2021’s States That Lost the Most Tree Cover

1. Deforestation sped up globally during the pandemic, resulting in the release of over 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In the U.S. specifically, what interventions are needed now to prevent further deforestation and consequent carbon emission?

The U.S. does not have the same problem with deforestation as countries with tropical forests that have never been cleared in the past. By far most forest products in the U.S. come from areas planted in trees for the purpose of harvesting trees rather than coming from primary or natural forests in their ecologically historic state, so there is not necessarily a net loss in forested area over time.

There is some such continued loss of natural forests in the U.S., but the level was low in 2020 relative to the previous last several years.

2. The 2020 U.S. wildfire season, which burned over 10.1 million acres, has been the second worst on record in terms of acres impacted in a year. What three measures should be implemented now to prevent a worse wildfire season in 2021?

There is probably not much that can be done at this point to prevent a worse wildfire season in 2021, except to continue to educate the public in how to make their homes more defensible against wildfire and to improve systems for evacuating people to prevent loss of life.

In the longer term, there needs to be more prescribed fire and wildfire management to let areas burn under acceptable conditions to reduce fuel loads. However, given how far the fuel beds have changed from historic conditions, combined with the effects of climate change, the effects of such fire today are not always as ecologically beneficial as we would like and sometimes result in novel ecosystems. Even so, they are effective in reducing fuel loads and facilitating management of subsequent wildfires.

3. Where are the best places for individuals to plant trees to help the environment?

Anywhere that the tree species is in its natural range of conditions. Planting trees native to the area both improves natural habitat and increases the chances that the tree will thrive.

4. What are the three best ways to care — and show some love — for trees?

1. Provide their historic natural conditions, whether it be burning or mowing to simulate burning if the tree was in a fire-maintained community, or reducing competition with other trees if the tree was in an open-canopy forest.
2. Provide the best hydrological conditions for that tree.
3. Soil compaction from vehicles is generally to be avoided.

5. What are the best alternatives to cutting down trees to create products that traditionally rely on wood, such as paper?

It is hard to think of a better alternative, as wood and other plant products are the only ecologically sustainable and carbon-neutral sources of material used for paper, building materials, etc.

6. What are the top five benefits of tree cover/canopy to a state’s well-being?

Canopy cover is not automatically beneficial (for example, if it is higher than historic conditions and thus limits light to herbaceous plants on which wildlife depend and increases evapotranspiration and loss of groundwater).

However, where appropriate, tree canopy cover is important for wildlife habitat, decreasing urban temperatures by providing shade, and releasing heat from incident solar radiation through transpiration that otherwise might be absorbed by solid surfaces, providing more mesic environments by increasing local relative humidity, providing oxygen, and aesthetics.

1. Deforestation sped up globally during the pandemic, resulting in the release of over 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In the U.S. specifically, what interventions are needed now to prevent further deforestation and consequent carbon emission?

Deforestation is not an issue in North America. The number of acres of forest land in the U.S. has been stable since about 1910. Sustainable forest management responsibly supplies us with a plentiful wood supply now and into the future.

However, American consumers may contribute to deforestation in other countries by consuming their wood products. To combat deforestation, consumers must select foreign wood that is certified by a third party like SFI or FSC. These third parties certify that wood is sourced responsibly.

2. The 2020 U.S. wildfire season, which burned over 10.1 million acres, has been the second worst on record in terms of acres impacted in a year. What three measures should be implemented now to prevent a worse wildfire season in 2021?

Standing dead trees, particularly due to a severe and prolonged outbreak in pine beetles in our western forests, need to be salvaged and used for durable wood products. A prime example of this is the emerging markets in mass timber. Tall buildings are now being constructed almost entirely out of wood, potentially storing that carbon for hundreds of years.

So, to prevent wildfires, prevent the buildup of fuels by:

1. Salvaging beetle-killed trees.
2. Promoting the development of new markets for innovative and value-added wood products, such as mass timber that can store carbon for long periods.
3. Improving proactive forest management measures to make the forests resilient to climate change-related disturbance, such as beetles and wildfires.

3. Where are the best places for individuals to plant trees to help the environment?

Always remember to plant the right tree in the right place.

4. What are the three best ways to care — and show some love — for trees?

1. Understand that sustainable forest management (or just forestry in the U.S.) and deforestation are diametrically opposed.
2. Respect the forest.
3. Appreciate what trees give us before and after harvest.

5. What are the best alternatives to cutting down trees to create products that traditionally rely on wood, such as paper?

The more we rely upon wood to replace carbon-intensive materials like concrete, steel and plastic, the better!

Wood is a renewable, carbon-negative material unlike any other. It’s critical to appreciate that the more we use wood, the more forest we will have, not the opposite. Deforestation happens when the forest land has less value than other uses, like agriculture or shopping malls.

Always remember that a forest provides us with clean air, clean water, places to recreate, and materials for a myriad of uses — name an open pit mine or corn field that can compete with that!

Deforestation sped up globally during the pandemic, resulting in the release of over 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In the U.S. specifically, what interventions are needed now to prevent further deforestation and consequent carbon emission?

There were some unfortunate examples of deforestation, especially in Brazil, where the government has decided that protecting forests is no longer in Brazil’s best interest. Hopefully, the international community and Brazilian citizens can reverse this decision and encourage Brazil to take more interest in protecting their forest assets.

Some deforestation may be warranted in a place like Africa to feed a growing population there. But happily, deforestation since 1980 has been curbed across the world’s forests so that forests are once again growing. For the last several decades, forest growth has exceeded deforestation so that forests are storing ever more carbon every year.

The 2020 U.S. wildfire season, which burned over 10.1 million acres, has been the second worst on record in terms of acres impacted in a year. What three measures should be implemented now to prevent a worse wildfire season in 2021?

The cause of the fires in 2020 include a regional drought in the West. There is little that can be done about droughts in arid places like the American West.

However, the fires were also exacerbated by a long-run policy of fire suppression, which has built up unusually large flammable material in forests. This can be dealt with by a combination of clearing fire breaks around roads, thinning forests, and controlled burns.

The final measure that can be taken by private citizens who live in forests is to clear the land close to valuable buildings. This will make it easier for firefighters to protect those buildings and reduce the damage from fires.

Where are the best places for individuals to plant trees to help the environment?

A great deal of land that is suitable for forests is owned by private individuals in relatively small plots. By maintaining forests in these suburban and semi-rural areas, private citizens can maintain forest habitat that would otherwise be subdivided.

What are the three best ways to care — and show some love — for trees?

Plant and care for a tree that is special to you.

What are the best alternatives to cutting down trees to create products that traditionally rely on wood, such as paper?

Although cutting down trees for forest products and paper sounds destructive, the forest industry has been a renewable industry since about 1990. Every tree that is cut down is replanted in the modern market.

The demand for timber products gives the market an incentive to keep land in forests. As the demand for forest products declines, the supply of forests will shrink in the long run.

What are the top five benefits of tree cover/canopy to a state’s well-being?

There are economic benefits to forests that lead to income, jobs, and valuable natural resources. But there are also important nonmarket benefits to forests that include habitat, recreation, soil protection, and carbon storage. Depending on the state, the size of these benefits vary a great deal so that some states get a lot of economic benefit from forests, whereas others primarily get nonmarket benefits.