Forests can play a major role in addressing climate change by sequestering hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide per year. Science is helping decision-makers and land managers develop better strategies for planting trees, improving forest management, and protecting existing forests from current and future threats.

• Where to Put Trees

  The Science:  Efforts to reforest America should be guided by science-driven decisions on where to plant the trees. Before planting trees, it is important to assess the costs and benefits of reforesting a particular location, while also considering the land’s ownership and whether it was previously forested. The paper “Lower Cost and More Feasible Options to Restore Forest Cover in the Contiguous United States for Climate Mitigation” highlights the important role that tree planting can play as a climate solution in the United States. It examines 10 different opportunities for reforestation and assesses the costs, benefits and feasibility of each approach. The companion Reforestation Hub tool provides data on each of these 10 opportunities at the county level, allowing decision-makers to identify the most practical reforestation options in a given area. The USDA Forest Service’s Climate Change Tree Atlas models potential habitat for 125 tree species in the Eastern U.S.

  In November 2023, Crowther Labs released a new paper, Integrated Global Assessment of the Natural Forest Carbon Potential, analyzing the significant role that forests can play in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The study notes that human-induced changes in land use and climate have diminished this system’s effectiveness as a carbon sink. The study suggests that globally, here is significant untapped potential to store carbon in forests – with a total deficit of 226 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent in areas with low human impact. The majority (61%) of this unrealized potential is in areas with existing forests, where protecting ecosystems can enable forests to recover fully.

  Making Sense of the Science: This blog article, written by the paper’s lead author, Dr. Susan Cook-Patton, highlights how the Reforestation Hub can help decision-makers in communities around the country identify the best opportunities for reforesting over 200,000 square miles of land in the United States – an area the size of California and Maine put together.

  A blog article by Tom Crowther walks through the latest science put forth in the 2023 Crowther Labs study, stressing that “there can be no choice between nature and emissions cuts, because we urgently need both. We need nature for climate action and we need climate action for nature.” Articles in the New York Times and The Guardian provide additional analysis of the study and its implications for climate action.

• Combining Climate & Biodiversity Benefits

  The Science: In many cases, conserving forests can both mitigate climate change and protect our nation’s rich biodiversity. The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Lands Mapping Tool and Resilient and Connected Network project helps identify the places where plant and animal species have the best chance to adapt to climate change. A forest carbon analysis recently added to the tool helps policy makers identify lands for conservation that have both high potential for both carbon storage and biodiversity conservation.

  Making Sense of the Science: This article, written by The Nature Conservancy’s Mark Anderson – the scientist who has led this effort – explains how decision makers can use the carbon layer recently added to the Resilient Lands Tool to target specific areas for conservation that have both value for biodiversity and for carbon storage.

• Building Capacity for Reforestation

  The Science: Recognizing the important role that forests can play in addressing climate change, ambitious efforts to reforest America are underway. Unfortunately, limitations in seedling production and workforce capacity may hinder these efforts. A recent paper by Fargione et al., “Challenges to the Reforestation Pipeline in the United States” delves into these issues, identifying a need to more than double tree nursery capacity in the U.S. to achieve our reforestation ambitions. The paper also outlines potential solutions for overcoming the capacity and workforce challenges that serve as barriers to reforestation.

  Making Sense of the Science:  A blog article entitled “Seeing the Forest for the Seedlings: Challenges and Opportunities in the Effort to Reforest America,” written by co-author Diane Haase, frames the findings of Fargione et al.’s  “Reforestation Pipeline” paper through the lens of her own experience as a nursery specialist with the USDA Forest Service – highlighting the need to increase nursery capacity and build a reforestation workforce.

  Science in Action: A recent video produced by U.S. Nature4Climate spotlights the story of Minnesota’s Chelsea Morning Farm, which is part of a collaborative effort that has brought together farmers, non-profit organizations and universities to strengthen capacity for reforestation, while also ensuring that trees can thrive in a changing climate. Another USN4C video highlights the MANO Project, a collaboration between the Hispanic Access Foundation and several U.S. federal agencies to build the diverse workforce necessary to protect public lands and implement just and equitable climate change mitigation strategies.

• Planting Urban Trees

  The Science: Urban trees not only help sequester carbon, but can also provide significant benefits to urban communities, including relief from heat, lower energy bills, improved resilience to flooding and increased opportunities for outdoor recreation. However, recent work by American Forests and The Nature Conservancy highlights disparities in tree cover in both low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. American Forests’ Tree Equity Score assesses the distribution of tree cover in neighborhoods nationwide, indicating whether there are enough trees in a neighborhood for everyone to experience the health, economic and climate benefits that trees provide. American Forests finds that we need to plant 522 million trees in cities to reach full Tree Equity nationwide. The Nature Conservancy’s study found that low income blocks have 15.2% less tree cover and are 1.5℃ hotter than high-income blocks in urbanized areas, with even greater disparities in some regions. Another American Forests report estimates that by planting 31.4 million urban trees per year at a cost of $8.9 billion dollars, we can create 228,000 new jobs and remove carbon from the atmosphere equal to 200,000 cars per year.

  Making Sense of the Science:  A U.S. Nature4Climate blog article, “Investing in America’s Urban Forests,” summarizes the key findings of both the American Forest and The Nature Conservancy’s research, highlighting the potential of urban trees to both mitigate climate change and reduce inequality in U.S. cities. American Forests’ Tree Equity Score tool also provides a useful map for decision-makers to address disparities in tree cover by targeting urban forestry resources to the neighborhoods most in need of relief. This video produced by U.S. Nature4Climate highlights the Boise City of Trees Challenge, an effort to plant one urban tree for every household in Boise, Idaho, while also ensuring the threes survive and thrive well into the future. The program utilizes the Tree Equity Score tool to ensure that trees benefit the communities that need them most.  

