Presentation Abstract
Presentation Abstract
Student's Name: Lauren Birney '24
Co-registrant Names:
Type of Presentation: Poster
Presentation Title: "Carbon Storage in a Mixed Northern Hardwood Forest"
Abstract:
This project investigated how different tree species take up carbon in a mixed deciduous forest. Data was collected data from the forest ecology permanent plot on the red trail behind the water tower on the Franklin Pierce University Campus in Rindge, NH. All the trees in the plot were identified and diameters were recorded then compared with data from 2002. The results showed how much carbon different tree species absorb from the atmosphere and that the total biomass of trees in some subplots increased while in others it decreased. They also showed that red oak trees have the greatest annual carbon increase of all species. Based on these measurements of living tree biomass it appears that the forest is carbon neutral; however the biomass in standing dead and downed trees could have gone up since 2002 making it a carbon sink. Knowing how much carbon trees take in is important because they remove CO2 (an important greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere. Currently, too much CO2 in the atmosphere is leading to global climate change.
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