UW Scientist Leads Research On How Responsible Logging Can Help Eastern U.S. Forests
Published April 22, 2025
Responsible harvesting and other small disturbances can help make forests in the eastern United States more resilient to climate change, according to research by a new University of Wyoming faculty member.
The study by scientists at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is led by UW Botany professor Dr. Sara Germain. Dr. Germain completed the research as a Cary postdoctoral associate and recently joined UW’s Department of Botany. The study explores how Eastern U.S. forests are responding to climate change, how disturbances such as harvesting and pests can help or hinder climate adaptation, and what it means for carbon storage. The study was published in the journal Ecosystems in January. Eastern trees are becoming increasingly stressed by warming temperatures, which can slow their growth and reproduction.
“It was comforting to learn that Eastern forests, which hold the most carbon in the U.S., are actually doing OK,” Germain says. “With moderate, status quo levels of disturbance, Eastern forests have the capacity to remain an important carbon sink.”