  The Trust for Public Land’s special report, The Power of Parks to Address Climate Change, highlights the powerful role that parks can play in mitigating climate change and helping communities adapt to its impacts, while also providing benefits to disadvantaged communities.

  The Science in Action: A U.S. Nature4Climate video highlights Boise, Idaho’s City of Trees Challenge, which is utilizing American Forests’ Tree Equity Score to equitably restore tree canopy to the city. A complementary blog article and fact sheet highlights how programs like the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program can help expand urban forestry programs nationwide. Another USN4C article details The Nature Conservancy’s Treesilience program, which utilizes funds from the Forest Service’s Landscape Scale Restoration program to provide financial and technical support to help community organizations increase and maintain healthy tree cover.

• How to Plant Trees

  The Science:  A report recently released by The National Wildlife Federation, American Forests and The Nature Conservancy, “Toward a Shared Understanding of Climate-Smart Restoration on America’s National Forests,” reviews and summarizes recent scientific insights into how climate change is affecting America’s national forests and how climate-smart forest restoration can help sustain these cherished public lands. The report goes on to identify and explore eight proposed principles for climate-smart forest restoration to guide restoration efforts.

  Making Sense of the Science:  A companion publication to the Climate-Smart Restoration report, “Restore Forests for the Future: Profiles in Climate-Smart Restoration on America’s National Forests,” explores how the principles of climate-smart forest restoration are being put into practice throughout the U.S. to manage and restore landscapes. It includes a number of case studies highlight how these principles help improve management of fire-prone forests, optimize the carbon sequestration potential of forest lands, and reduce climate risk.

• Improving Forest Management

  The Science: Climate-smart forest management offers another pathway for mitigating climate change. This can include changing timber harvest practices, restoring forest health and resilience, and other actions that support sustainable forestry. A paper called “Improved Forest Management as a Natural Climate Solution” – co-authored by scientists from the USDA Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and several universities –  summarizes the climate mitigation potential of practices like extending timber harvest rotations, selective harvesting, thinning and post-harvest regeneration. The paper highlights a need to better define forest management practices and develop a stronger base of evidence on their efficacy, suggests a greater focus on forest soil carbon, and recommends steps to make improved forest management practices (IFM) more accessible for landowners.

  Ongoing research by American Forests on forest management and carbon impacts emphasizes the importance of a systems-based approach to forest management, considering the carbon impacts not only in the forest but also in harvested wood products and other sectors of the economy. This research also shows that a broad range of management practices, such as extending harvest rotations, optimizing stocking levels, and promoting natural regeneration, are viable climate mitigation strategies in certain regions. A November 2023 study in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change details the results of American Forests’ modeling research in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

  Making Sense of the Science: An American Forests blog article, Modeling a Climate Smart Future, details how the organization’s research can help states better protect forests from future climate impacts, help forest landowners implement climate-smart and financially beneficial practices, and inform forest management and policy. As noted by American Forest scientist Kendall DeLyser, “Once we get a sense of how these management practices play in each state, we can use that to shape national-scale policies to help inform national-scale funding for climate- smart forestry. I think the opportunities are endless.”

• Pests & Pathogens

  The Science: A recent paper, “Insect and Disease Disturbances Correlate With Reduced Carbon Sequestration in Forests of the Contiguous United States,” highlights the threats to existing forests posed by both invasive and native pests and their impact on forest carbon stocks, finding that forests damaged by insects sequestered 69% less carbon, and those damaged by disease sequestered 28% less carbon, when compared to forests not impacted by one of these severe disturbances. The paper also outlines policy options as well as steps that can be taken to mitigate these threats. An article published in the journal Biological Invasions identifies opportunities to reduce spread of invasive species by improving management of international supply chains.

  Making Sense of the Science: A blog article written by co-author Leigh Greenwood summarizes the pests and pathogens paper’s findings and argues that addressing the threats posed by both invasive pests and native pests is vital if we want to protect both forest carbon stocks and the diverse plant and animal species that inhabit U.S. forests. This will require implementation of sustainable land management practices and preventive strategies to keep invasive pests from becoming established in the U.S. Another Greenwood article discusses the state of international practices for managing supply chains, highlighting the need for consistent global regulation to prevent, remove, and treat wood packaging for contaminating pests before they enter the supply chain.

• Avoided Conversion

  The Science: A study recently released by Clark University, “Avoided Deforestation: A Climate Mitigation Opportunity in New England & New York,” quantifies the significant challenges posed by deforestation in our efforts to mitigate climate change. The report calculates the amount of forest lost each year in New York and New England, along with the carbon released by deforestation and the amount of future carbon storage lost. The results of this research can help land managers plan conservation programs that help minimize forest loss. With a grant from the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program and other contributors, a collaboration between the Open Space Institute, The Nature Conservancy, American Forests, Trust for Public Land, and the Land Trust Alliance are working to update the National Forest Carbon Monitoring System by collecting end-user input to maximize utility to the field, updating forest carbon data, revising forest carbon projections, and developing tools to help decision-makers navigate this data.

  Making Sense of the Science:  This article written by The Nature Conservancy’s Massachusetts chapter highlights how decision-makers are using the results of Clark University’s study, coupled with hands-on tools like the Resilient Lands Mapping Tool, to target vulnerable forest lands for conservation and undertake management activities – like tree planting, thinning and removing invasive species – to keep forests healthy.

• Wildfire Management

  The Science: Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires release huge amounts of carbon – previously stored in living trees – back into the atmosphere. The USDA Forest Service’s Fire Research website links to several of the Agency’s efforts to better understand wildfire behavior. A paper co-written by scientists from Colorado State University and the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, “Forest Service Fire Management and the Elusiveness of Change,” highlights a need to better integrate fire and land management planning, increase stakeholder collaboration and improve training of agency personnel. To address the wildfire crisis, the USDA Forest Service launched a Wildfire Crisis Strategy in 2022 that details a 10-year plan to implement wildfire treatment practices on 20 million acres on National Forest System lands, treat an additional 30 million acres of other Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands, and develop a plan for long-term maintenance beyond 10 years. In 2023, the Forest Service added 11 new landscapes to this strategy.

