11. Eastern

Continued

The Promise of the Eastern Forest

In addition to being the most important carbon sink in the country, eastern forests are mostly young or middle aged (between 50-100 years old), having attained only about 50% of their full carbon sequestration potential. This means that there could be an increase of 100% over current biomass stocks by 2100 – if we let the forests continue to grow naturally, through proforestation. Birdsey et al. (2023) calculated that eastern forests could continue to sequester and store carbon for decades, fulfilling the urgent need to address climate change and biodiversity decline within a fast-closing window for action. Halting the harvest of temperate continental forests today, could increase sequestration by 20 Teragrams of Carbon per year (TgC yr−1) by 2050. If we halted logging across the 73 million ha of middle-aged eastern forests which were studied by Birdsey et al., we would avert 117Mg CO2 per year until 2050. (Continuing business as usual on the other hand, will emit these 117Mg of CO2.)

While all public (local, state, and federal) forests must be protected and should be connected to create a permanent reservoir for the continued provision of ecosystem services, eastern forests are particularly important because Global Climate Models predict an intensification of current precipitation and temperature trends. Western, boreal, and tropical forests are increasingly exposed to drought, making them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens, and fire. Eastern forests on the other hand, are becoming increasingly moist and dense due to increased precipitation and warming temperatures. This shift in temperatures and moisture has triggered a process of mesophication: the self-perpetuation of the mesic forest, through a positive feedback loop based on rich seedbeds, moist and fertile soils from decomposing duff, and shade tolerance.

This development is desirable for many reasons: Mesophytic forests, because of their moist microclimates and closed structure, are more resistant to pests and fire as long as they are not compromised by humans. Hence, while more fires are ignited in the East due to a higher population density, the total area burned per year is much smaller in the East than in the West. Case in point: in 2022, just over 20,000 wildfires burned approximately 5.8 million acres in the West, compared to over 48,000 fires burning just over 1.8 million acres in the East. While wildfire is a natural and largely necessary disturbance for all forests, eastern mesic forests are less vulnerable.

Dense tree canopies intercept sunlight, creating shadier and cooler conditions below. They also reduce wind speeds and increase humidity through evapotranspiration making mesic forests less vulnerable to fire and teeming with life.

In addition to being self-perpetuating and more resistant to disturbances than other forests, eastern forests’ stand out for their impressive biodiversity. A broad variety of flora including tree species, shrubs, mosses, and flowers host and support mammals, birds, fish, herpetofauna, invertebrates, funga, protists, bacteria and so much more - making eastern mesophytic forests a true biodiversity hotspot. All that nutrient cycling and moisture also make these forests champions in generating fertile soils which are vital for food security.

We need to fully and permanently protect eastern forests today so they can continue to sequester and sink carbon, continue to deliver vital ecosystem services, and grow (pun intended) this capacity over the next decades. Yet, forest managers are spending vast amounts of tax-payer dollars in pursuit of maintaining an unnatural status quo in our forests. Large, wasteful, and harmful projects which include logging and thinning, repeated herbicide applications, and intervals of fire, are now aimed at maintaining a forest composition that is increasingly at odds with the warmer and more humid climate. Imposing “drier” conditions on moister forests is becoming ever more costly and labor intensive and only results in the destruction of valuable microclimates, elimination of habitat for vulnerable species, and opens eastern forests up to invasive species and fire. Campbell et al. (2012) documented the high carbon loss from forest management, refuting forest managers’ arguments that they are implementing climate smart practices to “help the forests store more carbon.”

Eastern forests are champions at fulfilling the ecosystems services we need today. Importantly, they hold the promise of continuing to provide these ecosystem services throughout this century and beyond. It is in all of our best interest to protect eastern forest ecosystems through proforestation and let them adapt naturally to changing temperatures and precipitation.

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Sonia Demiray is the Founding Director of the Climate Communications Coalition out of greater Washington, D.C. ClimateCC.org moves people to act on climate, to protect forests and biodiversity, and supports environmental conservation and climate justice organizations in their communications and outreach. Sonia is a communications strategist, activist, advocate, writer, and back in school to keep up with the latest science in the fast evolving fields of forests and climate change.