Forest carbon storage or sequestration is the process where trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store IT as carbon in their biomass (leaves,…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Fort Valley State University $255,544 under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025.

The award funds a McIntire-Stennis research project that uses LiDAR and GIS technology to quantify forest carbon storage potential across multiple ecosystem types in Georgia. The project will capture LiDAR data at various forestry sites representing mature pine forest, cleared pine forest tract, urban forest, and non-forest grassland ecosystems. Researchers will correlate calibrated LiDAR data with field biomass measurements to develop biomass estimation models visualized per-tree, then apply these models across entire survey areas to produce GIS biomass distribution maps and carbon storage estimates. This work addresses the gap in detailed, precision forestry carbon data currently unavailable through traditional methods, providing small forestry landowners and conservation practitioners in Georgia with granular geospatial intelligence to optimize carbon resource management and guide restoration efforts.

Performance occurs at Fort Valley, Georgia, with a period from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. McIntire-Stennis funds are expected to be fully expended in the fiscal year of appropriation; fifty percent of FY 2025 allocation may carry over into FY 2026 and must be expended by September 30, 2026, unless a waiver for greater carryover is approved by the National Program Leader.

Forest carbon storage or sequestration is the process where trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store IT as carbon in their biomass (leaves, roots, and wood) and soil. This natural process is vital for mitigating environmental change, as forests act in significant carbon capture. In 2024, georgia's forests continued to act as a significant carbon sink (46 million metric tons of CO2 stored), offsetting a portion (27%) of the state's emissions. Activities like prescribed fire treatments, tree planting, and protection efforts helped maintain and restore these capabilities.detailed carbon storage data linked to precision forestry has been unattainable through traditional methods. Small forestry/landowners in georgia typically rely on satellite imagery and online mapping services to conduct environmental and ecological real-time data of their land. Advanced tools and technology of lidar in combination with GIS significantly improves the level of detail in geospatial data acquisition, ensuring effective conservation efforts and optimizing carbon resource management. In this mcintire stennis research project, data will be captured using lidar and mapped using GIS at various forestry sites in georgia to demonstrate how different factors can be compared to understand forest carbon dynamics. Distinctive forestry ecosystems for assessing carbon storage potential in georgia include mature pine forest, cleared pine forest tract, urban forest, and non-forest (grass land). Using calibrated algorithms, lidar data will be correlated with field biomass data to build biomass estimation models which will be visualized per tree; the model will then be applied to the entire survey area to produce GIS biomass distribution maps. The GIS maps will be used to estimate carbon storage potential (stocks) in that particular area. The collected data and comparison between different forest types will allow trends to be analyzed in forest carbon stocks and fluxes at various scales, informing both local and regional assessments. Implementing innovative technologies in this study will encourage their use for labor-intensive field surveys requiring large-scale data collection in a short time frame