  The Roadmap for Wildfire Resilience, released by The Nature Conservancy and The Aspen Institute in 2023, integrates lessons-learned from past policy and practice with forward-thinking approaches that incorporate new technology and knowledge, exploring themes like controlled burning, post-fire recovery, partnerships, and finance. The Roadmap “makes clear that a paradigm shift requires the need for an all-of-society approach in close coordination with state and local governments, Tribal Nations and partners, in addition to durable and predictable funding at or above current levels.” A complementary report, Building Wildfire Resilience Through Policy Action, provides federal policy recommendations to support expanded implementation of wildfire management strategies.

  Making Sense of the Science: A recent article in American Forests Magazine called “The United States of Fire” details how past forest management practices have made us more vulnerable to catastrophic fires and highlights efforts the state of Florida has taken to improve the resilience of its forests to fire. This video by The Nature Conservancy illustrates how carefully controlled burns can help lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s blog article, “Building American Wildfire Resiliency,” summarizes current approaches to managing wildfire, recent Congressional action to address wildfire threats and recommendations for future action.

  Strong Support for Action: Polling conducted by The Nature Conservancy in late 2022 details increasing concern among American voters about the risk and impacts of wildfire, with 82% of voters supporting investing in a range of wildfire risk-reduction activities including cutting and removing overgrown brush and trees and allowing trained fire teams to use controlled burns.

• Climate Change Adaptation

  The Science:  Making U.S. forests more resilient to a changing climate is another important strategy for addressing climate change. Trees adapted to thrive under current conditions may suffer in warmer environments. The paper “Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration & Climate Adaptation” identifies a need to adapt existing forests to a changing climate, and recommends a “Forest Carbon Management Menu” to guide these efforts. The menu also highlights synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation – removing carbon from the air while also increasing the resilience of our lands and communities to climate change.

  A study co-authored by several scientists from The Nature Conservancy makes clear that hotter and dryer conditions are slowing the ability of ecosystems to recover from wildfire. An Environmental Defense Fund article summarizing this study details actions that may help address this issue, such assisted migration, where trees from warmer climates are planted in new areas, providing a more “climactically suitable” species to maintain forest cover. This study led by the USDA Forest Service’s Northern Research Station details the challenges and opportunities of advancing forest assisted migration, and outlines a path forward for overcoming those challenges.

  Making Sense of the Science: The Climate Change Response Framework’s Forest Carbon Management website provides a high-level walkthrough of the paper recommended above, highlights real-world examples of climate adaptive forest management, and links to “A Quick Guide to Adaptation Planning For Natural Resources Professionals,” a resource developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Northern Forest Climate Hub that serves as a step-by-step guide to assist decision-makers in forest adaptation planning.

  A USDA Forest Service article, Traveling Trees: Assisted Migration for Climate Resilience, delves more deeply into the concept of assisted migration, highlighting examples of the strategy in action, and outlining the agency’s plan for helping land managers determine when, where, and how to implement assisted migration of tree species. A U.S. Nature4Climate video, Building Capacity for Reforestation, profiles the work of Chelsea Morning Farms, which is working to grow climate-adapted seedlings that can survive and thrive in changing climate conditions through the Forest Assisted Migration Project — a collaboration between the University of Minnesota-Duluth, The Nature Conservancy, and Minnesota farmers.

Climate-smart agriculture practices can sequester and store carbon in the ground, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. America’s farmers and ranchers are working with scientists, policy makers and businesses to develop innovative, win-win solutions that are good for our environment and our economy.

• Fundamentals of Soil Health Science

  The Science: U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action’s Climate Smart Agriculture: An Overview for Corn-Soybean Systems report is a comprehensive literature review that walks through the fundamentals of soil health. It links climate-smart agriculture to additional benefits for farmers, including improved productivity and soil resilience, and the important role testing and monitoring play in maintaining healthy soil. 

  Making Sense of the Science: U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action’s Nutrient Cycling Resource Center webpage includes short summaries for each of the report’s four chapters, as well as helpful infographics that illustrate the role that the carbon cycle, water cycle and nitrogen cycle play in maintaining healthy soil. The Dairy Feed in Focus program, spotlighted by U.S. Nature4Climate in this video, shows how Wisconsin and Michigan farmers, working together with The Nature Conservancy and companies, are leading efforts to research and implement climate-smart agricultural practices on Midwestern dairy farms. 

• Understanding the Importance of Soil Health

  The Science:  The Nature Conservancy’s 2016 report, “reThink Soils: A Roadmap to U.S. Soil Health,” summarizes the impact that degradation of soils has had on U.S. agriculture, and summarizes the benefits of healthy soil, including increased agricultural productivity and improved storage of nutrients and water. Healthy soil also has the potential to mitigate 25 million metric tons of carbon emissions – equivalent to removing 5 million cars from the road for a year. The report also provides a roadmap to overcoming research gaps and economic barriers that constrain adoption of soil health practices, while suggesting policy actions that can help overcome these barriers. A 2022 report by the Environmental Defense Fund, Ambitious U.S. Climate Mitigation Opportunities for Agriculture & Forestry: Vision for 2030 details a number of climate-smart agriculture practices, estimates their greenhouse gas mitigation impact, and estimated cost of implementing the practices.

  Making Sense of the Science: A short, animated video walks through the reThink Soil Initiative and highlights actions that have been taken to further research, policy and practice around soil health. A press release announcing the release of the Environmental Defense Fund report notes that U.S. agriculture can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23% by 2030 if high-impact, low-cost practices are implemented on U.S. farmland.

