Round Up: June 2026
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EmailThis bi-monthly newsletter invites students, researchers, and practitioners to share resources with our community. We welcome events, perspectives, tools, data, and other announcements related to forests and climate.
Welcome to the Forest & Climate Round Up curated by the Forest Carbon and Climate Program in Michigan State University’s Department of Forestry
This bi-monthly newsletter invites students, researchers, and practitioners to share resources with our community. We welcome upcoming events, current happenings, short perspectives, new tools or data, or any other type of announcement related to forests and climate. We would like this to be a community-driven newsletter that highlights the great work of our partners, collaborators, and community members.
To submit content, please use this form.
Questions: forestc@msu.edu
ARTICLES
Do forest carbon protocols underestimate climate-driven carbon loss risk?
New research published in the Journal of Nature suggests that methodologies used for constructing carbon offset buffer pools require revision due to long-term risks to forest carbon loss from natural disturbance
Forests currently act as a net carbon sink that corresponds to roughly 17% of global fossil fuel emissions. Forest carbon offsets remain a significant source of funding to maintain and enhance carbon sequestration and avoid emissions while promoting forests as nature-based climate solutions (NbCS). However, significant uncertainties remain about forests’ abilities to maintain or increase carbon storage over longer timescales, as accounting for carbon loss from natural disturbances remains challenging.
Researchers analyzed forest inventory data and satellite images using disturbance modelling and machine learning to create spatially explicit maps of carbon loss risk across the contiguous United States from natural disturbance. The study reveals that buffer pools, a mechanism used to compensate for the unintended loss of carbon in carbon crediting projects, are likely too small by an average factor of 6.3 when accounting for 100-year risk of carbon losses from natural disturbance, with a specific emphasis on the western United States.
The researchers say there is high urgency and stakes to improve forest NbCS efforts as global concerns remain related to the integrity, durability, and additionality of carbon credits. To help with these concerns, the researchers created a Carbon Reversal Risk Tool, which is an interactive tool that analyzes carbon reversal risks across different regions and buffer pool capacities. The tool allows users to explore risk scenarios and understand ecosystem carbon storage vulnerabilities in various ecosystems.
The underlying code, data, and spatially explicit maps used in this analysis can be explored here.
Different management approaches and carbon protocols yielded different carbon sequestration and economic returns
Simulating forest management scenarios in Clemson University’s forest revealed important economic and carbon trade-offs under differing carbon offset protocols
Forest carbon offsets remain a critical tool to mitigate climate change while supporting sustainable forest management. Improved forest management (IFM), one of the most prominent forest carbon offset project types, primarily relies on extending the age of forest stands before harvesting, which creates both financial and carbon trade-offs for landowners and forest managers.
Using the forest vegetation simulator (FVS), researchers analyzed 13 different management scenarios to simulate long-term effects of varying rates of harvesting on carbon storage in the Clemson University Forest. These simulations were then used to assess the potential for generating carbon credits under both the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and the American Carbon Registry (ACR) IFM offset protocols.
The researchers found that different intensities of harvesting, prescribed burning, and artificial regeneration yielded differences in both cumulative carbon storage and economic returns. Lower levels of harvesting yield higher carbon storage, whereas more intense harvest intensities yielded higher economic returns and lower carbon sequestration. Importantly, the researchers found the CAR protocol consistently generated greater carbon accumulation as compared to ACR in part due to differences in accounting methodologies. The results can have important implications for landowners, forest managers, and policymakers as forest carbon offsets face significant challenges in legitimacy and scalability.
EVENTS
2026 ACF National Conference
June 27-30 – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2026 Forest Products Society International Conference
July 14-17 – Eugene, Oregon
2026 SAF National Convention
October 6-9 – Tacoma, Washington
JOBS
(Remote/Colorado) – Forestry Program (GNA) Specialist
(Charlotte) Urban Forestry Specialist – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
(Washington) Utility Forester – Chelan PUD
(Remote) Regional Manager, West – Forest Stewardship Council US
RESEARCH, RESOURCES, & TOOLS
RESEARCH
New research shows that consistency in pest damage tends to be higher in regions with moderate maximum temperatures and in regions with faster rates of warming. This research provides empirical support for expectations of climate-induced stress to host trees and temperature-boosted pest performance, leading to increased pest damage in future forests.
RESEARCH
On the potential for strategic behavior in jurisdictional REDD+
Research shows that approximately half of enrolled jurisdictions exhibit significant temporary increases in deforestation immediately before crediting begins, suggesting anticipatory forest clearing when expecting future restrictions with jurisdictional REDD+ enrollment, revealing critical vulnerabilities that may require methodological reform.
RESEARCH + DATA
Open-access data products of aboveground biomass stocks for boreal forests from space-borne platforms.
TOOL
USDA Forest Service Ecosystem Atlas
Provides information on the current habitat suitability for most tree species and many bird species in the eastern United States and predicts how forest habitats may be affected in the future by a changing climate.
TOOL
A tool that summarizes existing vulnerability assessments, impacts on habitats, including forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems, and impacts on species, including birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, and resources for planning, adaptation, and communication & engagement for the northeastern US.
RESOURCE
Resources for the workshop, Accessing Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)
Tools for Foresters. Delivered at the New England Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting, March 20, 2026, South Portland, ME.
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