A Synthesis of the Science on Forests and Carbon for U.S. Forests

SW Fire Science Consortium Webinar
July 28, 2010 12pm Mountain time
The SW Fire Science Consortium is please to present a webinar on forest carbon. Dr. Mike Ryan, USDA Forest Service Research Forest Ecologist, will present a scientific synthesis he and his colleagues recently published in the journal Issues in Ecology that examines forest carbon cycle. The synthesis covers the entire U.S., but Dr. Ryan will include a focus on the southwest for this particular webinar. Forests play a key role in the carbon cycle and their growth and harvested wood products currently offsets 12-19% of U.S. fossil fuel emissions. The cycle of forest growth, death, and regeneration and the use of wood removed from the forest complicate efforts to understand and measure forest carbon pools and flows. Dr. Ryan will discuss these processes and the science behind mechanisms proposed for increasing the amount of carbon stored in forests and using wood to offset fossil fuel use.
To register for the webinar please visit:http://www.forestguild.org/SW_webinar.html
· The publication A Synthesis of the Science on Forests and Carbon for U.S. Forests is available at:http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/35006.
· Dr. Mike Ryan provides a general overview of the forest carbon cycle in a web video presentation titled What is the role of forests in the U.S. carbon balance? and available at http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/hjar/forests_carbon.html.