Natural Pathways for Carbon Removal in Forest Ecosystems
Matthew Potts, Professor
Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
Addressing climate change will require more than reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will require removing carbon from the atmosphere and durably storing it. Natural pathways for carbon removal, e.g. storing carbon in soils, forests, and wetlands, are likely to be the only way to achieve large scale carbon removal in the short term. This URAP explores how to best catalyze durable carbon removal in forested systems and how this can be done in a just and equitable manner.
Specifically, this project will focus on forest carbon offsets, which represent a rapidly growing, ill-defined field. Forest carbon offset credits are generated against a baseline which represents counterfactual carbon storage without offset revenue. In theory, this baseline represents “common forest practice” in the region. However, the protocols used to establish baselines are simplistic and likely produce over-crediting, which ultimately leads to greater carbon emissions. The accuracy of methods used in these projects has important implications for forest management and climate change.
Role: Undergraduates interested in this project will aid in both protocol- and project-level analysis of existing forest carbon offset projects on the voluntary market. URAP students will play a central role in the data collection and analysis for this project. Further, interested students will have the opportunity to co-develop parts of the analysis with the PI. This analysis may include evaluating FIA data, collating carbon project data, geospatial data analysis, and literature review, among other activities.
The expected learning outcomes are broad and will be reflective of the student's interest. Students will improve their skills in data management, forest data analytics, forest ecology and management, literature review, and interdisciplinary analysis. Further, students will develop area knowledge of forest carbon accounting and carbon offsets, both of which are high-growth, high-impact research areas.
Qualifications: We are looking for motivated and independent undergraduate students with a broad background in the environmental sciences. Previous experience with forest ecology, forest management and/or carbon offsets is a plus. All students should have excellent reading, writing, and organizational skills and those interested in quantitative analyses ideally have a background in programming (e.g. R) and/or geospatial skills (e.g. Google Earth Engine).
Hours: to be negotiated
Related website: https://nature.berkeley.edu/pottslab/
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