Non Technical Summary
In the United States, forests have recently gained attention in science and policy arenas as tool for offsetting carbon emissions arising from other industries. With an uncertain climate future, however, forests across the West are expected to face multiple stressors, including prolonged droughts, forest health and wildfire - the latter fueled by the first two. Furthermore, we know little about the longer-term implications of forest management for forest resiliency: which types of forest management practices are most effective in creating a resiliency response in managed forests. In response, the principal aim of this proposed research project is to assess the potential for improved forest management to contribute to increasing and sustaining carbon stocks in the working forests of the West. Specifically, this project sets out to understand the effects of specific forest management actions on forest carbon on forestland (incl. timberland) in California. To that end, this proposed research plans to use a combination of existing observational data, field measurements, data analysis and available modeling tools to test forest management outcomes. This research project will address a critical gap in translating climate adaptation methods into practical forest management to be used by stakeholders in forestry and provide a policy roadmap for integrating carbon management into practical forest management. Finally, the findings of this study will serve as a foundation in building a larger research framework for assessing the potential for specific types of targeted forest management practices to contribute to managing, protecting, and sustaining resources in managed forestlands across California.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
123	0612	3100	75%
123	0680	3100	10%
122	0612	1070	15%

Knowledge Area
122 - Management and Control of Forest and Range Fires; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0612 - Conifer forests of the West; 0680 - Other products of the forest;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 3100 - Management;

Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this research project is to inform forest management decisions relating to disturbance mitigation and preventing tree mortality, and assess the potential for improved forest management to contribute to increasingandsustainingforest carbon stocks in the working forests of California.We are interested in looking at drivers of tree mortality such as bark beetle attacks, disease, fire, drought, and increasing temperatures to better understand the interactions and damages done by these stressors; we also hope to connect these disturbance findings to forest management decisions such as thinning.Objectives:As a research group made up of academics, research practitioners and land managers, we will address the following questions: 1) which types of forest management activities increase forest carbon stocks, 2) which types of forest management activities are most effective in reducing flammable fuel densities on forestland and if is there a conflict between managing for carbon and fuel management, and finally, 3) which forest management practices should be called improved forest management in the California forest context. Using these questions as guidance, this research project is divided into three principal objectives.1) Part I - Modeling forest carbon stocks - quantitative estimates of carbon sequestration potential under contrasting forest management scenarios in California. (Year 1)2) PART II - Assessing the effects of fire and fuel management on forest carbon stocks using FIA-dataand FVS-modeling. (Years 1-3)3) PART III - Defining improved forest management in California - thinning for forest and carbon resiliency. (Years 1-3)

Project Methods
This research project uses a combination of Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA, US Forest Service) data, the Forest Visualization System (FVS, US Forest Service) modeling platform and field measurements (forest inventory) to test performance of carbon accumulation rates (biomass and soil) under the different forest management (incl. fuel management) scenarios on managed forestlands in California. Combining these data and modeling sources, we can simulate responses of forest growth to harvesting management and hazardous fuel management.Specifically, this project sets out to understand the effects of specific forest management actions on forest carbon on forestland (incl. timberland) on one of three common California forest types: California mixed conifer, Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forests. Hardwood forests are excluded as they are rarely managed for timber and wood products (and by that extension for carbon) in California. Additional data for the analysis and simulation is collected from FIA internet archives (available free through US Forest Service). The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is a forest growth simulation model. It simulates forest vegetation change in response to natural succession, disturbances, and management.