State Foresters responded to federal estimates of the total carbon storage of U.S. forests today by calling for a current and accurate forest inventory to better address issues of climate change, biomass, and land use in the nation's forests. According to data released by the Forest Service, U.S. forests currently store 41.4 billion metric tons of carbon and the amount of carbon stored in forestland has increased over the past two decades. NASF is encouraged by the findings, but cautions that a comprehensive picture of forest carbon capacity is still elusive.
MORE: NASF press release: Robust Forest Census Needed for Comprehensive Carbon Data; USDA press release — New Data Highlights Role of Forests in Fight Against Climate Change