Tree Farm News: Forest Monitoring After Enrollment in a Carbon Program

In December 2020, I enrolled about half of my property in the Family Forest Carbon Program, making a 20-year commitment on a large portion of my tree farm. The extent of follow-up forest monitoring has surprised me but has proven to be good for reasons beyond the data collection needed by the program. In my case, a qualified forester walking to random locations on my woodlands last November brought my attention to some invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) that I was not aware was present. Beyond this, I inquired about how the collected data from my tree farm was being used in this program sponsored by the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. 

I learned that Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) monitoring evaluates a statistically significant sample of enrolled landowners who are selected for the type of monitoring that includes my property. This is used to match the FFCP-enrolled properties to the most similar baseline properties found in Forest Inventory and Analysis data, which serves as a baseline for evaluating how much carbon is being sequestered on enrolled properties compared to similar properties in the local landscape which are not enrolled. Monitoring is done at regular intervals throughout a landowner’s enrollment so the carbon benefit can be observed and verified in real time. Details about how FFCP addresses carbon accounting issues are given in the blog posts. 

• Part 1–Additionality: how the FFCP makes sure the carbon benefit attributed to its program goes beyond what’s happening naturally on the landscape (Apr 13, 2021).
• Part 2–Baselines: how an appropriate baseline is determined to compare enrolled areas to those not part of the program so that additionality is credible (May 26, 2021).
• Part 3–From Intention to Action: the role landowner intentions play in determining carbon benefit (Sep 2, 2021).
• Part 4–Permanence: how the FFCP ensures the carbon benefit of the program lasts at least 100 years, while keeping landowner agreements at a manageable length of 20 years (Dec 2, 2021).

Soon two foresters from the program will visit my property and audit the 20 randomly-selected sample plots to collect more data. Lynn Riley, Analysis Manager with the Family Forest Impact Foundation, assisted in providing current information for this update. For PA Tree Farmers considering enrolling in a carbon sequestration program, I encourage you to ask questions, do your homework, talk to others you know who are already enrolled, and then make an informed decision. 

For more information about the PA Tree Farm program, visit their webpage at www.paforestry.org/treefarm. 

Written by John Hoover, PA Tree Farm Committee Chair