Drivers of change in U.S. forests and forestry over the next 20 years

Abstract

Drivers of change are overarching forces that have changed conditions in the past, are influencing the present, and are anticipated to influence the future. For this report, we define drivers of change as influential direct or indirect forces expected to shape the future of U.S. forests and the forest sector over the next 20 years. This report explores eight drivers of change expected to influence forests and forestry in the United States over the next two decades: climate change, economic drivers of change, the forest products sector, technological change, demographic change, society's changing forest values, the exercise of Indigenous rights, and forestry education. Each paper is written by experts on the particular driver or by professional futurists. The set of drivers examined here is not intended to be comprehensive. These papers provide information about important drivers of change for use by policymakers and decision makers and contribute to the USDA Forest Service’s comprehensive forest futures research portfolio.

Titles contained within Drivers of change in U.S. forests and forestry over the next 20 years

• Drivers of change in forests and forestry: an introduction
• Climate as a driver of change in U.S. forests
• An uncertain economic future for the United States
• Trends in the U.S. forest products sector, markets, and technologies
• Technology as a driver of future change in the forest sector: projected roles for disruptive and emergent technologies
• Demographics as a driver of change in the U.S. forest sector
• Shifting forest values as a driver of change
• Indigenous rights and empowerment in natural resource management and decision making as a driver of change in U.S. forestry
• Education as a driver of change in U.S. forests and the forest sector

Citation

Dockry, Michael J.; Bengston, David N.; Westphal, Lynne M., comps. 2020. Drivers of change in U.S. forests and forestry over the next 20 years. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-197. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 99 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-197.