Forest Health and Carbon Storage

Title
Forest Health and Carbon Storage
Abstract
This fourth report in the System Indicators series focuses on Sierra Nevada forests, and includes indicators related to Forest Health and Biomass/Carbon Storage on forest lands. In addition, this report describes the extent, character, and ownership of forest land in the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Region. Two of the nineteen indicators approved by the SNC Governing Board are incorporated into this report: Forest Health and Carbon Storage. Forest Health is a particularly difficult indicator to frame and quantify, as there is no consensus on exactly what defines forest health. Fires, and fire suppression, are certainly critical elements of forest health. Yet wildfire in the Sierra Nevada is a larger issue that goes beyond forest health, since it impacts woodland, grassland, and communities throughout the Region as well. In this light, aspects of wildfire as it relates to forest health are incorporated into this report; Fire Threat, in the broader scope and context, will be covered in a subsequent stand-alone System Indicators report.
Purpose
Because forest health cannot be characterized by any single, simple measure, three data sets are used to provide an indication of the health of the forests in the Region: fire return interval departure, wildfire threat to ecosystems, and forest pest impact and threat.
Begin Date
2015-08-21
Originator Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Ordering Information
Chris Dallas Sierra Nevada Conservancy cdallas@sierranevada.ca.gov (530) 823-4673 or toll free at (877) 257-1212 Lead author, Susie Kocher can be contacted at: sdkocher@ucanr.edu
Keywords
Forestry, Wildfire
Progress
Complete
Resource Type
Document
Update Frequency
None Planned
Resource Owner
deercreekgisWebsite

To the owner of Forest Health and Carbon Storage

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