• Cover Crops, No-Till, and Other Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices

  The Science:  U.S. agricultural land has the potential to be a key part of the solution to climate change. Climate-smart agricultural practices like cover cropping and nutrient management can help both store carbon and reduce carbon emissions. American Farmland Trust’s Combating Climate Change on US Cropland report summarizes the state of the science on the potential carbon sequestration impacts of cover cropping and no-till agriculture, identifies barriers farmers face in implementing these practices, offers suggestions on how to overcome these challenges, and recommends a path forward for implementing cover cropping on an additional 15% of cropland acres, while converting 25% of current acres to no-till. A report by the Environmental Defense Fund, Ambitious Climate Mitigation Pathways for U.S. Agriculture and Forestry: Vision for 2030, explores the climate mitigation potential of several climate-smart agriculture practices, including livestock methane reductions, cropland nutrient management, reduced tillage, cover crops, agroforestry, and avoided landscape conversion. U.S. Nature4Climate’s Science webpage provides additional detail on the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of a wide range of agricultural practices.

  Making Sense of the Science: The American Farmland Trust’s Brennan Hafner wrote blog article called “New Research Shows the Incredible Potential of America’s Agricultural Soils to Combat Climate Change,” offering a brief summary of the report’s key findings. The “Debate and Discussion” section of this website features an in-depth discussion by experts on the challenges,  and opportunities of implanting no-till agriculture, and the uncertainties that scientists are trying to address. As part of their Agriculture and Climate article series, the Environmental & Energy Study Institute (EESI) takes deep dives into a number of climate-smart agriculture practices, including cover crops, no-till farming, rotational livestock grazing, agroforestry, and biochar. EESI’s Farm Bill in Focus briefing series explores how Farm Bill conservation programs can play a crucial role in expanding implementation of these practices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $3.1 billion Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program is funding 141 projects designed to scale up implementation of climate-smart practices, while researching their mitigation benefits.

  Putting the Science into Action: Developing a uniform set of measures to accurately gauge the impact of climate-smart soil health management practices can increase their adoption by making it easier and more cost-effective for farmers to test their soils. This data can also help guide future implementation by providing insight on the efficacy of different practices across various climates, soil types, cropping systems, and management practices.

  In a recent study, A Minimum Suite of Soil Health Indicators for North American Agriculture, the Soil Health Institute partnered with 100 scientists to evaluate 30 soil health measurements at 124 research sites across North America, developing a set of 3 soil health indicators that can be be widely applied on farms across North America. An interpretive summary provides an explanation of the research and its practical implications for U.S. agriculture.

• Agroforestry

  The Science:  Agroforestry is “the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agroforestry Center’s Agroforestry Brief summarizes a variety of agroforestry practices, including alley cropping, windbreaks, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture and forest farming, describing each and listing their climate, environmental and economic benefits. The brief links to a number of additional resources on the science of agroforestry, including a study called “Branching Out: Agroforestry as a Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Tool for Agriculture,” that takes a deeper dive into the climate benefits of agroforestry. In a 2023 perspective article in the journal Nature Climate Change, scientists from The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, and Conservation International (among others) suggests agroforestry has significant untapped potential to mitigate climate change, and explores advances in remote sensing to help more reliably detect, measure, and monitor mitigation.

  Making Sense of the Science: The Savanna Institute’s website highlights the climate benefits of agroforestry, noting that globally, “agroforestry could sequester 2.2 gigatons of carbon per year – more than any other agricultural land management approach out there.” The website also offers a series of infographics that outline the benefits of 5 agroforestry practices and provide answers to frequently asked questions. A report by the World Resources Institute quantifies the potential job benefits of agroforestry, noting that an annual federal investment of $1.8 billion dollars annually could support 49,500 jobs each year. An article by The Nature Conservancy discusses the Expanding Agroforestry Production & Markets for Producer Profitability and Climate Stabilization program, an effort supported by the USDA’s Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities program designed to create 30,000 new acres of agroforestry plantings over 5 years.

  Science in Action: A U.S. Nature4Climate video called Advancing Agroforestry in the Midwest, along with a complementary blog article and fact sheet, profiles work being done on the Savanna Institute’s Hudson Demonstration Farm, which provides on-farm education and outreach to encourage greater agroforestry adoption, while also highlighting how federal Farm Bill programs can provide financial assistance to support implementation.

• Economics of Climate-Smart Agriculture

  The Science: Several works have been released recently that quantify the economic benefits of climate-smart agriculture. The Soil Health Institute’s (SHI) Economics of Soil Health Systems research interviewed 100 farmers and conducted partial budget analysis on their farms to quantify the costs and benefits of implementing soil health systems, finding increased income for 85% of corn farmers and 88% of soybean farmers. Their website includes a fact sheet and webinar that highlight the reports key findings. In 2023, SHI updated this research by conducting extensive interviews with 30 farmers in 20 states implementing a wide range of soil health practices, including cover crops, no-till/reduced-till, rotational grazing, and other practices. Their research found that these practices raised net farm income by an average of $65/acre.  Research conducted by the American Farmland Trust found similar findings, showing increases in crop yields, profits and a significant return on investment for farmers implementing soil health practices like cover crops, no-till cropping, and nutrient management practices. 

  Making Sense of the Science: A blog article published in the Environmental Defense Fund’s [EDF] “Growing Returns” blog summarizes the findings of the Soil Health Institute’s work and provides links to additional research focusing on the impact soil health has on crop resilience. American Farmland Trust’s Soil Health Case Studies landing page links to nine 2-page case studies highlighting the impact that implementation of soil health practices had on 17 farms in California, Idaho, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The Soil Health Institute’s Economics of Soil Health Systems on 30 U.S. Farms webpage includes 30 case studies, each with its own video, article, and fact sheet.

