, the first step in establishing resilience. Over one hundred years, many other silviculture changes, such as multi-aged stands and creative harvesting plans, would increase resilience. The hypothetical forest would continue to sequester carbon at high rates, and increase storage of carbon in the forest.
The third study examines how timber use can reduce greenhouse emissions from the production of forest products. We are awaiting reports on the outcomes of this study and plan a repeat visit with MFRC forest scientists.