NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
Studying Climate Change Mitigation and Preventing Biodiversity Loss in Forests
This research emphasizes the crucial role that managed forests play in facilitating a critical conservation value: landscape connectivity
Why This Project Matters
Maintaining and enhancing landscape connectivity is an essential strategy for combating the effects of climate change and preventing biodiversity loss. Landscape connectivity represents the extent to which a landscape supports the ability of plants and animals to move across it. Some species with a limited range, like salamanders or pitcher plants, depend on connected landscapes to maintain healthy populations.
How the Project Contributes to Sustainability Objectives
The goal of this project is to forecast the trajectory of forests in the Piedmont and Sandhills ecoregions of North Carolina under high and low climate and land use change. The project will quantify how these forests, especially restored longleaf pine and managed production forests, contribute to landscape connectivity. This research is crucial to understanding forest contributions to connectivity under global climate change. It will help prioritize and incentivize forest restoration and sustainable forest management to promote biodiversity.
SFI’s Contribution
Collaboration is at the heart of the SFI Conservation Grants Program, which is supporting this project.
It fosters partnerships between organizations interested in measuring conservation outcomes and motivating improved forest management and responsible procurement. This project brings together academics, NGOs, forest producers, and government agencies to help ensure a positive future. These stakeholders are extremely interested in the project and have agreed to continued engagement and follow up.
How the Project Helps Forest Managers
This research will quantify the contribution of SFI-certified forests toward the attainment of landscape connectivity in central North Carolina, which is a widely accepted conservation goal in an area prioritized for its high biodiversity and conservation needs. Weyerhaeuser, an SFI-certified company, is interested in using the results of this study to inform outreach to private landowners to help enhance their forest management practices. Domtar, an SFI-certified company, is interested in learning more about longleaf pine restoration under climate and land use change, and how these efforts will advance landscape connectivity in the study area.
Partners
This partnership includes conservation NGO’s, government, and industry to assure forest health in the face of climate change. These partners include:
- Project Lead: North Carolina State University
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
- South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Weyerhaeuser (SFI-certified organization)
- Domtar (SFI-certified organization)
Related Information
- Bird Conservation Goes Continental with ABC – Linking Managed Forests at an Unprecedented Scale
- Private Landowner Outreach in the Cape Fear Arch – Sustaining Working Forests
- Developing a Tool to Restore the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
- Sustainable Forest Management and Protection of Special Sites for Southeastern Forests Through Conservation Easements
- Getting the Most Bang For Your Conservation Buck
About North Carolina State University
NC State University began as a land-grant institution grounded in agriculture and engineering. Today, it’s a leading public research university that excels across disciplines. NC State is a powerhouse in science, technology, engineering, and math. NC State University leads in agriculture, education, textiles, business, and natural resources. It’s at the forefront of teaching and research in design, the humanities and the social sciences. The university is also home to one of the world’s best colleges of veterinary medicine. The student body of more than 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students learns by doing. They pursue research and start new companies. They forge connections with top employers and serve local and global communities.