  A new collaboration between EDF and the Farmers Business Network, the Regenerative Agriculture Finance Fund “rewards farmers with lower interest rates who meet climate and water quality benchmarks”.

• Protecting Farmland

  The Science: Implementing climate-smart management practices on agricultural land can play a powerful role in mitigating climate change. However, this opportunity is being lost as U.S. farmland and ranchland is converted to developed land uses. Indeed, American Farmland Trust’s [AFT] Farms Under Threat Report notes that 11 million acres of U.S. agricultural land were converted to developed land uses between 2001 and 2016. In addition to quantifying the threats to agricultural land, the report offers a menu of both state and federal-level policy options that can help keep agricultural land in production. 

  Making Sense of the Science: To help decision-makers navigate this issue, American Farmland Trust created a spatial mapping tool that highlights the scale of conversion of agricultural land to developed land uses, and where conversion is most prevalent. The Agricultural Land Protection Scorecard assesses state-level action to address farmland loss, measures their performance, and highlights policy actions in each state that have been effective in addressing the problem.

• Agrivoltaics & Solar Siting

  The Science: An comprehensive strategy to address climate change requires efforts to reduce emissions and develop sustainable energy sources, as well as Natural Climate Solutions. Smart siting of renewable energy ensures that solar energy development does not result in the loss of carbon-sequestering farmland and forests. Dual-use solar, also called “agrivoltaics” is the practice of siting solar panels on farmland in a way that allows agricultural activities to continue.

  A study spearheaded by Oregon State University suggests that investing in agrivoltaics can create jobs, reduce carbon emissions and help farmers continue farming. A study by the Yale Center for Business & The Environment titled “Maximizing Land Use Benefits From Utility Scale Solar” provides a cost-benefit analysis of pollinator-friendly solar development in Minnesota, highlighting additional benefits provided by these projects, including higher crop yields, reduced soil erosion and increased groundwater recharge.

  Making Sense of the Science: A report by The Nature Conservancy, The Power of Place, outlines key principles for placing solar energy, and outlines policy recommendations detailing a “framework for designing and implementing the policies and practices needed to accelerate clean energy while maximizing positive outcomes for climate, conservation, and communities.”  The American Farmland Trust (AFT) has created a Solar Siting webpage that offers resources for farmers and policy-makers to navigate the smart-siting of solar energy development and identify opportunities for dual-use solar. AFT’s Smart Solar Siting Partnership for New England  offers a real-world example of these principles being put into action.

  A U.S. Nature4Climate blog article highlights another effort – the Long Island Solar Roadmap report and online mapping tool – that is helping to ensure that solar energy development on Long Island does not adversely impact existing farms, forests and parks. Finally,  this article by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute highlights efforts to support the planting of pollinator-friendly habitat on solar energy sites.

• Biochar

  The Science: Biochar is produced from agricultural and forestry waste in a controlled process called pyrolysis. One study suggested amending soils with biochar produced from available agricultural and forestry waste could sequester up to 95 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the U.S., while also improving soil’s capacity to hold moisture. Biochar can also improve carbon sequestration in forest soils. A study co-authored by scientists from the University of Idaho and U.S. Department of Agriculture found that adding biochar to forest soils increased soil carbon content by 41% without affecting tree growth. A paper recently released by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and American Farmland Trust, Scaling Sustainable Biochar Research & Commercialization for Agriculture & Conservation: A Summary from a Stakeholder Convening, summarizes how sustainably produced and applied biochar can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build healthy high functioning soils, while also outlining research needs and gaps to help scale up implementation.

  Making Sense of the Science: An article by the Environmental & Energy Study Institute details what biochar is, the benefits of applying biochar — including climate mitigation and resilience benefits and improved crop yields — and details federal programs that support biochar. Nature4Climate’s biochar page explains what biochar is and the impact it can have on global emissions.  The Climate Action Reserve is currently working on a protocol that would allow for the sale of carbon credits based on the production and use of biochar. An article on the U.S. Nature4Climate blog, Sequestering Carbon Through Conversion and Community Burning: Converting Forest Fuels to Biochar, highlights a project undertaken by the Lands Council and Kalispel Tribe to turn slash piles produced by forest thinning efforts into biochar, which can be applied to agricultural soils to improve water holding capacity and increase carbon sequestration.

• Long-Rooted Perennial Crops

  The Science:  Long-rooted perennial crops have the potential to store significantly more carbon in the soil than other crops. The World Resources Institute’s CarbonShot report suggests that investing in the development of these crops could serve as an important agricultural carbon solution, but that challenges exist in maintaining crop yields and taste. The Land Institute (TLI) is working to overcome these challenges through the development of Kernza, a long-rooted perennial grain crop that stores significantly more carbon in the soil than other crops. Last year, they released a white paper – “Perennializing Grain Crop Agriculture: A Pathway for Climate Change Mitigation & Adaption” – that analyzes both the benefits and challenges of scaling up perennial grain crops. New research by scientists in China suggests that perennial rice also offers the potential for significant carbon sequestration.

  Making Sense of the Science: The Land Institute’s website provides a good high-level summary of the role perennial crops can play in addressing environmental problems, including climate change. TLI’s Kernza website provides additional resources for a variety of stakeholders to learn more about the grain.  A recent article in the Washington Post profiles The Land Institute’s efforts to develop Kernza and their partnerships with farmers to plant the grain on working farms, through the perspective of the reporter’s experience in making a loaf of Kernza-based bread. A blog article by The Land Institute summarizes the work being done in China to research the climate mitigation potential of perennial rice.

