Keeping track of carbon in the Adirondacks’ forests

SUNY researchers develop innovative carbon storage mapping system. The state could use it as part of its strategy to combat climate change through carbon sequestration.

By Chloe Bennett

Nearly five years ago, New York state passed an ambitious climate law intended to reduce and counteract fossil fuel emissions contributing to climate change. Storing carbon dioxide, a gas released from burning fuel, is key to achieving the goals outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Much of that can be accomplished through protecting carbon-absorbing forests across the state. 

Although the Adirondacks has millions of acres of forest, most land in the state is privately owned. Which puts a critical network of interconnected properties at risk of development. To achieve goals set in the climate act, experts say the state needs to roughly double the size of its carbon sink by fostering new forests and avoiding further loss. 

How the mapping tool works

Researchers with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry developed an accounting system with detailed satellite imagery to help agencies identify where forests store high amounts of carbon and where lands need attention. The program translates information from the U.S. Forest Service with detailed maps showing carbon storage and forest characteristics across the state.

“We produced information that’s really going to help us make the best decisions in the right places, do the right things in the right places, and track our progress,” Colin Beier, associate professor at SUNY-ESF, said. Beier led the project with a team at the Climate & Applied Forest Research Institute (CAFRI.)

Spotting land disturbances from space, analyzing historical tree coverage and calculating carbon stocks are some of the program’s tools. The state Department of Conservation contracted with CAFRI in 2019. The project was complete by the summer of 2023.

How the state and local organizations are using the system

The DEC and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority plan to use data from the project for NYSERDA’s Smart Solar Siting Scorecard, which helps site properties for potential solar installations. The DEC may also use it for the landowner grant program Regenerate NY, reviews for properties enrolled in the 480-A tax program and more. 

Now, other organizations are looking to use CAFRI’s system. The Family Forest Carbon Program rolled out in the Adirondacks recently, with a strategy to pay woodlot owners for conserving their land or working with foresters to manage property sustainably. The program is a partnership between The American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. Owners with more than 30 acres are eligible to enroll, but so far only one has signed on inside the Blue Line. 

In an email, The American Forest Foundation confirmed it’s exploring CAFRI’s tools to help with its enrollment process. For carbon accounting methods, the foundation will stay with Verra, a voluntary carbon offset certifier. 

RELATED READING: Carbon offsets and the value of Adirondack trees 

Beier said the system could help address shortcomings in the voluntary carbon market, which is unregulated by governing bodies. Offset projects trade credits for carbon stored in trees, though research shows some projects overestimate the sequestered amounts. 

Flagging potential forest disturbances through the CAFRI system could help projects meet carbon goals. “What we can offer is a tremendous amount of efficiency,” Beier said. 

On June 20 Beier is presenting the project to the Adirondack Park Agency board. The agency could use it for solar permitting processes and monitoring, he said. 

“We want to facilitate that, we just want to try to facilitate it in constructive directions,” Beier said. 

Photo at top by Mike Lynch.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new dates.