Abstract
The U.S. North - the 20 states bounded by Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Minnesota - have a greater forest cover (42 percent of land area) and population density (194 people per square mile) than other large regions of the nation. Ecological, social, and economic changes anticipated over the next 50 years will profoundly affect future forest management needs and opportunities in the North. This report draws on data from numerous sources to analyze 13 scenarios that consider future forest change in response to assumptions about land-use change, economic change, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, forest growth, forest harvest, and other factors. Results are organized using the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicator framework.
Titles contained within Future forests of the northern United States
Keywords
climate change,
land use change,
biodiversity,
Montreal Process,
forest health,
forest industry,
invasive species,
biomass,
bioenergy,
sustainable timber products,
nontimber forest products,
private forest owners,
watershed,
urban forest
Citation
Shifley, Stephen R.; Moser, W. Keith, eds. 2016. Future forests of the northern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-151. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 388 p.