  Science in Action: This video produced by U.S. Nature4Climate and complementary blog article focuses on The Land Institute’s work to develop Kernza, a long-rooted perennial grain, as well as efforts by Perennial Pantry, a Minnesota business dedicated to developing Kernza-based products that can be used in kitchens throughout America. This USN4C blog article highlights how the Forever Green Initiative in Minnesota is bringing together farmers, government agencies, private businesses, non-profits, and research organizations to develop and scale implementation of Kernza and other perennial grains – supported by permanent funding allocated by the Minnesota Legislature.

• Climate-smart feed for livestock

  The Science: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane produced by the digestive processes of livestock, especially cattle, is responsible for over a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the U.S. agriculture sector. One study led by scientists from the University of California-Davis and Stanford University, found that adding a marine algae to livestock feed has the potential to reduce these methane emissions by over 50%.   

  Making Sense of the Science: An article on the UC-Davis website discusses the impact that livestock has on global emissions and walks through the findings of the research cited above, noting that adding seaweed to cow diets reduces emissions without changing the flavor of the milk. An Environmental Defense Fund article explores why reducing methane emissions is important and highlights the role the federal government can play in supporting research and development into practical solutions.

• Grasslands

  The Science: Protecting and restoring grasslands has significant climate change mitigation potential. According to the study Natural Climate Solutions in the United States and a report by the Environmental Defense Fund, avoiding the conversion of 1-2 million acres of grassland per year to cropland or other uses can reduce carbon emissions between 22-24 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) at a cost of $10/metric ton, rising to 107 million metric tons CO2e at aa cost of $100/metric ton. Restoring 5 million acres of marginal cropland to grassland has the potential to sequester an additional 9 million metric tons of CO2e per year. The USDA Forest Service’s Grassland Carbon Management webpage highlights the important role that grasslands play in sequestering carbon in their deep underground root systems, outlines the threats faced by grasslands due to conversion to row-crop agriculture and other uses, and outlines management actions, such as grazing management, prescribed fire, and native species plantings that can help protect and restore grasslands.

  Making Sense of the Science: An article by The Nature Conservancy, Resilient and Connected Plains, illustrates the diversity of grasslands in the United States, illustrating how the organization’s Resilient Land Mapping Tool is helping to target conservation to grasslands with particularly high conservation value. Another article by The Nature Conservancy, Mad Island: Fire Restores Prairie on the Texas Gulf Coast, highlights the important role that prescribed fire plays in helping to manage invasive species and facilitate the restoration of native grass species.

  Science in Action: A U.S. Nature4Climate article profiles the work that Minnesota Rancher John Reed is doing to protect and sustainably manage grasslands through a conservation easement managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, resulting in his working grassland being added to the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grassland Conservation Reserve Program provides payments to farmers and ranchers that undertake practices that preserve wildlife habitat, sequester carbon, and support sustainable grazing. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnerships Nature Based Solutions webpage spotlights several grassland restoration projects, such as the Cheatgrass Challenge in Idaho and the Sandhills Taskforce rotational grazing initiative in Nebraska, which is helping to protect carbon sinks on working grazing lands. This video details the World Wildlife Foundation’s Restoring the Northern Great Plains initiative, which works with Tribes and landowners to protect and restore 286,00 square miles of grasslands.

• Biocrusts

  The Science: Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a surface community of lichens, mosses, cyanobacteria, and related organisms living on soils worldwide.  Biocrusts occur on all continents and a recent global estimate says that biocrusts cover about 12% of the Earth’s total land surface. Biocrusts are particularly common in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, such as in the deserts of the southwestern United States. As this article by The Nature Conservancy notes, biocrusts are threatened by human activity, animals, and rising temperatures caused by climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey is studying how livestock grazing impacts biocrusts, as well as steps that can be taken to protect these soils.

  Making Sense of the Science: A blog article written by the team at The Nature Conservancy Utah’s Canyonlands Research Center, Innovative Biocrust Restoration Technique Offers Hope in a Warming Climate, highlights efforts by scientists to research cutting-edge techniques to restore biocrusts, which play a crucial role in stabilizing soils and retaining moisture, boosting desert soil fertility, and storing carbon.

Although seagrasses, salt marshes, tidal forests, and mangroves represent a small percentage of U.S. lands, they sequester a disproportionately large amount of carbon. Scientists are developing ways to protect and restore these ecosystems, and are studying new and studying future opportunities for storing carbon in our oceans.

• Understanding Blue Carbon

  The Science: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has several resources related to blue carbon, including a coastal blue carbon primer, a recently published report called “A Guide to Understanding and Increasing Protection of Blue Carbon,” and a companion case study that provides in-depth information on a number of blue carbon strategies.  Another paper, “The Role of Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation and Carbon Stock Conservation” also reviews the various types of blue carbon ecosystems, outlining the benefits of blue carbon restoration, the debate over how to value these benefits, and the governance and financing challenges that must  be overcome to implement blue carbon solutions.

  The Blue Carbon Brief, written by Conservation International, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Nature Conservancy and a host of other organizations, explores both coastal blue carbon strategies, as well “emerging” oceanic blue carbon ecosystems, including kelp farming, phytoplankton and even fish, explaining that to take advantage of these opportunities in the future, the scale of carbon removal must be significant, carbon must be stored long term, and methodologies must exist to account for the amount of carbon sequestered – a criteria that has not yet been satisfied by these strategies.

  State of the Science in the U.S.: The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, which curates the Coastal Carbon Atlas, the world’s largest database of blue carbon information, analyzed the state of blue carbon research in the lower 48 and offered recommendations for improvement in this report.

