Presentation Title
Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Productivity of Vermont’s Forests
Abstract
Forest productivity is a measure of the net growth rate of a forest, measured in the mass of carbon accumulated per unit area per year, through the process of photosynthesis. My research focuses on the effect that climate change is having and will potentially have on forest productivity in Vermont. These effects are categorized into changes in aboveground biomass, and changes in soils and nutrient cycling. Climate change in combination with anthropogenic forest usage has the potential to impact forest carbon storage, and understanding this impact is crucial to navigating the tradeoffs between managing forests for their health, for climate mitigation, and for resource use.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Gillian Galford
Graduate Student Mentors
Jess Wikle, Hanusia Higgins
Faculty/Staff Collaborators
Jess Wikle (Graduate Student Mentor), Hanusia Higgins (Graduate Student Mentor)
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources
Program/Major
Environmental Sciences
Primary Research Category
Food & Environment Studies
Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Productivity of Vermont’s Forests
Forest productivity is a measure of the net growth rate of a forest, measured in the mass of carbon accumulated per unit area per year, through the process of photosynthesis. My research focuses on the effect that climate change is having and will potentially have on forest productivity in Vermont. These effects are categorized into changes in aboveground biomass, and changes in soils and nutrient cycling. Climate change in combination with anthropogenic forest usage has the potential to impact forest carbon storage, and understanding this impact is crucial to navigating the tradeoffs between managing forests for their health, for climate mitigation, and for resource use.