This research unit develops and provides the basic science, quantitative methods, and technology needed to make decisions about forest ecosystems and the atmosphere related to climate change and carbon.

Through our research, we:

• Provide new information on the effects of atmosphere-ecosystem interactions on ecosystem processes and functions.
• Assess sensitivity of forest ecosystems, markets, and forest-based communities to climate change.
• Determine how to adapt forest management to climate change-related needs (e.g., carbon storage and the production of wood for biomass energy) while preserving ecosystem services.
• Monitor and map forest resources and maintain databases useful for climate impact assessment and greenhouse gas mitigation (e.g., forest carbon storage, and biomass energy feedstocks).
• Provide knowledge, improve awareness, educate, and inform policy on climate change threats to forests and people.
• Provide information and tools to aid in the development of policies and management strategies.

Regional and National Responsibilities include: 

• Function as the home of the Northern Research Station’s Climate Change Research Program.  This program is linked to the Forest Service’s nationwide Global Change Research Program. 
• Home of the Eastern Area Modeling Consortium.
• Leading participant in the North American Carbon Program, an interagency effort to improve understanding of the exchanges of carbon dioxide between the land, atmosphere, and oceans, and to determine the causes of changes in the carbon cycle.
• Home of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, a public-private-university organization designed to bridge the gap between carbon cycle science and the needs of land managers. 

Carbon, Water, and Energy Exchange

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere are increasing and considered a primary cause of climate change.  We want to learn more about the potential for forests to absorb and store carbon.  We collect ecological and meteorological data and measure carbon dioxide and water vapor uptake and loss by the forest in order to better understand the physiology of the forest and its relationship to weather and the functioning of the carbon cycle.  Results are being used to improve climate models and our understanding of tree growth.

Climate and Air Pollution Impacts

Climate change (changes in the atmospheric temperature and precipitation) and air pollution (changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere) both have large impacts on forest ecosystems. The goal of climate change research is to understand and project the effects of climate change and air pollution on forests and river basins of the northeastern and north central United States, and to develop policy and management options for minimizing impacts on societal benefits of forests. Increasingly, climate change is affecting our ecosystems and land managers need to include the best available science about impacts and adaptation in their policies and forest management plans.

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Land managers require information and tools to help them sustain ecosystem function during climate change. Additionally, greenhouse gas mitigation through carbon sequestration and offsets is receiving increased interest and attention. We develop tools, synthesize available information, facilitate discussion and planning, and study the potential effectiveness of management techniques in response to climate change.

Effects of Land Management on Climate

The goal of this research area is improve our understanding of how changes to forests and other land surfaces feed back to the climate system.  We aim to quantify and describe the physical and biological processes that are impacted by forest management and land-use activities that potentially drive climate variability and change.

Soil Processes and Environmental Change

Soils sustain ecosystem health and productivity by providing nutrients and water to plants, storing the majority of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, filtering pollutants from water, and providing habitat for a diverse assemblage of soil organisms. We study how the capacity of soils to perform these functions is sensitive to climate change, air pollution, forest management, human and natural disturbances, and invasive species.