  Making Sense of the Science: The Blue Carbon Initiative’s website provides a high-level overview of blue carbon’s potential as a climate mitigation strategy, and details the work of its Scientific and Policy Working Groups to develop the science and policy frameworks needed to support broad implementation of blue carbon strategies. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ issue brief, “Coastal ‘Blue Carbon’: An Important Tool for Combating Climate Change,” provides basic information on the climate, economic, and environmental benefits of coastal ecosystems and highlights action that the federal government and states can do to help protect and restore coastal wetlands. A policy brief by Restore America’s Estuaries and Compass details policy recommendations for protecting existing blue carbon stocks and restoring degraded systems – emphasizing the importance of prioritizing research, improving community partnerships, and incorporating blue carbon into existing policy mechanisms. A report by the Center for American Progress recommends investing in blue carbon ecosystems as part of broader efforts to strengthen the U.S. Marine Sanctuaries Program.

• Salt Marsh and Tidal Wetland Restoration

  The Science: Salt marshes and estuaries provide habitat for wildlife, protection from coastal communities from floods, opportunities for recreation, improved water quality and carbon storage. This overview by the U.S. Geological Survey focuses on efforts to document the benefits of wetlands for wildlife and carbon sequestration, with an eye toward designing conservation projects that achieve both goals. Restore America’s Estuaries’ Blue Carbon Science & Projects webpage also provides an overview of the carbon sequestration potential of coastal wetlands, as well as links to blue carbon estuary assessments in Tampa, Florida and Galveston Bay, Texas.

  Making Sense of the Science: This U.S. Nature4Climate blog article profiles a partnership between the Gullah/Geechee community, military leaders and federal, state and local governments to conserve a million acres of saltmarsh on the Southeast Atlantic Coast. An article in Yale Environment 360 spotlights an effort to restore a degraded salt marsh on the Delaware coast.  This report by the Pew Charitable Trusts and a coalition of organizations highlights how blue carbon science has been incorporated into Oregon’s efforts to integrate natural and working lands into their climate planning. Finally, this article in the Yale Environmental Review highlights how reconnecting blocked tidal marshes to the ocean can help methane emissions. 

  Science in Action: This video and companion blog article produced by U.S. Nature4Climate focuses on the work an organization called WILDCOAST is doing in the San Diego area to restore coastal wetlands and measure the climate impact of their restoration efforts.

  Another USN4C video spotlights the Lighting Point Shoreline Restoration Project in Bayou La Batre, Alabama – a broad a broad partnership, led by The Nature Conservancy, that has improved the city’s resilience to hurricanes by restoring coastal wetlands and making infrastructure improvements. By restoring these wetlands, the community has also increased carbon storage, improved wildlife habitat, and supported the local fishing economy. This successful program, which has already heled protect Bayou La Batre from multiple hurricanes, can serve as a model for building climate resilience in communities throughout the Gulf Coast.

• Seagrass Restoration

  The Science: Seagrass, also called “eelgrass,” exists in shallow bays and estuaries around the world. In addition to sequestering carbon, eelgrass helps reduce coastal erosion and provides food and habitat for fish, birds and other marine species. New research indicates that eelgrass can also provide localized amelioration of ocean acidification, a climate impact that is changing the chemistry of the ocean and poses threats to fisheries.  The Eelgrass Restoration Synthesis published by the Pacific Marine & Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership focuses on the steps that need to be taken to ensure success in seagrass restoration projects – finding that location had more impact on project success or failure than restoration methods. The synthesis also includes links to case studies. A literature review conducted by scientists at the University of California-San Diego, Lessons Learned from Over 30 Years of Eelgrass Restoration on the U.S. West Coast, analyzes 82 seagrass restoration projects in California, Oregon, and Washington, detailing challenges and opportunities faced by past restoration efforts. The study recommends developing a standardized, evidence-based approach to restoration, improving data sharing, and incorporating lessons from past work to improve future restoration projects. 

  Making Sense of the Science: This article by the Pew Charitable Trusts walks through the key findings of its Eelgrass Restoration Synthesis. An article by Restore America’s Estuaries, The Benefits of Seagrass to Bays and Estuaries, details the many benefits of seagrasses for people and nature, including carbon sequestration, resilience to extreme weather, removal of excess nutrients from water, habitat for fish and shellfish, and increased opportunities for recreation.

  Science in Action: This piece produced by The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Chapter provides an in-depth look at a real-world eelgrass restoration effort – a program also profiled in this U.S. Nature4Climate article and fact sheet. Another USN4C article details an initiative in North Carolina to map seagrasses and incorporate them into the state’s greenhouse gas inventory, which will be used to leverage funding for protecting and restoring seagrass beds. 

• Oceanic Blue Carbon

  The Science: Open ocean blue carbon strategies have the potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon, but there is still significant uncertainty about the ability of these techniques to significantly mitigate climate change, as well as positive and negative impacts these strategies could have on nature and society. A report issued by the Environmental Defense Fund, Ocean Conservancy, and Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Methods, explores the potential carbon storage offered by several oceanic blue caron strategies, the current state of the science and policy necessary to support these techniques, potential risks and benefits, and outstanding questions for further research. Strategies explored in the report include kelp farming (detailed below), ocean fertilization, ocean alkalinity enhancement, sub-seafloor geologic storage of captured carbon dioxide, and electrochemical carbon removal methods. Another Environmental Defense Fund report, Natural Climate Solutions in the Open Ocean, provides a more in-depth exploration of potential Natural Climate Solutions pathways for ocean carbon removal, including rebuilding epipelagic fish populations (fish that live near the ocean surface), regulating harvesting of mesopelagic fish (fish that live in the ocean’s “twilight zone”), rebuilding large marine mammal communities, and avoiding emissions through reduced seafloor trawling.

  In 2023, a broad coalition of organizations, including the National Wildlife Federation, Ocean Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Ocean Acidification Alliance, and Center for American Progress, issued Precautionary Principles for Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research. Noting that few ocean carbon dioxide methods are ready for deployment at scale, the Principles outline safeguards to ensure community engagement, verify carbon removal, ensure open and transparent communication and information sharing. These include developing a code of conduct, carrying out hypothesis-driven multi-disciplinary research that is clearly distinguished from deployment, incorporates rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification, and has clearly defined spatial and temporal goals.

