A study by Oregon State University researchers has identified forests in the western United States that should be preserved for their potential to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, as well as to enhance biodiversity.

The study led by professor Matt Betts and postdoctoral scholar Christopher Wolf suggests the closer a forest is to the equator, the more sensitive on average its wildlife species are to fragmentation.

OSU College of Forestry scientists found that deer and elk can play a key role in controlling the broadleaf vegetation, such as alder and maple, that compete with the “crop trees” – the Douglas-fir seedlings – in the replanted clear-cuts deer and elk heavily rely on for forage.

Chal Landgren, a professor in OSU’s College of Forestry at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, said the supply can be attributed to two main factors.

Historically, there were arguments about the authority of federal entities, lack of local community engagement, or disagreement about fire response strategies and tactics.

Conventional timber harvesting has no effect on carbon levels in the mineral soils of the western Pacific Northwest for at least 3 1/2 years after harvest, according to recently-published research by Oregon State University and Weyerhaeuser Company.

A global coalition of scientists led by William J. Ripple and Christopher Wolf of Oregon State University says “untold human suffering” is unavoidable without deep and lasting shifts in human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and other factors related to climate change.

In a time of increasing wildfire activity, Oregon State University Extension Service has implemented a new statewide fire program to help facilitate forest and range management plans, as well as create a healthy respect of fire through education and outreach efforts.