Our forests are facing unparalleled threats from the effects of a warming planet. Severe storms, heavy precipitation, unparalleled heat, and devastating winds are all taking their toll around the United States and the world. As the earth warms, growing zones will shift north and precipitation patterns will change. Forests will respond with changes in species composition.

Kentucky’s woods are some of the most diverse in the country, with more than 100 tree species and plant, animal, insect, fungi, and microorganism species numbering in the thousands. All those organisms play an important part in a complex, interdependent ecosystem. When one piece of that intricate machine is removed, it can create a domino effect, resulting in the loss of valuable tree species and wildlife. This loss not only affects the forest ecosystem, but it also can affect humans through economic and health consequences. We often don’t know the importance of something until it is gone.

Proper management not only assures a sustainable future for our woodlands and their inhabitants, but also helps in combating climate change. Through extension, research, and instruction, the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources is working to protect our woodlands from changes that are predicted to occur over the next 50 to 100 years. Our undergraduate students learn adaptive management by taking courses in silviculture and forest health. Active research conducted by FNR scientists in Robinson Forest in Eastern Kentucky, and throughout the U.S., Central America, and China will yield important data and practices that will prepare landowners and forests to succeed in a rapidly changing environment. It can also help to slow or reverse the crisis.

Forests alone cannot solve the climate crisis, but trees’ ability to capture and store carbon are a valuable component in a larger plan. Kentucky hardwood forests are composed of many mixed species including oak, hickory, maple, and beech. Most of those species, especially oak, are long-lived, continuing to capture and store carbon in their wood over an extended time. Species like oak, harvested between 80 and 100 years, are usually processed into long-lived products such as flooring and furniture, continuing their carbon storage for long periods of time. In contrast, landowners of pine forests to our south might harvest their trees when around 35 years of age and turn that wood into products with a short life, such as paper. Their stored carbon gets released back into the environment much sooner than Kentucky’s hardwoods.

With an eye to sustaining the health and longevity of Kentucky’s valuable forests, UK FNR is focused on the future in our changing world.