  Making Sense of the Science: This article by the Environmental Defense Fund summarizes the uncertainties around oceanic blue carbon, highlighting the need for investment in science to better understand their viability as a climate solution. An article by the World Resources Institute, Leveraging the Ocean’s Carbon Removal Potential, provides a summary of biological, chemical, and electrochemical approaches for increasing ocean carbon sequestration, while also detailing the governance and social considerations that must be taken into account to deploying these approaches at scale. U.S. Nature4Climate convened an expert panel to discuss the role that blue carbon can play in mitigating climate change, which included a discussion of the need for additional research to quantify and monitor carbon sequestration delivered by these strategies.

• Kelp

  The Science: Kelp, or seaweed, has been gaining increasing attention as a potential method for increasing carbon storage in the ocean.  A scientific literature review co-authored by scientists at Conservation International, Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Mitigation Using Macroalgae: A State of Knowledge Review, analyzed the results of over 180 publications exploring the carbon sequestration potential of kelp. The authors suggest that efforts to conserve, restore, and farm kelp have the potential to remove tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide, and introduce a framework to more accurately categorize, quantify, and verify carbon sequestration in kelp forests.  An Environmental Defense Fund report, Carbon Sequestration by Seaweed, explores the carbon sequestration potential of natural seaweed stands and seaweed farming, but suggests the need for substantial research to better understand the carbon sequestration potential of seaweed in various environments, develop data on different harvesting techniques and product dispositions, and better understand the co-benefits, social and economical impacts of seaweed-based strategies.

  Making Sense of the Science: A Conservation International press release details the key findings of the literature review detailed above, suggesting kelp provides significant untapped potential to address climate change. A video by the Nature Conservancy, Seaweed Farms Can Help Combat Climate Change, discusses the potential of kelp farms to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and act as a substitute for carbon-intensive products like plastic. An article by the World Resources Institute, What Is Kelp and Why Is It Vital to People and the Planet, focuses more on protecting existing kelp forests — explaining what kelp is, where it is found, the benefits it provides (carbon storage, reduced ocean acidification, biodiversity preservation, food security, climate resilience, and a number of economic benefits), and steps that can be taken to protect and restore these ecosystems.

• Mangroves

  The Science: Mangrove swamps are found along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Mangrove trees, which can survive in both saltwater and freshwater, support a wide array of wildlife, and can sequester 10 times more carbon than terrestrial forests. This article by the National Science Foundation profiles a study calculating that the value of stored carbon in mangrove trees in Florida’s Everglades is between $2.0-$3.4 billion. Knowing this value can help decision-makers better navigate the costs and benefits of restoration programs. Another report by The Nature Conservancy and the University of California Santa Cruz complements this work by valuing the flood reduction benefits of Florida’s mangroves.

  Making Sense of the Science: An article by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “Mangrove Protection Can Provide Conservation Wins,” details what mangroves are, why they are important not just for biodiversity, but also for climate change adaptation and mitigation – protecting shorelines from erosion and flooding. An article by The Nature Conservancy’s Florida Chapter reinforces the benefits of mangroves, the threats they are facing due to human impacts, and includes a short video showing how mangroves protect coastlines from storm surges.

• Blue Carbon Offsets

  The Science: Carbon offset credits can help provide a mechanism for funding coastal restoration projects; however, research is necessary to establish the accounting and verification protocols to implement these credits. Scientists at the University of Virginia are conducting research to accomplish this goal. Their paper, “The Greenhouse Gas Offset Potential from Seagrass Restoration,” examined the carbon sequestration potential and possible financial benefit of eelgrass restoration focusing on research done at the Virginia Coast Reserve. A brief by Restore America’s Estuaries also speaks to efforts to incorporate blue carbon projects into voluntary carbon markets.

  Making Sense of the Science: The University of Virginia’s Environmental Resilience Institute published a short explainer of university’s work on blue carbon credits. An article in Forbes Magazine highlights work this team has done on Virginia’s barrier islands to study the feasibility long-term carbon credits for eelgrass restoration projects.

• Peatlands

  In addition to the blue carbon strategies outlined above, some freshwater wetlands also have the potential to play a significant role in mitigating climate change.

  The Science: Peatlands are known by many names (e.g., mire, marsh, swamp, fen, bog), but can simply be defined as a class of wetlands with a naturally accumulated layer of peat. Peat is formed when organic matter accumulates faster than it decomposes due to the lack of oxygen in waterlogged conditions.  

  Even though peatlands cover only 3% of Earth’s surface, they store more than twice as much carbon as the world’s forests. This issue brief by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature explains what peatlands are, the threat posed by destruction of peatlands, and actions that can be taken to protect, manage and restore peatlands. 

  Making Sense of the Science: An article in the journal Nature called “How Peat Could Protect the Planet” profiles peatland restoration efforts in Scotland. The article discusses the important role peatlands play as a carbon sink and the growing threats to these ecosystems. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s fact sheet, “Carbon Sequestration Benefits of Peatland Restoration” includes a case study of a peatland restoration effort at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge – an effort also profiled in this U.S. Nature4Climate article and fact sheet. An article published by the Pew Charitable Trusts, called “Peatlands, Which Can Fight Climate Change, Face Many Threats,” highlights the role science can play in helping to conserve peatlands. 

  Science in Action: A video by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Peatlands 101, gives a look at on-the-ground efforts to restore Minnesota’s Sax-Zim bog, while also details the vital role that peatlands play in preserving biodiversity and storing carbon. A U.S. Nature4Climate article, Just Add Water? Restoring Carbon Sinks in Minnesota, details research that TNC is undertaking to better understand the potential of peatland restoration to mitigate climate change and better target future restoration efforts, while also demonstrating a potential pathway for developing scientifically-proven, high-quality carbon credits.